by Kennedy Fox
Between getting ready, helping Savannah get into her gown, feeding the baby, taking pictures, and chatting with all the other girls, time flies. I walk down with one of Hayden’s friends, and as soon as Hunter spots me, he flashes me a shit-eating smirk and a wink. I can’t wait for our big day, and whether we do a huge celebration like this or elope, it’ll be one of the happiest moments of my life.
The ceremony is beautiful, and their vows to each other make everyone in the room tear up. They talk about soul mates, young love, finding each other again after ten years, and how when you know, you just know. They’re seriously a gorgeous couple, and as soon as they kiss as husband and wife, everyone erupts in cheers and applauds.
Hunter and I are summoned for pictures after, but I know Alison is in good hands with my sister so I don’t go chasing them down right away. Hayden gives me a big hug to congratulate me on the baby and then I tease him that it’s his turn now. Savannah overhears us and demands we not give him any ideas until the final weekend of her show. They’re so adorable together; it’s impossible not to feel the love radiating off them.
After almost two hours of photos, we head to the dinner, and I’m in complete awe when I see inside the reception hall. It’s a fairy tale.
“You getting wedding fever?” Hunter whispers in my ear, wrapping his arm around my waist.
“Well, considering we did everything backward, I’m not sure I want to be big and pregnant in a wedding dress.” I chuckle.
“Maybe by society’s standards, but there’s no order for falling in love, is there?” He waggles his brows, causing me to laugh at his expression.
“Got me there, Manning,” I mock.
One of the best parts of the evening was hearing the speeches. Donny had the entire room about to pee themselves with his entertaining story. I swear, we were all in tears from laughing so hard. He mentioned some psycho woman who tried to get between Hayden and Savannah and how she claimed she was pregnant with Hayden’s love child. Turned out she was pregnant, but the only way it could’ve been his was if she was the Virgin Mary and it was an immaculate conception.
“Maybe she’s related to Jenna?” I whisper to Hunter, who snorts.
“There was nothing immaculate about this conception,” he says, placing his hand over my stomach.
I smirk and roll my eyes. “Yes, everyone will know you’re swimmers are strong and mighty from now on.”
Hunter invited Mason and Liam to the reception, and once dinner was over, they showed up, wearing slick suits and all. Maddie’s face lights up, but morphs into a glare when a woman walks up to Liam and they head to the bar.
“How can I compete with that when I can’t even drink?” She groans, pouting.
“I doubt that’s why he…” I wave my hand in the air. “Is the way he is.”
“You mean an asshole?”
I shrug with a maybe expression. Liam has always been a hard guy to read. He’s brooding and grumpy, and anytime I ask Hunter questions, he tells me Liam had a rough childhood when his parents split, but leaves it at that. If Liam wanted us to know, he’d tell us.
“So where’s the third musketeer?” Mason asks when he returns with a beer.
The fact he’s asking about Sophie is pretty adorable. Kinda late in the game, considering she chased him for a year, but I’d much prefer him over Weston any day.
I check my phone and see Sophie still hasn’t messaged me back. I call her, but she doesn’t answer. Ten minutes later, she finally responds.
Sophie: Sorry, ran late. On our way now.
Lennon: Okay, I’ll meet you in the hallway! I have big news!
Something feels off when she reads my message but doesn’t reply. I want to tell her and Maddie together, so I’ve been holding my tongue all night.
“Okay, they’re finally on their way. I’m going to wait in the hall. Can you hold Alison for me?” I ask Maddie so Hunter can join me. He knows I’m not a fan of Weston, and though Sophie begged me not to say anything to anyone about the bruises, I was pissed off one day, and it slipped. Hunter was livid, and somehow, I was able to calm him down. Honestly, I need Hunter to be my buffer so I can get Sophie alone for a few minutes.
They drive up in Weston’s car—quite fast, I notice—but they don’t get out immediately after he parks. I start to worry, so I walk across the parking lot, and she finally opens the door.
“Hey!” I greet, coming over to hug her. Her face perks up, and when I pull back, I notice how heavy her eye makeup is. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah, totally. We just lost track of time.” Something’s wrong.
Weston rounds the car and harshly grabs Sophie’s hand, pulling her away from me. “I need a beer. Let’s go.”
I turn around and look at Hunter with a scowl on my face.
That asshole has some nerve.
“Sorry, but I’m not a fan,” he murmurs to me as we follow them.
“Join the club.”
“He better watch it before he gets his ass handed to him,” Hunter says.
Once we’re back inside, I carefully watch Sophie and Weston. Mason and Liam eye him pretty hard as well, the guy not making any effort to be nice to anyone. Hell, he’s not even being nice to Sophie. She’s not acting like herself either, which scares the shit out of me. She’s timid and won’t make eye contact with anyone.
“I gotta run to the bathroom and change Alison. Wanna come with me, Soph?” I ask with a smirk, daring her boyfriend to stop her.
“Sure,” she says, and I motion for Maddie to come too.
Before leaving, I lean down to grab the diaper bag, then whisper in Hunter’s ear, “Watch him. I need time with Sophie.”
He flashes me a wink, crossing his arms over his broad chest. Weston would be an idiot to cross my man or, hell, any of the guys here. Mason and Liam especially.
I kiss his cheek, then walk out with my sisters following.
Once we’re in the ladies’ room, I lock the door behind us and grab Sophie’s arm so she turns toward me. “Please tell me you’re not trying to cover up a black eye, Soph. I swear to God, I will murder him.”
“It’s not what you think,” she protests weakly.
“Did he hit you?” Maddie asks, standing firm next to me.
“He really didn’t mean to. Guys, stop. Please,” she begs, her bottom lip trembling. The bastard has her so scared, and she’s defending him.
“Please explain then,” I say softly. I really want to hear how him hitting her in the eye was an accident.
“Weston was punching the wall, over and over again. I tried to stop him from hurting himself by stepping in front of him, and he accidentally decked me,” she explains, but I’m not buying it. “He didn’t mean to, and he felt really bad about it.”
Oh, as long as he feels bad about it. I internally roll my eyes.
“Why was he punching the wall?” Maddie asks.
Sophie looks down with a frown. “He lost his job a couple of days ago.”
“What? Why?” I ask.
“Showed up to work still drunk from the night before. Instead of just going home like his boss instructed, Weston started a fight and was told not to bother coming back at all.”
“Was he drunk when he hit you?” I ask, deciding to actually check Alison’s diaper while we’re in here.
“Yeah, he’s been drinking for days.” Sophie’s shoulders slump.
“So why was he driving?” Maddie asks, handing me the wipes.
“Because he wouldn’t let me drive. That’s why it took us so long to get here. I was trying to stall, get him to sober up, or I threatened to leave without him. He got really mad and wouldn’t let me go, so I said I’d wait for him if he’d stop and drink some coffee,” Sophie says, looking at herself in the mirror. “It looks worse than it is.”
“You can’t honestly keep making excuses for him, Soph. He’s a drunk, and he’s hit and hurt you on more than one occasion,” I tell her firmly. “Please, leave him. I’m scared for you.�
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She swallows as if she wants to be brave, but he’s sucked all of the confidence out of her. “I don’t have anywhere else to go,” she explains softly. “I don’t have money to get my own place, and I can’t go back to my old apartment. What am I supposed to do?”
“Stay with us,” I offer. “I’ll get an air mattress, and we’ll make it work while we find you somewhere else to live.”
“It’s not just that,” she mutters. “He won’t just let me break up with him and leave.”
“What?” Maddie snaps. “What does that mean?”
Sophie shrugs as if she’s embarrassed. I get Alison redressed and place her on my hip.
“I tried to break up with him a few weeks ago when he slammed me against the wall,” she admits, embarrassed. “He left more bruises on my already bruised arms so they’re really damn sore now. He told me if I left him, he’d kill me.”
“You need to go to the police,” I tell her. “You have physical evidence, Soph. Get a restraining order and start documenting it. Put his ass in jail.”
“I’m scared, Lennon,” she says with tears in her eyes. Maddie gives her a hug, and I pull them both into my side.
“I know, Soph. We love you and will protect you, okay? Hunter, Mason, and Liam are all on your side too.”
“Just don’t say anything yet, okay? I’d rather just move my stuff out when he’s sober, tell him it’s over, then if he doesn’t take it well, we’ll get the cops involved.” Sophie wipes under her eyes, careful to avoid her right eye that’s swollen.
“You aren’t doing it alone, though,” I tell her, and we compromise.
After a few minutes, I decide to change the subject and cheer her up. “So I have some news to share…” My words get cut off by a commotion of people running and police sirens.
“What the hell is that?” Maddie says, racing toward the door.
Sophie and I follow, speed walking behind her. There’s a crowd of people huddled by the exit doors. I spot Hunter and Liam, their outfits and hair are a mess, and as soon as Hunter makes eye contact with me, his distraught look makes me panic. I’ve never seen him this shaken up before, which says a lot, considering the shit we’ve been through.
“What happened?” I ask, noticing at least a half dozen squad cars. Police officers are instructing people to stay back as they run yellow caution tape around an area.
“Your boyfriend…” Liam snaps at Sophie, his jaw twitching with anger.
“Just tell us what happened!” I shout at him.
“Oh my God,” Maddie screams, jerking our attention to where she’s looking.
Mason’s in handcuffs, his face full of blood, looking like he just got thrown from a tornado. “He’s going to jail?” I shriek. “For what? Fighting?”
Mason might not be as big as Hunter and Liam, but he’s fast and strong, especially since he has years of boxing experience.
“Weston started it,” Hunter says to Sophie, but I can tell he’s shaken up. “Things got heated, and Mason chased him outside so he’d get the hell out of here. Liam and I followed because we didn’t want a scene at my brother’s wedding. Then…” He shakes his head as if he’s struggling to continue.
“Shit hit the fucking fan,” Liam finishes, clamping his hands together behind his head. He stares out at Mason, whose eyes are glazed over, and I want to know what the hell is going on.
“Where’s Weston? Is he getting arrested too?” Sophie asks, glancing around the area in a panic. Squad cars surround the parking lot, and I notice two ambulances off to the side. One of the officers says something to Mason and roughly forces him into the back of a car, cuffed.
Sophie tries to look around the crowd of people. She turns and searches my face. “Do you see Weston?”
“Maybe they’re cleaning him up in one of the ambulances,” I suggest, trying to calm her.
“No,” Hunter and Liam say in unison, a tinge of sadness in their tone.
“Soph, he’s…” Hunter pauses to suck in a deep breath. “They tried to resuscitate him, but…”
“What?” Maddie and I gasp. Sophie grabs my arm and holds on to me as if I’m her lifeline.
Before they can explain further, one of the officers approach us, seething. “Better get your friend a good lawyer. We’re taking him in, and we’re going to need some witness statements from you two.”
“What’s he being charged?” I ask.
I’m so confused. So much is happening at once that I can barely comprehend any of it.
The cop deadpans. “For murder.”
* * *
Baby Yours concludes Hunter & Lennon’s love story, but stay tuned for Truly Mine and Truly Yours of the Mason & Sophie duet! Scroll to the very end to read the prologue!
* * *
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Book 1
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* * *
Baby Yours Playlist
Here are some songs from our playlist, but if you’d like to listen to the whole thing on Spotify, you can find it here!
Love Myself | Olivia O’Brien
With Love | Christina Grimmie
Remind Me to Forget | Kygo, Miguel
I Hope You Dance | Lee Ann Womack
ME! | Taylor Swift, Brendon Urie
Mercy | Brett Young
Only Want You | Rita Ora
Nothing Breaks Like a Heart | Mark Ronson, Miley Cyrus
The Few Things | JP Saxe
Bless the Broken Road | Rascal Flatts
Brooke Cumberland and Lyra Parish are a duo of romance authors who teamed up under the USA Today pseudonym, Kennedy Fox. They share a love of You’ve Got Mail and The Holiday. When they aren’t bonding over romantic comedies, they like to brainstorm new book ideas. One day, they decided to collaborate under a pseudonym and have some fun creating new characters that’ll make you blush and your heart melt. If you enjoy romance stories with sexy, tattooed alpha males and smart, quirky, independent women, then a Kennedy Fox book is for you! They’re looking forward to bringing you many more stories to fall in love with!
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kennedyfoxbooks.com
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TRAVIS & VIOLA DUET
Checkmate: This is War
Checkmate: This is Love
DREW & COURTNEY DUET
Checkmate: This is Reckless
Checkmate: This is Effortless
LOGAN & KAYLA DUET
Checkmate: This is Dangerous
Checkmate: This is Beautiful
BISHOP BROTHERS SERIES
Taming Him
Needing Him
Chasing Him
Keeping Him
BEDTIME READS SERIES
Falling for the Bad Boy
Falling for the Playboy
Falling for the Cowboy
HUNTER & LENNON DUET
Baby Mine
Baby Yours
MASON & SOPHIE DUET
Truly Mine
Truly Yours
LIAM & MADELYN DUET
Always Mine
Always Yours
* * *
Complete reading order HERE
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