Page 11 of Hart Breaker

“I’m sure she’s?—”

“Did you see that man’s eyes? There was true fear in them.” She hands me one boot, then hops down the bar a bit and unzips the other. “I got this one, and then you and I are taking half an hour out of our night to go make a little girl happy.”

“You remember that scene in Bridesmaids where the girl kept driving by the cop she was?—”

“Oh, hell no?—”

“Not the way she was trying to win him back part of the movie but pissing him off would be a hell of a lot of fun.”

“I’m telling you straight up that I have bottled-up rage inside of me that would go perfectly with his face. I go to jail, I lose my liquor li?—”

“I’d never do that to you.”

“Well, don’t do it to you, either. You get in trouble because of him, and I’m going to say fuck my license and enjoy the much-needed vacation in the barbed-wire B&B.” The words themselves make me yawn.

She leans over and rests her head on my shoulder. “You need a vacation.”

Even in my four years at SU, I never took a vacation. I worked through them and missed family trips, except for the one long weekend a year at The Cape with our entire extended family. And that was always spent with Mom and I silently sparring about Daniel.

I still haven’t told her that she was right, but what’s the sense now?

“I’m going on a honeymoon.” I smile at the thought.

“Scotland does sound like a dream. But between visiting castles and doing the moonlight dancing between the sheets, how will you get any sleep?”

“You know what Scotland has a lot of?”

“Kilts?” she asks.

I rephrase my question, “Do you know what else Scotland has a lot of?”

“No, but I bet you’re going to tell me.”

“Golf courses.”

“Oh, come on? He golfs three days a week now. Can’t he step away from the clubs for a week and pay attention to his bride?”

“We’ve been together off and on since high school; trust me when I say the getting-to-know-you phase is over. We have lives that don’t consume each other, and after my four years with?—”

“I know,” she sighs. “But you’re an adventurer. Won’t you get bored?”

I shake my head and smile. “How will I get bored when I’m running a business and plan on having lots of babies?”

She grins. “God, I can’t wait to snuggle your babies.”

“And I can’t wait to snuggle yours.”

“Well, you’re gonna have to.” She forces a smile. “Because Sydney Sparks is single and loving it.”

“Damn right, you are.”

HELL HATH NO… FURRY

Hudson

This is not the scene I expected—hearing Lily screaming like a banshee through my vehicle’s speaker system. It’s so much worse.

Standing in the doorway to one of the spare bedrooms that is now basically Boone’s room, I find him lying there, arm under her, and her little head on his chest. Both of their eyes are closed, and Lily’s clutching a Knights rally towel in her tiny hand. Even in her sleep, her little body seems to be mourning the loss of her Lovey as she trembles slightly. Every few seconds, she inhales like she’s trying to catch her breath, causing her shoulders to shudder.

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