One Timer: An Nashville Assassins Novel Read online

  “Why didn’t she call Shea?”

  “She doesn’t want him seeing her like this.”

  He scoffs. “Does she not know that’s gonna piss him off?”

  “Who knows. She’s so worried he’s gonna dump her. Everything about her is wonderful. It’s her insecurities that will ruin everything.”

  “True that,” he says softly. “Plus, doesn’t she know it’s all the little things, the things you don’t even suspect are special, that make you special?”

  I grin. “You think that about me?”

  “Yeah, I do,” he says softly. “I didn’t know I would love your bad breath in the morning or miss it.”

  I laugh from my belly. “That’s your bad breath!”

  His eyes are dark as he holds my gaze, ignoring my laughter. “No, kiska, that’s you. I thought mine was bad, but then I woke up beside you.”

  I almost fall over myself laughing. “Shut up. You’re so mean!” He just laughs as I open my car door. “You sure Shea will care for her?”

  “Harp, he loves her. A lot. He’ll take damn good care of her.”

  I nod as I get into my car. “I’m so mad at her. She looked like utter shit, and the whole time, all I could think was if you did this to me, hid it from me, I’d kick your ass.”

  He laughs. “Bring it,” he teases, and I grin. “But I wouldn’t do that, and you better not do it to me.”

  “Never.”

  “Good. Plus, let’s be honest. Look at us. You’re my own private nurse, basically. Bandages, braces, and blow jobs. It’s really great.”

  I snort. “You’re impossible,” I say as I look back at Elli’s house. A part of me wants to go back in there and care for her myself, but I feel strongly that Shea should do it. If I’m gonna trust him to love and care for Elli for the rest of her life, he has to see this. She would hide it until the day she dies if she could. It makes me sad. She’s so wonderful, so perfect. I hate that she doesn’t think so. If I could take out her ex, I would. Get a professional hit man. I’d do it.

  “You on your way here?”

  “Yeah,” I say as I turn off her road. “I’ll be about an hour, depending on traffic.”

  “Sounds good. See you in a bit.”

  “Love you.”

  “Love you more, kiska.”

  As we hang up and I move my phone from the holder on the dash into the seat beside me, I know he means it.

  I just hope Shea means it about Elli.

  I learned a couple weeks later that he did, in fact, love her like I assumed.

  I suspect, more than he loves himself.

  Not only did Shea step in and take care of Elli, she said she fell even more hopelessly in love with him. He came in and did exactly what I hoped he would. He was her partner. He cared for her, cleaned up, and made her feel better. Apparently hockey isn’t the only talent he has. Shea Adler can sing—and pretty damn well from what I’m told. I was shocked, but as I stand here in the middle of the Belmont Mansion and watch as he skillfully moves across the dance floor with my best friend, I realize Shea is a man of many talents.

  One being making my best friend deliriously happy.

  When he came to me with the idea for Elli’s birthday, a Pride and Prejudice-themed bash, complete with period costumes, a violin quartet, and all her favorite foods, I knew he was the one. I don’t care if Elli doesn’t even know—I do. They will get married, they will have tons of babies, and they will be so happy, it will disgust me. Even with me having my own Darcy, I have to give props where props are due. And they’re due to the guy standing in the middle of the floor, in full costume with a pair of Chucks on, whom Elli can’t stop beaming at.

  It’s quite the show.

  Jakob wraps his arms around my waist before his lips come to my jaw. He dressed up, but he wouldn’t put on the period socks. With his brace, it would be hard anyway. I offered to try, though. But he doesn’t need them. He looks stunning in his red velvet costume with a frilly little tie. He left his hair wild, unkempt, and I’m really digging it. He somehow got them to allow him to wear his Converse. Really, I don’t care. I’m just glad he’s up, out of the house, and with me. He kisses my jaw once more, and I lean into him as I smile. “She looks so beautiful.”

  He hugs me, watching our best friends. “I think they look really happy.”

  I turn my face so my mouth touches the side of his. “We are too.”

  Jakob chuckles, nodding. “We were happy before them,” he says with a kiss. “When you finally gave in to me.”

  I lean my nose into his cheek. I don’t know if it’s the place, the ambiance, or what, but I’m feeling such strong emotions. Overpoweringly in love. “I’m sorry I made you work so hard for me.”

  He kisses my cheek. “Best thing I ever worked for.”

  I grin. “Even better than the NHL?”

  “Way better. This is life, kiska. Life.”

  Man, he makes it really hard to breathe. “I love you, Jakob.”

  “I love you, my love,” he says with a wink, and when he brings me in closer, I lean into him. I rise up on my toes, ready to kiss him, but he doesn’t meet me. “So, I went to your car to get my night meds I had asked you to bring me, and I saw the bag on the passenger seat. Actually, it was the Skittles I saw. And you know…Skittles.”

  In that instant, everything stops. I know why I’ve been feeling a certain way all day. Actually, it’s been more than a few days, but I sure as hell wasn’t ready to face it. Or discuss it with Jakob yet.

  “I saw the test.”

  I swallow hard, leaning into him to hide my face. “Yeah.”

  “You think so?”

  I press my lips together as I snuggle my nose into his neck. “I’m eight days late.”

  “That’s over a week,” he says slowly, and I feel his heart rate pick up in speed. “So, more than likely, you are?”

  I swallow hard. “I don’t know,” I say breathlessly. I refuse to cry. Why cry? We’re the ones who were banging without condoms. We’re the ones who weren’t careful and never even seemed to think of the repercussions. Nope, we were just having sex with no cares whatsoever. Well, we had cares—getting off—but no concerns about what could happen.

  I feel his hand in mine before I realize he is pulling me out of the room. There are people everywhere—Elli has the biggest family imaginable, and even my family is here. He somehow dodges everyone, and when we start up the stairs, I find myself asking a question I already know the answer to. “Where are we going?”

  “To the bathroom,” he says, and then he pulls the test out of his pocket. “It’s test time.”

  My stomach drops. “Now?”

  “Now. Right now.”

  And for the first time, I can’t read him. Is he happy? Scared? Mad? I don’t know. I do know that I’m a lot terrified and unsure what is about to happen. We go into a room, opening the door with a keycard he apparently had. “I got this for us.”

  I would usually be all excited and thinking how sweet he is, but that test in his hand is taunting me. He locks the door behind us, and I take the test from him. “I’ll be back—”

  “Ha. Nope. We’re doing this together.”

  He takes the test and starts to open it as I walk into the bathroom. I pull up the skirt of my costume as he hands me the stick for me to pee on. I sit on the toilet and look up at him as I pee. “Wow, a glimpse into our future.”

  He laughs. “It’ll be the best part of my day. Watching you pee.”

  “Well, if it is positive, we’ll be teaching someone else to pee in a toilet.”

  “Again,” he says, stealing my attention, “it’ll be the best part of my day.”

  A warm feeling burns throughout me as I put the stick on the sink and wipe. When I stand, he comes over to me, wrapping his arms around my waist and putting his head on my shoulder as I wash my hands. I’m pretty sure the test showed positive before I even set the stick down. I just tried to ignore it. I feel his intake of breath when he realize