by Toni Aleo
Ever since my dad and mom divorced, things have been a little tense, and that’s not only money-wise. It’s hard when you live with someone for so long, look up to them, trust them to be the hero you thought they were, and then find out it was all a damn lie. I loved my dad—hell, I wish I could say I still did. But after all the hell he put us through, it’s hard. I want to forgive him, but how can I when he won’t even apologize? Instead, he is driving my mom crazy, leaving her scrambling for a way to make it, and not giving two shits about me and my siblings. Lucy is opening a design company, Jude is going to the NHL, Jace is going into college, and yeah, maybe I’m just working hard to get to the NHL, but still, he doesn’t care. We are an afterthought. It’s sad.
Everything has changed, and I’m not gonna lie—I’m scared. Before, Jude and I had everything paid for and we rocked it, but now, it isn’t like that. We have to make our own money, and I refuse to take anything from Jude, minus this trip. Everything needs to go to my mom; she’s the one who raised us and loved us to the point of smothering us. Thankfully, Claire paid off the house, but there are still other bills that need to be paid. My mom is working, but it’s hard on her. She’s still trying to come back from being cheated on and learning to be a single adult. My sister is stressed because my mom is stressed. As much as Jace tries to act like it doesn’t affect him, I know it does. Jude is constantly worrying about my mom, and for some reason, I’m worrying about everyone. It’s fucking hard.
So, yeah. Girls are the last thing on my fucking mind.
Can you blame me?
Glaring, I say, “First, I’m not in the mood to chase after some girls. I don’t know about you, but shit’s been sucking lately. I’m working two jobs right now while still doing my summer reading list and training my ass off. Shit, I want to relax. So please, excuse me if I don’t want to find a girl to fuck. I’m happy just sitting here hanging with my brothers… But, oh wait, I can’t because one is too busy trying to play hide and seek with his dick, and the other won’t do anything but text his girlfriend. Happy fucking vacation, guys.”
Nothing is said for a moment; the only things I hear are the waves crashing and girls laughing. They are both staring at me like I just called them both fuckers, and after I replay my words in my head, I may have come off like a bit of an asshole.
“Well, that escalated quickly,” Jace says, dropping down in the chair beside me and reaching for a Coke before popping the top. “Jeez.”
“Sure did,” Jude agrees before typing something and then tucking his phone in his pocket. “Excuse me for missing my girlfriend.”
“And excuse me for wanting to get laid,” Jace adds as they both look at me.
“You’re excused,” I decide before pulling my teal and black Bellevue Bullies ball cap down over my eyes to hide the sun. “I’m just saying.”
“No you aren’t saying anything; you’re bitching like a girl,” Jace says.
“At least I don’t look like one,” I throw back.
“He’s right about that,” Jude agrees with a grin. “But you’re right, I just miss her, okay? I’m sorry.”
“I get it. She’s special.”
“Yeah.” Jude grins. “I can’t wait to ask her to marry me.”
“It’s going to be great,” Jace agrees. We all love Claire, but it’s hard not to be jealous. She steals all of Jude’s attention. I used to be his best friend, but Claire took that spot. I want to say that I’m okay with it, but it’s just another thing that’s changed.
Everything is fucking changing.
Looking over at Jace, I give him an expectant look and he gives me one back.
“What? I’m not apologizing for wanting to get laid.”
Rolling my eyes, I look over at Jude and say, “See, he’s turning into a douche.”
“Yeah, maybe we should kick his ass?”
Jace scoffs and I shrug. “Or we could throw him into the ocean and drown him.”
“Mom might get mad. You know how much she loves the pretty boy,” Jude counters, and I nod as Jace glares.
“Y’all are just mad because I’m better looking, and you two are ugly.”
I scoff along with Jude as we both ignore him. “Yeah, but we can at least scare him out of his douchery.”
“This is true.” Jude nods, slowly removing his phone. I do the same. “He’s kinda fast.”
“I swear to God, I’ll kill you two,” Jace threatens, but we don’t hear him. It’s like old times.
Us two against the world.
“Yeah, but if you take his legs out, he can’t get far,” I suggest.
Nodding, Jude leans back and stretches his arms. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Jace on the edge of his seat. He isn’t as stupid as I make him out to be. We are always ganging up on him. He’s just waiting for the cue to run, but we won’t give it to him. He’s a novice compared to us.
“I don’t know. I’m kind of tired.” Jude yawns, crossing his arms.
“’Cause you’re an old fart!” Jace teases, laughing. “You couldn’t catch me anyway. You may have that big ol’ contract with the Kings, but you can’t touch this.”
“Eh, he might be right,” I tease and Jude scoffs.
Then out of nowhere, he lunges over me, tackling Jace to the sand. It takes us a few minutes, but soon we have him, Jude with his torso and me with his legs as we drag him to the ocean. While he screams and calls us every cuss word in the book, we laugh, and I can honestly say, I’m finally relaxing.
CONTINUE READING CLIPPED BY LOVE NOW!
Also by Toni Aleo
Assassins Series
Taking Shots
Trying to Score
Empty Net
Falling for the Backup
Blue Lines
Breaking Away
Laces and Lace
A Very Merry Hockey Holiday
Overtime
Rushing the Goal
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
The Works Series
(Paranormal)
Pieces
Broken Pieces
Spring Grove Novels
(Small-town romances)
Kindle Unlimited Exclusives
Not the One
Small-Town Sweetheart
Standalones
Let it be Me
Two-Man Advantage
Misadventures
Misadventures with a Rookie
Misadventures of a Manny
About the Author
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.
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.
Also, I did mention I love hockey, right?
Also make sure to join the mailing list for up to date news from Toni Aleo:
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www.tonialeo.com
[email protected]
Acknowledgments
I hope that you enjoyed the spin off series from the Assassins. I was beyond exci
ted to write Claire’s book and what better way than to a spin off series! I love this book. It is probably one of my favorites, up there with Taking Shots. I enjoyed writing Claire’s spunkiness and Jude’s strength. Together they burned the pages but then at the end, I don’t know about y’all but I was bawling. My heart was invested and I hope that yours was too, because that means I did my job. I thank you for reading this book and taking the time to spend with my characters. I hope they brought you a lot of enjoyment.
Without you, I wouldn’t be in the business. I would probably be writing but just storing my books on a hard drive and living my life. I honestly can’t thank you enough for the time you spend messaging me, emailing me and supporting me. Your love and support is so overwhelming but so much appreciated. I consider you a part of my family and believe me, I will never forget the reason why I spend hours away from my family and friends, the sleepless nights, the headaches from staring at the screen so long.
Its because of you.
So thank you.
Also I want to thank my family, Michael, Nick, Noey, Mikey and Alyssa: thank you for your undying love and support. Couldn’t do this without you.
To my mom, who even in heaven is my biggest fan, I love you so much and miss you more than anything.
To my friends, Nortis, Bobbie, and Stacey: I know I get a little crazy around my deadlines, thank you for being so supportive and loving me even when I’m not there.
To Damaris: thanks for working so hard to make my books successful. Couldn’t do it without you.
To Lisa: Thank you for coming in and editing the hell out of this book! You rock my love! And I am so thankful for our friendship.
To my beautiful amazing betas: Laurie, Lisa, Althea, Lisa, Mary, Susie, Lisa, Janette, Heather, and Kara: I couldn’t write this book without you. Thank you.
To my family, thank you. I love you and can’t thank you enough for being so supportive.
To Sommer: Thank you for a beautiful and amazing cover!
To Toski: Thank you for making this happen. I love this shot of Brandon and couldn’t have it without you.
To Brandon: Thank you for being my model and also my friend.
To Elli: Thank you for bring me Brandon and becoming my friend.
To anyone else I missed, thank you. You will always be apart of my heart. All of you. Thank you.