Bring It Home (Nashville Assassins Next Generation 3)

I look over to see him bringing in his brows. “We’re not better than you,” he insists. “If anything, some could say you’re better than us. I earned my money from hockey, but Elli comes from money, Posey comes from money, and well, you don’t. But look at you now. You are self-made. We all work hard, but in the end, we have something to fall back on. You’ve worked your ass off for everything you have, Boon, and I respect that. You should be proud of that. I know your story. I know how you clawed your way into the NHL. No one is better than anyone else. We are equals.”

My heart stops in my chest. “Thank you.”

“Absolutely. I’m sorry your mom feels that way, and if we’ve made you feel—”

“Never. I’ve always felt wanted and worthy of being with Posey.”

“Because you are.” His eyes burn into mine. “So, what did you say?”

I shrug. “Well, I’m marrying Posey on Monday.”

He nods. “How did she handle that?”

“Not good. I don’t think she’s coming to our wedding, and I’m honestly okay with it.”

“Are you?”

“I am,” I say, meeting his gaze once more and leaning back in the cart. I put my feet up on the side, resting my arm against my knee. “I keep playing it over and over in my head. If living without my mom is for the best. And every time, it is, because nothing will ruin what I have with Posey. I love her. She is my future, and I know that.”

“I hear you.”

“And I’m not saying this because you’re her dad, but she’s it for me. I can’t ignore that. The way she makes me feel, how she makes me laugh, how much she trusts and cares for me, I can’t let that go. Every time she walks into a room, I feel like I’ve won the Cup. Over and over again, that fluttery feeling hits me, and it’s all her. She’s just everything for me.”

Shea reaches out and squeezes my shoulder. “I’m really sorry I hit you back in the hospital.”

I laugh, and he smiles. “Emotions were high.”

“And I was an overprotective dick.”

“That too,” I say with a wink, and he laughs harder. As our laughter subsides, we sit quietly watching as the players go by.

When it’s almost time for us to get a club and for me to try this golf shit again, Shea says, “Can I give you some advice?”

I nod. “Sure.”

“I am very lucky to have a family who loves me and supports me. I swear, I shit glitter to my family, but Elli isn’t that lucky. Her family has been awful to her for as long as I’ve known them. In no way, shape, or form am I suggesting you cut your mom out, but Elli did when her family fucked with her happiness, and I swear, the woman I love now is not the woman I loved then. She is way better off. I don’t know you two’s relationship, but I don’t understand how your mom can watch you and Posey together and not accept how great you two are.”

I swallow as I nod in agreement. “That’s what I said.”

He squeezes my shoulder once more. “Well, no matter what, you’ve got us, and we’re a hoot.”

I snort as we get out. “I feel ‘hoot’ is putting it mildly.”

Shea grins. “We sure as hell aren’t boring.”

“That’s the damn truth.”

And I wouldn’t want my future family any other way.

One thing is for sure—there will be nonstop laughs and endless love.

Something I never experienced before I met Posey.

Chapter Six

Posey

“Even being nine weeks, you’re still smaller than I was when I got married.”

I give my mom a sweet smile as she and my aunts, Harper and Grace, help me into my mom’s wedding dress. Of course, when they get to my hips, my mom has to rub my belly. It’s her new thing. She’s known about the baby for less than twenty-four hours, and I’m pretty sure she’s rubbed my belly about a thousand times. I love how excited she is, and in return, it excites me.

“Are you sick?” Harper asks, and I shake my head.

“Not now. I was at the beginning of the month, but it was just nausea, not vomiting.”

“That’s good,” Grace says as they help me put my arms in. “I was god-awful sick with Ryan and not the least bit with Amelia.”

“The boys, I was good, but the girls drained me, and I was puking at every turn,” my mom says as she turns me so they can zip me up. It’s a little big in the front, but I’m not wearing a good bra. No bra, that is.

“With Ally, I was sick as a dog, and I don’t think Sadie, our surrogate, was sick with Journey, but I wasn’t sick with Jamie.”