She's the One (Boggy Creek Valley Book 3)

by Kelly Elliott

  “What in the hell?” Hunter elbowed me, and I tore my gaze from Abby to see Arabella and Brighton dancing together—with Arabella bent over while Brighton pretended to spank her.

  “Willa, get the fuck down before you hurt yourself and the baby!” Aiden yelled, causing me to glance at the others. Willa was on the table on the other side of Abby, dressed in a half jersey that had the number 69 on it. She wore tiny white shorts that barely covered anything, and she was moving her body in a way I wasn’t sure a pregnant woman should be able to.

  “What in the hell is my sister doing?” Kyle yelled as Hudson let out a roar of laughter.

  “I think she’s holding a copy of Pride and Prejudice and singing to Mr. Darcy!” Hudson called out, making his way deeper into the dining room.

  Off to the side, Candace was pouring shots of tequila. None of them had seen us yet. Next, Candace picked up a bottle of apple juice and poured it into a shot glass, most likely for Willa. When she turned around, she saw all of us standing there.

  Her smile instantly faded, and I was pretty sure she said, “Oh fuck.”

  She walked over and hit something on the speaker and the music stopped. The other four women protested—until they saw Aiden helping Willa off the table.

  I swung my eyes back to Abby, who apparently hadn’t cared about the interruption since she now held up a beer ready to pour it into Arabella’s mouth.

  “Again, are you seeing what I’m seeing?” Hunter asked.

  I let my gaze move over Abby’s perfectly fit body. My cock instantly got hard. “Unless we’re both having the same fucking fantasy,” I whispered since the music was off.

  Hunter cleared his throat. “Is…is…is Arabella wearing…does she have on…”

  Kyle clapped Hunter on the back. “Yeah, dude. She’s an innocent school girl, I think. She looks hot as hell.”

  Hunter and I both turned to glare at Kyle.

  “And fuck me if Brighton and Abby aren’t—”

  “Say another word and I’ll break your legs, Kyle,” I said.

  He shook his head and cleared his throat. “Right. Sorry.”

  With an apologetic glance at me and Hunter, Kyle turned back to the girls. “What in the hell are you doing?” he yelled. “Do you have any idea what would have happened if another officer showed up here? The whole valley would know what you’re doing. Um, drinking and dressed up like…”

  “Oh, choose those next words very carefully,” Candace warned Kyle.

  He turned and glared at her. “You.”

  Candace shook her head and pointed over to Brighton, shooting Kyle a smirk. “I believe she’s the one you’re going to want to question, Officer.”

  Brighton pressed her mouth into a tight line to keep from laughing. Arabella and Abby both fell into a fit of giggles as Greer finally saw Hudson.

  “Hudson! Honey, I wasn’t just telling Mr. Darcy he’s the sexiest man alive, swear.”

  With a soft laugh, Hudson helped Greer off the table. “I know you weren’t, sweetheart.”

  She wrapped her arms around him and kissed him. “I’m a naughty librarian.”

  Hudson laughed and said, “Yeah, ya are!”

  “Should we…help them down?” Hunter asked me in a voice barely above a whisper.

  “Probably,” I replied.

  Kyle was attempting to reach for Brighton, but she kept slapping at his hand. He was questioning her about who brought the booze and the outfits, while she kept replying with, “Fuck off!”

  Hunter and I both walked up to Arabella and Abby, who were still facing each other.

  “Your breast…breastest…no…boobs…look really good in that, Abs!” Arabella said with a giggle. Then she hiccupped.

  “Bella, are you drunk?” Hunter asked, causing her to swing around and nearly lose her balance.

  She stumbled, and Hunter reached up in case she fell. “Hunter! What are you doing here?” she asked as she made her way toward him.

  “Here, give me your hand, and I’ll help you down.”

  Arabella stood taller, and then reached her arm back for Abby, who took it.

  “No, tank you,” Arabella slurred. “I’ve got my bestest friend back!”

  I couldn’t help but smile. I wasn’t sure I had ever seen Arabella drunk.

  “That’s great,” Hunter said with mock happiness in his voice. “But you’re both going to fall and break your necks unless you get down.”

  Abby’s eyes met mine—and my heart felt like it slammed against the walls of my chest. If I’d had any doubts about loving this woman, they were instantly washed away. I reached out my hand and smiled. Her face instantly lit up, and she made her way toward me.

  “Hey, Abs,” I said softly as she bent at the waist to look me in the eye.

  “Hey, Bishop. Are you still mad at me?”

  “No, princess, I’m not mad at you right now.”

  Her smile faded, and she pouted. If it wasn’t the cutest fucking thing I’d ever seen…

  I put my arm under her legs and swept her off the table. She wrapped her arms around my neck and buried her face in my chest and inhaled deeply. Christ, my stomach dipped like I was on a damn rollercoaster.

  “You smell so good, Bishop.”

  I chuckled. “You smell like booze, Abs.”

  She giggled and looked up at me. I held her just high enough that I knew she couldn’t feel how rock hard I was. “I haven’t had that much to drink.”

  Glancing over my shoulder, I saw Hunter carrying Arabella to a chair. “You think you can stand up okay?” I asked Abby.

  A sexy smile moved over her face. “I was standing…I was stand…um…standing on the table just fine.”

  “You were indeed.” I slowly let her slide down my body, feeling every one of her curves against me. Every part of her I touched was bare skin, and it lit my body on fire.

  When Abby’s feet finally touched the ground, she looked up at me. I could see the specks of gold in her hazel eyes and guessed it was the gold outfit she had on that was highlighting them. But what I couldn’t get over was the thing I saw deeper in her gaze.

  Nothing but love. The exact same way her eyes looked the first time I’d told her I loved her, and then again when I made her my wife. And on the day she found out she was expecting our child.

  I let my gaze drop to her exposed cleavage, and I sucked in a shaky breath when my body instantly reacted. I had to force myself not to kiss her.

  Abby reached up and laced her fingers through my hair, causing my heart to somersault in my chest. She rose onto her toes, her mouth so fucking close that all I had to do was reach down and take it. Take what was mine.

  She dug her teeth into her lower lip…and then she suddenly stepped away. She shook her head as if to clear the cobwebs. “I’m sorry. I guess maybe I’ve had a bit too much to drink after all.”

  The loss of her warmth shot a pain straight through my chest. I shoved my hands into my pockets to keep from reaching for her. I wanted to feel her against me again. I needed to feel her. “It’s okay,” I said with a wink. “You look…beautiful. Sexy as fuck.”

  Abby glanced down and then seemed to remember how she was dressed. Her eyes darted around the room before she looked back at me. “I need to go change.”

  One part of me wanted to scream for her to stop. I wanted to take in every inch of her body with my eyes, my hands. The other part—the sensible one—wanted to push her behind me and then scold anyone who dared look at her.

  Abby glanced over my shoulder and her eyes widened. She walked around me and over to where Hunter had set Arabella in a chair.

  Reaching down for her hand, Abby said, “Um, Arabella, let’s go change.”

  Arabella seemed to be sobering up quickly as well. She stood and nearly ran out of the room behind Abby.

  Twenty minutes later, all six women sat in the living room while Kyle paced back and forth and gave them a lecture that would make any father proud. Aiden, Hunter, Hudson, and I stood off t
o the side.

  “What if something had happened to Willa, and the five of you were too drunk to do anything?”

  Candace raised her hand to speak. Kyle glared at her, but then gave her a nod.

  “To be fair, Officer…” She tried not to giggle. Clearing her throat, she went on. “We haven’t had that much to drink. I think we all got caught up in the moment.”

  Arabella covered her mouth with her hand to keep from laughing and ended up hiccupping.

  Hudson stepped up next to Kyle. “I don’t see any harm in having a bit of fun, ladies, but we might want to…tone it down some. The music anyway.”

  “And the drinking,” Kyle added, shooting a scowl at Bree. She stuck her tongue out at him and mouthed, party pooper.

  Greer stood and walked over to Hudson. “I’m sorry we let things get out of hand.”

  He leaned down and kissed her. “I’m just glad you’re having fun.”

  “Let’s keep the fun PG, please,” Kyle added.

  “Since when did you become Dad?” Greer asked with one raised brow.

  “Okay, okay, we got the lecture. You boys are free to leave now.” Brighton stood and started to motion with her hands for us to go.

  Before Hudson left, I heard him ask Greer, “Are you keeping that outfit?”

  I rolled my eyes and started toward the front door, but not before I turned and looked at Abby again. She was dressed in yoga pants and a long-sleeve T-shirt. Her legs were pulled up to her chest, and she had her arms wrapped around them. Our eyes met, and she quickly looked away.

  When I chanced a look at Arabella, she was pretending to brush something off of her own yoga pants. She brought her hand up to her mouth when she hiccupped again.

  “We promise to behave…some!” Brighton called out as she waved goodbye, then shut the door after pushing Kyle out.

  I walked down the porch steps and turned back to face the house. Hunter stopped next to me, and we looked up at the window, where the girls now stood, staring back at us.

  “Dude,” he whispered.

  “I know,” I replied.

  “Poker night’s over, gentlemen,” Aiden called out with a laugh. I turned to look at Hunter. We both laughed as we made our way back to the cars. I caught sight of Aiden and noticed he had the shirt and shorts Willa had been wearing in his hand. I chuckled and shook my head as we called it a night.

  Abby

  I stood at the window and watched the two cars drive down the driveway. My heart was still pounding like crazy. The way Bishop had looked at me made my insides melt. I knew it was only because of how I’d been dressed, but it still felt so good to see an expression other than anger or pain on his face.

  Arabella’s voice was suddenly next to my ear as she whispered, “I almost kissed Hunter. If you hadn’t come over and took me to change clothes, I would have.”

  A small laugh escaped my lips. “Why do you think I rushed over there? Other than the fact I realized how we were dressed?”

  She raised a brow. “You almost kissed Bishop?”

  Nodding, I turned and sat down on the window seat next to Arabella. I closed my eyes and sighed. “God, the feeling of being in his arms. Any rational thoughts I had left…just got swept away.”

  “Same. I don’t think I drank that much, because I sure sobered up fast.” She hiccupped, and we both started to giggle. “Okay, maybe I do still feel a bit lightheaded.”

  She exhaled and I could tell that the memory of being in Hunter’s arms had come back to her. “It felt so right, Abby. And every part of me wished I could go back and change things.” She wiped a tear away. “Change how I handled it with Hunter—or the lack of handling it.”

  “You’re preaching to the choir.”

  “Are you two crying?”

  Arabella and I looked up to find Bree standing in front of us with her hands on her hips and a very unhappy look on her face.

  “Why are you crying, Arabella?” she asked.

  “I’m…I’m not crying. A tear just slipped free.”

  Bree tilted her head. “I’m pretty sure that’s the same thing. There is no crying at this party. None! Come on, you two, we’re taking shots!” She grabbed us both by the hand and pulled us up.

  Arabella argued as she tugged us toward the kitchen. “I’m just now feeling normal, I don’t think—”

  Bree shot her a look over her shoulder and cut off Arabella’s protest.

  The moment we stepped into the kitchen, I let out a roar of laughter. “What is all of this?”

  Greer had so much food set out on the kitchen island, I was positive she was expecting the guys to come back. With a shrug, she said, “I get hungry when I drink. Look! I made a charcuterie board of nothing but crackers!”

  Candace reached for a piece of cheese from another board. “She’s real proud of her boards.”

  The cheese board appeared to be nothing but cheese. I leaned in to look closer and noticed there was even shredded cheese on it.

  I glanced over at Greer to see she was currently making a board of nothing but fruit.

  “Um, Greer, you know you’re supposed to mix all the—”

  Willa put her hand over my mouth and whispered against my ear, “I already mentioned that, and she threw a slice of ham at me.”

  I rolled my eyes and then nodded as Willa dropped her hand. “She never was good at drinking a lot,” I answered in a hushed voice.

  Bree walked up with a tray full of shot glasses. “Okay, ladies, we now take our shots to keep us from having hangovers.”

  Candace reached up, grabbed a shot glass and downed it. Willa, Arabella, and I all watched in horror as the thick-looking green concoction disappeared.

  “What. Is. In. That?” Arabella asked.

  With a whole-body shudder, Candace said, “Tastes like shit.”

  “Looks like shit,” Willa added.

  Bree shot them both a glare. “Trust me, when you bitches wake up tomorrow, you won’t have a headache after you drink this. I learned it from…a friend.”

  I had to admit, my brain was already fuzzy, and I knew I still had a buzz.

  “I am so glad I’m pregnant and can’t drink,” Willa said. “You couldn’t pay me to drink that nasty green…hangover cure.”

  Greer shoved four cubes of cheese in her mouth, then reached for the shot. With her mouth stuffed full, she mumbled, “I’ll drink it!”

  “Let’s make a toast,” Bree said.

  “To friendship?” Willa asked.

  A wicked smile crossed Bree’s face. “Nope. To friends who call the police to report a noise complaint—then bribe the officer who shows up to call his off-duty friends to come take care of it.”

  I was positive I wasn’t the only one with my mouth hanging open as we all stared at Bree.

  “Wait, you had them call Hunter?” Willa asked before she popped a grape into her mouth.

  Bree nodded like she was so damn proud of herself. “And Kyle. I knew they were all together playing poker.

  “Why?” Arabella asked.

  Willa chuckled, along with Candace who pointed at Bree. “Okay, we seriously need to hang out more. I like how your mind works.”

  They reached across the island and slapped hands.

  “Wait, why?” Arabella asked once more.

  Bree folded her arms over her chest. “In case you didn’t notice the way Hunter was gawking at you, or the way Bishop couldn’t tear his eyes away from you, Abby…I wanted them to have a gentle reminder of what they’re missing out on.”

  Greer gasped. “You planned that whole thing?”

  Candace slowly shook her head. “You’re an evil genius.”

  Laughing, I held up my hands. “Wait. You think just because Bishop saw me half naked, he’s going to just…what? Forgive me?”

  Bree shook her head. “Of course not, I’m not naïve. But what I do know is that he and Hunter will both fall asleep tonight thinking about you two. And I promise they’ll be thinking naughty, naughty things with t
heir dicks in their hands.”

  Willa covered her mouth and gagged. “Gross, that’s my brother!”

  Greer pointed to Bree and laughed. “You are an evil genius, Candace is right.”

  Arabella and I both exchanged a look.

  Bree smiled. “Trust me, ladies, I know what I’m doing. I’m a lawyer, after all.”

  “What in the world does that have to do with it?” Greer asked as her phone beeped. She picked it up and stared at it, then started to laugh. “Hudson asked if I was ‘available.’”

  “He wants phone sex,” Candace said, and Bree nodded in agreement.

  Greer huffed. “He does not…”

  Her phone beeped again, and she gasped. “He wants phone sex! I’ll be right back!” she yelled, racing up the steps.

  “Is she going to…?” Arabella let her question die off, clearly already knowing the answer.

  Willa picked up a piece of cheese, tossed it in the air, then caught it in her mouth. She smiled. “Well, all I can say is, Aiden asked me to give him my outfit so I could wear it for him later.”

  “I saw him sneaking it out of here!” Bree said with a laugh.

  A series of small beeps sounded, and everyone looked around.

  “That’s my phone,” Arabella said as she went over and grabbed it off the breakfast table. “I hope my folks are…” Her voice trailed off and her eyes grew wide. “It’s from Hunter.”

  “Goddamn, I’m good.” Bree stared at her nails, blew on them, and then smiled at us.

  I rushed over to Arabella. “What did he say?”

  A blush moved across her face. “He, um…he asked if I was okay and said to make sure I took a couple of Advil before I went to bed so I didn’t feel bad in the morning.”

  My heart melted, as did everyone else’s in the room, judging by the awws.

  “Oh my gosh, that is the sweetest thing ever!” Candace sighed before she picked up another hangover shot and downed it.

  I looked back at Bree, who smirked. “See? They’re thinking about you. Told you.”

  But I knew better than to dare hope that Bishop was thinking about me.

  Greer came back downstairs and stomped into the kitchen.

  “That was fast.”

  She huffed and shot me a dirty look. “Apparently, Bishop wants to talk to him about Christmas trees. Cock-blocked by a damn Christmas tree!”