Chapter 18 – Avery
Chapter Eighteen
Avery
T he second he’s out the door with Luna in tow, the Kelly Inquisition has begun.
“What are you doing right now, little sister?” she says, sitting up on the couch crisscross like she’s ready for a debate.
“Uh, I… I think I’m trying to figure out my life and right now, this seems like the easiest way to do it.”
“How do you figure?”
I dive deep into everything that Peter is doing, fill her in on the doctor’s office and then the conversation I had with Harris about his coach. I think she’s more pissed than Harris was about the doctor’s office run-in, but she’s also a little impressed with the way he handled the situation.
“It’s not that I need Harris to pay for the appointment, it’s the way he was so willing to help me get out of Peter’s clutches by offering to front the cost. He was being protective, making such a bold move in front of Peter, especially claiming me and our baby. I don’t know, it was…”
“Hot,” Kelly interjects.
“My God, it was so hot,” I groan. “Especially because you could see the look of defeat in Peter’s eyes—only for a second before he covered it with rage. But I knew he couldn’t and wouldn’t do anything to me because Harris was there.”
“So, that’s why you think this is a good idea? Why you think getting married will help this situation and not just put you into a big, complicated web between your two exes, one of whom you’re now having a baby with?”
“Truthfully? No. I think once it’s done, once I call our parents, and Peter realizes I’m no longer hiding our breakup… I don’t think he’s going to want to bother me at all.”
“But he went to his coach. Aren’t you worried about that?”
“I was, but then I talked to Harris, and he is going to talk to his coach next week and get it all figured out.”
“Well,” she says, looking down at her watch, “if this thing is happening in four hours, we should probably get started.”
“Started? Started on what?”
“Baby sis, fake or not, there’s no way I’m going to stand with you while you get married and not have it be special. First things first, we need to get him a ring.”
“Why just him?”
“Because in the short time I’ve known Harris, I already know there’s not a damn chance he’s going to stand there tonight and not have a ring for you. Do I expect it to be perfect? No, but I don’t think that man will show up to marry you empty-handed.”
I think about it for a second, trying to imagine Harris showing up tonight. Would he come empty-handed? Probably not, she’s right. He has given me no reason to think he isn’t putting thought into this. I mean, hell, he knew his friend could marry us and then he knew where to get a marriage certificate and how it all worked.
The scary part of this realization is that I’m realizing the Harris I’m marrying tonight… well, he doesn’t remind me of the boy who broke my heart. He doesn’t remind me of the boy who left a note saying he wanted to be single and to not contact him.
He reminds me of the boy I laid in bed with until the sun would come up, dreaming about what our lives would be like one day. The boy who would wake up before me just to make sure my coffee was ready and that I had breakfast or else I wouldn’t eat until lunch. Those last two I’m sure were just self-preservation, but he still did it to make me happy. That’s what he’s been doing lately, I can tell. The man cares so much about seeing me happy, seeing me smile, I can already see myself getting lost in his tide again, one rogue wave will be enough to pull me under for good.
We aren’t even married yet and I’m already ready to say hell with my emotions and jump in bed with him.
“I’m so fucked.”
“He did that already, silly. If not, we probably wouldn’t be here. Now, let’s go get you another bagel and find a ring. I don’t want you puking on your wedding night because you refused to give the little gremlin his carbs.”
“Stop calling it a he!”
“Stop telling me what to do. I’ve never been wrong and I’m sure as hell not wrong now.”
“Whatever. Let’s go, you mention the word carbs and the little nugget is already making me feel like crap. Can we get candy, too? A sucker sounds nice.”
I never thought picking out a guy’s ring would be so challenging, but I also wasn’t aware of just how many options there are.
How do I know if he wants gold or silver? Does he want titanium? Carbon fiber? Platinum? Two tone? Does he want a silicone ring instead because of hockey? I mean, I know he’s going to need to wear it around his coach to make a point. How do I know?
How the hell am I supposed to know? I couldn’t even tell you what I want on my own hand, well, except for the fact that the square cut Peter picked out definitely wasn’t my style. Not only was it gaudy, but it has such harsh angles all throughout it that I would constantly hurt myself on it. Plus, it felt too much for my hand. I feel like I need something more feminine, a little daintier, but I don’t even know where to begin.
For Harris though, I know I want to get him something a little different than the typical band you see guys wearing. I’ve seen my dad's yellow gold band and there’s just nothing too exciting about it, and for Harris, I don’t know, I just feel like he needs something a little more him.
“What about this one?” Kelly asks from a case behind me, pointing to a two-toned ring, black satin titanium with white gold in the middle.
“It’s nice, but it still doesn’t seem like him. I like the black, though. Are there more like that?”
Kelly has been working with the salesperson, who thankfully is a man because I also have no idea what size ring I’m supposed to be getting so hopefully he’ll be able to help with that part.
Having Kelly here is nice because she at least, sort of, has her shit together, while I’m clearly flying by the seat of my pants. Which frankly, are getting more snug every day.
“I have these over here,” he says, walking us over to a row of black rings. My eyes immediately fall on one, a solid black ring that feels manly but at the same time it doesn’t seem bulky.
“I’ll take that one,” I tell him. “It’s perfect.”
“That’s what I like to hear.”
After figuring out what size I should get and picking out a silicone ring to go with it, Kelly and I head back to Harris’s apartment to somehow make me not feel like a hot mess. Ellie and Trevor are coming over at seven because Ellie is going to help me get ready, which is in only half an hour, but thankfully, she’s bringing over a couple of dresses for me to try on. Harris said I could wear sweats, but Ellie won’t allow it. Apparently, she has already started ordering dresses for maternity photos and has a few dresses that are white that will probably work perfectly.
It's not that I’ve started to show too much yet, it’s more that everything I wear is now too snug to be comfortable but I’m not quite ready for maternity clothes. At this point, I think I’m just going to live in sweats for the next month until I have to go back to work, I’ll deal with work clothes, then… maybe.
After a quick shower and a heavy helping of Cheez-its—because carbs, duh—Kelly dries my hair and starts doing something with it while I throw on some makeup. Just what I need to do is stand next to Harris who could be wearing a trash bag and still look hot as fuck while looking like I’ve spent most of the last few weeks throwing up—even if that’s exactly where I’ve been.
“Hey, ladies.” I hear from behind me, turning to see Ellie and Addy walking in, both looking adorable of course. “Sorry, we’re a little late. Miss Addy refused to leave the house unless she had princess curls in her hair so she could be pretty at the wedding.”
I smile, unable to help it, and I can feel the blush rising up my neck.
Holy shit, I’m actually getting married.
My palms immediately start sweating, my mouth dry.
I need water.
Grabbing my water bottle, I take a couple of gulps, then a couple of big breathes as I try to calm my nerves.
“Well, Miss Addy… I’m Kelly, Avery’s sister. You look very beautiful with your princess curls and I think it was worth being a few minutes late.”
“Thank you, Ms. Kelly, I love your pretty hair too,” she says, before looking to me. “You look beautiful! I brought this sucker for you. It’s blue and I think blue suckers are the best.”
“Thank you! It’s definitely taken some work to make it look like I haven’t been feeling like trash these last few weeks, but my sister did some magic,” grabbing the sucker I smile, this does sound delicious. “Thank you for the sucker. These have been helping my stomach feel better lately, and blue raspberry really is the best flavor.”
“It really is!” Addy says with the cutest damn smile I feel like I could cry.
Fucking hormones.
“And we have the dresses,” Ellie adds, holding up a couple of dresses. “Want to try them on and we can pick?”
I look at the three dresses she has and immediately know which one I want to wear. There’s one that looks like satin, another one that’s a cotton material, but it’s the lace dress with no sleeves that catches my eye.
“I want to try that one,” I say with a smile, actually excited because this dress is gorgeous. “The lace is absolutely perfect. I love that it isn’t white-white, especially considering this,” I say, gesturing to my stomach where my other hand is resting, which has become a more common occurrence lately.
“I think it’s the perfect choice, what do you think, Kelly?” Ellie smiles.
“I love it. Now, go get changed so we can get this show on the road. I need a damn glass of champagne and I’ll drink enough for the both of you.”
Ellie laughs and I head to go change. She’s such a girl’s girl and I love it. I’ve only just met this girl and yet she makes me feel like there’s nowhere else she’d rather be. It’s weird. It’s not something I’m used to.
Literally, it’s just been Kelly and I for so long because I’ve always struggled to make girlfriends. It seems like everything is changing since the night we ran into Harris at the bar. I feel like for the first time in years my eyes are finally open to what’s around me.
Once I have the dress on I grab a pair of heels I’ve always dreamed of wearing but never had the occasion. Today seems to be the perfect day to wear a pair of white heels with red bottoms. Stepping out of the room, I see the girls sitting around talking but Kelly turns with tears in her eyes when she sees me, and I feel beautiful.
It may not be the wedding I expected, it may not be a marriage in the traditional sense, either. But, at least, it’s the groom I always dreamed of. Let’s just pray he doesn’t break my heart again.
“You look beautiful,” Kelly says, both Ellie and Addy agreeing. “Ready to head up?”
“As ready as I’ll ever be.”
Kelly made sure to make this day as special as possible, loaning me her earrings for my something old because they were our grandma’s, she bought me light blue lingerie to wear for my something new, as well as something blue, and we counted the dress as my something borrowed.
Making our way up to the rooftop where they asked us to meet them, I’m nervous and I’m not sure why. This isn’t real. I keep reminding myself this as I walk outside where I see Harris and Trevor standing under this twinkly light altar they obviously set up, and my eyes well up at the sight.
He’s standing there in a gray suit, perfectly fitted to him, his dirty blonde hair off to the side and he looks so handsome. I walk toward him, every step I take fills me with more anticipation, my hands trembling as I hold onto Kelly until we are closer. As I get closer, his smile gets bigger as he holds his hand out to mine.
“Hi,” I whisper quietly, feeling the heat rise in my cheeks, suddenly feeling shy for the first time around him in years.
“You look beautiful,” he says, placing a kiss on my cheek before turning to look at Trevor and gives him a nod, his hand never letting go of mine as his thumb rubs back and forth over my hand, gently easing some of my nerves in a way only he can achieve.
The rest of the wedding goes in a blur. It’s quick, I know that much for sure, but I spend the entire time lost in this bubble with Harris. I can hear Trevor’s voice softly in the background, see Kelly standing there watching me, but all I can focus on is Harris as he watches me like I’m the best thing he’s seen in his life. I watch him and his eyes reflect back a pure adoration that looks so much like love I want to drown in it.
After we exchange vows, it’s time for us to exchange rings and that’s when the best part of the whole day happens. Kelly moves to hand me the ring we picked up for Harris while he steps over behind the alter and unhooks Luna who had been sitting there waiting. She has a pretty flower collar around her that makes her look just as much a part of this wedding as both of us and I love it. Unhooking a little red box from her collar, Harris pulls out a ring that’s the most stunning and perfect ring I’ve ever seen in my entire life, my right hand immediately snapping to my lips in shock as he slides the ring onto my finger.
Harris looks equally as shocked when I pull out a ring, like he hadn’t been expecting me to come prepared and I hate that. I hate that he planned this entire thing, that he’s done almost all of the leg work on this to make it special for me. Yet he didn’t think I would do the same for him. I’m not sure why but that bothers me, more than it should.
Sliding the ring onto his finger, I watch as his eyes track the ring the entire time, my fingers skating along his ever so gently, every touch feels charged.
When Trevor speaks the next words, I see the indecision written on Harris’s face, like he’s unsure of what to do. In this moment, I’m reminded of everything he’s done to help me through my challenges with Peter, even though he didn’t have to. I’m reminded of everything he has done to make me happy, bring me joy, even when I never asked him to.
So, when Trevor smirks and tells Harris he can now kiss his bride, I leave no room for Harris to question if I want him to kiss me.
I kiss him first.