Page 66 of Accidentally in Love

“I didn’t want to be a disappointment.”

Her dad frowned, and Avery covertly brushed her fingers under her eye. I hated that she was such a ball of nerves and tears all the time. Her dad’s eyes widened when the light reflected off the ring on her hand.

He looked at me, and I nodded at his unspoken question. “We’re getting married too,” I said.

“Oh! That’s wonderful news. Avs, sweetheart, why are you crying?”

“I’m sorry,” she blubbered. “I feel like I let you down.”

“How?” he asked.

“Because I got ‘oops pregnant,’ and I’m having a shotgun wedding,” she cried.

Her dad and I shared a look. He put a hand over hers. “Avery, I don’t care how you got pregnant. This baby might be a surprise, but babies are a blessing. I can’t wait to meet my first grandchild. Lord knows your sister’s not giving me any.”

She laughed. “She said the fifth of never.”

“No more crying. Let’s eat!” Sal said with a laugh and dug into his chicken. “Aw, sweetheart, you made my favorite!”

I cut into my food and tasted it. Avery was such a superb cook. I had ‘helped’ with dinner tonight, but mostly I just did what she told me to.

“Nolan helped,” she admitted sheepishly.

Her dad smiled. “He did? That was nice of him. You’re gonna name the baby after me, right?”

She laughed again, and the tension in the air dissipated. “Dad! What if we have a girl? I can’t name her Salvatore!”

Her dad drank more of his beer and squinted at her in thought. “I don’t know, Salvatrice has a nice ring.”

“Dad!” Avery laughed and shook her head at him.

He laughed and looked over at me. “Nolan, you and your brother own MacGregor Brothers Brewing Company, right?”

“Yes, sir.”

Sal nudged Avery. “Sweetheart, where’d you find this formal guy?”

A small smile formed across her lips. “He’s usually not like this. He was nervous about meeting you.”

“She’s not wrong,” I agreed and took another sip of my beer.

Sal pointed at himself. “Me? Am I intimidating?”

No, he didn’t look intimidating at all. But I knocked up his daughter, so I assumed he would hate me.

I shook my head.

“Dad, stop interrogating him. Nolan’s a good man. We’ve been friends for a while,” Avery said.

“Let me see the ring,” he insisted.

Avery held out her hand, and her dad examined it. “Pretty and unique.”

“It was my mother’s,” I said and drank more of my beer, hoping to swallow the lump in my throat.

The older man gave me a sympathetic smile. “I’m sure she would have loved Avery. Did you have to get it resized?”

“No, it fit her perfectly.”