by Toni Aleo
“You asked Ryan?” I ask around the sob in my throat.
“I did because I couldn’t ask your dad.”
And I’m crying. I cover my mouth as the sob bubbles in my throat. “Oh, Chandler.”
He takes my hand, kissing my palm and then my finger where he wants to put the ring. “Will you marry me, Amelia Grace Justice?”
“I love you with my whole heart.”
He grins. “I love you more.”
I wipe away my tear, and then I nod. “Yes.”
The room erupts as he slides the ring down my finger, and then he stands, wrapping his arms around my hips to lift me. Our lips meet, and everything else just fades away. I hold his face as we kiss, my heart pounding against his.
When I pull back, his eyes are watery as he grins at me. “Soon they’ll be announcing Mr. and Mrs. Chandler Eugene Moon.”
When I cringe, he laughs. “Can we drop the Eugene?”
“Totally.”
Epilogue
Amelia
I stand by the window with Sadie doing the same while we wait for Chandler to get home. He’s been gone for six days on a great four-game winning streak. I tap my foot as I spin my amazing engagement ring around my finger.
I’m freaking the fuck out.
I bite the inside of my cheek as I wait. I lift my phone, calling Chandler. “Where are you?” I ask when he answers.
He laughs. “About ten minutes away.”
Ugh. I hang up and continue to tap my foot. Sadie whines, and I nod. “I hear you, girl. I’m ready for him to come home too.”
It’s been a month since Ryan and Sofia’s wedding. A week after we came back to South Carolina, I moved in. My grandma was a little upset with me, but now that she has renters, I don’t think she cares. I sure don’t. I absolutely love living with Chandler. While he can’t cook or clean, and it still freaks me out when his mom comes to help out, I love living with him. I fall for him more and more each day. It’s just so easy. He makes it so easy.
We’ve fallen into a wonderful rhythm. I go to the gym Monday through Saturday to coach, and when there is downtime, I’m with him. He has a lot of away games this month, but that doesn’t mean he won’t sit on FaceTime when he’s free and watch me coach. The girls at the gym call him Moony. It’s sweet and gives me butterflies. When he is in town and I’m at the gym, he’ll come and hang. Everyone loves him, and it’s so nice.
I’ve somehow found myself at every home game for the IceCats. I have a seat that is all mine and a jersey that I must wear with my man’s number twenty-three on the back. I absolutely love hockey again. I have so much fun, and last week, the Assassins came into town to play the IceCats. So Sofia flew out and met Ryan here. We had a blast. We hung out on the beach, we played cards, and it was perfect. Apparently, my mom is pressuring them to have kids, but Sofia isn’t ready. Ryan is, but he’s always been really good about going at Sofia’s pace. Meanwhile, Mom is pressuring Chandler and me to have a wedding, but we’re just fine the way we are. We’re happy.
With my aunt and uncle, everything is going the way I always wanted it to. I talk to them again just as much as I talk to my mom. Chandler and I are supposed to go home in May for Posey’s graduation, and I can’t wait. I miss my family. It’s funny how everything has completely changed. Or is changing. For the best, I hope. I feel like my life is on fast-forward. Or maybe I’m just really freaking out.
When my phone rings, I jump at Shelli’s ringtone. Her voice fills the line as soon as I answer, “You’ll never guess where I am going!”
I really don’t have time for this. I need to see Chandler. “I can’t even guess.”
“Oh, I know, and I’m going to tell you.”
“Now?”
“Now!” she gushes. “I am going to a party at Aiden Brooks’s penthouse!”
“Now?”
“Now!” she squeals, and my face breaks into a grin.
“We sound like idiots,” I observe, but she’s too busy squealing.
“I don’t care! Oh my God, what if he falls for me?”
“I think he has to talk to you first.”
“What if we kiss?”
“Remember to talk to him first.”
“Ugh. You’re ruining this for me.”
When the line goes dead, I shrug. I’ll call her tomorrow and make sure she made good life choices. Knowing her, though, she probably won’t. She’ll probably throw up on him when she tries to talk to him. I kind of wish I could be there. But then I remember that I am freaking out.
“Damn it, where is your dad?” I yell, and Sadie barks happily.
I swear I’m going to bite a hole in my lip if I have to wait any longer. When Nico pulls up, I cry out in relief. Chandler gets out of the car, and I open the door for him. When he sees me, he’s grinning. This is probably my favorite part of loving him, the way he looks at me after a long road trip. Or hell, anytime. When he looks at me, I know he wants me, he loves me, and it feels so unbelievable.
“I love when you can’t wait to get me naked,” he says as he climbs the stairs.
I can’t speak. He comes through the door before kicking it shut with his foot. He then lifts me up, and I wrap my legs around his waist as he holds my ass in his hands. “Hey.”
“Hey,” I whisper before our lips touch. He draws out the kiss before he pulls back, kissing my bottom lip.
“You look really good,” he says roughly as he rubs my ass. His brow perks, and my heart stops. “What’s that?”
“What?” I ask, even though I know what he is asking about.
He taps my back pocket. “That.”
“The pregnancy test I just took.”
He goes still as his eyes search mine. “Seriously?”
“Seriously.”
Time stops. I swear. We just stare into each other’s eyes as he holds me. His breathing has picked up, and my heart is already well past out of control. He reaches into my back pocket and pulls out the test before lowering me to my feet. He looks at it, and I know he sees the plus sign. “It’s positive.”
“I know,” I say. Everything shifts into in overdrive. I don’t know what he is thinking or what he wants to do. I start to panic. “I don’t know what happened, and I know this isn’t planned. We only got engaged a month ago. I guess I must have fucked up on my birth—”
His lips stop my words. He brings his hands up, framing my face as he kisses me, his tongue searching my mouth. When he pulls back, his eyes are watery as he drops to his knees, taking my hips in his hands.
He looks up at me, and I smile as I cup his face. “Really?”
I’m breathless. “Really.”
He lifts my shirt and places a kiss to my stomach. “I am going to love you so damn much,” I hear him whisper, and my heart explodes in my chest, which is nothing new with him. He makes that happen on the daily.
I bite my lip as he looks up at me again. “I could lose it.”
He shakes his head. “No, don’t think that way.”
“I don’t want you to—”
“We’re good. We’re great, Amelia.”
“Are you sure?”
“More than sure,” he says, coming to his feet and wrapping his arms around my waist. “I want this. I want you. Us. A baby.”
“Really? This is so unexpected—”
“Amelia, I want this. I do. I really do.”
“I’m gonna be huge at our wedding.”
He grins, his eyes still swimming in tears. “Baby, you’ll be the most gorgeous bride ever.”
My heart skips a beat. “Oh, Chandler, you wreck me.”
He chuckles. “Right back at you,” he says before pressing his nose to mine. “We are going to have it all.”
As I gaze into his eyes, I know he’s right. I feel like I have it all now. Only Chandler could do that. He is the one person I know who will never let me go. And I’ll never let him go. He was my juicy rebound, then my option two, and now, he’s my future.
“Thank yo
u,” I whisper, my lips moving against his. “For completing me.”
A single tear rolls down Chandler’s face as he gathers me tighter in his arms. “Anytime.”
THE END
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Dump and Chase
Nashville Assassins: The Next Generation
Sneak Peek
Coming this Spring…
Dump and Chase
Nashville Assassins: The Next Generation
“You’re really fucking beautiful.”
I think I just died. Aiden Brooks just called me, Shelli Adler, really fucking beautiful. And not just beautiful. Fucking beautiful.
I mean, I am pretty hot.
But knowing that about myself doesn’t stop my face from warming with color and my lips from curving into the brightest smile. Because it’s him. The guy I’ve crushed on for years. He thinks I’m beautiful when I never thought he saw me. “Thank you.”
Who’s ready for Shelli & Aiden?
Keep reading for Chapter One of Anton by Brenda Rothert!
Anton By Brenda Rothert
Chapter One
“Whas’ good here, doll? Sides you, a course.” A drunken customer leers at my tits as he slurs his words.
“The water’s delicious,” I respond.
He cackles and leans over the bar. “Gimme ‘nother Mich Ultra.”
“Another pussy beer, comin’ up.” I grin at him.
He lowers his brows. “What’d you say?”
“I said coming right up.”
“Mia, I need that mojito!” yells Lana, a waitress at Lucky Seven, the bar I’m tending singlehandedly on a busy Friday night.
I ignore her and get the Mich Ultra. I always serve my customers first, because they’re tipping me, not their waitress. Lana’s a bitch, anyway, and mojitos take forever to make.
After filling two more orders, I start the mojito. I’m crushing the mint when a loud wave of laughter pours into the already loud bar, bringing with it a burst of chilly November air as the door is held open for a dozen women to walk in.
It’s a bachelorette party, the bride decked out in a crown of bows and a hot pink boa. I can’t help smiling at the look of absolute joy on her face. It reminds me of the way I felt before my own wedding eight years ago. Little did I know then what I huge mistake I was about to make.
A fresh-faced woman from the party approaches the bar and asks for ten shots of Fireball. When she reaches into her purse, I stop her.
“First round’s free for bachelorette parties,” I say.
“Are you serious?”
“Yep.”
“Oh my God, that’s so nice!”
I just smile because I can’t tell her the real reason the owner of the bar, Janice, gives the first round free to bachelorette parties. Janice was the seventh wife of Mike McGill, an obnoxious dick who owned a sports bar in the south side of Chicago called The Penalty Box. I never knew him, but from what I’ve heard, he regularly beat the shit out of her. When he dropped dead of a heart attack, Janice burned all his prized sports memorabilia and renamed the bar Lucky Seven. Janice says the least she can do for a woman about to get shackled to a man is give her a free drink. Can’t say I disagree.
“Hey, can I get some service?” a woman yells from the end of the bar.
I look up and then walk in the other direction to help someone else, because fuck her. Janice told me on my first day here eight months ago that she wanted me to be salty. Pushover bartenders lose her money, she said. And again—works for me. Nothing turns my stomach like letting someone walk all over me. My husband has done enough of that to leave me feeling ground into the dirt.
As soon as two people get up from their seats at the bar, a tall man in a suit grabs the back of one and pulls it out. A pretty brunette slides onto the seat and he hangs her coat on the back of her chair before sitting down himself.
“What can I get you guys?” I ask them.
“What would you like, babe?” he asks her, his eyes warm.
As she thinks about what she wants to order, I look at them both during the few seconds of silence. He’s handsome—clean-shaven with short blond hair and crinkles at the corners of his eyes. She sits close to him, her dark hair over one shoulder.
“I’ll have a margarita, please,” she says. “On the rocks.”
“Guinness for me,” the man says.
I nod and as I’m turning to fill the order, she leans over to kiss his cheek. They seem so happy. He seems thoughtful. I’m guessing they haven’t been together very long.
I’m working from 6:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m. tonight. At ten o’clock on the dot, Janice comes out from her office in the back and joins me behind the bar.
“Take a break,” she says, pulling up the sleeves of her shirt.
“You sure? I’m slammed.”
“I’ve got it.”
“Damn, girl.” A male voice says from the other side of the bar. “You’re like a fresh Oreo cookie, ain’t ya? Double stuffed.” He eyes my tits and grins.
Being biracial, I’ve heard all types words meant to denote my skin tone, even if in this case he’s commenting about my breasts more so than my mixed skin tone—a combination of black and white.
I’m damn proud of my heritage though and as I’m about to tell him to fuck off, my boss beats me to it.
“The fuck is wrong with you?” Janice demands, eyes narrowed. “Get your ass out of my bar!”
He draws back, shocked by her reaction. “Hey, I didn’t mean—”
“Well then you shouldn’t have opened your redneck mouth! You’ve got ten seconds to move your ass before I grab my shotgun.”
His mouth drops open and he takes off. Janice shakes her head.
“Prick,” she mutters.
I know better than to thank her. I have before, and she silenced me with a sharp comment every time.
“Sure you want me on break?” I say instead.
“You already wasted your first minute standing here.” She glares at me and then takes an order from one of the waitresses.
I walk back to the supply room where employees take their breaks. The wood-paneled walls are lined with cases of alcohol, but there’s a space carved out for a small table with three chairs around it. Janice’s late husband didn’t allow breaks, and that was one of her first rule changes when she took over.
My green canvas backpack hangs from a hook on the wall, my worn, wool winter coat over it. I fish through the bag until I find my macroeconomics textbook and the Ziploc baggie with a peanut butter sandwich inside.
I’ve got fifteen minutes to read up on how interest rates affect the economy. It’s not remotely interesting, but I have a test tomorrow. I’m twenty-nine, but it’s nights like this I feel nineteen again, holed up in my dorm room studying while others are partying.
If I could go back, I’d do things much differently. But like my grandma always said, life only has one gear—drive, so I keep moving forward, the only way I can go.
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Also by Toni Aleo
NASHVILLE ASSASSINS
Breaking Away
Laces and Lace
A Very Merry Hockey Holiday
Wanting to Forget
Overtime
Rushing the Goal
Puck, Sticks, and Diapers
Face-off at the Altar
Delayed Call
Twenty-Two
In the Crease
Bellevue Bullies Series
Boarded by Love
Clipped by Love
Hooked by Love
End Game
Taking Risks
Whiskey Prince
Becoming the Whiskey Princess
Whiskey Rebellion
Patchwork Series
(Paranormal)
Pieces
Broken Pieces
Spring Grove Novels
(Small-town romances)
Not the One
Small-Town Sweetheart
Standalones
Let it be Me
Two-Man Advantage
Misadventures
(Standalones)
Misadventures with a Rookie
Misadventures of a Manny
Assassins Series
Taking Shots
Trying to Score
Empty Net
Falling for the Backup
Blue Lines
About Toni Aleo
My name is Toni Aleo, and I’m a #PredHead, #sherrio, #potterhead, and part of the #familybusiness!
I am also a wife to my amazing husband, mother of a gamer and a gymnast, and also a fur momma to Gaston el Papillion & Winnie Pooh.
While my beautiful and amazing Shea Weber has been traded from my Predators, I’m still a huge fan. But when I’m not cheering for him, I’m hollering for the whole Nashville Predators since I’ll never give my heart to one player again.
When I’m not in the gym getting swole, I’m usually writing, trying to make my dreams a reality, or being a taxi for my kids.
I’m obsessed with Harry Potter, Supernatural, Disney, and anything that sparkles! I’m pretty sure I was Belle in a past life, and if I could be on any show, it would be Supernatural so I could hunt with Sam and Dean.
