One Timer(An Nashville Assassins Novel)(18)

“But—”

“Please, Harper. Let me cry this out, and then we can eat and talk shit. I just need to process what happened.”

And then the line goes dead. I drop my phone into my lap and look at Jakob, whose brow is furrowed. “What happened?”

“Elli found Shea kissing her sister.”

He makes a face, reaching for his phone. “No fucking way. Shea hates Victoria for how mean she is to Elli.”

“That’s what I thought,” I say as he taps his phone.

He holds it to his ear and then makes a face. “Dude, what the fuck? No shit. Did you tell her that? No, she won’t talk to Harper either. Go over there. Oh. Well, fuck.” He looks over at me. “He’s saying Victoria kissed him and he tried to get her off him, but she wouldn’t move. He tried to tell Elli this, but she won’t listen.” Sounds about right. I really didn’t think Shea would do that. I’ve seen the way he is with Elli; he loves her with everything inside him. “He said Victoria and Olivia talked him into going ring shopping together, and then Victoria kissed him after saying they should be together. When he pushed her away, Elli was there. He sounds fucked up. I believe him.”

“I do too,” I say, but I know Elli won’t hear that right now. “Elli needs time. Victoria is awful to her, mentally abuses her to the point where Elli doesn’t think she is good enough. She needs time to process, and hopefully she’ll get her head out of her ass and realize the truth. Tell him to keep calling.”

He tells his best friend that, and I watch as they talk. My heart aches for my best friend, and I don’t know how something this awful can happen. I want to physically beat the shit out of Victoria. Lord knows she needs a good ass-whooping. The baby in my belly is keeping me from doing that. I need Elli to do it, to stand up for herself, but from the way she sounded, that’s going to take a while. Man, I’ve always hated that sister of hers. She has always been awful to Elli, calling her fat, making fun of her, because she is jealous. Elli is the most amazing woman I have ever met, and hell, sometimes I’m even jealous of how put together she is.

When Jakob hangs up his phone, we share a look. “Well, that sucks.”

I nod. “Yeah,” I say as tears fill my eyes. “I can’t ask Elli to stand beside me as I get married with all this going on.”

Jakob holds my gaze. “Then we should wait.” I fully expected him to say let’s do this without them, but I must have forgotten Jakob is not like other men. “We can get married whenever. Because no matter what, you’re my sunshine, my better half, and it’s gonna happen.”

I lean over as my tears start to fall. He wraps his arms around me, holding me close as his lips get lost in my hair. “We won’t break up, will we?”

“Never,” he promises. “You make life too easy for me to ever let you go. I hope I do the same.”

“You do.” I rub my hand along my face, catching my tears. “I can’t believe this. They’re supposed to get married and have babies.”

“They will,” he says, kissing my head. “This is just a roadblock they’ll get through. I truly believe in them.”

“I hope you’re right,” I say, my heart aching. I want to go to Elli’s so bad, but I have to respect her wishes.

“I am,” he whispers, kissing me once more. “And I think you should go to Elli’s. I think she needs you.”

I cuddle into him, squeezing him tight. “I think so too.” I kiss his jaw, and he kisses my nose. “I love you.”

“I love you.”

And as I head out, I know I have it all.

The man, the home, and soon, the baby.

I just want the same for Elli and Shea.





No, We’re Going to Live Happily Ever After





Jakob


“I got into it really bad with Elli.”

Harper’s voice is clouded with emotion, and I hate it. I don’t want her stressed, but she worries about Elli like she’s her own. It’s been two months since Shea and Elli broke up, and these last two months have been absolute hell. Elli is dead set that Shea cheated, while Shea is screaming his innocence. He has tried over and over again to get her to talk to him, but it hasn’t worked. I thought Harper was reluctant, but she was easy peasy compared to Elli. The thing is, we believe him, and we hate that Elli is choosing to be unhappy rather than give him a chance to explain.

Harper having it out with Elli isn’t a surprise. She’s fed up. We all are. Shea and Elli are both hurting, and instead of fixing it, they’re dying inside. It’s more Elli than Shea, but it isn’t like Shea is making good choices. Instead of fighting, he’s drinking. Something that I don’t tolerate. Since we both consider the two of them family, we’re hurting too. We want to get married, but we refuse to do it without our best friends.

“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.”