Accidentally in Love Read online

  I groaned. “Oh, I know, but I’ve been too tired to do it. Nolan offered to help, but you know how much he hates Christmas. I didn’t want to bother him about it.”

  “But he wants to do it. He asked me if I had helped you because you haven’t brought it up again.”

  “He did?” I asked in surprise.

  She nodded. “Yeah! He told me he voluntarily came over here and watched a cheesy Christmas movie with you after the tree lighting ceremony.”

  “He’s overcompensating for being a dick to me at our last doctor’s appointment. I know he didn’t want to do that, but he’s been doing little things like that for me.”

  Gemma rolled her eyes at me. “Of course he is. He wants to make it up to you. You gotta let him help you. He wants to.”

  I shook my head. “I can’t continue to complicate my feelings for him.”

  She squinted at me. “What aren’t you telling me?”

  “It’s none of your business,” I said flatly and gave her an annoyed look.

  “Woman, tell me!” she begged.

  I sighed. Little sisters sure were annoying.

  “He asked me to marry him.”

  “What?” she screeched. “Oh my god, Avs! Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “I said no. It was right after we found out I was pregnant.”

  She glared at me. “Is that why he’s been so moody? He’s been insufferable.”

  I shrugged. “You know Nol, he’s a grump.”

  She shook her head. “Nah, this is something else. He’s been in a foul mood. He made another guy quit yesterday. Why did you say no?”

  “He only did it because of the baby. I can’t marry someone who doesn’t love me. Besides, he doesn’t want to be tied down.”

  “How do you know that?”

  “He told me. It’s not like I’ve been the only woman in his bed lately.”

  She studied me for a second. “Are you sure about that?”

  I frowned. Actually, I wasn’t sure; I just assumed. We hadn’t had sex since we conceived the baby, so I figured he was getting it elsewhere.

  He didn’t want to be tied down. He made that perfectly clear to me on several occasions. I wasn’t naïve. I saw how other women looked at him. Nolan might not have six-pack abs, but he had that hot lumberjack thing going on. Some women were into that. I was very much into that.

  Gemma shook her head. “No wonder he’s been so snippy lately and miserable as all hell.”

  “Why would you say that?”

  She rolled her eyes, and I resisted the urge to tell her that her eyes would stay that way one day. Holy crap, was I turning into my mother? Is that what happened when you got pregnant?

  Gemma fixed me with an annoyed look. “The big guy loves you!”

  I shook my head. “No way, Gem.”

  “That man wants to give you what you’ve been searching for. You want your happily ever after, but when someone offered it to you, you said no.”

  “Because he doesn’t love me!” I screeched at her.

  How did she not get it? Nolan was just doing what he thought was ‘right.’ I didn’t want to marry someone who only did it because they had to. I wanted big love like in all the romance novels I read, but all I got from Nolan was a strained friendship and an unplanned pregnancy. Of course, I wanted to get married and have a family. That’s why I was going on all those terrible dates while I was still sleeping with Nolan. Deep down, I loved the idea of marrying him, but I didn’t want to trap him into a marriage he didn’t want.

  Gemma crossed her arms over her chest. “What if he wants what you want? What if you tried? You know, really gave it a go? That man only smiles when he sees you.”

  That was true. Nolan’s demeanor was usually gruff and dominating. Still, I’ve seen his scowl completely transform when he saw me from across a room. I used to think that was because I was one of the few people he tolerated. Did Gemma see something I didn’t?

  “You think we should try it?” I asked.

  “Yes!” my sister screeched.

  I chewed on my lip.

  “I think you should marry Nolan.”

  I ran a hand down my face and groaned. “Gem, why are you pushing this?”

  She put a hand over mine and squeezed it. “He’s such a grouch, but when you come into a room, his whole face lights up.”

  “But he only wants to marry me because he thinks he has to,” I argued again.

  “Avs, when he looks at you, all the grouchy broodiness falls off of him. I never see him like that with anyone else. Like…”

  I frowned at her while I rubbed my pregnant belly in thought. “Like what, Gem?”

  Her eyes got wide with excitement. “Like you’re his light.”

  I rolled my eyes at her.

  She poked me in the arm. “Seriously, Avs. I think you’re meant to be. Maybe the pregnancy wasn’t an accident. Maybe it was the universe’s way of pushing you together.”

  I chewed on my lip in thought. I wanted to have the husband and babies and maybe the white picket fence, too. I think Nolan would give that to me if I told him that’s what I wanted. He had been willing to marry me right after I told him about the baby. And he was so protective of me and provided for me even when I didn’t ask for it.

  Gemma gave me an exasperated look. “Okay, so maybe you don’t have to say yes to his proposal, but I know he cares about you, and I know you could be happy together.”

  “What if it doesn’t work out?”

  “Then it doesn’t work out. What’s the worst thing that could happen? I’ve been waiting two years for you two to get your heads out of your asses.”

  Gemma had a point. We didn’t have to get married, but the truth was, I wanted that more than anything. That was why I had been on the apps for so long, with no luck. I wanted a husband who would love me and care for our children and me. Nolan could be that for me. He knew what I was searching for, and he was willing to give it all to me. Maybe it was enough that we could try to have a life together.

  “Okay,” I said quietly.

  If I didn’t say it out loud to my sister right now, I would chicken out and continue to keep Nolan at arm’s length. After listening to Gemma, I was seriously considering accepting Nolan’s marriage proposal. Was that weird and irrational? Absolutely! Did we need to get married just because we were having a baby together? That was a big nope. But it was time for me to take a risk for the man I loved. Then maybe I would be brave enough to tell him all I ever wanted was his love.

  One day. Preferably before our baby turned thirty. I hoped.

  “Okay, what?” Gemma asked, but she had a hopeful look in her eyes. Like she already knew what I was going to say. She rubbed the rose-colored crystal she wore around her neck between her fingers as she stared back at me in anticipation.

  “I’m gonna tell him yes,” I said firmly and then nodded my head in confirmation.

  “YAY!” Gemma cheered and hugged me again.

  “I’m going to marry Nolan MacGregor.”

  “For real? You’re really going to do it?”

  “Gem,” I whispered and brushed away happy tears from my eyes. “He wants to give me everything I’ve ever dreamed of. Something’s telling me I have to try.”

  “It’s a sign from the universe, Avs!”

  I tried not to roll my eyes at that. God, I loved my sister, but she definitely was into her healing crystals and ‘signs from the universe’ a little too much. And yet, maybe my pull to marry Nolan was the universe telling me what to do. Not that I’d ever admit it to Gemma.

  Gemma grabbed my hand and gave it a little squeeze. I smiled at her through my tear-stained eyes. “Avs, everything is going to be perfect. Nolan already dotes on you, and he’ll give you that happily ever after you want.”

  I really hoped she was right. This was a huge risk. Who decided marrying their baby daddy was a good idea? Often, that didn’t work out, but something told me I had to take the chance on Nolan. I really hoped this didn’t all blow up in my face later.

  Chapter Ten

  NOLAN

  “Hey, Boss Man, you got a visitor!” Allen announced as he came back into the tank room, where I was finishing up the fermentation of a new batch of beer.

  “Busy!” I roared over the noise.

  A smirk came across Allen’s dark complexion. “Too busy for your baby mama?”

  I jerked my head up and immediately assumed the worst. “Avery?”

  I never planned to blab to everyone about Avery’s pregnancy. Still, Allen had been at the brewery the night she showed me the sonogram. Allen kept things close to the vest so he wouldn’t say anything. Although we lived in such a gossipy small town, I was sure word would get out soon, anyway.

  He shooed me away and took over my work. “Go talk to her, man!”

  I wiped my hands on my apron, went out to the floor, and saw Avery laughing with my brother. She turned at my loud footsteps and gave me a big smile.

  I felt something warm spread across my chest when she smiled at me.

  “Hey, is everything okay?” I asked.

  She stood up, and I saw Gemma give her a thumbs up from behind the bar. I wondered what that was about. I smiled as Avery walked toward me.

  “Okay,” she said firmly and with a bit of conviction.

  I raised an eyebrow. “Okay, what?”

  She smiled up at me and pulled my face down to her level. She shocked me by kissing me hard on the mouth. Instinctively, I wrapped my arms around her waist, pulling her closer to me. I only pulled away at the sarcastic cheers from my employees. A cute blush crept up across Avery’s face.

  “Okay, I’ll marry you,” she said, and her mouth curved up into a sweet smile.

  “Really?” I asked in surprise. That had been the last thing I expected to come out of her mouth.

  She nodded. “Yes.”

  “Why? What changed?”

  “My sister told me that if you’re offering me what I’ve been searching for, I should take it. That we should really try.”

  Okay, not exactly her telling me she had feelings for me, but if she wanted to get married and let me try to be the man she deserved, I would take it. Maybe in time, she would come to love me, too.

  I put my hands on her growing belly. “Avs, I promise I’ll do everything in my power to make you happy. You and the baby.”

  She put her hands over the top of mine like she was telling me how much we were in this together. “I want a courthouse wedding. Can we do that?”

  “Whatever you want.”

  I kissed her again, and she didn’t freeze up or care that we were in front of people. I didn’t know if she loved me like I loved her, but it was a start. People had shotgun weddings all the time and fell in love. Maybe this would be like that. We already had amazing chemistry and knew how to make a baby. How hard could marriage be?

  “Come on, let’s go home,” I said when I pulled away from the kiss.

  “We have a lot of things to talk about,” she agreed.

  I kissed her again and felt her melt into my arms. I only pulled away because a rag hit me square on the back of the head. I looked over at the bar where Gemma and Declan were giving us shit-eating grins.

  Avery smiled up at me with an I told you so look.

  “They’re planning our wedding, aren’t they?” I asked.

  She nodded. “That’s why I want to go to the courthouse.”

  “Get out of here!” Declan yelled at us.

  I gave him the one-finger salute and walked out of the bar with Avery’s hand in mine. When we got to my house, I sat her down on the couch and ran upstairs to grab my mother’s ring.

  “Where are you going?” she called up to me.

  I went into the office and unlocked the safe. I took out the box with my mother’s ring and locked the safe back up. I rushed back down the stairs and into the living room, where Avery still sat on the couch. She gave me a perplexed look while I kneeled in front of her and opened the box to her.

  “Avery Jensen, will you marry me?”

  She laughed. “I told you, I would. You didn’t have to ask again.”

  “I wanted to do it right.”

  She held up a finger. “Wait a second, that wasn’t her ring, right?”

  I shook my head as I slid the ring on her finger. It fit her perfectly, like it was made for her. “It was my mother’s.”

  She put her hand on her heart. “Oh, Nolan.”

  I put my hands on her stomach and kissed her growing bump. “I can’t wait to meet you, Peanut.”

  “Nol, you’re gonna be such a good dad.”

  “I want to be a good husband,” I admitted.

  “You’re the best friend a woman could ask for.”

  That wasn’t exactly what I was going for, but I would take it. “Will you move in here now?”

  She nodded.

  “Okay, let’s go get your things.”

  She laughed. “Slow your roll, buddy. One thing at a time. I have to call my landlord and give him my notice, but I’d like to stay here tonight… with you.”

  I kissed her again. “Perfect.”

  I shook awake at the sound of whimpering. When I slid my eyes open, I smiled at the woman in my arms. Avery was clutching onto me. Her arms were thrown over my bare chest, and one of her legs was tangled against my meaty thigh. She was whimpering in her sleep. No. Moaning. And grinding against my leg.

  Was she humping my leg like a dog in heat?

  I squinted at my phone in the dark and saw it was one in the morning. I wanted to let her sleep, but hearing that noise made my dick lift in interest. I nudged her softly. “Avs, wake up.”

  “Nolan,” she moaned.

  “Hey, I’m right here. What’s wrong?”

  Her eyes slid open and then widened when she realized her hand was reaching for the very thing that loved her moans. She shifted onto her back.

  “You okay?” I asked.

  She shook her head but wouldn’t look at me.

  “What’s wrong?”

  She put a hand on her face like something embarrassed her. “Nothing’s wrong.”

  “You were whimpering in your sleep. Did you have a bad dream?”

  “Not a bad dream,” she said, her words muffled by her hand over her mouth.

  “Okay…”

  She pulled her hand away from her face. “I was having a sex dream.”

  “Oh.”

  “I’m very horny.”

  “How horny?”

  A sheepish look crept across her face, and even though it was dark in my bedroom, I knew she was blushing. “Like I need to charge my vibrator every single night, horny.”

  I slid a hand down her body, and she shivered at my touch. I gently caressed her tits, and she bucked against me.

  “What do you need?” I whispered huskily.

  “You. I need you,” she whispered back with a needy whimper.

  She was wearing one of my t-shirts to bed again. What looked tight across my gigantic body looked like a dress on her. I pushed the shirt up and dipped a finger inside her panties.

  “Oh, fuck, so wet,” I hissed while I slid my finger across her clit.

  “I lied,” she blurted out as she arched her pussy up into my hand.

  “About what?”

  “About how horny I am. I’m so horny I broke my vibrator.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me? I could have helped you.”

  She moaned as I pushed one finger inside her pussy and then another. “Yes. Oh god, yes.”

  I kissed her neck. “Tell me what you need.”

  “Fuck me.”

  “You sure?”

  She nodded.

  I pulled my hand out of her and licked her juices off my hand. “You should be on top. I don’t want to hurt the baby.”

  She smiled at me. “The Doctor said missionary is okay, but if I feel any pain, we should switch positions.”

  I gave her a sheepish smile. “I still don’t want to hurt you or the baby. The books I read said not to do it.”

  “You’ve been reading the baby books?” she asked, looking surprised by that.

  I nodded. “Well… Dec threw one at my head when we found out you were pregnant.”

  She laughed. “Sounds like Dec. They say not to because it can be uncomfortable once I get bigger.”

  “I’m afraid of hurting you. I’m so much bigger than you; I don’t want to crush you.”

  She cupped my face in her hands. “You won’t. But I kinda want to do doggy, anyway.”

  I grinned at her. “Course you do. It’s your favorite.”

  She caressed my beard. “I love it, especially when it’s with you.”

  She sat up abruptly and tore the t-shirt off, exposing her tender, enlarged breasts to me. Her tits were perfect before, and now they looked terrific. She kicked her panties off, turned around on all fours, and I nearly came in my pants.

  My new fiancée was sexy as hell.

  I stripped off my boxers and got behind her, kissing up her spine until I was at her ear. “You’re so sexy.”

  “No, I’m not.”

  I ran my hands down her wide hips, and I clenched them in my hands. “Shush. You were sexy before and even more now that you’re carrying my child. Let me give you what you need.”

  “Please, I need your big dick.”

  “What the lady wants, she gets,” I said with a chuckle.

  I kneed her legs apart and lined up with her entrance. I teased her clit with the head of my cock, loving the feeling of being bare against her.

  “Please, Nol. I need it,” she begged, and she rocked her ass back into me.

  I leaned over and peppered her neck with kisses while I pushed inside her. I tilted her face up to kiss her from behind. We kissed in time while I moved inside her, nice and slow.

  “Yes…” she moaned as she broke off the kiss and rocked her ass back into my groin. She met me thrust for thrust, begging me with her body to give it to her hard and deep.

  I rocked into her, and grinned when she gripped the sheets, and I noticed the emerald engagement ring on her hand. I loved seeing her wearing my mother’s ring. I didn’t care why she changed her mind or why she took a chance on me. I was just grateful this goddess let me be near her. That she was allowing me to prove to her I could be worthy of her love.