Taking Shots (Assassins) (49 page)

“
Okay, its twelve now, can I meet you at the dress shop by one?”

“
Sure.”

“
Cool,” Grace said before giving Elli the dress shop’s information.

They said their goodbyes and Elli hung up the phone before unloading the dishwasher. Elli had been in such a good mood since Sunday, even with Shea leaving Monday, she was doing fine. Hadn’t really been crying or anything, just enjoying the last few days before flying out for the game in Tampa. Elli was full of excitement about her mini vacation with Shea; it was hard to contain.

Harper and Alice would be running the studio and the three weddings they had that weekend while Elli was gone, so Elli had nothing to worry about, which was good since this was the first time Elli would be leaving for a vacation. Lord knew, it was much needed. Elli was ready for the days to come, five days in Florida with her hunky boyfriend?

Hell, yes.

The only thing bringing Elli down was her health. It always happened around this time of year with the winter air, she always felt run down. That was probably another reason why she was so excited to be leaving. Getting away from the cold would be good for her, since it was so easy for her to get sick. Elli really didn’t want to get sick either. She just knew Shea was planning something for her birthday. He had been crazy secretive when she would call him, and when he was home, he was always calling Grace, so Elli knew he had something up his sleeve.

It was so exciting and Elli couldn’t have been happier.

Elli threw her bags into the back of the truck and turned on her GPS with the directions to the dress shop Grace had given her the address for. After getting it all set up, she was on her way. When she arrived at Ann Frances, she wished Grace would have just said the name of the place; it was the same store Jodi had gotten all her bridal wear from, so Elli knew this place well.

After locking up the truck, Elli went inside. Just as the door shut behind her, Ryan wrapped his arms around Elli’s legs.

“
Ms. Elli!” he gushed, smiling up at her with his big, bright blue eyes.

“
Hello, darlin! How are you?”

“
I would be better if I didn’t have to come here? Daddy had a meeting and couldn’t keep us, so mommy dragged us here. I hate this place.” Grace came into the lobby with Amelia on her hip, a great big smile on her face.

“
Ryan Justice, you do not hate anything, now stop talking Ms. Elli’s ear off, she has a plane to catch. Come on back, Elli,” she said, as Ryan stomp over to a chair and sat. Elli gave him a smile that he had to returned, before following Grace back to the dressing lobby.

Grace pointed to a dressing room, then said, “The dress is in there. Go ahead and throw it on. Rita will come in as soon as you’re ready.”

“
Cool, but I had a question, why didn’t the girl have the dress sent to the friend? Have her alter it in her town.”

“
Who knows?” Grace said with a wave of the hand, dismissing the thought. Elli shook her head at the inconsideration of people and headed into the dressing room after laying her purse down.

When Elli’s eyes fell on the dress, her mouth fell open, too, as she took in a quick breath. It was a masterpiece, something straight out of the olden days.

The dress was an off-white fine satin material; the bodice was covered in a sheer layer lace that did a ‘V’ dip in the front. It had a relatively full skirt, with more sheer lace, and a belt covered the seam between the top and the skirt. The belt had a beautiful intricate embroidered swirly pattern with crystals on it.

Elli hurriedly threw her clothes off, taking care as she put the dress on. When she looked in the mirror, she felt like Elizabeth Bennet, dressed for the Netherfield Ball where she would dance with Mr. Darcy for the first time. The dress fit her like a glove; the bodice was tight, showing off her breast, the belt sparkle in the lights of the dressing room, as the skirt whoosh every time Elli moved.

She wanted this dress.

She threw the door open, and Grace slowly stood, a dazzling grin going over her mouth. “It’s a perfect fit,” she muttered as Elli walked up onto the stage where Rita would alter her, even though she felt there was no need for it.

“
It really is! Where did she get it? I have to have it. I have no clue where I would wear it but I would all the time.”

Grace laughed as she followed Elli up the stairs, circling her as she looked the dress over, “It really is a perfect fit. I did good.”

“
You did, but really I need this dress. Have you ever seen Pride and Prejudice? Elizabeth Bennet wore a dress like this and it’s my favorite moment in the movie. I need this dress,” Elli said, then stopped herself because she was sounding like a crazy person.

“
Is that right?” Grace said with a satisfied grin on her face.

“
Yes, I love it.”

“
Good.” Grace turned right as Rita started into the lobby, “Rita, it’s a perfect fit!”

“
Really? Oh, look it is! You are just beautiful in it!”

Elli beamed at both women, but then her smile fell when Grace told her to take it off. She did as she was asked even though the whole time she was taking it off, she was trying to figure out a way to get it out of there without anyone noticing after hanging it back on the wall, since her plot to run with it wasn’t going to work. She admired it for another moment before she walked out to Grace holding Amelia on her hip and Ryan’s hand in hers.

“
Thanks so much for coming by, Elli, it means a lot,” Grace said as they headed to the front of the store.

“
No problem,” she said with a grin as she admired one of the amazing wedding dresses that were on a model in the middle of the lobby. “Gosh, that’s pretty,” Elli said going to it, running her fingers down the satin skirt, it was a total princess style dress, a little too puffy for Elli, but it sure was pretty.

Grace giggled, “Already getting some ideas for you and Shea’s wedding?” she asked with a wink.

“
As if!” Elli giggled, “Like Shea would marry me!”

Grace’s head tilted to the side, “Why wouldn’t he?”

Elli felt on the spot, her cheeks turned deep red and she started digging the toe of her boot in the hardwood floor of the store, “I don’t know, it seems unrealistic to me, I guess,” she finally said after a moment.

“
I don’t think it’s unrealistic at all,” she said with a bemused smile as she walked past Elli, “by the way, I look good in purple, see ya!”

Elli couldn’t stop the slow grin that went over her face, even if she tried.

Not that she wanted to.

Elli fell back into the comfy plush chairs of Bryan’s private jet. Bryan had bought it two years ago and the darn thing still had the new smell to it. It was spectacular, the inside was completely done in team colors and even the toilet was purple. Elli always wondered if she should be worried about her uncle and his obsession with purple, but who was she to tell a 65 year old man what color to paint his plane. Plus, Elli loved riding in it; it made her feel like a princess.

A stewardess came over with a glass of champagne and Elli took it with a grin of appreciation. Elli was ready to go, ready to get to Florida, and really ready to see Shea. Grace’s statement still was fresh on Elli’s mind, and a grin pulled at the side of her mouth as Bryan sat down in front of her.

“
I’m still mad at your daddy for not coming,” he said as he leaned back, taking his large beer from the same stewardess.

“
He had work stuff.”

“
He works for me,” he said with a pout, causing Elli to giggle.

“
Stop complaining,” Elli said as she took a sip of her drink.

“
Has Melody gotten a hold of you about the promotional stuff the team is gonna need in the next couple months?”

“
No, but I’m sure she will,” Elli said. The thought of working more for the team made her extremely excited, but she didn’t want to think of work stuff right now, she was going to see Shea in a matter of hours.

The jet took off right as a text came from Shea; it was a picture of a beach chair with the caption saying:

I have a seat waiting for you.

Elli couldn’t contain her excitement. She was ready to see Shea, ready to spend time with him. A shy smile went over her face as red dusted her cheeks when she realized she would be seeing him topless on the beach. Yeah, she had seen him naked in the bedroom, but laying on the beach with him, while he was topless, made her giggle from the giddiness!

“
I tell you what, Eleanor, I always thought you were beautiful, always but goodness me, the last couple times I’ve seen you, you honestly have taken my breath away,” Bryan said, making Elli blush profusely.

“
Papa….,” she groaned. He let out a loud booming laugh.

“
I only speak the truth, darlin’. You’re absolutely beautiful, and that damn Adler is to thank for it, huh?”

“
Yes, sir,” Elli said with a quick grin as she took a drink of her champagne.

Bryan sat there smiling for a moment before his grin fell and he asked, “What if he got traded Eleanor?”

Elli’s head whip back up, staring at him with disbelieve.

“
He isn’t, is he?” Her heart had actually stopped; she couldn’t breathe as she waited for him to answer.

“
No honey, he’s a franchise player, he ain’t going anywhere right now, but one day he might. What’s gonna happen then?”

Elli let out a whoosh of breath, taking in another deep one. The man was gonna give her a damn heart attack! “I don’t know Papa, we’re just datin’.”

“
Now you and I both know that’s a lie, y’all are more than just datin’.”

“
It ain’t none of your business. Next subject please.” Elli said with a sheepish grin, as Bryan chuckled taking a long pull of his beer.

“
We need to discuss something, darlin’.”

“
Which is?” Elli said picking at one of the holes of her jeans.

“
The reason I asked about Adler was because I’m giving you the team, Eleanor.”

Shea was basically bouncing up and down waiting for Elli and Bryan’s car to arrive at the hotel. He was ready for their mini vacation, ready to lie beside Elli on the beach and not move, unless to go back to the room where he would have his way with her. Shea was also excited for her being at the game tomorrow; he always played better when he could see her watching.

Yes, he was ready for his girlfriend to come, now.

Grace had called earlier that day, saying that the dress fitting went perfect, and that Elli loved the dress, which put his mind at ease about the party. The dress was the biggest part, since he wanted her to feel like she had stepped back in time and was going to the ball of her dreams. He was so excited about the party, everything Grace had emailed him looked amazing. From the food, to the entertainment, to the guest list, the night was gonna be astonishing, and he couldn’t wait to see Elli’s face.

Speaking with her family was interesting to say the least. Her dad was fine, but Shea decided there was a good chance he would never like Olivia Fisher. She had promised that nothing would happen and that they would be on their best behavior at the party, but he was pretty sure she was full of shit and was just lying because he told her she wouldn’t be able to come if she couldn’t promise her best behavior. That was the only thing he was nervous about, considering the party.

He probably shouldn’t have invited them, but he wanted to give them a chance to make amends with Elli. Elli didn’t get to see the kids like she had before and more than anything; he wanted her to be happy. So he thought bringing her whole family together would fix things, but he was preparing his self just in case things went to shit.

Shea was leaning up against the wall of the hotel waiting as the ocean breeze hit his face. It was in the high 70s and Shea was convinced he needed to move here. He had always loved the ocean and being somewhere where it was always warm made him happy, but he did love Tennessee and didn’t really want to leave.

Especially since he had Elli in his life now.

Would she even come with him if he left Nashville? The fact that he didn’t know the answer to that bothered him. What did he expect, though? She wasn’t clingy; she had been on her own for the past six years. Of course, she missed him a lot when he was gone, but she didn’t act like her life was over when he was gone, unlike most of the women his friends dated. Elli was different, but would she follow him? Could he ask her to? She was rooted in Nashville.

What was his love compared to her roots?

Thankfully, he spotted Elli getting out of her uncle’s car, so he pushed his questions to the back of his head, put a huge grin on his face, and headed towards her. Her eyes were bright with excitement, and his grin grew bigger with every step he took. When he wrapped his arms around her, basically picking her off the ground, she let out a little squeal before he placed his lips on hers.

They parted only because Bryan Fisher cleared his throat. Shea looked over at his boss with a sheepish grin, before saying, “Hey, Mr. Fisher.”

“
Adler,” he said with a raised eyebrow, before looking over at Elli, “Darlin’, I’ll have these taken to your room.”

“
Oh, I’m coming, I gotta change, you still wanna hit the beach right?” she asked Shea, but Shea was still confused on the whole “her room” part of Bryan’s statement.