Page 3 of On Thin Ice (Calgary Mounties #1)

Chapter Three

YOUR EGO CAN TAKE IT

Lincoln

Adele has really managed to pull this off.

The ceremony was perfect, and Seth finally relaxed after we’d finished with the photos, with no more mention of hijacking a boat and heading out to sea.

Of course, the bride showing up looking gorgeous helped.

But he’d marry her if she was wearing a paper bag, so that was just icing on the cake.

And speaking of cake, this one is excellent. The five tier chocolate and caramel masterpiece looked amazing, decorated to combine surfing and hockey elements, which should seem strange, but actually works really well.

“Didn’t think I’d see you eating cake,” Tara says, sliding into the vacant seat behind me, her little redheaded baby daughter nestled into her chest, fast asleep.

“It’s the offseason, I’ll eat all the cake I want.” I pat my flat stomach with a grin while she rolls her eyes.

“Drives me crazy how you can just pack away all the crap and still look like that.” She waves her hand up and down in front of my body.

“Yes, it is a real hardship being this disgustingly hot all the time.” I grin .

She rolls her eyes again. “Is it difficult to be that confident all the time?”

“Nope. I know I’m pretty, I’ve just accepted that’s the reality.”

She laughs and shakes her head. “Speaking of pretty, that guy has been checking you out for the last hour,” she says, nodding towards one of the waiters standing near the cake table.

I’d noticed him looking my way a few times but haven’t felt the need to do anything about it, despite the fact that he’s hot.

I’ve also been studiously ignoring the side eyed glances from Diana, one of Kylie’s cousins from Australia who made it very apparent that she wanted to get to know me on a carnal level at the rehearsal dinner last night.

There will be no shenanigans for me tonight - or any other night on this trip - with either gender, but especially not with a cousin of the bride.

One of those in my life is enough, and she’s been in a shitty mood since I stole her champagne glass to keep her from getting too wasted before the photos.

“Yeah, I’m taking a step back from sleeping with strangers for a while,” I say to Tara, and she pats my arm.

“But Lincoln, that’s all you sleep with,” she says, her eyes twinkling.

“Are you calling me a man-whore, miss Tara?” I ask, falling into our easy banter.

“Yes, yes I am.” I laugh at the earnest look on her face, and she grins. “I miss you. When are you coming for a visit?”

Her husband, Aiden takes the seat on her other side and hands her a glass of wine before claiming Brandie from her mother’s arms and cuddling her close while wrapping his arm around Tara’s shoulder and kissing her temple. They really are all disgustingly cute together.

“When the bugs in your country become decidedly smaller,” I reply, suppressing a shudder .

When that butterfly flew in my face during the ceremony, all spindly legs and flappy wings, it had taken every ounce of my self-control not to scream like a child and run away.

I have no idea why I’m so scared of all things bug-like, but I’m pretty sure it’s something I should speak to a professional about.

I’ve made it to the age of thirty-three without it making that big of a deal in my life, so why bother at this point? So far, no one except for Seth and my family know about this irrational fear, and I’m determined it stays that way. Although I guess it’s okay that Tara knows, too.

“You know, the bugs aren’t anywhere near as bad as people make out, right?”

“Don’t lie to him, Tara. The spiders are huge,” Aiden pipes up.

I point at the man who grew up in England, where there are far less man-eating bugs than his native country. “He gets it. Thank you, Aiden.”

Tara sighs. “Babies, the pair of you.”

“Nope, this face is just too pretty to risk coming face to face with a venomous bug from the depths of hell.” I wave my hand in front of my face and Aiden laughs while Tara just shakes her head.

“Hey, have you seen Adele? Ben was looking for her earlier,” Brianna asks, stopping on the other side of the table with two cocktails in her hands.

“Last I saw her, she was inhaling a piece of cake and throwing back a glass of champagne,” Aiden replies, looking to me for confirmation.

I shrug. “Beats me. I’m off Adele duty after she threatened bodily harm if I touched her champagne again.”

She’d been pretty fired up, and I realized I’d made a pretty big misstep in trying to keep her from getting too messy. She is a big girl who can handle herself, and I have no idea what had driven me to get involved.

“I think I saw her head outside when I came back in with Brandie,” Tara says, reaching over to pat the sleeping baby gently on her back while she snuggles into her fathers’ neck.

“Ben seemed pretty worried. I should go check on her.” Brianna looks around and waves one of the drinks at her husband, Jake, who is spinning Kylie around on the dance floor.

“Don’t worry, I’ll go find her,” I say, getting to my feet.

“Are you sure?” Brianna asks.

“Yeah, it’s fine. You guys go and have fun.”

Heading towards the exit of the wedding tent they’d set up for the reception, I’m immediately set upon by Diana. “Hey handsome. How about a dance?” she asks, fluttering her eyelashes at me.

“Not right now. Just need to go do something. But some of the other guys are looking for a dance partner,” I say, nodding towards the table where my single teammates have taken up residence.

Most of them have already found someone to hook up with since we arrived, but I’m sure one of them would be more than happy to take a tumble between the sheets with the cute Australian cousin. Let them deal with Kylie’s wrath if they break her heart, though.

Diana sways off in the direction of my teammates and I continue on outside.

The cool night air is a welcome relief after the warmth inside the tent.

While the Australians seem to be at home in the heat, I much prefer the cooler weather, and I tug at the collar of my dress shirt to cool myself further.

Peering around, I don’t see any sign of Adele. Wondering if she’s gone back to her room, I round the corner, stopping short when I hear voices from the poolside. I recognize Ben’s voice first and start to back away when I hear the sound of a woman crying.

“I’m so sorry Ben. I just… I can’t do this.” Adele’s words come out as a sob.

Cringing, I know I should back away quietly, but can’t seem to make myself retreat, the distress in her voice causing a tight feeling in my chest.

“What do you mean, you can’t do this?” My friend sounds confused, and I shake my head at his ignorance.

It’s been so obvious to everyone that Adele wasn’t into this whole engagement thing. I don’t know how he’s missed it, but clearly, it’s taken him by surprise.

“I just… I don’t want to move to Vancouver… And… I don’t think marriage and kids and all that is for me…” She chokes on the words, and I have to force myself to stay put, wanting to go and comfort her.

But the sane part of me says I shouldn’t be hearing this breakup conversation. I don’t think either of them would appreciate the audience.

“So, what, you were just going to keep avoiding me until I just gave up and ended it? That’s bullshit, Adele.”

“No, it wasn’t like that. I kept hoping that after I’d finished planning this wedding, I’d be ready…

But… I’m realizing that the wedding had nothing to do with how I was feeling.

” I just barely hear the last sentence as the volume of her voice drops, and I imagine she’s buried her face in her hands at the admission.

“So, you were just stringing me along, knowing full well that you had no intention of going through with our wedding. I gave you so many chances to tell me the truth, but you were too much of a coward to do it. I can’t believe I thought you were capable of a grown-up relationship.

I’ve just wasted the last five years for nothing.

” Ben’s voice is getting louder, and I glance behind me to make sure no one else is witnessing this.

A breakup at a wedding, and a destination one, at that, definitely can’t be a good thing.

Thankfully, it seems to still just be me out here.

“It wasn’t like that. I did love you, Ben.”

I cringe again. That is not the words a guy who is being broken up with wants to hear.

“So now you don’t even love me anymore? Fucking awesome. You know what, Adele? Find somewhere else to sleep tonight.”

The sound of stomping feet heading in my direction causes me to freeze as I realize that I’m standing right in his path when he comes around the corner, eyes blazing. He stops short when he sees me.

“Perfect,” he mutters. “I suppose you heard all of that?”

“Um… I want to say no, but… kind of?” I reply, sliding my hands into my pockets.

I should have stayed inside.

“You know, you two would actually be perfect for each other. You’re both massive commitment-phobes who are never going to settle down.”

I gape at him. “Hold up, buddy, why are you bringing me into this?”

I don’t want to admit that his words sting a little, especially coming from someone I consider to be a friend.

Ben doesn’t bother replying, and I decide to give him a pass, figuring he’s just lashing out because he’s humiliated that I heard what Adele said. He continues stomping past me, and I wait a few beats before going in search of Adele.

I find her leaning against a palm tree, tears streaming down her face as she stares up at the sky. She sighs when she sees me, and I’m not sure if that’s a good or a bad thing .

“Of course you’re the one to find me.”

I shrug. “Sorry. I can go get someone else, if you want?”

She shakes her head. “No. The only person I’d want to talk to right now is Kylie, and there’s no way I’m telling her any of this on her wedding night. So, I guess you’ll just have to do.”

I place a hand over my heart. “Thanks, I’m touched.”

She snorts. “Your ego can take it.”

“True.” I drop the bravado and fix her with a sad smile. “Need a hug?”

“No,” she says, and a sob immediately follows.

Ignoring her words, I move closer and open my arms. She leans her head against my chest, and I hold her close while she breaks down.

“I’m an awful person,” she wails into my shirt.

“No, you’re not. You didn’t actually marry him, so once he’s calmed down, he’ll see that you did the right thing. You shouldn’t marry someone you aren’t madly in love with,” I say, rubbing my hand up and down her back.

“What do you know about it? You’ve never been in love,” she grumbles.

“True. And that’s why I’m never getting married.”

“Great. We can be old spinsters together, then.”

I laugh. “I don’t think we’d survive that. We’d likely kill each other.”

She pulls away, wiping her eyes, which smudges her mascara down her cheeks. Although her crying completely ruined her makeup, she remains strikingly beautiful.

“You’re not that bad. I think I could handle being around you in the old folks’ home.”

I laugh. “Come on. Let’s get you a drink and clean you up.”

She sighs. “Now I have to find somewhere to sleep. I do not want to sleep on the floor in my parents’ room, but I think that’s pretty much my only option.”

And then, ever the fixer, I utter the stupidest thing imaginable.

“You can sleep with me.” Her eyes widen, and I backpedal, realizing too late how that sounded.

“I mean, you can sleep in my bed.” Nope, that didn’t sound any better.

“On the other side of the pillow fort I’m going to build.

I’d take the couch, but there is no way I’m fitting on that thing, and I need my beauty sleep. ”

She snorts again. “Oh Lincoln. You’re good for a laugh, you know that?” She considers me for a moment. “A pillow fort, huh?”

“Yep. Been a long time since I’ve had to use my pillow fort building skills. Need to use them every now and again to keep me on my toes.”

I slide my arm around her shoulders and guide her towards the nearby bathrooms. “Best go in there and sort out the make-up situation before we get drunk together.”

She sniffles as she nods. “Thanks. You’re a good guy, you know that?”

“I’ve been told that. I don’t know why. I’m really such an asshole.” I grin when she rolls her eyes.

“No, you’re not. You’re a golden retriever.”

“You know, you’re the second woman to call me that? I don’t know what that means. I own a golden retriever. I think you and Tara are just confused.” I smirk and give myself a little mental pat on the back when she laughs.

I might be a commitment-phobe who’s never been in love, but at least I know how to make my friends smile when they are hurting. And that’s good enough for me.