The Chase is Over - Toni Aleo Page 0,6
and stuff.”
“Hey, being a grown-up means you get to do what you want,” Amelia adds, but I’m speechless.
I look to my sister, my cousins, waiting for someone to help me out, but no one says anything. “We can’t take her. Aiden will kill me.”
“I’ll take responsibility,” Stella says, wrapping her arm around her sister. “She looks like she’s eighteen. I mean, she’s got bigger boobs than me, and I promise, we aren’t drinking. Mom would kill us.”
I gawk at her. “Does your mom know?”
Stella shakes her head. “No. I’m not trying to die.”
“God help me.”
No one moves as we all look at Emery.
Finally, Ally says, “We’ll go to the pub on the corner of Broadway. Super low-key, but they have dancing. One bar, Emery, and then you’re going home.”
She thinks that over. “Fine.”
But I don’t think there is anything fine about this.
“We’re all going to jail,” I mutter, and Posey throws her arm around me.
“At least we’ll be together.”
“That doesn’t make this better.”
She grins as she leans into me. “I already texted Fallon. She’s gonna catch us at the door.”
Oh, thank God. “Could you imagine?”
She chuckles. “Pretty sure ‘Two pregnant women, one fake ID, a secretly married bachelorette, and a bride walk into a bar’ isn’t a joke I want to be a part of.”
“Girl, truth.”
Before we even walk out of the room, Fallon is there, catching us like she promised Posey. “Y’all heading out?”
I beam at my future mother-in-law. “Yup! Ready to party.”
She nods. “Wonderful. Emery, come on with me. Elli needs our help.”
She looks over at me, but I don’t make eye contact. “Dad was going to pick me up.”
“Nope, come with me—”
“But, Mom—”
“Emery, I’m not gonna have your father drive you to Elli’s when you can go with me now.”
I feel Emery’s gaze on me, and when it shifts to her sister, Stella shrugs. “Guess you gotta go.”
I swear, if looks could kill…
“We’ll see you tomorrow,” I gush, hugging Emery tightly. “Thank you for coming to dinner.”
Again, pretty sure I wouldn’t make it to my wedding if Emery had her way. I see her glance at Ally, and I hold my breath as she looks back at her mom. “Fine, let’s go.”
As she walks away, we all exhale in relief.
“Thank God,” I say first, and everyone nods in agreement. “Who’s ready to party?”
Stella scoffs. “I mean, as much as two pregnant women and an underage girl can party… Let’s go!”
Ally looks to me. “I guess we’re drinking for three?”
I nod, high-fiving her. “At least we have three DDs.”
“Right? Let’s do this.”
“Yay,” Posey says dryly, and Amelia laughs.
Meanwhile, Stella muses, “Would have been cool to have Emery with us, though.”
“I’d rather stay out of jail,” Posey says, and that sends us all into a fit of laughter.
“Yeah, I eat entirely too much and piss too much for jail,” Amelia adds.
“I just don’t think orange is my color,” Ally interjects.
“It’s not. You’re more of a violet or blue or teal. I love you in teal,” Stella gushes, hugging her now sister-in-law.
Jesus.
This is insane.
But hell if I don’t love these girls.
Chapter 3
Shelli
I rub my sister’s little belly, ignoring her annoyance.
“Are you going to do this my whole pregnancy?”
I nod with no cares. “Yup.”
“Wonderful,” she mutters as she leans on her hand, eyeing me. She has a large glass of water beside her, along with Amelia’s, but somehow Ally got Amelia and Stella on the dance floor with her. The Florida Georgia Line House is pretty impressive. It’s a nice, cool summer night, so the outside bar is the spot to be. It’s low-key but still a party. I didn’t want to overwhelm Posey and Amelia. I bet it’s hard growing a baby, and it takes a lot out of them. Especially with Posey already losing one pregnancy. I don’t want to overexert her with the craziness that Broadway can bring. This may not be the bachelorette party I always imagined, but in a way, it’s more than I could ever ask for.
“Are you sure we can’t name him Boonsey?”
My sister’s eyes narrow to slits. “Absolutely not. Don’t encourage Boon on that either!” she warns, and I giggle.
“But it’s fun to smush names together. I’m the product of one—Elli and Shea, Shelli.”
She gives me a dry look. “I know, but I refuse to do that to my son. He needs a strong name. Boon doesn’t want a Boon Jr., so I don’t know yet. Maybe a Shea Jr.”
I grin. Boon and Posey tried to keep the sex of the baby a