by JA Huss
He hands me the gift, which is about the size of a shirt box you’d get from a department store.
“But you have to sit down,” Maisy says, pulling on my hand and leading me to the couch where my parents are sitting. They move over and make room for Jesse and me. And now I’m like… super excited. What could possibly be in this box that could win the one-up game? I mean, this Bossy surprise is pretty fuckin’ fantastic. This is my yacht on the one-up dream date. This is the moment that Jesse realized I was the boss.
We sit down between my parents and everyone in the room starts rearranging chairs or sitting on tables, so they can see the present when I open it.
Then it all happens at once. I pull the blue satin ribbon off the present, lift the lid off the box, and push the tissue paper out of the way.
Inside is a photo album. And on the front it says, My Life with You, Uninterrupted.
I open it and right from the first page I know.
I know.
He won.
Because this is a picture of me at my high school prom. But I’m not with that date my mother bossed me into going with.
I’m with Jesse Boston.
“What the hell?” I laugh.
And then the whole story of the photo album comes spilling out of Joey’s mouth, Huck interrupting at regular intervals, Wald adding his two cents. They explain how they needed to fake out Michael Conner to get custody of Maisy and how they hired people all over the world to fake social media pictures of them. And how Jesse wanted so badly to get a second chance with me, he asked if they could make a fantasy life. One where we were never apart.
My mother gave him baby pictures of me. And even though Jesse only has one single picture of him as a baby and his face is Photoshopped—badly, in most of them—onto every single one of me during my toddler years, I don’t care. In one, we’re in a little plastic pool together as infants. And we celebrate our birthdays together. All the birthdays. Someone used age-progression on Jesse’s baby picture, you can tell. But some of them are real and even Jesse is surprised when he sees these.
And prom night, of course. And pictures of me standing next to Jesse for every one of his yacht wins. And pictures of Jesse standing next to me, Mila, Hannah, and Natalie as we opened our first cosmetics shop. When we got our awards. There’s even fake magazine interviews with our faces on the covers.
And even though I know every bit of this is fake, I believe it.
And Jesse… well, Jesse just grins like a man who just won a thirteen-year do-over.
“But wait,” Tony says, forcing our father to move aside so he can squeeze in. “You’re missing the best part.” He flips the book to the back and reveals a whole section of pictures that are not Photoshopped.
Because they had people photographing us for every single moment of our fantasy wedding day.
Jesse tasting wedding cake.
Me choosing a dress from the roller-skating fashion show.
Our screaming faces on the roller coaster.
Jesse swinging from the ropes on the pirate ship.
Our combined terror and excitement during the skydive.
The huge Italian wedding.
A picture of the ass-end-of-wedding-day getaway car, tin cans trailing behind us.
They even have a pic of our kidnapping!
And, of course, the real wedding at the aquarium.
I am stunned into silence as I look at all the memories we’ve collected.
Jesse leans in next to me and whispers in my ear. “This is just the beginning, Mrs. Boston. You haven’t seen anything yet.”
I lean back into the seat cushions, Tony on my right and Jesse on my left.
And I sigh.
Because even though it’s a fantasy, it’s still real.
EPILOGUE - JESSE
I win.
That’s all there is to it.
But Emma did have another present for me inside the Santa Machine. She waited until all the festivities were over before she told me that. We opened up all the presents. We ate a huge dinner. Hell, we even watched Home Alone, which I had never bothered to watch before, but I totally relate to Kevin. And then, once all the locals went home and the Dumas family was tucked up tight on the Jesse and Joey floors, she took me over to the Santa Machine and handed me a lanyard with my name on it.
“Go on,” she said. “Scan it.”
And look, I’m not gonna play this cool. I was freaking excited about the Santa Machine. She did not have to tell me twice. So I scanned.
And then I got an email notification on my phone.
A letter from Santa!
And this is what it said:
Dear Jesse,
Santa Machine hears that you’ve been a very good boy this year. So Emma Elf wanted me to present you with the Emma’s Fantasy Christmas Pick Three Buffet.
But there’s a catch, of course. You don’t get to choose. She chooses for you.
I hope you’re ready.
Merry Christmas.
Love, Santa Machine and Emma Elf
And do you know what she chose for me?
Well, let me just say we live in the Bossy Building now. Family floor. That was number one and even though I was worried that Chek would object, since he’s the money-maker now, he was pretty cool about it. Anyway, he lives three floors up on Johnny’s old level, so we never even see him. I feel like the whole Bossy thing is gonna work itself out. Because if Johnny was worried about it, he would not have helped us move all our shit from Emma’s apartment. And he did. So. I kinda love living at the Bossy again now that Emma’s here to share it with me.
Unconventional as it is, I can’t deny that the Bossy is my true home.
Of course, you can’t call yourself Emma Elf and not show up for bed that night wearing a sexy elf costume. So that was fun. I made her ears blush with all the filthy hot things my tongue did to her that night.
But the third… well, let’s just say in seven months Zach will be the only Boston brother without a kid.
Yeah.
I know what Johnny said. I get it. We don’t need a do-over.
But if you get one, man… you gotta grab onto that shit with all you’ve got and never let go.
And that’s exactly what I plan to do.
Never let go.
WANT MORE BOSSY BROTHERS?
BOSSY ALONZO DUMAS IS UP NEXT!
Read as book five or as a standalone story.
END OF BOOK SHIT
Welcome to the End of Book Shit. I’m sure you know the drill already since this is book four in a series but I always like to explain this when I write one of these because sometimes they have typos (I don’t edit them) and sometimes they are rambling rants. So the EOBS is where I get to say anything I want about the story you just read.
Well, the first thing I have to say is that I’M SO GLAD I GOT TO WRITE ANOTHER BOOK ABOUT EMMA AND JESSE!!! I thought Bossy Jesse was a pretty fun book. These two have some serious chemistry and that was perfect for a second-chance enemies-to-lovers romance, right! I loved their banter in the first book and it was mostly just a fun book. But of course I’m not really known for my fun books I’m known for the mind-fuck books. So I fucked your mind a little at the end.
Then Joey’s book was more about a guy and a girl trying to figure out who they were (and as part of a foursome, no less. That’s not easy.) And Johnny’s book was all about him really coming to terms with his limitations. When to fold and when to hold, so to speak. He didn’t fold. Not really. I think his book was more of a second chance too, just with himself and not with his love interest, Megan.
So this book—I knew this book was gonna be fun because Jesse and Emma are just fun people. And I really wanted them to have a crazy adventure together on the way to the altar. And what better place to have a crazy wedding adventure than Vegas!
But I also wanted to include all her girls, and all the boys, and get a glimpse of Key West one more time before going on this journey. The Dumas brothers are up
next, starting with Alonzo, so they needed some page time.
And I needed for everyone to be there for the final wedding because the Dumas family is all about ‘family’. And even though Jesse probably thought he didn’t need his family there, he realized he did. And the final wedding, though far from perfect and certainly not anything close to a ‘dream wedding’, really was kinda perfect when you look at these people as a whole.
Aquarium, mermaids, shirtless Jesse, and wet-wedding-dress Emma. She was a good sport, wasn’t she? Lol I felt sorry for Emma quite a few times throughout this story. That’s why I gave her some girl-time for the Shotgun Wedding.
By the way, all these wedding can be done in Vegas. Maybe not exactly how I wrote them—but if you’ve got a guy called Fingers arranging it, I’m sure he’d pull through for you too.
One other interesting thing that’s kinda fun. Shoes is a real guy. My Uncle Bill, in fact. I didn’t know a Fingers, but there was a “Fingers Figure” in the picture when I was a kid. Because my Uncle Bill really did play cards with the mob— in my aunt’s dining room, no less. And there really was a Freddie’s Pizza in Pittsburgh. My aunt and uncle lived just down the road from Freddie’s II. So Shoes was my uncle. He was a weird dude. He took me places like the racetrack, football games, and yeah, card games. But I wasn’t allowed IN the card games. Not because I was a kid, but because I was a girl. I won’t go into details about the stories I have about being his niece, but it was… interesting.
There’s always something true in my stories. Always.
I spent a lot time trying to think up what kind of presents Jesse and Emma could get each other for Christmas because what the hell do you buy someone who can buy themselves anything they want? At this kind of wealth presents stop being about things and they become about the thought. It really is the thought that counts. For all presents, actually.
I knew Emma’s present to Jesse – Christmas at the Bossy. And this was because her family was so tight, and his family was so loose, it never really occurred to her that Jesse wouldn’t want a family Christmas. But of course it all worked out in the end.
But it took me a long time to come up with Jesse’s present to Emma. I think I was more than half-way through the book when I finally figured out he wanted to give her more memories. It was the perfect gift for Emma. The perfect way to make-up for time lost. And that present would’ve been fine. Great. It was a very fun, cool, heartfelt present all on its own. But then I realized that their wedding was jam-packed full of memories. So in the end, the fake memories were still fun, but totally unnecessary.
And while this is a Christmas book – pretty much all of it happens on Christmas Eve—it’s really more of a wedding book. That’s what I was aiming for. I wanted it to be cool, fun wedding book like Mr. & Mrs. was for the Misters series. Of course, there was only one couple getting married in this book. I’m not sure there’s a wedding in Joey, Brooke, Huck, and Wald’s future. How’s that work, right? So far plural marriages are still illegal. So the wedding book for Joey et el will have to wait. Or maybe they never get married? I know romance readers love the wedding, but they aren’t really an indicator of a happily ever after. And Johnny and Megan… I’m not sure what will happen after their one year is up. She’s pregnant, so directive number one for the Way has been met. But… now what?
We’ll have to see. I think that story will start coming back around in Tony’s book. No date on that yet, but Alonzo will release in January 2020. I have two books that are not Bossy before Tony’s book releases, so Tony’s book will probably be in April, I guess. By the way – I am apologizing ahead of time for naming one of Emma’s brothers TONY. Because if you read the Company books you know we HAD a Tony already. But I forgot I had used that name before. So-if this confused you (and it might after you read Creeping Beautiful because I use a name a second time in that one on purpose) then I’m sorry! I totally just forgot there was another Tony and there is no hidden meaning behind this, I just made a mistake. :)
Also, before I forget, there’s a few crossover/call-backs in this book. One is “the hazmat girl” Indie is her name, from Johnny’s book. And Chek, also from Johnny’s book. And Wendy. Chek’s daughter. You’ll meet Wendy for real in Creeping Beautiful, which releases in February 2020.
Last year I stopped writing standalones about mid-year and when I started the Bossy series I knew it was gonna loop around to the Company, but I wasn’t sure I would mention the Company name. Well, I did that in Johnny’s book. And if you read Creeping Beautiful, you’ll see a bunch of new characters, but also a bunch of old characters too.
The Bossy Brothers are Company.
I didn’t start the Tragic book with this kind of cross-connection in mind, but by the time I got to Ford’s book, I was already knew deep in the weeds with Sasha Cherlin. She drove me into this crazy world of the Company, The Way, The Silver Society (From the Misters) and she’s still popping up in Creeping Beautiful in 2020, even though her books started back in 2014.
And… for the record. I’m loving all the connections in Bossy Brothers. It took me a couple years after finishing up Five to find a new entry point, but for me it was worth the wait. And if you’re a Company fan, then I can’t wait for you to discover all the little crossovers in Creeping Beautiful. This book is about the other side of the Company. Not the ones who took it down—the ones who got left behind.
OK, that’s it for me. I hope you had fun running around Vegas getting married with Jesse and Emma. I sure did. And I hope you keep going with Alonzo because his story is FUN too. Not a big mystery like Johnny. But don’t worry, there is mystery in there. And Alonzo isn’t nearly as uptight as he comes off from the Boston perspective.
So thank you for reading, thank you for reviewing (please don’t forget to leave a review for Bossy Bride at the retailer where you purchased it). And I’ll see you in the next book!
Happy Holidays, my bitches. Love you.
Julie
JA Huss
WANT MORE BOSSY BROTHERS?
BOSSY ALONZO DUMAS IS UP NEXT!
Read as book five or as a standalone story.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Find Julie at her website
www.JAHuss.com
See all her books HERE
CLICK HER FOLLOW BUTTON
to get notices of all new releases and pre-orders.
Chat with Julie
On Facebook
On Twitter
On Instagram
Follow Julie
On BOOKBUB
DO YOU LIKE TO WIN BOOK PRIZES?
Join her Facebook Fan Group to enter to win!
JA Huss is the New York Times Bestselling author of 321 and has been on the USA Today Bestseller's list 21 times in the past five years. She writes characters with heart, plots with twists, and perfect endings.
Her new sexy sci-fi romance and paranormal romance pen name is KC Cross and she writes novels and teleplays collaboratively with actor and screenwriter, Johnathan McClain.
Her books have sold millions of copies all over the world, the audio version of her semi-autobiographical book, Eighteen, was nominated for a Voice Arts Award and an Audie Award in 2016 and 2017 respectively. Her audiobook, Mr. Perfect, was nominated for a Voice Arts Award in 2017. Her audiobook, Taking Turns, was nominated for an Audie Award in 2018. Five of her book were optioned for a TV series by MGM television in 2018. And her book, Total Exposure, wa
s nominated for a RITA Award in 2019.
She lives on a ranch in Central Colorado with her family.
ALL BOOKS BY JA HUSS
CREEPING BEAUTIFUL
BOSSY BROTHERS
Bossy Brothers: Jesse
Bossy Brothers: Joey
Bossy Brothers: Johnny
Bossy Bride: Emma & Jesse
Bossy Brothers: Alonzo
HAREM STATION
Booty Hunter
Star Crossed
(Free everywhere)
Big Dicker
Lady Luck
Prison Princess
Veiled Vixen
STANDALONE BOOKS
Wild Thing
Pretty Thing
Sweet Thing
The Dirty Ones
Three, Two, One
Eighteen
Sexy
Rock
In To Her
ROOK AND RONIN SERIES
Tragic
(Free everywhere)
Manic
(Free everywhere)
Panic
Ford
Spencer
The Company
Merc
Sasha
Happily Ever After
THE MISTER SERIES
Mr. Perfect
Mr. Romantic
Mr. Corporate
Mr. Mysterious
Mr. Match
Mr. Five
Mr & Mrs
THE TURNING SERIES
Taking Turns
Turning Back
His Turn
JORDAN’S GAME SERIES