The Chase is Over (Nashville Assassins Next Generation 5)

I sigh happily around my wine as I replay my afternoon with Aiden. “He had all my favorite cheeses, even that one from France that we had when we went on vacation last summer. Awesome meats and all the fixins’. It was amazing.”

Posey grins over at me in the “Knocked Up” sash her husband forced her to wear. My sister is more beautiful than I could ever imagine now that she is pregnant. Her skin is glowing. She says it’s from puking all the time, but I think it’s the pregnancy. She’s showing a little bit, just enough that she had to use a rubber band to hold her jeans shut. She’s wearing one of the shirts Aunt Harper made for us. Since Nashville is the bachelorette party capital of the world, I figured I’d join the masses with my own shirt that has the date of our wedding and a huge picture of Aiden and me on the front.

Easy to say, Posey absolutely hates it.

Her dark hair is up in a ponytail, making her look every bit like the tomboy she is but also isn’t. ’Her style is very much comfortable, but when my sister wants to pull out all the stops, boy does she. My cousin sits beside her, beaming with excitement for me. We spent countless nights planning my wedding to Aiden when I was eleven, so this is a dream come true for both of us. When Chandler got wind of the “Knocked Up” sash, he made sure Amelia had one too. Now, my very favorite women sit across from me, knocked up and married. This is not how I thought this would be all those years ago. I always saw myself getting married first, and they would get shit-faced with me and flirt with everyone. That won’t happen now. They don’t need to flirt; they have the perfect husbands at home. Amelia is further along in her pregnancy than Posey and is showing quite a bit. I don’t like Amelia pregnant, though. She’s hungry all the time, and if she’s inconvenienced, she complains like no other. She’s been on her best behavior, but I’m pretty sure that’s because Posey has endless snacks in her purse.

“Did you love the flowers?” Emery, Aiden’s baby sister, asks with a deadpan expression. I’m not frightened of many females, but Emery scares the living hell out of me. I don’t know who she’ll trick into marrying her, but I’m praying for them now. She’s so intense—and so opinionated—but man is she stunning. She’s really grown into her face in the last couple years. She always had a round face, but now it’s much more angular like the rest of her family. Her dark hair falls bone-straight along her shoulders, while her gray eyes pierce mine. “I spent hours on those flowers.”

“I loved them,” I gush, reaching over to pat her hand. “Thank you.”

“I’m glad you loved the charcuterie, too. Mom and I put that together for you,” Stella, Aiden’s other baby sister, adds. “I figured you’d flip for the French cheese when Aiden asked.”

I wiggle with excitement. “It was my favorite part—no, I take that back. My favorite part was just lying in the water, holding hands as we relaxed and enjoyed the silence. It was beautiful. Things have been so crazy lately.”

“Because, for some reason, you thought it would be a great idea to put on a circus, buy a house, and start a social media campaign while our boys did a Cup run,” Posey reminds me with a smirk. “One thing at a time, geez.”

I scoff. “Says the person who not only got knocked up during our run but also married?”

“Hey, that was an easy wedding,” she says, smacking her hands together. “Quick and easy…unlike your circus.”

I glare. “Stop calling it a circus.”

“Shelli, you have flamethrowers,” Amelia says with a chuckle.

“As entertainment for the cocktail hour!”

“A band would have been fine,” she insists, but I shake my head.

“You sound like your mom. Stop. I’ve always wanted a big wedding. You both know this. While a beach wedding was gorgeous and a field wedding was sweet, I want something over the top. It matches me—and Aiden. He’s a showboater, and so am I, I guess.”

“Basically, y’all are extra AF,” Emery jokes, and we all laugh as she smiles.

“Yes. Yes, they are,” Stella says with a grin. “But we wouldn’t change y’all for anything.”

Posey holds up her finger. “I’d get Aiden a haircut.”

Emery high-fives my sister. “Yes, girl. Yes.”

We all explode with laughter as I lean back in my chair, watching the women in my life. I love these girls. I’ve grown up with them, and I couldn’t imagine my life any differently.

When the side door to the special dining room at Brooks House opens, I squeal when my cousin walks through.