Chapter 25
Chapter Twenty-Five
CARTER
“Wait.” Ashley reaches for my wrist and stops me before I open the car door of our rental. “I’m nervous. What if they don’t like me?”
I remove my hand from the door handle and shift to face her. Taking her hand, I run my thumb over her wedding ring, as I’ve done numerous times since I slid it on there. “There’s nothing to be concerned about. They’re going to love you.”
She dips her chin and gives me a look. “They don’t even know I exist, let alone that we’re married. I really think you should have called and told them before we arrived.”
“It will be fine, I promise. Sure, they’ll be surprised, but I promise you that once the shock wears off, they’re going to welcome you with open arms.”
I’m going to make sure they’re open-minded and understand that this isn’t one of my impulsive decisions… well, maybe it is. But it’s not the wrong decision.
I place a chaste kiss on her lips then exit the vehicle. I leave all our bags inside, too eager for my family to meet the woman I love.
Ash grips my hand tightly as we walk up the path toward my childhood home.
Once we’re outside the front door, I spin around to face her. “There’s one more thing you should know.”
Her head tilts. “What?”
“My brother’s wife and I dated briefly before she met him randomly and ended up marrying him. It’s not a big deal, and it’s not weird between us or anything, but in case it comes up in conversation or something, I don’t want you to be surprised. I’d never want you to think I was keeping secrets.”
“Okay, you couldn’t have told me on the plane at least?”
“I just never think about it. You’re not upset, are you?”
The look on her face says she’s not so sure about it, but she shakes her head. “No.”
I place a quick kiss on her lips before turning to face the door again. I open the door. Ash drops my hand and hangs behind me as I step inside.
“Hello?” I shout.
“In here,” my mom calls from the kitchen.
My stomach flips as I lead Ashley to the back of the house.
I can’t remember the last time I was this nervous.
Actually, only a couple days ago when I asked Ashley to marry me and I wasn’t sure if she’d say yes.
I just want everyone to accept her with open arms, and I want her to love my family since they’re such a big part of my life.
“Ryah, where are you?” I ask, stepping into the room, excited to have my niece run into my arms.
“Yeah, no go, big brother. She’s stuck to Pierce like he’s gingerbread frosting,” Brynn says.
I don’t know what she’s talking about, I’m Ryah’s favorite. “Maybe for you, but not for me.” I hold out my arms for my niece—who completely ignores my existence. I can’t say it doesn’t hurt a little.
That’s when everyone notices Ashley standing behind me.
“Oh hi,” Tessa says, wiping her hands on her apron. “I’m Tessa.”
“Oh, sorry, guys, this is Ashley. My wife.” I can’t hold in my grin. It just feels so good to call her my wife.
Ashley lifts her hand, and her ring sparkles under the kitchen lights. “Hi.” She’s putting up a good front, but her voice is a little shaky.
“What?” everyone says in unison.
Huh. Maybe I should’ve taken Ashley’s advice and given them the heads-up.
They all stare at us in disbelief, shock written all over their faces.
“Yeah, what?” Dad walks in from the other room, his shirt dirty from chopping wood for the fireplace.
“I got married.” I’m probably beaming like a teenage girl at her first Taylor Swift concert, but I don’t care. They need to see how happy I am. They need to get behind this and us.
“We got that part, Carter,” Dad says. I can’t tell from his voice whether he’s displeased or not.
“Sorry, remember when I went to that destination wedding? Well, Ashley was a bridesmaid, and I was a groomsman, and we just kind of hit it off.”
“And got married?” Brynn asks, eyeing Pierce and Tre. Their expressions are the same as hers, pure shock.
“I know this is weird. I told him to tell you before we arrived.” Ashley hides behind me, resting her forehead on my shoulder.
“Well, Carter’s weird, so get used to it.” Brynn pulls some dough out of the bowl in front of her and pops it into her mouth. When she reaches for another, Tre slaps her hand.
I decide to ignore their shock and skepticism. They’ll figure out soon enough that Ashley and I are the real thing. I look back at my niece. “Ryah, seriously? I want to introduce you to your new aunt.”
She looks up but doesn’t say anything.
“Nice try, but unless Ashley has an English accent, you’re wasting your time,” Brynn says.
“Are you suggesting she only wants me because of my accent?” her boyfriend, Pierce, asks.
“Well, it’s why I wanted you.” She gives him a cheeky smile.
“It’s okay, Pierce, throw it at her.” Tre offers him a cinnamon candy.
Brynn opens her mouth, and Pierce tosses it in like a good boyfriend.
Shock and skepticism I expected, but ignoring Ashley isn’t an option. “Hello? I just announced I’m married,” I say with my hands out at my sides.
Everyone scrambles to their feet and rushes us.
“Sorry, Ashley,” Mom says, handing my niece Maisie off to Brynn. “It can get a little crazy around here.”
“It’s fine,” Ashley says, allowing my mom and dad to officially congratulate her and welcome her to the family.
Soon she’s at the table with all of us, making sugar cookies, and when I ask her to join me upstairs for a nap, she declines. I can admit to pouting a bit, but Ash kisses my cheek and whispers in my ear that she’ll make it up to me tonight. She wants to stay and get to know my family better.
Later that night, my parents and the littles are asleep. It’s just us siblings and our partners hanging out around the dining room table, playing a card game while Christmas carols play in the background.
“You guys are sure there’s no booze in this eggnog, right?” I glance at Ash at my side and squeeze her thigh.
She smiles at me.
“For the tenth time, there’s no booze in it. What’s with the eggnog interrogation?” Brynn asks.
“The two of us went to the holiday dance in my small town,” Ash says. “We drank eggnog all night thinking there was no alcohol in it, but there was a mix-up, and we ended up pretty drunk.”
“You ended up pretty drunk,” I say, then laugh.
She rolls her eyes. “I wasn’t the one up on stage for the Santa Strip Tease.”
“Gross.” Brynn’s face screws up as she looks across the table and plays her card.
“I gotta hear about this,” Tre says.
“I can do better than that. Someone there sent me a video.” Ash pulls her phone out of her back pocket.
My new wife proceeds to show my family the video of me doing a pseudo strip tease.
“You look really happy,” my brother says.
“I am.” I wrap my arm around Ash’s shoulders and pull her into my side, kissing her temple.
“That must be so cool owning a B&B,” Tessa says. “Tre and I stayed at one once.” She eyes my brother, and they share that look that I never understood. Until now.
“I hope you know when she says that, it means she one hundred percent has plans to come visit and stay there.” Tre kisses Tessa’s cheek and whispers something in her ear about nutcrackers. Tessa blushes.
“I’d love to have you all at the B&B. We’d have a lot of fun.” Ashley sips her drink and looks at the cards in her hand, deciding what to play.
Things were a little awkward at the start, but as the hours ticked by, she became more and more comfortable with my family, and now she’s settled right in.
“We should spend next Christmas there,” Brynn says.
“Way to invite yourself,” Tre says.
Brynn throws a cheeseball at him, and it pings off his forehead. “I meant if she wasn’t already booked.”
Ash shakes her head. “I only open the dates a year ahead of time, so I can block them off.” She knocks me with her shoulder. “Well, my expert IT husband can do it for me.”
I love the idea of my family coming out to Vermont to visit us next year. So much so that I pull my phone from my back pocket, log into the backend of Ashley’s website, and block off the dates. “Done.”
“I’ve never been to Vermont. Looking forward to it.
You have ski slopes, right?” Pierce says in his posh English accent, glancing at Brynn.
The two of them and their need to compete on what’s better, skis or snowboarding.
I love Pierce, and I hate to side with my sister, but snowboarding is so much better.
“What did your family say when you told them you got married, Ashley?” Brynn glances at me as though she’s worried.
“My parents were pissed. My mom specifically. But I honestly think a big part of it is that she didn’t get to attend the wedding, or more accurately, she didn’t get to plan a big wedding.
My sister hired a wedding planner, so she missed out with her as well.
We FaceTimed my sister and Doug, and that went surprisingly well.
They were shocked, of course, because as far as they knew, I didn’t like Carter. ”
“Not surprising. What boneheaded thing did my brother do to make you hate him?” Brynn asks.
“You don’t want to know, sis, trust me,” I say, and Ash and I share a chuckle.
“Doug and Steph were happy for us, but also a little upset that they missed the wedding. But they’re excited because now when we see each other, it’ll be a lot of fun since I’m coupled up with their best friend.”
“I think it’s romantic,” Tessa says with a sigh, setting her chin on her hand. “Falling in love at Christmas is the most magical time.”
Tre kisses her cheek.
Pierce kisses Brynn’s cheek.
I kiss Ashley’s cheek.
All three of the Russell kids fell in love at Christmastime. Who could ever have predicted that?
“Agreed. I never could have guessed we’d end up here, but there really are Christmas miracles,” I say.
“God, love has made you sappy.” Brynn tosses a piece of the cookie at me, and I shift, opening my mouth wide and catching it.
After I finish chewing, I look at my wife. “If sappy feels this good, I’ll take it.”