Page 74 of Accidentally in Love

I nodded. “A little.”

He clapped me on the shoulder. “It’s gonna be fine. You two are meant for each other, and now it will be official.”

I gulped. I still hadn’t told Avery how I felt about her. I was a chicken. I was afraid she only agreed to this marriage because I was her last resort. I was terrified that she couldn’t ever feel for me what I felt for her.

I put on my suit jacket and motioned to my brother that it was time to go. I didn’t want to be late for my wedding. We walked over to the brewery, and inside, the lights were already on, but dimmed. There were white fairy lights wrapped around the stairs leading up to the loft space. We never used that space, and Declan had been harping on me to figure out a use for it. It was perfect for my wedding, though. It let me get married to the woman I loved in the place I held most dear.

There was soft instrumental music coming from the loft. When we reached the top of the stairs, I found Gemma with freshly dyed hot pink hair, wearing a sparkly black dress, standing in front of a Christmas tree. That definitely wasn’t here last night. When did she have time to do all this?

I raised an eyebrow at her, and she gave me a coy smile.

We didn’t have many guests at the wedding. Allen, Helen, Wyatt, and Lizzie were also here. It was small and intimate and exactly what we wanted.

“Get over here,” Gemma ordered.

I took my place in front of her. Although we were technically ‘marrying ourselves,’ Gemma was presiding over the wedding. At the end, Gemma and Declan would sign off as witnesses so our uniting marriage would be legal.

Gemma changed the music, and I heard footsteps coming up the steps. We all turned to see Avery coming up the stairs with her arm linked with her dad’s. She wore a white dress that came to her knees and did nothing to hide her growing baby bump. She looked sexy as hell. Her dark hair was curled at the ends, and instead of a veil, she wore a flower crown with red and white flowers. It kinda looked like a Christmas wreath, but it looked perfect on her. She looked like the Queen of Christmas, and she had never been more beautiful to me.

Marrying her on Christmas had been the best idea ever.

Her dad kissed her cheek and whispered something in her ear. She smiled at him and then walked over to me. The smile never left her face when she clasped hands with me. The sight of her made my chest constrict. I wanted her to smile at me like that every day for the rest of our lives.

One thing was for sure, I was never getting married again. Avery would be my forever, and I wouldn’t make the same mistakes I did with my first marriage. I wouldn’t fail her like I had Kath.

Gemma cleared her throat. “Friends and family! As you know, my older sister had to be unconventional and get married at a brewery.” Gemma paused at the laughter from our friends. “Today, I’m standing before them, but not as their officiant. These two knuckleheads are marrying themselves.”

Avery glared, and Gemma stuck her tongue out in response.

Avery cleared her throat and looked up at me. “I, Avery Jensen, take you to be my husband.”

I squeezed her hand. “I, Nolan MacGregor, take you to be my wife.”

“Nolan, I promise to be there for you in sickness and health, for richer, for poorer. And when the Bulldogs are losing badly,” she said with a laugh.

That made me laugh too. I honestly think one reason we became friends was our mutual love for our terrible hockey team.

“I promise we’ll have a good life together. I swear I won’t let you eat too many of my cookies, but I’ll always save you the best ones. I promise to be your shoulder to lean on and your ear to listen.”

I put my hands on her belly as I spoke my own vows. “Avery, you’re one of my favorite people. Some people might say I’m less of a grouch when you’re around. I know we didn’t plan for Peanut, but I can’t wait to meet them and start our life together. But please stop letting me eat all your cookies. If it’s the last thing I do, I’m gonna be a good husband to you and the best daddy to Peanut I can be.”

Her eyes got shiny, and she wiped them discreetly while Gemma handed her the ring.

“I give you this ring as a sign of my determination for a happy and successful marriage,” Avery said while she slipped the ring onto my left hand.

We had picked up our wedding bands together last week. I went with a wooden ring with black ceramic. Avery said it looked like a keg, and it was perfect for me. Who was I to argue with my wife? I convinced her to pick something nice for herself. At first, she went for a simple plain band, but I persuaded her to get the band with tiny diamonds across the top. She deserved something as beautiful as she was, especially when I wanted to make sure she never took it off.

I took her ring in my hand. I looked deep into her eyes as I said the words and slipped the ring on her finger. “I give you this ring as a sign of my determination for a happy and successful marriage.”

I turned toward our small audience. “We’re married!”

Avery smiled at me, and I bent my head to capture her lips with mine. When I kissed my wife, everything shifted away. The only thing I paid attention to was the woman in my arms. The woman I never wanted to let go of. Avery was the light I needed in my life, and even though we didn’t plan for the baby, I finally felt like my life was clicking into place.

“Okay!” Gemma beamed. “Before you two get on the road, we have brunch for you.”

Avery furrowed her brow and gave me an annoyed look. I shrugged. I was just as clueless as she was.

“You guys,” Avery cried. “You didn’t have to do brunch for us.”