Page 35 of Where the Current Takes Him (Mermate #1)

Beau

T he small, teal sapphire shone in the afternoon sunlight. Beau hadn’t been able to take his eyes off his finger since Loriun’s proposal the night before.

I’m going to get married…

It was something Beau thought he’d given up the moment he arrived on the Mermades, not that he’d thought much about marriage before that. It all felt so surreal—a feeling that was only amplified by Loriun’s sudden announcement.

“I think we should get married tomorrow.”

Beau nearly fell into the pool where Loriun was lounging.

“Excuse me?!” he gasped, righting himself. “Tomorrow?”

“I would like your mother to be there,” the Mer said. “I believe it would mean a great deal to her, to see her only child wed.”

Beau fell quiet. Loriun was right, it would mean a lot to Mamá. And if his father was telling the truth about how little time she had remaining…

“And,” Loriun added, “You can consider it my birthday gift.”

Beau snorted. “Your birthday isn’t for another two weeks, and I already got you a present.”

Every fin on the Mer’s body flared out in delight. “You did?”

“Yes, now, back to the whole getting–married–tomorrow thing. How are we going to pull that off?”

Loriun cocked his head. “Pull what off of what?”

“No—” Beau rubbed his temples. “I mean how are we going to do that with so little time?”

“Ah.” Loriun settled lower into the waves. “Your parents’ home has a conservatory, correct?”

“The old greenhouse? Yeah. I think Dad still has gardeners hired to look after it. Why?”

“I could recruit some friends to decorate the space while we announce your pregnancy to your parents. Then, we could ask them to come with us to the greenhouse.” Loriun hummed. “But it would be a very small wedding. Would you prefer to wait and plan a larger wedding?”

Beau shook his head. “A small wedding sounds perfect. Can we ask Jaime and Vuos to come? They’ll be sailing us there anyway.”

A mischievous grin spread across Loriun’s face. “Certainly. In fact, I believe they are just the ones we need to… What was it? Pull this off.”

∞∞∞

When the two men set sail the following morning, Jaime’s cobalt blue boat was stuffed with bags of supplies. Both Beau and the older man were dressed in beige slacks and tailored white shirts.

“I thought I would never be able to get this out of my system!” Jaime called over the motor. “Figured my kids would do things the Mer way, and there’d be no wedding to plan.”

“Sorry for the short notice!” Beau yelled back.

To their right, Loriun broke through the surface of the water, soaring in a delicate arc before diving back into the sea. Vuos followed suit on their left.

“Ahh, look at that.” Jaime put a mocking hand over his heart. “Vuos’s boot camp is finally kicking in.”

“I would hope so. They’ve been out swimming together every other morning.”

Beau’s suit jacket and Loriun’s entire outfit were safely enclosed in a waterproof garment bag, with Vuos’s hanging over the back of Jaime’s seat.

The dark-scaled Mer was, admittedly, bemused by the whole wedding thing, but agreed to his role without complaint.

Beau’s heart felt like it was going to give out.

Not only was he telling his parents he’d gotten pregnant after being explicitly told not to, but he was also telling them that he’d gotten engaged.

Then, on top of that, he was springing a surprise wedding on them.

The only reason he didn’t dive off the side of the boat and swim back to Miami was Loriun’s assurance that he and Vuos would physically drag Ashford Montgomery to the shore and toss him in the water if he caused trouble. That and the baby, he supposed.

The journey to Gainesville was over far too quickly. Beau’s chest thudded with adrenaline as Loriun helped him onto the dock.

“Do you promise everything will be okay?” he whispered, clutching at Loriun’s arm. The Alpha gripped Beau’s chin and tilted his face up for a kiss.

“If it is not okay, I will make it okay. That I can promise.”

Beau took a steadying breath and watched the two Mer shift into their terrestrial form.

It occurred to him that this was his first time seeing Vuos shifted.

He was less human than Loriun, with the black parts of his fins and scales marring faintly green skin.

He looked off-balance without his tail, but dressed in a suit and with black hair flowing down his back, no one could deny he was attractive regardless.

Loriun’s suit was a light teal that matched his scales, though they faded from view in this form. Beau had opted for a darker shade of the same color—one that matched his ring.

Jaime and Vuos would carry the jackets to the conservatory, so as not to arouse too much suspicion from Beau’s parents.

As the older couple crept off to the conservatory entrance, Beau and Loriun were shown into the foyer by a bored security guard.

It took several minutes for them to wind through the maze of hallways.

Beau paused just outside his mother’s room. Loriun slipped an arm over his shoulders.

“It will be okay,” Loriun murmured.

Beau felt his fiance’s lips brush his hair. His heart pulsed in his ears as he tried to stomp the tidal wave of panic back down.

“My dad is going to be pissed,” Beau whispered, looking up at Loriun’s worry-lined face.

“And if he is?” Loriun’s lip curled. “What exactly is he going to do about it? Especially with your mother in the room.”

Beau nodded. His Alpha was right, of course. But a lifetime of fear and mind games did a number on a person’s psyche.

Loriun remained at his side, not speaking, but holding Beau tight to his body. The pressure soothed the sharpest edges of Beau’s nerves. After a few more breaths, Beau steeled himself.

“I’m ready.”

Together, they pushed the double doors open.

“Mijo!” his mother called. She spread her arms wide, and Beau half ran into her embrace.

Through the antiseptic, he could still catch the faintest hint of his mother’s scent—something that brought him back to the few good parts of his childhood.

“Hi, Mamá . Te extrané… ”

His mother’s thin arms squeezed him harder. “I missed you too, mijo .”

“It is lovely to see you, Ileana,” Loriun said from behind Beau.

“Loriun, come here this instant.” One arm released Beau and reached out to crush the Mer into an equally firm hug.

All three of them jumped at the sound of the door banging shut.

“Apologies, apologies,” Ashford said, flashing a flat-eyed smile. “Wind caught the door. I’ve just had the maids open all the windows for some fresh air, corazón . The cool breeze will work wonders, I’m sure of it.”

Beau’s father stretched a hand out to Loriun. “Great to see you, Loriun.” It appeared he was attempting to wring Loriun’s fingers, but the Mer clearly could not feel it.

“Likewise, Ashford,” Loriun responded. The warm smile that he’d worn for Ileana was long gone.

His father’s dark eyes turned to him. “Beaumont.”

Beau scrubbed his sweaty palm on his pants before returning the handshake.

“So,” Ashford said, once everyone was settled into their respective chairs. “To what do we owe the visit?”

“Does our son need a reason to spend time with his family?” Ileana smiled over at him. Beau was relieved she didn’t look much worse than the last time he’d seen her.

“Of course, we have come to see the charming Ileana,” Loriun said, shooting her a wink. “And we have also come bearing gifts.”

Beau’s arms felt like overcooked noodles as he held out two envelopes—one to his mother, and one to his father.

“What’s this?” Ileana beamed as she accepted the card with wavering hands. Her husband, in contrast, took it as though Beau had passed him a ransom note.

Beau stopped breathing entirely as his mother opened her card. Little paper flowers popped into the air.

“Oh!” Ileana put a hand to her heart and laughed. “How cute!” But as she read, the smile slipped from her lips. Ashford’s mouth was so tight it appeared white.

“Surprise,” Beau said weakly.

Ileana’s gaze shot up to meet her son’s. “Beau? Are you really…?”

Beau felt his mate’s arm slide around his lower back. “Yeah. I am.”

Ileana’s jaw hung slack for a few seconds before she tossed the card into the air and squealed with joy. “ Dios mío , come here and let me hug you!”

Tears of pure relief sprang to Beau’s eyes as he collapsed on top of his mother. He didn’t even care what his father had to say. His mother was happy .

“ Amor, can you believe it?” she half-sobbed over Beau’s shoulder. “We’re going to be grandparents!”

“It’s wonderful news, my love,” Ashford said. Out of the corner of his eye, Beau could see his father’s eyes boring a hole into Loriun.

“Here, Ileana,” Loriun said. He leaned over and stole something from Ashford’s hands, completely ignoring the cold fury radiating from the older man. “We had to put the ultrasound photo in Ashford’s card because of your flowers.”

Ileana freed Beau from her stranglehold and snatched up the ultrasound. “Oh my.” Her eyes shone with tears. “I can see the little head!”

Ashford was silent, his eyes on what had been concealed under his card. Loriun had insisted on writing a message that he refused to let Beau see. Whatever it was, at least he was staying quiet.

“How far along are you, mijo ?” Ileana asked, clasping her son’s hand..

“About eight weeks. It was… not planned.” Beau’s face went hot. He hadn’t considered the fact that his pregnancy told everyone exactly how quickly he’d leaped into bed with Loriun.

“And we have one last surprise, Ileana,” Loriun said, rising to his feet. “Ashford, would you mind helping your wife into her wheelchair? We have to go outside for this.”

“My wife is unwell,” Ashfor said through gritted teeth. “Surely you can—”

“We’re staying at the house, Dad,” Beau interrupted. “It’s just waiting in the old greenhouse.”

“It is called a conservatory, Beaumont,” his father retorted, as if unable to help himself.

Beau’s mother gasped. “Don’t tell me you brought flowers too!”

He smiled at her. “Something like that.”