Page 28 of From Grumpy to Forever
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.
