Chapter 56
Niko’s backyard is a far cry from the last party we had here. There are no Frozen cut-outs or icicles hanging from the pergola. Instead, peonies decorate every inch of the space and line the aisle where white wooden lawn chairs are filled with all of our friends and family.
I scan the crowd, and my eyes land on my grandparents first. My grandma waves erratically and my grandpa grabs her hand, trying to calm her down, which causes me to laugh.
Next, my gaze moves beside them where my sister Charlie sits.
I still can’t believe she’s dating my best friend.
They got together in Sweden at the Olympics, but I can’t be mad because I’ve never seen either of them so happy before.
Speaking of my best friend, the backdoor of Niko’s house opens and Tamara stands with Luke by her side. They make their way down the aisle, and I’m overcome with happiness at the fact Niko and Sadie managed to get all of our people together in one place to celebrate tonight.
Luke takes his spot behind me and Tamara stands across from me, filling the space where Avery is going to be any minute now. The moment Avery takes her first step onto the patio, tears fill my eyes.
She is so fucking beautiful.
I think there might be music playing but I don’t hear a thing. All I can focus on is the beautiful woman, flanked by her parents, walking my way.
My wife.
The enormity of the situation hits me like a tidal wave, and I start crying real tears for the first time since I let her go all those years ago. How fucking lucky am I to have a second chance with the only woman who has ever owned my heart?
A hand grabs my shoulder from behind me and gives it a quick squeeze. “You ready, brother?”
I wipe my eyes, but don’t dare look at Luke when I answer him.
“I’ve been ready since I was sixteen, man. I told you I was gonna marry this girl.”
He laughs and drops his hand from me, and I take a step to where Avery stands with her parents.
“She’s all yours now, son,” Jeremy says while reaching his hand out to me.
I grab him in a firm hand shake and look him straight in the eye.
“I’ll take good care of her.”
Jeremy wipes his own tears away now and laughs. “We know you will.” Then he takes his wife’s hand and leads her to their seats in the front row.
I take Avery’s hand in mine, but before we turn to go stand where Sadie waits to marry us, I lean down into her ear.
“You look absolutely remarkable, baby.” I kiss her cheek and pull back, a wide smile and that perfect fucking dimple are covering her face when I finally look at her.
“You don’t look so bad yourself, Superstar.” She winks, and I throw my head back and laugh.
We turn and walk toward Sadie. Avery hands Tamara her beautiful bouquet of pink peonies and then places her hands in mine.
“Good evening, everyone. For those of you who don’t know me, I’m Sadie.
I’m lucky enough to be good friends with both of the wonderful people standing in front of me.
” Her eyes bounce between us for a moment before she continues.
“Now, I know this took you by surprise, Avery, so I’m not sure you have anything planned, but Connor would like to say a few words to you. ”
Avery turns her attention to me. The sun is setting, casting the most perfect golden glow on my wife’s face. I’ve looked at her countless times, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen her look more beautiful than she does today. Clearing my throat, I begin.
“It’s been three thousand, nine hundred, and forty-eight days since I let you go, Aves, and I’ve thought of this moment a million times since.
” I watch her suck in a breath, and I give her hands a squeeze.
“I never thought I’d see the day where you walked down that aisle to me but goddamn, am I glad the universe had this in its plans.
In life, there are three kinds of people.
You have the sheep, who are great people, the wolves that are trying to bring you down.
And lastly, you have the sheep dog, who looks over the sheep and keeps the wolves away.
I vow to always be your sheep dog, Aves.
I will watch over you, protect you, and defend your heart at all costs.
I will probably make a lot of stupid mistakes. ”
Everyone laughs at this, a few of my teammates hollering at me, but I ignore them and keep my eyes on Avery.
“But I vow to love you with everything I have. I vow to be your better half, knowing that any storm we face, I know we can get through it together. So, tonight, under these stars, I choose you. Again and again. I will always choose you.”
I reach out to wipe the tears away from Avery’s cheeks and lean in to kiss the wet spot on her cheek.
“Avery, is there anything you’d like to say to Connor?”
My beautiful wife flashes me a dazzling smile, and butterflies swirl in my stomach at the sight.
“It’s hard to find the words to describe the type of love I feel for you.
I don’t think there are any worthy enough to describe it.
When I thought the world was out to get me and I wasn’t sure I’d ever love anyone, or myself, ever again, you stepped back into my life and showed me the way.
The world around me was dark but you were my North Star.
Not once, not for one single second, did you ever make me feel bad for falling apart in front of you.
You held me, you let me cry, and you have been the greatest support every step of the way.
Everything in me knows you are my home. I could stand here and make you a million promises, but I’m only going to make you one: I promise to love and support you until my very last breath. I love you bigger than the sky.”
My heart threatens to beat out of my chest as the love I feel for this woman consumes every piece of my being. More perfect words have never been spoken. I close the distance between us and take her face in my hands.
“Brighter than the stars.”
And then I kiss my bride.
“Excuse me, can I borrow my wife?” I cut in between Avery and Jefferson, who are dancing along to some old-school wedding song, flashing him the most annoyed look I can muster.
Jefferson raises his hands in front of him and slowly starts backing away. “Of course, C-Money. She’s all yours.” And then he sprints away, not even looking back.
Avery laughs, and I grab her hand with mine.
“Come on,” I say, pulling her through the sea of people that occupy the dance floor they rented for the evening.
People try to stop us along the way, but I politely tell them I need to show my wife something. Sadie and Niko give us conspicuous looks, but I ignore them and make my way to the front of the house where dozens of cars are parked on the grass and street.
“Where are we going, Connor? What about the wedding?”
I ignore her and weave us through the vehicles until I spot her new SUV. Reaching into my pocket, I click the button on the keys I may have stolen from her purse after the ceremony and open the back door for her.
She raises a brow at me, but doesn’t move.
“Baby, get in the backseat before I put you in there myself.”
Avery grabs her dress, lifting it up so she can climb in.
As soon as I’m in, I close the door and grab her, hoisting her on my lap.
It’s a bit cramped back here, but I somehow manage to spread my legs along the back while allowing her enough room to straddle me.
Slowly, I inch the bottom of her dress up until I see her white lace panties.
She seems to understand my intentions now and leans down to start unbuttoning my dress shirt.
“You remember our first time, Aves?” I ask in between kisses on her neck.
She leans back, exposing her throat more easily to me, and I suck it into my mouth, fully intending to leave my mark on her.
“I figured since backseats used to be our thing, we should consummate our marriage and christen your new car at the same time.”
Avery laughs and leans down, biting my bottom lip.
“I like the way you think, husband.”
I reach down and rip the pretty panties from her hip and stuff them in my pocket.
She lifts up onto her knees and I unzip my pants, pushing them and my boxers down, before fisting my dick in my hands.
I position myself at her entrance, and slowly, she lowers herself down onto my cock.
The way she fits around me has me groaning.
“Fuck, baby.”
With the limited space here, this isn’t as easy as I thought it was going to be, but after a few minutes, we find our groove. I thrust myself up into her, and she meets me thrust for thrust. It’s not long before we’re both falling apart together, our chests heaving as we try to catch our breath.
Pushing her hair away from her face, I place a gentle kiss on her lips. “I love you, Aves.”
“I love you, too.”
I help her to situate her dress, which may be stretched out a bit from me folding the bodice down so I could taste her nipples, and she buttons my shirt back up for me.
She settles on the seat next to me, and I open the door, climbing out first. I reach my hand out and she steps down onto the grass. Avery looks around frantically.
“Do you think anyone heard us?”
I laugh and take her hand in mine. “Who cares, baby. This is our party.”
She rolls her eyes, and we walk into Niko’s through the front door. When we get to the living room, Avery pulls her hand away.
“I’m going to go clean up. You made a mess of me and I can feel your cum dripping down my leg.”
I grab her hand before she can escape into the bathroom.
“Leave it. I want you to feel me all over you for the rest of the night.”
Avery’s jaw drops, and I step into her, taking it as an invitation. My tongue finds hers and I push her up against the wall, ready to take her right here again. I grab her leg and hike it up around my waist when the back door opens, causing us both to break apart.
“Sorry to interrupt.” It’s Niko and Sadie, and by the unimpressed look on his face, I know he is not sorry at all. Not that I blame him. I was about to fuck my wife against his wall for the entire party to see and I couldn’t care less.
Sadie laughs to herself and then Ellie, Lincoln, and Sloane walk in behind them.
“Any luck?” Sloane asks while looking around the room.
“Any luck with what?” I ask, completely annoyed they all interrupted us.
Lincoln steps forward, his hands in his pocket and a serious look on his face. “You two didn’t happen to see my cousin Katie or Hunter while you were in here, did you?”
Avery steps up to my side and wraps her arm around mine, resting her head on my arm. “No, I haven’t seen either of them since the ceremony.”
We all look at each other, confusion and suspicion covering the faces of all our friends. Avery leans into my side harder at the same time my phone buzzes in my pocket. Pulling it out, I see it’s her heart rate app notifying us that her heart rate is rising too high.
Scooping her up into my arms, bridal style, I excuse us.
“Sorry, we can’t help look for them. My wife has had a long day, and I think she’s ready to go home.”
Luckily for us, everyone in our group reads the situation. We say good night and I carry her outside like a buffoon, ignoring her protests.
“Let me down! At least let me walk and say good night to my parents.”
My hold on Avery tightens and she huffs in frustration as I ignore her. It’s not until we get to my truck that I set her down. Reaching around her, I open the door to my truck, but she crosses her arms.
Stubborn, beautiful woman.
I lean down and kiss her quickly on the lips. “Come on, Aves. Get in the truck. I’ll text your parents and let them know why we left so quickly. They’ll understand.”
She seems to contemplate my words and after a beat, she throws her arms down in defeat.
“Fine. But don’t think you’re getting away with that caveman act, Superstar.”
Before she can turn to get into the truck, I slide my arm around her back and pull her into me.
“I’ll make it up to you.”
She feels what I mean and pushes me hard in the chest.
“I don’t want that.”
Surprised, I take a step back and put my hands on my hips. “What do you want then, Aves?”
She reaches up and grabs the handle, taking a step into the truck. I wait while she gets situated, buckling herself into the front seat.
I’m trying like hell to hold back a laugh, but I wait for her to answer before taking my spot on the driver’s side.
Finally, after what feels like forever, she turns to look at me, her arms crossed over her chest.
“Pizza. With extra pineapple.”
Shaking my head, I laugh and walk to where she’s sitting to give her a quick kiss on the cheek.
When I pull back, her eyes are dancing with amusement. I still haven’t said anything and I don’t move from where I’m standing on her side of the truck.
“Well?” she asks, annoyed that I still haven’t answered.
My mind flashes to the first night I met her and I see her sitting across from me, her black braid hanging over her shoulder.
Her eyes hold the same questions they did that night as she waited for me to tell her what I thought of her pineapple pizza.
The memory makes me smile, and I can only think of one thing to say.
“It doesn’t sound horrible.”
Avery’s eyes light up and I know she’s remembering that same night. She leans down and grabs my face, pulling me in for a deep kiss.
“Well, let’s go then, husband.”
The word sounds better each time I hear her say it and fills me with so much fucking pride, I will never get enough. How is this my life?
I tug on her seat belt to make sure it’s connected and give her another kiss on the lips.
“As you wish, wife.”