Accidentally in Love Read online

  Accidentally In Love

  A MacGregor Brothers Brewing Company Book

  Danica Flynn

  Contents

  Playlist

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Epilogue

  Get The Exclusive Bonus Scene

  Acknowledgments

  What’s Next

  Follow Danica

  Also by Danica Flynn

  About the Author

  Accidentally In Love

  * * *

  Copyright © 2021 Danica Flynn

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  * * *

  All rights reserved.

  * * *

  Ebook ISBN: 978-1-7342012-6-0

  Print ISBN: 978-1-7342012-7-7

  * * *

  Cover Design: Emily’s World of Design

  Cover Photography: Volodymyr Tverdokhlib/ Deposit Photos

  Editor: CamRei Editing

  * * *

  Content Note: This book is an accidental pregnancy trope, so mentions of pregnancy and miscarriage are throughout the book. As this is a sensitive topic for most, I want to be upfront that it is talked about at length in the book.

  To Neshaminy Creek Brewery, thanks for the inspiration, but also RIP The Borough Brewhouse :(

  Playlist

  “Get Lucky” by Daft Punk

  “August” by Taylor Swift

  “When I’m With You” By Best Coast

  “Make You Mine” By PUBLIC

  “Christmas Without You” by Ava Max

  “Gotta Have you” By The Weepies

  “The Christmas Song” by The Bird and the Bee

  “You’re a Mean One, Mr.Grinch” By Thurl Ravenscroft

  “Almost Lover” By A Fine Frenzy

  “Christmas Valentine” By Ingrid Michaelson & Jason Mraz

  “Oxford Comma” By Vampire Weekend

  “The Dress Looks Nice On You” By Sufjan Stevens

  “Wedding Song” By Anais Mitchell & Justin Vernon

  “Flowers In Your Hair” By The Lumineers

  “Wedding Song” By The Yeah Yeah Yeahs

  “1234” By Feist

  “You and I” By Ingrid Michaelson

  “The Suburbs” By Arcade Fire

  “Dips” By Daisy The Great

  Chapter One

  AVERY

  * * *

  SEPTEMBER

  One thing I loved about living in the small town of Drakesville, Pennsylvania, was the annual Fall Arts Fest. I loved walking up into the town square and seeing all the booths for the local businesses lined up together—like the bakery, the paint and pottery place, and my favorite brewery. The MacGregor Brothers Brewing Company.

  Being ten miles north of Philadelphia and in a generally safe area, Drakesville gave you that small-town feeling without being too far away from it all. Not that I went into the city all that much. Only when I was going on yet another horrible date.

  My current date, Greg, had agreed to meet me at the Arts Fest. He lived a few towns over and was happy to come check out the festivities with me. We met on a dating app and had been talking for a couple of weeks, but this was our first in-person date. Greg wasn’t my typical type. I preferred my men thick and bearded, and he had that clean-cut look about him. He also looked like he went to the gym five times a day. I tried not to judge him too harshly because, at thirty-five and perpetually single, I couldn’t be picky anymore.

  I pushed my hair behind my ear and bent down to admire a crystal necklace at one of the jewelry booths. I didn’t believe in the power of crystals. That was my sister Gemma’s thing, but I thought they were pretty.

  I was cramming the last of a donut into my mouth when I spied the disgusted look on Greg’s face.

  “What?” I asked, thinking I had chocolate smeared all over my face.

  “Nothing,” he snapped.

  I reeled back at that because, until now, he had been the perfect date.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked.

  He sneered at me and wrinkled his nose. “You would be prettier if you lost a few pounds.”

  My mouth hung open in shock at his bluntness.

  I knew I had some curves on my petite frame. Most people wouldn’t even consider me plus-sized, though. I just liked a side of cheese fries with my cheesesteak and beer every once in a while. What was wrong with that?

  “Excuse me?” I stuttered out once the shock wore off.

  He shrugged and put his hands in his pockets. “No wonder you’re still single. Men would be more interested in you if you put in the effort and got fit.”

  Wow.

  I knew men were garbage, but I’d never had a man be so rude to my face. I stood there blinking at him in shock for what felt like an eternity. Finally, I clenched my teeth together and chose my words carefully. “Why did you agree to go out with me?”

  He shrugged, and we continued to walk down the street. “You looked thinner in your profile picture.”

  WOOOOOOW!

  “Did you ever wonder why you’re still single?” I asked.

  He shrugged as if he didn’t care.

  “Because you’re an asshole,” I seethed at him. “I need a beer.”

  “You know there’s a lot of cal—”

  I fixed him with a glare. “Greg, go fuck yourself and never call me again.”

  With that, I stormed off down the road until I reached the booth for the tattoo shop where my friend Lizzie worked. Lizzie stood at the booth with her toddler, Matty, on her hip. She cocked her head to one side, and her lavender-tinted hair hung down at me like a question mark. Her son pulled at her hair, and she nuzzled her face against his nose, which made him giggle. That made me smile. Her kids were cute.

  “Hey Avs, how’s the date?” she asked, but I think she knew since I was alone.

  “Bad,” I groaned.

  She frowned and shifted Matty onto her other hip. “What happened?”

  “He told me I would be prettier if I lost a few pounds.”

  “What an asshole,” a deep voice came from behind me.

  I turned around and came face-to-face with Lizzie’s husband, Wyatt. Or rather, face-to-chest, because Wyatt was a freaking blonde giant compared to my five-foot-five frame. I smiled when I saw their new baby girl sleeping soundly strapped to his chest.

  “Oh, my ovaries!” I cried and put a hand on my chest.

  Wyatt gave me a funny look. “Erm, what?”

  I gestured to him, holding his baby. “That! A hot guy with a baby. Sorry to ogle your man, Lizzie, but I’m jealous.”

  The couple laughed.

  “She’s so cute!” I said to them, and Lizzie beamed at me.

  “We make cute babies,” Wyatt agreed. He put a hand on my shoulder. “You need me to rough the guy up?”

  I rolled my eyes at him. “Thanks, but no. What I really need is a beer.”

  Lizzie and W
yatt shared a look.

  “What?” I asked.

  “I’m sure Nolan would be happy to see you. He was grumpy when I was over there,” Wyatt said to me.

  Nolan was always grumpy. It was kinda his MO.

  Nolan MacGregor was the co-owner and brewmaster of the local brewery and a good friend—with whom I happened to occasionally fall into bed, but that was a secret.

  With his burly physique and big bushy beard, Nolan was one hundred percent my type. He exuded that whole lumbersexual thing, over six feet tall and a little round in the middle. Thick men with big beards were my weakness. It was too bad he was only looking for an occasional hookup.

  I looked over at the booth across the way and spotted the big man in question. We locked eyes, and he held up a plastic cup. “Beer?” he mouthed. I smiled and nodded.

  When I turned back to Wyatt and Lizzie, they were smirking at me. “Guys, it’s not like that,” I tried to argue.

  Lizzie rolled her eyes. “Sure, it’s not…”

  “We’re just friends,” I insisted.

  Friends with some benefits, but it wasn’t like they knew that. Nobody knew. Not even my baby sister, Gemma, knew, and she worked at the brewery. I didn’t think Nolan’s brother Declan knew either, and they were business partners.

  Wyatt snorted and shook his head.

  I glared at them. “Goodbye, you jerks!”

  They both laughed as I headed in the direction of the brewery’s booth, where Nolan and my sister were doling out beer. Nolan handed me a beer, but shook his head when I tried to give him some cash. “No, Avery, your money’s no good here.”

  My sister scoffed, and she tossed her cotton-candy pink hair over her shoulder. “Um, false, boss man! That’s how we lose money. She’s family… give me ten dollars.”

  “Ten dollars? That’s more than the sign says!” I argued.

  Gemma gave me a cheeky grin. “You’re family. You get charged extra.”

  “Six,” Nolan said to my sister firmly.

  Gemma rolled her eyes. “FINE.”

  I handed the cash to my sister and took the beer from her before downing it in one big gulp. Like the classy lady I was.

  Nolan cackled out a big, booming laugh. “That’s my girl!”

  My heart jumped at hearing him call me ‘his girl,’ even though I knew that wasn’t how he meant it. Nolan MacGregor might be good in bed, but I’d never be ‘his.’

  Gemma smiled, but it quickly dropped into a frown. “Wait, I thought you brought a date to the Fest?”

  I shook my head. “Shut up and beer me, woman.”

  “What happened?” she asked.

  I grimaced. “He said I would be prettier if I lost weight.”

  A scowl formed across Nolan’s face. “Fuck that, guy! He doesn’t know what he’s missing.”

  A small smile curled up on my lips. “Thanks, Nol. It’s fine. I’m used to assholes.”

  His jaw ticked, and the scowl stayed on his face. “It’s not fine. That guy’s a dick, and you deserve better. I have something that might cheer you up, though.”

  “What’s that?”

  “We finally released that pumpkin beer I was talking about.”

  “Oooh! I love pumpkin beers!” I cheered.

  “I know,” he said with a grin.

  “Basic bitch,” Gemma muttered under her breath.

  I handed her more money and took the beer. “What’s this one called?”

  “The Drake Pumpkin Ale.”

  Gemma made a face. “I’d rather have a Drakesville Lager any day. Or the 611 IPA.”

  “I didn’t make it for you,” Nolan snapped at her.

  Gemma nudged him in the ribs. “Grouchy! Go take a break, boss man. I see Declan coming back. We’ll handle it.”

  Nolan rolled his eyes at her, but did as he was told. He came around the table and joined me on my stroll around the square. We came to a stop at the dumpling truck.

  “You want one?” he asked while he studied the menu thoughtfully, like he didn’t have it memorized already.

  “No,” I lied.

  Of course, I wanted a dumpling. I loved that the dumpling truck was always here for the Arts Fest. Right now, I wasn’t thinking about how much I wanted to eat a dumpling. Instead, I was thinking about what that jerk said to me. Maybe he was right. Maybe I could afford to lose a little weight.

  “You sure?” Nolan asked. He looked down at me with concern in his whiskey-colored eyes.

  “I’m sure,” I lied again and took a sip of my beer.

  He frowned but didn’t push the conversation and went up to the truck window while I waited off to the side and drank my beer.

  Nolan startled me when he came back over to me. “Open your mouth,” he grunted.

  “What?”

  I was used to him grunting that demand at me, but usually, it was in the bedroom, and I was on my knees.

  He held a dumpling in his big hand. “Open,” he demanded again.

  I opened my mouth and let him gently place the dumpling inside. I bit into it and moaned at the taste of buffalo chicken wrapped up in crisp dough.

  He grinned down at me and popped a dumpling into his mouth. “Love that sound.”

  “Nolan!” I hissed.

  He shrugged and swallowed. “What? Why do you care if people know we occasionally hop into bed together? We’re both adults.”

  I glared up at him. “Because our siblings would start planning our wedding.”

  He made a non-committal grunt in response.

  Nolan wasn’t a man of many words. Unless those were dirty words and he was growling them while I was underneath him.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked after a few minutes had passed without further comment. “You never turn down carbs.”

  “Do you think I need to lose weight?”

  He raised a dark eyebrow at me. “Is that a trick question?”

  “No…”

  “Avs, lose weight if you want to, but don’t do it because some asshole told you to. I’ve never complained about your doggy-style hand grips.” His eyes trailed down my body, and it was like tiny fires licking across my skin. “I always have a good time.”

  I put a hand over my face. “Jesus, Nolan.”

  He gave me that naughty grin that I loved and popped another dumpling into his mouth.

  “Open,” he commanded again and held another one up to my mouth.

  “What flavor?” I asked.

  “Apple pie,” he said, and I let him feed it to me. I bit down on the delicious dessert and moaned again.

  “Avery…” he trailed off and ran a hand through his thick beard.

  “Yeah?”

  “Any guy would fall over themselves to be with you. You deserve a man who treats you like his queen.”

  “Then how come I haven’t found him yet? I’m getting too old for this. I feel like I’m gonna die alone with my cats.”

  “You don’t have cats,” he argued.

  I glared again. “Not the point.”

  He squeezed my hand. “You’ll find the right guy, probably when you aren’t even looking.”

  I nodded but didn’t believe him. I was pretty sure the man I wanted a future with was standing right in front of me. It really sucked when you were hopelessly in love with your friends with benefits.

  “You want to come over tonight?” he asked.

  “I’ve got nothing going on.”

  He smiled at me. “Avs?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Wear the red lingerie.”

  Chapter Two

  NOLAN

  I smiled from my end of the couch as I watched Avery laugh at something my brother said. I hadn’t been paying attention to the conversation one bit. My horny brain was more focused on waiting for everyone to leave so I could get Avery underneath me.

  I met Avs two years ago. I was done with my shift at the brewery and headed home when I saw a pretty brunette crying into her beer. I asked the bartender to send her another on the house.
One beer led to two, which led to her underneath me, moaning my name. It was supposed to be a one-time thing, but it kept on happening. Somehow along the way, we became friends.

  Since my divorce a couple years ago, I wasn’t one for relationships. I never wanted to fail someone the way I failed Kath. That’s why I told Avery we could only be casual, even though I was pretty sure I caught feelings for her the very night we met. I learned to tamp those feelings down because I knew she didn’t feel the same way.

  “Right, Nol?” my brother’s voice cut through my broody thoughts.

  “Hmm?”

  “Buddy! What a Space Cadet.” Declan laughed and drank down the rest of his beer.

  I shrugged.

  Gemma sighed and finished her glass of water. “It’s late. I better get going.”

  “You okay to drive?” Avery asked.

  Gemma held up her water. “I’m good. I had one beer an hour ago.”

  Avery stood up and hugged her sister. “Text me when you get home, okay?”

  The younger woman rolled her eyes. “Yes, mom!”

  Declan stood up, too. “I’ll walk you to your car.”

  “You don’t have to,” Gemma said in protest.

  “I’d feel better about it,” he argued.

  “Dec, you live in Drakesville. I feel much safer walking at night here than in South Philly, and I do that all the time. I’ll be fine.”

  Avery sighed. “Gem, let Declan walk you to your car, okay? It’s on his way home.”