Chapter 14
Chapter Fourteen
Avery
As far as I could tell, there wasn’t a dress code for a fake wedding to a man you hardly knew, and considering I hadn’t packed very much with me when I came to Trickle Creek, my options were pretty limited.
I settled on a pale-green dress with a sweetheart neckline that flared from the hip with a hem that danced around my knees.
Reid told me he’d handle the arrangements, and we’d agreed to meet at the little courthouse at ten to two.
I’d almost talked myself out of going through with this insane plan at least twenty times the night before. But ultimately, when I looked around the inn, I knew there was only one way to keep it. I was almost one hundred percent sure that my grandparents would want me to have the inn, even if it meant that it took a little deception to get it.
In this instance, the ends truly did justify the means.
Besides, it wasn’t like anyone was going to get hurt.
Reid and I were both consenting adults. He’d get the money he wanted and I’d get the inn. It was a win-win.
If all went well, we could get the divorce or annulment or whatever it took in a few months and go about our lives as if nothing had happened.
I straightened my dress and brushed off some imaginary lint with one last look in the old mirror. I’d never been one of those little girls who spent hours imagining their wedding day or dressing up in my mother’s old wedding gown. To be fair, the only time I’d ever given a wedding any thought at all was when Porter and I got serious.
Then I thought about it. Maybe more than I cared to remember.
I’d pictured walking down the aisle to my smiling groom, who thought I was the best, most beautiful woman in the entire world and couldn’t be happier and prouder to become my husband. I imagined a room full of friends and family, all crying happy tears for us. A white dress, flowers, and little lights everywhere while we danced our first dance together.
When that didn’t happen, well…I stopped thinking about marriage altogether. But if I had, the one nonnegotiable would be love.
I sighed at my reflection before shaking my head and scolding myself. There was no need to be dramatic about it. Just because I was marrying Reid today didn’t mean I wouldn’t marry for love later on.
That sounded so fucked up, even in my head.
Before I could let myself go any further down that train of thought, I checked the time.
Fucked up or not, it was time to go.
Like most things in Trickle Creek, the walk to the courthouse only took a few minutes. Minutes that only increased my anxiety and had me second-guessing everything.
But there was no turning back.
Reid was already there. He hadn’t seen me yet and had his back to me. If I wanted to change my mind, now was the time.
I took a breath and exhaled slowly.
No. I wasn’t going to change my mind.
“Ready for this?”
He turned around.
Reflexively, I took a step backward.
“I should be asking you that.”
Confused, the smile I’d pasted on my face slipped off, but only for a second before I realized it wasn’t my future husband in front of me. “Grayson.”
His face split in a smile. “Hey there, Avery. Or should I call you sister?”
We’d talked about keeping the truth of our marriage under wraps, but I hadn’t even thought about what it would mean for his family to believe the wedding was real. It felt wrong on more than one level.
“There’s no way I was going to miss this.” Grayson’s warm smile, so opposite his brother’s permanent grimace, put me at ease immediately. “I’m not going to pretend to understand it, Avery.” His smile dipped a little, giving me a fresh shot of nerves. “But I think you’re great, and if this is what Reid really wants, you both have my support, one hundred percent.”
Relief washed through me. Not that I actually thought Grayson was going to confront me in any way, but then again, I didn’t know what to expect. I’d never been involved in a situation like this. Before I could respond, the atmosphere shifted around me and a shiver raced down my spine. Turning just confirmed what I already knew.
Reid.
My breath caught in my throat. Until now, I’d only seen him in old jeans and a T-shirt. Not that I was complaining. Reid made them look good. But now, dressed in deep-charcoal pants and a jacket with a black button-down, he looked positively edible.
Neither of us spoke. My body heated under his gaze as he took his time looking me up and down. My knees buckled a little, and just when I thought I might make a fool of myself by tripping over my heels, he spoke.
“You look gorgeous, Avery.” He cleared his throat as if the compliment had taken too much effort and thrust a small bouquet at me. “Here.”
“Oh.” I took the cluster of peonies from him and lifted it to my nose. “They’re beautiful, thank you.”
Reid shrugged as if it wasn’t a big deal, but it was. And not just because peonies were one of my favorites.
“I thought you should have a bouquet for…well.”
“Your wedding day?”
We both jolted, remembering that Grayson was still standing there and as far as he knew, we were so madly in love we couldn’t wait to tie the knot.
I recovered first. “Of course I do.” I flashed him a smile and tossed my hair over my shoulder. “They’re perfect, Reid.” I stood on my tiptoes and pressed a kiss to his cheek.
It was the most innocent touch, but fire sparked from my lips and lit something low in my gut. Something that made my knees weak when Reid snaked his arm around my waist and pulled me close.
He looked down into my eyes as if we were the only two people in the world. “Are you ready to do this, Avery?”
I blinked.
“Ready to be my wife?”
The word hung heavy between us. I didn’t take my eyes off him while I gave my heart a moment to stop racing.
His hand splayed across my lower back and he didn’t rush me.
Finally, my lips curled up, and I nodded. With a courage that mingled with an unexpected flash of desire for my husband-to-be, I smiled. “Let’s do this.”
Reid
I couldn’t take my eyes off her. Avery was always stunning, but somehow, standing in front of me in that green dress that made her eyes pop, with just a trace of cleavage that should have been chaste yet somehow made my dick hard in a completely inappropriate for the situation way, made her absolutely breathtaking.
She clutched her flowers tight and nodded every once in a while to something that Judge Baker said, paying close attention to everything that came out of the man’s mouth.
That made one of us.
He was talking too much, and I wasn’t paying attention to anything that came out of his mouth. All I could focus on was Avery and the fact that in a few minutes, she was going to be my wife.
Wife.
Holy shit. That’s not a word I ever thought I’d use.
“Reid, take Avery’s hands,” the judge said, pulling me back to the moment.
She turned and handed Grayson her bouquet. I watched as my twin gave her a kind smile before his eyes met mine.
He hadn’t said a word about it, but I could feel his skepticism like a weight on my shoulders. He had questions. A lot of them. But he was proving himself to be an excellent fucking brother with the fact that he hadn’t asked me a single one.
I gave him a nod and reached for Avery’s hands.
They were soft and delicate, dwarfed by my rough ones. But the grip she gave was firm, like she needed to ground herself. I squeezed her back in solidarity, and she smiled.
Fuck, I loved that smile.
Her eyes met mine as Judge Baker once more began talking. His words blurred together, something about promises and forever, but I barely heard him over the thumping of my heart and the hum of something more that was building between us.
“Reid?”
“What?” Reluctantly, I tore my gaze away from Avery long enough to look at the judge, who stared at me.
The older man chuckled before repeating himself. “Do the two of you have vows you’d like to share with each other at this time?”
Shit.
Avery looked just as shocked as I did. We hadn’t even considered vows.
“No,” I answered for both of us. “We don’t.”
To his credit, Judge Baker didn’t look surprised. “And rings?” He glanced between us. “Are there rings?”
Shit.
This time, Avery didn’t look caught off guard. She released my hand long enough to reach into a pocket in her dress and produce two simple gold bands.
I looked at her in question, but she only shrugged.
The judge smiled and nodded. “Reid. Place the ring on Avery’s left ring finger.”
I did as instructed.
“Now, do you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife? Do you promise to keep her in sickness and health, for richer or for poorer, for better or for worse, as long as you both shall live?”
“Yes,” I said without hesitation. “I mean…” Once more, I looked into Avery’s eyes. “I do.”
A blush crept over her cheeks.
“And you, Avery,” Judge Baker said, “place the ring on Reid’s finger.”
She did, the smooth metal warm from her touch.
“Do you take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband? Do you promise to keep him in sickness and health, for richer or for poorer, for better or for worse, as long as you both shall live?”
She swallowed hard, but her eyes never left mine as she said, “I do.”
We did.
The judge was once again talking. This time, all I heard was, “I now pronounce you husband and wife. Reid, you may kiss your bride.”
Avery’s breath hitched. Mine did, too. This was the part that mattered. The part that sealed it.
I took a step to close the gap between us and cupped my hand gently over her cheek. I dipped my head to hers, catching the faint inhale from her before my lips met hers.
Soft. Warm. So fucking perfect.
Her lips yielded to mine and what was meant to be just a brush of lips turned very quickly into something else entirely.
Her hands curled into mine. I tilted my head, deepening the kiss without thinking. A move that was reciprocated, when the slightest moan slipped from her lips.
I forgot Grayson. I forgot the judge and his assistant who was acting as a witness. I forgot that this wasn’t real.
I forgot everything except the woman in my arms.
My wife.
It was my brother who cleared his throat, causing Avery to take a step back. Her chest fell in quick, shallow breaths. Her lips slightly parted, and her bright-blue eyes blazed with something I couldn’t quite name, but it sure as hell wasn’t indifference.
“That was…something,” Grayson said with a low whistle. “Maybe you’re not as crazy as I thought.”
I turned to glare at him, but the heat in my face wasn’t annoyance—it was from the way Avery was still looking at me. Like I just turned her entire world upside down.
Fuck.
She wasn’t the only one.