Shelli waves her off. “She’ll be fine. We’ll tape them down.”
“All the things a father wants to hear.”
Everyone looks back at Shelli’s dad, Shea, and I hold back my laughter. I’ve heard that from the beginning of this circus of a wedding, Shea has done nothing but clutch his wallet. Elli and Shelli are going to put him in the poorhouse—at least, that’s what he says.
“It’s pretty, though, Dad! Isn’t it?”
He nods reluctantly. “Very pretty.”
I look back at Ally and smile. She is gorgeous. She looked even better in the long champagne-colored dress that also was backless. I think everyone knows Ally’s back is pretty damn fine. All those years of smacking the shit out of balls does a back good. Hell, I almost feel like I’m being spiked dead in the face with a ball, staring at her the way I am. When Ally looks back at me, I meet her gaze quickly, and she lets her shoulders fall, along with her head, indicating her boredom.
I feel her on so many levels.
“Are we done yet?” she asks, and Shelli glares daggers.
“Ally, you’re the only one I can test everything on today. Be patient. Amelia is getting fitted at a store in her town, and we have to wait for Posey to be here.” Ally doesn’t seem to care one bit, but before she can voice that, Shelli says, “I love them. I love all of it. Mom, Dad?”
“I do too. It’s perfect,” Elli gushes, and Shea just looks pained.
“How much are they?”
“Dad!”
Harper and my mom both snicker, but Shelli and Elli are ignoring him as they talk to the saleslady and point to things on Ally. The guy who is fitting me lets me know I’m done, so I head over to Shea. When I cup his shoulder, he looks up at me, and I hate to say it, but he looks older. “How you holding up?”
He shakes his head, and I notice Shea has some gray coming in. To me, he will never grow old, but I think the wedding is aging him quicker with each dollar spent. “I never knew I would hate this process so much. Planning my own wedding was cake, but my daughter’s? It’s rough.”
“Eh, it’s because you love her so much and don’t want to lose her.”
“Exactly.”
“But good thing is, she’s marrying a pretty great guy.”
“You have to say that. He’s your brother.”
I smirk. “I actually like him as a person too.”
His lips quirk as he nods. “Yeah, I know. I’m just giving him a hard time.” We share a smile as he says, “Only good thing about this whole shindig is the alumni game that we get to play.”
Now I’m confused. “Huh?”
All of a sudden, Shelli is beside me, gushing, “Yup! All the players who have been a part of Aiden’s and my life will come and play against the new Assassins! It’s going to be killer.”
I blink. “Will there be elephants, tigers, lions, and monkeys too? Are you the ringleader, Shea?”
Shea laughs, but Shelli gives me a death glare. “Actually, I’m the ringleader,” Elli says, and Shelli really doesn’t like that.
“If anyone is the ringleader, it’s me!” Shelli says then and stomps off. “Mom, it’s not a circus! It’s going to be the biggest wedding event in Nashville.”
I look at Shea, and he looks back at me.
“Bridezilla,” we both say before our laughter fills the room.
Once it subsides, he says, “Ready to start working on our jumbotron?”
“I am. Artie is cool as hell.”
“He is, good dude.” He pauses for a second before speaking again. “Heard you bought a Mustang today.”
I wrinkle my face. “Mom, did you tell everyone about the car?”
My mom looks back at me innocently. “I sent it in our group chat with Elli and Shea, and the one with Harper and Elli, and to Ally and—”
“Mom! The answer is yes. ‘Yes, I did.’”
She shrugs. “Okay. Yes.”
I roll my eyes as I look back at Shea. “Couldn’t get a girl the normal way? Had to get the car?”
For the love of God. “It’s a cool car!”
Apparently, I’m the only one who thinks so because everyone starts laughing.
But the only one I hear and see is Ally.
Her eyes are wild, her face is bright with a wide smile, and the sound of her laughter tickles down my spine.
I really shouldn’t have checked out her ass. I should have ignored it like I’ve been doing most of my life. It’s been easy these last few years; I was with Jasmine, and all was well. But now, I’m finding all this time we spend together is doing nothing but making it even harder to hide those feelings threatening to escape.
The fear of what those feelings could result in is real, but I can’t ignore her laughter.
Not even if I wanted to.
Chapter Thirteen
Ally
Before we arrive at Shelli and Aiden’s place for an early game night, Posey made Asher and me promise not to talk about her and Boon.
Apparently, they are keeping things low-key because of her being his coach and him being her player. They’ve somehow figured out a way to hide the fact that they’re banging on a regular basis and totally in love. I think the whole dynamic is pretty hot and I’m sure Elli and Shea would be supportive, but Posey doesn’t feel the same, even with how much in love with Boon she is. Every time we talk, she’s beyond happy. Boon cherishes her, worships her, and loves her with his whole being. After her bad decision to chase after a guy who never really cared for her and then her feelings about always being overlooked because she thought she didn’t live up to Shelli, I am happy she has found someone who loves her for her. I’ve wanted this for her for as long as I can remember. I honestly don’t know how she keeps her hands off him and keeps from screaming from the rooftops that she is crazy, heels over head in love with him. And he loves her!
I say that because I’m struggling like no other not to do that myself.
And Asher doesn’t even love me.
Shelli and Aiden’s newest apartment is adorable. I wouldn’t expect anything less from the two of them. It’s an open concept for the kitchen, living room, and dining room area. It’s all so wide and spacious, and the décor is a mix of Shelli and Aiden. I’m calling it Country Posh. I should brand that because they’ve somehow put together Aiden’s extraness for very expensive things with Shelli’s down-home style. One would think it’s just a mason jar, but look closer, and you’ll see it’s gold plated with real flowers inside that Aiden pays someone to come in and change every week.
It’s so over the top, but so them.
Like they do everywhere else, Shelli and Aiden glow in their home. They are so sickly sweet in love that it makes my teeth hurt, but not many can say they fell in love with their future husband when they were nine and never stopped. Shelli can. All those years we spent teasing her and mocking her when she would say she was going to be Mrs. Aiden Brooks, I kind of feel silly for now. She knew what she wanted, and I should have respected that. Especially when she made it happen.
Meanwhile, I’m in my feelings for my best friend and too much of a coward to do anything about it.