One Timer: An Nashville Assassins Novel Read online

  “What did she say?”

  “I begged her to go to that event with us since Shea is going, but she won’t. I told her she better get it together or we can’t be friends.”

  “Harper, that’s rough,” I scold, but she doesn’t care.

  “She is choosing this. She still very much loves him. I’m hollering at her that we’re engaged and I’m pregnant, and she wasn’t even happy for me. I know she is hurting and she misses him, but again, she is choosing this misery and, in the process, being selfish.”

  “But in her defense, you didn’t tell her right away—”

  “Hush, you. She’s being dumb. She needs a wake-up call.” I don’t know that I agree with the way Harper handled our news, but I know she won’t cut Elli off. She loves her too much. I understand that Elli hasn’t been there for Harper these last couple months, but she is hurting. Yes, she can fix it, but I don’t think she sees it that way. “Did you talk to Shea?”

  “I’m outside his place now.”

  “Don’t let him say no.”

  “He’ll go. I’m just checking on him at this point.”

  “Okay, call me back.”

  “Will do. Love you.”

  “Love you,” she says, and I hang up.

  I tuck my phone into my pocket and get out of the truck. When I look up at the house that Shea had bought for him and Elli, my stomach sinks. I tell Harper all the time that Shea and Elli will work it out, but if I’m honest, I’m not sure I believe it. There is some serious damage, and I worry that these two months have done nothing but put one hell of a wedge between them. After I walk up his drive, I don’t knock before I enter. The house is empty. He didn’t bring any furniture because he wants Elli to decorate.

  Pathetic, I know, but I would be the same way.

  “Shea?” I call out, and he comes stumbling out of the kitchen.

  “Jakob? Knock much?”

  I roll my eyes before looking at my watch. “It’s not even noon.”

  He shrugs, visibly drunk. “It’s five o’clock somewhere.” He lowers himself into the beanbag he has, and everything inside me turns to anger.

  “This is fucking ridiculous, Shea!” I yell, and he looks up at me.

  “You can’t talk to me about this. You’re happy. You don’t know what I am feeling.”

  I glare. “I do because I’m your best friend, you idiot,” I say, reaching for the cup he is drinking from and throwing it in the trash. “You aren’t helping the situation, and you’ve given up.”

  He shrugs, leaning his head back. “Who cares? She won’t take me back.”

  “Because you gave up!” I yell, crouching down so I’m at his level. “I never gave up with Harper. I fought for her, I wanted her, and look at us. We’re happy.”

  “Yeah, but you don’t have her sisters trying to break you guys up. The world is against us.”

  “Then go against the world!” I demand, glaring at him. “This isn’t you.”

  He shrugs, and I can see the defeat in his whole body. “Jakob, I don’t know how to get her back.”

  “Fight for her. Make her realize that you are it.”

  “How?”

  “Make her see that you still love her. Don’t stop until you get her.”

  He shakes his head. “It won’t work.”

  “Not when you have that way of thinking.” It kills me to see him like this. He’s been sucking on the ice. And off the ice, he’s a mess. “The first thing to do is stop drinking. It isn’t going to help you.”

  “It numbs everything.”

  I ignore that. “And stop with the females. They won’t replace her.”

  “I haven’t even slept with anyone.”

  “You’re trying to. To stop hurting.” I hate this. “I believe in you two. You need to believe, too.”

  Tears cloud his blue eyes. “I do, but I don’t think she does.”

  “Then show her what to believe in.”

  He sits there for a second and then nods. “Okay.”

  “Okay,” I say slowly. “Now, get a shower and get ready for tonight.”

  He runs his hands down his face. “Yeah, I’ll be there. You and Harper going to be there?”

  “Yeah,” I say, standing up. “I asked her to marry me.”

  He looks up at me. “Yeah?”

  “Yeah, and she said yes.”

  “That’s wonderful, man,” he says, but like Harper suspected, he doesn’t care any more than Elli because of their own pain.

  “She’s pregnant, too.”

  His shoulders fall. “Well, don’t you have it all.”

  “I do,” I say, setting him with a look. “And you could too. You just can’t give up.”

  Because if he does, he’ll lose everything.

  When you have it all, you want the same for the people you love.

  I hold Harper’s hand as we wait for the ultrasound technician.

  “I still can’t believe he showed up with someone.”

  I cringe, unable to look Harper in the eye. That’s my fault. I should have told Shea we were trying to get Elli to come to the benefit; I just never thought he’d show up with a date. I swallow hard as I nod. “I can’t believe it either.”

  “Elli is heartbroken.”

  The guilt is eating me alive. Why didn’t I tell him? “I can imagine.”

  “She’s going by Grace’s today. She’s giving Ryan all of Shea’s memorabilia. I think she might be done. I tried to talk her out of it, but it didn’t work.”

  Fantastic. “I’m hoping Shea can figure something out.”

  “Me too,” she says softly, and then the technician comes in.

  “Mrs. and Mr. Titov?” We both nod, and I grin over at her. We aren’t married yet, but Harper doesn’t correct anyone. I don’t either. “Great, let’s see what we’ve got in here. We’re finding out the sex, right?”

  “Yes, we need to know so we can paint,” Harper gushes, and I kiss the back of her hand, leaning on her hip bone. As much as I’m worried about Shea and Elli, watching my woman grow my child takes precedence over everything else. The Assassins are making one hell of a run to the play-offs, and I should be stoked, proud of us, but seeing this child grow is what fills me with the most pride. Harper glances at me, and when she cups my face, I beam over at her. This woman completes me.

  We both watch as the tech puts some goop on Harper’s belly before moving the probe along it. When my child comes on the screen, everything inside me freezes. My jaw drops, and my heart damn near explodes in my chest. “That’s it?”

  The tech grins and then points at the screen. “That’s her. Y’all’s daughter.”

  Within seconds, an unbelievably protective feeling comes over me. Harper whips her gaze to mine, and our eyes lock in a loving and overpowering way. Tears gather in her eyes, and when they start to fall, I realize that I’m about to love two perfect females for the rest of my life. Really, no one can be that lucky, can they?

  But then I look back at the screen, see my future, and I know it’s true.

  Would He Be There for You?

  Harper

  I will never get over how gorgeous my daughter is. I might be biased, but I happen to think she is the most amazing and perfect human on this planet. I will also never forget the day I found out we were having a girl. I remember lying there, seeing my whole world come together as Jakob looked at me like I had given him the best gift ever. What he didn’t know was he had given me the same.

  His love.

  His forever.

  Two kids later, our life is pretty great.

  Has it been easy? Hell no. But we fought for each other. For our family. And I wouldn’t trade our hard days for anything. They shaped us into two great people who are raising two fantastic kids. This is one of those bad days, but I truly believe Ally will do what is right. And if she doesn’t, I’m blaming it all on Jakob.

  He has spoiled us all.

  “But Uncle Shea and Aunt Elli are together.” Ally looks confused