Page 68 of Accidentally in Love

Her dad smiled at her as she walked away. He left soon after, and we sat on the couch together, watching the Bulldogs lose, until Avery said she couldn’t keep her eyes open any longer.

When we crawled into bed, an idea popped into my head.

“Avery?”

“Yeah?”

“How do you feel about getting married at the brewery?” I asked.

She leaned on her side and gave me a confused look. “But how?”

“Well, we don’t have to get married by a minister in PA. We can apply for a self uniting license with our marriage license.”

“How do you know all this?” she asked as she ran a hand through my beard. I think she noticed I trimmed it up tonight because I wanted to make a good impression on her dad.

I grumbled under my breath.

“Use your words,” she joked.

I kissed her hand. “I’ve been researching our options. I don’t want a religious ceremony, and the law is confusing about people who get ordained online.”

“Me neither. I kind of like that idea.”

“Yeah?”

She nodded. “Gemma got ordained online a few years ago, but maybe we could have her preside over it?”

“Yeah, I would really like that.”

I wondered if she liked the idea because the brewery was where we began. If her date hadn’t stiffed her with the check, she wouldn’t be lying in bed with me wearing my mother’s ring and carrying my baby.

“When?” she asked.

“You want to do it soon, right?”

She nodded.

“What about Christmas?”

Her face fell, and she put both her hands on my face. “Oh, Nolan, no.”

“No?” I asked and furrowed my brow. “But you love Christmas.”

She sighed. “I love Christmas. I love it so much, but you hate it. I’m sorry I pushed you to talk about it this morning. I’m sorry it reminds you of all you lost.”

“Then maybe we should do it, so I’ll have a reason to love it again.”

“Again?”

“I wasn’t always a Grinch.”

“Nolan, we don’t have to get married so soon. Christmas is only in a couple of weeks.”

“Let’s do it before Peanut gets here. Take the morning off tomorrow, and we’ll go get the paperwork started so we can get married in time.”

She seemed to think about it for a little bit.

“Come on, Avs. You love Christmas. Let me give you a Christmas wedding.”