When we push through the county clerk’s office, I look over at Avery and meet her excited gaze.
“We did it.”
Her eyes are still filled with tears, but I know they are happy tears.
She may have thought she was getting an abortion today, but not on my watch.
Nope, we got married.
When Pastor Dwayne holds his hand out, I take it and shake it hard. “Thank you so much for fitting us in.”
He smiles, but I know he’s still a little wary of our union. I’ve known him a very long time, grew up going to his church. He may think that we are too young, but I’m convinced it really was a gift from God that he was marrying someone else when we walked in. It was a sign. I had only planned to get the marriage license and then get married at our church. But he was there, we were there, and it just seemed right. He did hesitate, asked if we were sure, and it took everything out of me not to scream, “Yes!”
I want this.
I want Avery.
I want her to never stop smiling.
And boy, is she beaming.
“I’m very happy for you both. Hope to see you at church this Sunday,” he says with a wink and I nod.
“For sure, thank you.”
“Thank you,” Avery says as she trembles beside me.
Giving us a hearty smile, he waves. “Good luck.”
“Thanks,” we both say as he turns to walk away. When I wrap my arm across Avery’s shoulders, she looks up at me and I grin down into her beautiful face.
“We really did it.”
“Yup.”
Her lips turn up and my heart just, wow, it soars. “This is crazy.”
I nod. “It is. But it feels right, right?”
“Yeah,” she says breathlessly, turning into my chest, her hands coming to rest against my heart. “It feels so right.”
Her smile drops, though, and she looks a little green. “Are you about to get sick again?”
She swallows hard. “No, I swallowed it again.”
I chuckle. “That’s so gross.”
She giggles as she holds me tight. “Eh, you’re stuck with it.”
Wrapping my arms around her, I kiss the top of her head. “Yup, and I couldn’t be happier.”
Kissing the base of my throat, she squeezes me as the sun shines down on us. It’s chilly, but in her arms, it’s perfect. This is perfect.
Holy shit, I’m married.
And we have a baby coming.
And my mom is going to kill me.
Chuckling, I hold her tighter and she looks up at me. “What?”
“My mom is gonna freak her shit.”
She smiles. “Hey, at least she’ll care. My family won’t.”
I hate the sad look she gets when she mentions them. I wish they’d just disappear or at least treat her right. I lean my head to hers. “We don’t need them.”
“We don’t,” she agrees, nodding her head. “But are you sure this was okay? Didn’t you want your family here?”
I shrug. “I would have liked it, but it was just right, you know? You’re not upset you didn’t get to rock a dress are you?”
She smiles. “Not really. I just want to be yours.”
“Boom, done.” I grin as I throw my hands up for dramatic purposes and she laughs. “And I promise, when I sign my badass contract, I’ll take you on a honeymoon.”
“With a brand-new baby?”
“Yup,” I say with a grin. “Or my mom can babysit. She wants a new grandbaby, remember?”
She laughs. “This is all so crazy.”
She looks worried, so I hold her tighter. “Hey, crazy is awesome. Keeps us on our toes. Don’t worry.”
Her eyes start to fill with tears and I lift her off the ground, pressing my nose to hers. “Avery.”
Her eyes look wild as she shakes her head, her heart beating hard against mine. “No, really, it’s just we didn’t think about this, and your family could freak. Hate me. What if I lose the baby? What if you don’t get into the NHL? And we’re broke? Oh Jesus, what did we do?”
This girl, man.
Jesus.
Putting her on her feet, I take her face in my hands, leaning my head to hers and pressing my nose into hers. “Avery, do you love me?”
Her lips tremble as she gasps for breath, her face pale with sweat beading along her collarbone. “Yes.”
“Then we’re good.”
“Jace,” she says solemnly. “We can’t live on love. We can’t feed a baby on love.”
I smile. “Yes, we can. ’Cause that love will fuel me to do everything I can to support you and our child. That is my main concern: you and this baby. You have nothing to worry about, Avery Rose Sinclair. I got you.” Her tears roll down, falling over my hands, and I smile. “Your heart is jackhammering. Calm down.”
She slowly nods, her bottom lip trembling as she searches my eyes. “You cocky bastard,” she breathes with a grin and I smile.
“Damn right,” I say with a wink. “We are gonna be okay. Great, even. Trust and believe that, okay?”
“Okay,” she whispers.
“Depend on me. I got you.”
I feel her heart slow, her eyes drying as she nods. Reaching up, she holds my face, running her thumbs along my cheeks as she searches my eyes. “I love you so much, Jace. So damn much.”
I grin. “Awesome, ’cause I love you more than that and then some.”
Her lips curve as she shakes her head. “Nope. Not even close,” she says with a wink and then my mouth crashes into hers to show her she’s wrong. That I will forever love her more than she can even comprehend. Holding her tightly, I swear our kiss feels a billion times more intense than ever before. As our mouths move together in such a perfect way, it feels all-consuming, right. The thought that this is how our kisses will be for the rest of my life is just… It’s just fucking amazing.
This girl is my life.
I pull away and see she has her eyes closed as she leans her forehead to my lips and sucks in a deep breath. When she starts to laugh, I squeeze her, moving her face up with my chin as she laughs harder. Meeting my gaze, she shakes her head. “What?” I ask and she giggles harder.
“A month ago, you thought you were a player.”
I glare. “I was.”
She scoffs. “Please, you fell harder than a bag of pucks for me, and now look at us. Married less than two months later.”
“With a baby. Don’t forget that,” I say with a wink and she shakes her head, her eyes wide and her lips curving.
“Did you think this would happen?”
I smile, holding her face in my hands. “Now, no. But one day, yeah.”
“Really?”
“Hey, I know what I want and you are it.”
Holding my gaze, she covers my hands with hers and sighs. “It must be great to be you.”
Leaning down, I press my nose to hers. “It is now.”
I’m not nervous.
But I might be a little scared as we pull into my mom’s driveway. I mean, I’ve got this. I know I love Avery, I know I want this, but my mom might freak out and I don’t know how I feel about that. I hold what my family thinks so highly in my heart, so if she doesn’t approve, I’ll be crushed.
But she will.
Yeah. She will approve.
Parking my car behind hers, I turn it off and let out a long breath.
“Jace, I’m scared shitless your mom will shoot me.”
I look over at Avery. Her face is panicky and I laugh. “Please, the only way she’ll kill you is smothering you with kisses.”
I hope.
Giving me a deadpan look, she shakes her head. “Why are she and Lucy home?”
“They somehow worked their schedules to take the same day off. They’re weird,” I laugh, pushing open my door and getting out as she does the same.
“So what you’re saying is you’re taking me into a house with two women who love you very much and you’re gonna tell them we just got married and we’re pregnant? Yeah, this is no big deal.”
I laugh, wrapping my arms around her. “Lucy knows, and come on, we have nothing to worry about.”
“You’re insane. I’m shaking in my boots over here.”
Grinning, I squeeze her into my side. “We are good.”
I think.
Walking up toward the door, I try to settle my beating heart as we hit the porch, but then the door opens and my mom is filling it, eyeing us.
“Hey, guys. I didn’t know you were coming by,” she says, her gaze dropping to me. I smile extra big, the kind of smile I shot her when I was the one who broke the window but didn’t want to get into trouble, even though Jude and Jayden threw me under the bus. But it always works. “Oh Jesus, what did you do?”
Or it did.
“Huh?” I go in for a hug, but she presses her hand to my chest.
“Oh no, don’t play dumb. What did you do?”
“What? Why did I have to do something?” I ask, buying time, but she glares.
“Jace Ryan Sinclair, you tell me right now what you did,” she demands, her gaze cutting to Avery before turning back to me. “You don’t smile at me like that unless you think I’m gonna get mad. Now out with it.”
I see Lucy standing in the living room, watching with her hands on her hips. This is going to be fun. Not. Clearing my throat, I bring Avery into my side. “Why don’t we go inside?”
“Why don’t you tell me what is going on?”
“Mom, let them in. Geez, you’re acting like a crazy,” Lucy calls, coming to my rescue and pulling me into the house. Her eyes search mine, and I smile. In return, she smiles back.
“Why am I letting you live here?” I hear my mom ask as she shuts the door.
“’Cause I clean and don’t tell your sons that you’re shacking up with their coach… Oops, sorry, am I homeless now?” Lucy teases as she wraps an arm around Avery.
Meanwhile, I’m gagging.
“Lucy, really?”
“Hey, you woke me up early,” she says as my mom glares at her.
“You hush, and you too, Jace. I’m a woman with—”
I hold my hand up, stopping her. “If you say ‘woman with needs’ one more damn time, I swear I will never come back.”
She fights a grin as she crosses her arms over her chest. “Well, if you don’t tell me what’s going on that brought y’all over at midday when you both are supposed to be in school, you might not be welcomed back anyway.”
Avery’s eyes widen and I roll my eyes as Lucy says, “This is my mom trying to be scary. Funny, huh?” Avery doesn’t say anything as my mom glares. “Doesn’t she remind you of an angry bulldog?”
“Lucy! Really? Are you calling me fat?”
That makes Avery grin and I roll my eyes. “Okay, that’s enough, people!”
Lucy shrugs as I take Avery’s hand, pulling her to me, but when I look up at my mom, her eyes are wide. “Oh, praise Jesus. Jace, is that Mamaw’s ring on Avery’s ring finger?”
Looking back at Avery, I smile confidently before returning to my mom’s stunned gaze. “Yeah, it is.”
“Do I need to ask why, or is what I’m assuming true?” she shrieks, her arms waving at her sides like they do when she gets upset.
Avery is trembling beside me and I hold her tightly as I nod. “If you’re assuming we got married today, then yes, you’re right.”
Her mouth drops, but Lucy grins big. “Jace Ryan! You’re a baby.”
I point my two pointer fingers at her with a grin on my face. “Having a baby.”
I thought going the funny route would be a good way to go, but when my mom’s eyes widen even more, making her look bug-eyed, and a cry leaves her lips, I’m thinking maybe I should have done that differently. Especially when she throws her hands in the air, tears filling her eyes. “What in the hell? Boy, are you insane? You are a baby. She’s a baby. Wrap your shit up. And Jesus, don’t get married unless you mean to. Divorce is nasty.”
“Seriously,” Lucy yells and Avery looks down, but I just smile.
“Lucy, he could end up like you. And what is wrong with all you people? Jude is the only one who loves me. He gave me time to let him go; he gave me a wedding. You other three just run off, getting married and having babies. Are y’all trying to kill me?”
“No, I’m talking to him,” Lucy yells, shaking her head at me. “I said keep the baby, not get married.”
That surprises me, but Mom isn’t listening. “Oh my God, my baby is having a baby—and he’s married,” she cries, drawing in deep breaths as she holds her hands to her chest.
“Oh, God,” I hear Avery whisper and I look down at her.
“It’s fine. She did this to all of us, even Jude.”
Still sucking in breaths, Mom leans on her knees, shaking her head. Going to the couch, she sits down as Lucy looks at me. “Are you sure?”
I nod. “Yeah.”
“You don’t have to do this, dude. Don’t make my mistakes. I married Angie’s dad because I was pregnant.”
I understand her worry. I get it. But this is different. I love Avery, I would die for her… Wow, I went full hero with that. But really, this is it. She’s it, and I know that. “Yeah, but unlike you, I actually love her,” I inform her and she nods, a smile pulling at her lips.
She’s still smiling as she nods her head. “Yeah, you’re right.” Looking over at Avery with a huge grin, Lucy pulls her into her arms. “While our mother has her panic attack, congratulations. I knew you were great for my brother.”
I watch as Avery hugs Lucy. She’s so much smaller than my sister who I see as so small. But against my wife, wow, she towers over her. I’m so engrossed as they talk quietly to each other that I don’t even see my mom get up. Not until she slams into me, her arms coming around me, do I tear my gaze from Avery and Lucy.
Holding me tightly, she brings me down, whispering in my ear. “Jace, are you sure? You don’t have to. We can fix this.”
“Can’t fix something that isn’t broke, Mom. I love her. I do.”
She doesn’t say anything, just holds me, her heart pounding against my chest. “Okay,” she whispers, pulling back and reaching up to squeeze my face between her hands. “Then I love her too.”
My eyes mist up a bit as I nod. “Thanks, Mom.”
Her eyes search mine, her breathing still fast but slowing by the second. Clearing her throat, she says, “I’m so proud of you, Jace, really. I wish you would have waited, but goodness me, you’re such a man now.”
“Well, you made me, raised me to be this awesome. So really, you get all the credit.”
“I know that’s right,” she says, squeezing me again before kissing me hard on my cheek. “I love you so much, baby.”
“I love you too, Mom.”
When she lets me go, she gobbles Avery up. And like I expect, she smothers her with kisses. Avery is beaming, laughing, as my mom holds her tightly and welcomes her to the family.
“I knew you were the one,” Mom says with a wink. “I always knew.”
“You’re not mad?” Avery asks, nervousness still in her eyes.
“Jesus, no,” Mom says, reassuring her. “Shocked, yes, but you were a part of this family the moment we met you. Now, you ain’t going anywhere. Hope you know that.” Avery’s lip quivers and then she’s crying. Shaking my head, I laugh as my mom wraps her up in a tight hug.
Holding my mom, Avery grins as she cries. “I don’t want to go anywhere.”
“Oh, you won’t. Don’t you cry. I’m gonna cry.”
I go to break up the crying fest between the two women I love most, but before I can move, Lucy is pulling me into the kitchen. When we are out of sight, she wraps her arms around my middle, holding me tightly. Wrapping my arms around her neck, I kiss the top of her head and she shakes against me.
Pulling back, my eyes wide, I tilt her back to see that she is crying.
Lucy does not cry.
“What the hell? Why are you crying?”
She shakes her head and then smiles. “I’m just so fucking proud of you, Jace, so proud.” I smile as she brings me in tight, kissing my cheek. “You did the right thing—crazy, but the right thing.”
“I did the only thing,” I say into her hair. “I love her, and she will never feel alone again in her life.”
Holding me tightly, Lucy laughs. “And to think, we all thought you were such a spoiled brat. When really, you’ve grown into a good man.”
Grinning, I squeeze her. “When you have three older siblings beating you into a good man, it tends to happen.”
She laughs and then pulls back. “You know they are gonna rip you apart.”
I nod. “I know.”
“But you don’t care?”
“Not even a little bit. All I care about is that girl in there, the one who’s having my baby.”
I’m not kidding.
But I would be lying if I said I wasn’t scared what my brothers will think. I respect them too much not to be worried, but I know they’ll support me.
Well, I hope so at least.