Our Little Wedding (The Spencer Brooks Diaries #3)

Ainsley

I woke up to the sound of music and Spencer’s voice in the kitchen, then the aroma of garlic bread hit my nose, making my stomach growl. I looked at my phone to see it was almost eight. I must have fallen asleep, I thought to myself as I kicked the blanket off me. I got up off the couch, stretched, and made my way into the kitchen. Nikki was sitting on the counter, helping Spencer. “Okay, sprinkle the cheese into the pot,” he said.

I smiled, watching the two of them. Nikki let out a little laugh as she sprinkled cheese into the pot.

“Sorry, I must have drifted off,” I said.

Spencer turned and smiled in my direction, while Nikki added in another handful of cheese into the pot he was stirring. “All right, miss, that is enough cheese.” He chuckled, putting the pot to the back of the stove and grabbing Nikki, placing her down on the floor.

“Don’t look behind you, .” Nikki giggled, covering her mouth with her hands.

“Why not? What’s behind me?” I questioned.

Spencer walked over and pulled me into his arms, kissing my cheek. “A surprise,” he whispered.

“Can she see now, Daddy?” Nikki cried. “Please.”

Spencer looked from me down to Nikki and let out a sigh. “Well, I guess,” he said, turning me around.

I looked up to see a banner on the wall that read ‘Congratulations on your New Home!”

I couldn’t help but stare at the words on the sign. Thoughts of us owning our own place, the one we chose together, brought tears to my eyes. I was so excited. I could feel Spencer watching me, and I quickly wiped away the tear that sat at the corner of my eye before it slid down my cheek.

“You happy?” Spencer questioned.

I nodded my head. “Yes, very much so. I’m very excited,” I said, throwing my arms around his neck and hugging him.

“As am I. Now we should eat,” he said, meeting my lips. “I’m sure you’re starved.”

I nodded, wrapping my arm around Nikki as she hugged my leg. I’d just gotten her settled in her chair when I remembered I still had Spencer’s credit card in my purse from a week ago. I reached for my bag that sat on the counter and opened my wallet, taking the card out.

“Before I forget,” I said, holding the card out for him to take. “I should have given this back to you last week. I totally forgot.”

He shook his head, his hands full. “Keep it. Honestly, you are going to need it for the wedding, especially if I am in a meeting. Plus, we now have a house to furnish.” He winked. “I’ll see about ordering you a spousal card as well. But for now, use it at your leisure.”

I softly smiled and slid the card back into my wallet, then took the salad from Spencer and put it on the table while he brought over the pasta and garlic bread.

“How did the dress fitting go?” Spencer questioned as he began plating dinner.

“Good, just a few minor alterations.” I smiled. “I go back for another one in a couple of weeks. I can’t wait for you to see it.”

“I want to see it too!” Nikki said.

“Of course you’ll see it, probably before Daddy.” I winked. “Especially since you are going to need a flower girl dress,” I said, tickling her tummy.

She let out a loud giggle. “Really?”

“Yes, really.” I winked.

“Carly told me she is planning a baby shower.”

“Yes, she sort of took that upon herself. I tried to tell her it was too early, but she insisted on sending out the invites.”

“Yes, she seemed proud of herself as well. Has anyone messaged you yet?”

“No. I’m afraid of that starting though.” I shrugged. “It’s too early to tell people.”

“Agreed.”

“Invites are out, though, so I’m not sure what I am supposed to do.” I shrugged, pinching the bridge of my nose to try and stop the headache that was coming. “Guess I’ll just cross that bridge when I come to it.”

We all sat down to eat. The conversation during dinner was about the house. Nikki was excited that she was going to have a bigger room, and when she found out that there was a pool in the backyard, all she wanted to do was get into her suit and go swimming, which caused Spencer and I both to laugh.

Once dinner was over, I gave Nikki a bath and got her tucked into bed while Spencer went over some reports, then I too got into my pajamas. I took a few minutes and cleaned up the kitchen while I made a cup of tea and then settled into the living room, resting my head as my favourite jazz album played over the stereo. My dad would be returning from his trip with Jane tonight. I was excited to see him in the morning.

I looked down at my hands while sitting on the couch and noticed my fingers were swollen. I pulled at my engagement ring, finally feeling it slip from my finger, and set it on the side table. Spencer and I had talked about when to tell him about the baby. We’d agreed to do it before the wedding, and we figured that once they returned from their trip, and we’d seen the OB/GYN, we’d tell them. That way, Jane could help with Carly’s baby shower.

Spencer came upstairs and glanced in the living room at me. “I’m just gonna grab a coffee. I fear it’s going to be a late night for me,” he sighed. “I still have a lot of things to go over.”

“I’d offer to help, but I’m exhausted, so I’ll probably crawl into bed soon,” I replied, getting up and following him into the kitchen where I ran my swollen hands under water and dried them. “I hate going to bed alone,” I said, wrapping my arms around his waist and pressing my body into his back. My hands traveled down to his hips, and I was just about to run my hand over the bulge I already knew was growing when the doorbell rang.

“I’ll get it,” I said, releasing my hold on him.

“Just check who it is first,” he cautioned.

“I will.” I walked to the door and glanced out the side window to see my father standing there. I pulled the door open and opened my arms, expecting a hug. Instead, he pushed past me and stormed into the house, shutting the door behind him.

“Where is he?” he demanded. “I think I might kill him this time.”

The crazed look on his face scared me. “Dad, what is it? What’s wrong?” I questioned, my heart beating hard in my chest. I looked down at his hand to see a torn, open envelope.

My stomach churned at the thought of what that envelope contained, and I silently hoped it wasn’t the invitation to the baby shower.

“, what is it?” Spencer demanded, coming out of the kitchen, alarm in his voice.

“I really hope this is some kind of sick joke.” My father’s voice boomed throughout the entryway as he threw down the envelope he’d been carrying. I instantly recognized it as the envelope that had contained the baby shower invitation.

Carly had promised me she wouldn’t give Dad his until later. Why would she have done this I wondered and then it hit, I’d sent her with some mail we’d had for him, and maybe it was accidentally put in his mailbox along with the other envelopes.

“Jon, just come in and we will talk this through,” Spencer said, trying to calm my father down.

“How dare you? Is this what this wedding is about?” my father demanded.

“Jon, please, let’s just talk about this like grown adults,” Spencer repeated, keeping his voice at a level tone.

My dad glared at Spencer and then looked at me, disappointment flooding his face. Then he climbed up the stairs and followed Spencer into the kitchen. I’d just stepped into the kitchen while Spencer was getting ready to pour a coffee for my father when I remembered I hadn’t ripped down the banner Spencer and Nikki had made. I did my best to grab my father’s attention, but he’d already seen the banner, his face growing serious and angry.

“What the hell is that?” he questioned, looking toward the banner.

Immediately, I looked at Spencer, and I covered my mouth to keep the sobs from starting. Spencer gently shook his head, telling me not to say anything as he approached the table.

“Jon, we need to talk,” he said.

“No shit, we need to talk. I agreed to you guys dating, and now marriage. However, I feel like you both have blindsided me once again. Now a baby and then this?” he said, pointing to the colourful banner that only a couple of hours ago had brought me joy.

“Daddy, please…”

“Don’t Daddy me,” my father said, turning his glaring eyes on me.

“Spencer is a good man.” I cried.

Spencer reached for me and pulled me in behind him, protecting me from a man I’d known my entire life.

“He wants to marry you for all the wrong reasons, . He knows I’d kill him if he impregnated you and then left you to raise that baby all on your own. Isn’t that right, Spencer?” my father screamed.

“That is true, Jon. You would kill me. However, that isn’t what this is. I’m in love with her. Yes, she is pregnant, and yes, we are getting married, but I planned to ask her to marry me before I even knew about the baby. We bought a house, one we can call our own, but not one of these things has anything to do with one another.”

“How would I know that? There seems to be no truth to any of this!” my father shouted. “You know, this is all just going way too fast. Young lady, you need to move back home this minute. I will not allow you to ruin your life. Now go get your things.”

My throat got tight, and tears streamed down my face. I was finding it hard to breathe and began panicking at the thought of losing Spencer and Nikki again. I grabbed hold of Spencer’s arm as I fought to control the panic I was feeling. Dizziness was setting in.

“Stop it, . I will not allow you to move away with this man. I should have stuck to my decision last year. I should have forced you to quit your job. I’m guessing the flu was really morning sickness! I knew I should have immediately made you see the doctor. I never dreamed…”

“Jon, please… just calm down,” Spencer commanded as he wrapped his arm around me, trying to get me to calm down. “, breathe, baby,” he said in a low voice.

Only I couldn’t. My chest was so tight I couldn’t inhale. The thought of losing Spencer, Nikki, or my father was too much for me to handle as tears streamed freely down my face. Spencer wrapped his arms around me, holding me as I sobbed.

“You know, when I told you to find a younger woman to help you get over Brittany, I honestly never thought it would be my daughter you’d turn to. Sneaking around behind my back. I tried hard to be rational and allow you two to date. I even swallowed my fears of what your intentions were with the proposal, but to find all this out now, I have nothing left to say. I want you home!”

“I was going to talk to you. You shouldn’t even have gotten one of those invites until after we spoke.”

“When were you planning on talking to me, after the fucking wedding?” my father yelled and stepped forward, taking hold of my upper arm.

Immediately, Spencer grabbed his arm, forcing him to remove his hand from me and stepped in front of me. “Jon, I’m warning you. Don’t touch her. Now, I never meant for this to happen this way. I never meant to fall in love with your daughter, but I have zero fucking regrets. Now I will not tell you again. You either calm down and talk to us or you leave our home. This isn’t good for or the baby.”

As the words left Spencer’s lips, my heart began racing. At first, I thought maybe my father hadn’t heard him, but he stopped moving and stood there, staring at us.

“Tell me I didn’t actually hear what I think you said,” my father said in a low, controlled voice.

“No, you heard me correctly.” Spencer stood there, his back straight, his eyes glued to my father’s. He wasn’t backing down, not this time. I turned my back away from the two of them, afraid of what was coming next. I left the kitchen, stepping into the living room and up against the wall as the room I’d just left fell completely silent.

I tried to breathe, tried to calm down, but the room spun. Still, there were no words spoken between the two of them. The kitchen was completely silent. I wanted them to yell at one another, to get it over with so we could sit down and talk things through after, like rational adults. Instead, the silence was overwhelming, until I heard my father speak.

“Fine, kick me out. She can stay here tonight, but I want her home in the fucking morning. Got it.” The front door opened and then closed. Then, suddenly, Spencer appeared beside me.

“He left?” I questioned, looking at Spencer with tear filled eyes.

Spencer nodded his head. “He did.”

Tears poured. “Just like that, he left?”

Spencer grabbed me, pulling me into him, doing his best to comfort me. “It’s okay, , shhh. I promise things will be fine. I’ll speak to him tomorrow.”

“I’m not going there.” I sobbed. “I’m not leaving us.”

“You don’t have to.” Spencer’s arms tightened around me, and I cried harder. I was afraid that with all this backlash that Spencer would soon tire of being the one to hold us together and that he too would give up on us. After all, he didn’t need this type of drama in his life.

“Come, we are getting you into bed,” he whispered, grabbing the remote for the stereo and silencing the music I’d been enjoying before all the craziness had erupted. He turned out all the lights, then quickly locked the front door and walked with me into the bedroom.

I pulled back the blankets and crawled into bed as tears still ran down my cheeks. My body was exhausted, and as soon as my head hit the pillow, I let out a yawn. He turned his bedside lamp on and then shut off the overhead light, coming around to his side of the bed. He stripped down and slipped under the covers, his warm body sliding behind me, providing me with comfort, while I shivered.

He pulled me into him, my head resting on his shoulder, and wrapped his arm around me. Not another word spoken between us. He just held me tightly against him. I never wanted to leave his arms. I closed my eyes and took comfort in the security and warmth he provided, finally drifting off into a restless sleep.