Page 60 of Bombshell (Whiskey Dolls 1)

I sighed and nodded.

She studied me closely, her eyes so shrewd I felt like she could see right through me. “And he’s a good man?”

Ah damn, she wasn’t going to let this go. “Yes,” I said quietly, staring down into my teacup. “He’s incredible.”

“So what’s the problem then?”

I looked up at her and finally laid it all out. “His wife died only a few months after his son was born. It was the most tragic, heartbreaking story I’d ever heard, and I’m the first relationship he’s been in since she passed.”

“Oh, wow,” Tali breathed, her eyes going wide. “I didn’t know that.”

“We were only supposed to be taking it a day at a time, no expectations. I wasn’t”— I swallowed down the lump that had suddenly formed in my throat—“I wasn’t supposed to fall in love with him.”

“Well, whether you were supposed to or not, you did,” Ms. Weatherby stated plainly. “No sense in fretting over it. Your heart’s already decided what it wants, and I’ll tell you, child, it’ll win out every single time. All you can do is sit back, enjoy the ride, and hope you don’t fall off.”

Another pearl of wisdom from my brilliant neighbor.

Tali looked at her with big, mystified eyes. “Wow, Ms. W. I really hope I’m as cool and insightful as you when I’m your age.”

One bushy white brow went up as she looked my sister up and down. “You wanna be like me, then stop stringin’ that man of yours along and forgive him already. I’ve known you two hours, and I know that’s what you’re gonna do. Your sister knows it. Hell, everyone in town probably does. Just admit it to yourself already and begin workin’ to heal that breach.”

We both sat in stunned silence at her brilliant dressing down. Then Tali burst into laughter. “You’re like a crotchety psychic. I think I want you to be my best friend.”

Ms. W snorted and sipped her tea. “Darlin’, you and everyone else I meet. Go ahead and get in line.”

25

Pierce

Ibent to greet Titan who was waiting just inside the door when I got home. It was nearly midnight, and I was so fucking exhausted I felt it down to my bones. The only saving grace was that it was Friday night, and I had the next two days off.

“Where’s our girl, huh?” I asked, mindful to keep my voice low.

As if he understood exactly what I said, Titan trotted back toward the living room. The television was on, the volume low, casting shadows on Marin’s sleeping face.

Leaning over the back of the couch, I brushed the hair off her forehead and whispered, “Hey, baby. Let’s get you into bed, huh?”

Her eyelids fluttered briefly before opening to half-mast. She let out a sleepy yawn and stretched her arms over her head. “Pierce?”

“Yeah, sweetheart. Come on, let me help you upstairs.”

“Wha time’s it?” she murmured as I picked her up off the sofa and carried her to my room.

“Late.”

She hummed and burrowed her face into my neck, letting out the cutest little snore. She was dead to the world again before I even made it up the stairs. She stirred briefly when I laid her on the bed and undid the button on her jeans so I could pull them off.

“I can do it,” she mumbled sleepily.

“I got it, baby. Just go back to sleep.” Once I was certain she’d be comfortable, I pulled the covers over her and pressed a kiss to her cheek. “I’m gonna check on Eli and lock everything up. I’ll be right back.”

“Mm-kay, honey.” She snuggled deeper into the pillow, her eyes closed as she whispered, “Love you.”

Everything in my body stopped. My lungs seized. My heart froze in my chest, becoming nothing more than a worthless lump, just taking up space. My muscles all locked up as I hovered over her now sleeping form.

Love you.

Love you.

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