Taking Shots (Assassins, #1)(6)

“Yes, ma’am, I can. I’ll be there at 12:30. I just need the address and your email to send you the invoice.”

“Wonderful! You’re a life saver Elli!” Grace gave her the email and the address to a well known subdivision, before thanking her again, then hanging up. After staring at the wall for what seemed like forever, she dialed Harper’s number.

“I said yes,” Elli said when Harper answered.

“Good, I knew you would.”

“How did you know? I didn’t even know I would!”

“Because you want to see Shea Adler again. You won’t admit it, but I saw the way you looked at him yesterday. You’re smitten,” Harper said

“I am not!”

“Yes, you are.”

“I’m hanging up.”

“Go ahead, but listen, make sure you wear the white tube top dress with the blue flowers, and your bright blue Manolo heels to the party. You’re smoking in that dress.”

“I will not! I’m wearing jeans and a studio tee.”

“Whatever you say, Elli.”

The line went dead again, and Elli threw the phone down. She sat down behind her desk and looked up to look at the Assassins’ team picture from last year. She needed to print one out of this year’s team, since there were new players, and some of the guys looked a little different. She looked at her favorite spot, row four, eight guys in from the left, to where Shea Adler stood in his jersey with a C on his chest and a big grin on his face.

She took a deep breath and shook her head as she said “Damn it. I’m gonna wear the damn dress.”





“Her name is Eleanor Fisher, Elli for short.”

“Excuse me guys, it’s my sister,” Shea said as he stood up, leaving his fellow teammates in the living room as he walked to the kitchen to talk to Grace in private.

“Elli, I like it.”

“She’s so sweet, shy like you said, but sweet. She said yes, after making me wait most of the day, she said she got extremely busy, which was probably true. Her studio is extremely hot right now. Not only is her wedding photography beautiful, but her in studio stuff is amazing. You should look it up online; I’ll send you the link with the invoice for her services.”

“Okay, sounds good. How much is she charging me?”

“Not enough in my opinion, five hundred.”

“Add a thousand to it and send it in, don’t forward me anything, I’ll just lose it.”

“It’s an email, Shea.”

“I lose everything.”

“True, so fifteen hundred?”

“Yeah, she’s really coming?”

“Yes, Shea.”

“You’re awesome, Grace. I owe you.”

“It’s my job, I’m glad I’ve made you happy.”

“You’ve made my day, babe, thanks. Listen I got Jakob and Alex over, see you Saturday?”

“I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

“Yep, love you.”

“Love you, too.”

Shea hung up the phone, tucking it into his pocket, a huge grin on his face.

Eleanor Fisher. Elli.

The name fit her. He couldn’t believe Grace had come through. When he came into the living room, Jakob looked up at him and shook his head.

“What’s up with the grin, bro?”

“Grace came through for me. You didn’t finish the story did you?” Shea said changing the subject. Jakob had gone out last night with some girl he had met and was telling the guys about it.

“No, so after going at it all night, then a good part of the morning, we wake up, and she rolls over and tells me to leave! I couldn’t believe it! No woman has ever done that!”

“Maybe you weren’t good,” Alex said with laugh. Jakob pinned him with a glare.

“Fuck off, Welch. I was amazing, she was amazing. I don’t know what happened.”

“Crazy dude,” Shea said as he leaned back on the couch, a beer in hand.

“Damn right, it was, she was heaven, damn it.”

“What, she won’t talk to you?” Alex asked.

“Hell no, she won’t answer any of my calls or texts.”

“Maybe she used you.”

“Maybe,” he said with a shake of his head. Jakob was one of those guys that was looking for true love; not that Shea wasn’t looking for the one, but not right now, like Jakob was. Alex had found his true love years ago; he was married to his beautiful wife and had five girls, something Jakob was extremely jealous of.

Shea hated seeing his best friend so upset over a girl, but luckily, he thought with a smile, that would never happen to him.





Shea never planned on what to wear. He usually just threw on a pair of ripped up jeans and a tee, but he would be seeing Elli today, and he wanted to look good. So he spent a good thirty minutes trying to pick something out, he even made the mistake of calling Grace. After being cussed out, he went back to trying to pick something out on his own. He decided on a nice white button up shirt, and a pair of cargo shorts. After fixing his hair, he threw his black Billabong hat on and slid his black Converse shoes on.

He was nervous, something he never felt. Not even during game seven of the playoffs was he nervous. He was always ready.