Ever After (The Christmas Cottage - Book 2) (17 page)

Oh, God; she really didn’t want to have this conversation.  If only she hadn’t stood in the driveway for so long she would’ve been gone by now!  She wasn’t ready for this; this confrontation, this final, civil good-bye! 
Why today?  Why now?  Of all days for Lacey to flake out, why did it have to be now?

“Good,” she said levelly, congratulating herself on the steadiness of her voice.  “I started a new job at the university.  I took over for the retiring librarian.”

He nodded.  “That one was really one of your best offers.  Good for you.  Are you enjoying it?”

If she’d said it once, she’d said it a million times, she hated small talk.  What was the point?  It was a waste of time and all she wanted to do was grab the stupid casserole and leave!  Ava looked at Brian, really looked at him, and realized that that wasn’t what she wanted to do at all.  No, if she were completely honest with herself she’d admit that what she wanted most right now was to throw herself into his arms and beg his forgiveness. 

Only then she remembered that she didn’t deserve it; the whole not being selfish thing. 

“I am,” she said softly.  “I don’t know why I fought it for so long.”

“You were searching for something perfect,” he said simply.  “You just didn’t think that it could possibly be something that was right in front of you.”

Boy did that ring true on multiple levels, she thought to herself.  Nodding she said, “You’re right; I guess I wasn’t paying attention very well.  Lesson learned.”

“Is it?” he asked, taking a step into the room before stopping himself. 

“Is it what?”

“Learned,” he replied. 

“It is,” she said with a little more strength.

“That’s good, Ava; that’s really good.  It would be a shame for you to keep missing out on what could be a really good opportunity because you were searching for something that maybe didn’t exist.”

She couldn’t speak; he knew her too well and she knew that they were no longer talking about a job or anything else.  This was about them.  “I’m done looking for perfect,” she admitted.  “I’m very happy with the things that I have and the things that I want, well, they may not be perfect but neither am I.”  Tears sprang to her eyes and she did her best to wipe them away before Brian noticed them.

She wasn’t fast enough.

When she looked up again Brian was standing directly in front of her.  Without asking permission, he reached up and wiped her tears away as he cupped her face.  “You’re the closest thing to perfect that I’ve ever seen,” he said fiercely just before he lowered his head and kissed her with all of the pent up longing he’d been feeling.  When she sighed and wrapped her arms around him, he deepened the kiss.  “I’ve missed you,” he said gruffly between kisses.

“I missed you too,” she whispered, seeking his mouth again and again.  “I’m so sorry, Brian!  I’m so sorry for not being honest with you.”  Ava was going to say more but he stopped her because he was too hungry for her. It had been too long and he knew there would be plenty of time to talk later.  Right now all that mattered was the two of them and this moment.

Scooping Ava up in to his arms, Brian walked out of the room and brought her into the living room where there was furniture, a sofa they could sit on.  Gently, he laid her down and then followed beside her, unable to keep from touching her, kissing her; having her near him was more than he had hoped for.

Ava pulled back and softly ran her fingers across his face.  “I love you, Brian,” she said honestly.  “I have from the beginning and I’m so sorry that I didn’t tell you.”

“I shouldn’t have pushed you,” he admitted.  “I wasn’t honest with you either; I wanted to start planning a future for us
, but I kept it to myself.  So I was making plans in my head and not sharing them with you when really, I should have.”

“You wanted a future with me?”

“I
want
a future with you,” he corrected.  “Ava, I love you; I don’t want to be without you ever again.”

“I thought that maybe you wouldn’t want…”

He placed a finger across her lips to quiet her.  “Sshh…don’t.  I will always want you.  I’m always going to love you.”  Brian kissed her softly and pulled back.  “What I want more than anything, Ava, is to give you your happily-ever-after.  What do you think?”

No words had ever sounded sweeter.

“I think that I’d like that very much,” she sighed and snuggled in closer to him.  “You are my every hope, my every dream; you are my knight in shining armor and I can’t think of anyone else I’d rather live my fairytale with than you.”  Kissing him again because she couldn’t seem to stop herself, Ava felt content for the first time in her life.

She’d been searching for her ever after for so long, who knew that it would come and find her first?

One year later…

“So there was no sweet potato casserole.”

“Nope.”

“And Ean’s migraine...?”

“Hasn’t had one since he was fifteen.”

Ava sighed dramatically.  “You know, it’s like I don’t even know who you are anymore, Lace.  Basically you’ve just turned in to one big lying liar.”  The words would have been harsh had they not been said with a grin.

“That’s me,” Lacey sang.  “But like it or not, you owe all of your happiness to the sweet potato casserole.”

“Oh, please, I am not saying thank you to a casserole; that’s just ridiculous.”

Lacey shrugged.  “Whatever; all I’m saying is that if it weren’t for me being forgetful…”

“But you weren’t forgetful!  There wasn’t a casserole to be found in your house!”

“See!  I had forgotten that I didn’t forget it; but look at how great it all worked out!  The holidays are here an
d look at you!  You are positively stunning.”

Ava turned and looked at herself in the mirror for possibly the tenth time.  This was it; she was marrying Brian McCabe. 
The wedding was a much different affair than Ava had ever dreamed of for herself.  For starters, they were skipping the Callahan tradition of having the wedding on Christmas Eve up in Asheville and the bride and groom were not spending their wedding night in the infamous cottage.

“Are you sure I look okay?” Ava asked nervously.

“Fishing for compliments?”

She couldn’t help but grin. “No…yes…maybe; I don’t know.  Gosh, I’m so nervous!  Why am I so darn nervous?”

“Because it’s your wedding day!  You’ve been planning this for a year and now it’s finally arrived!”

“Do you think Brian’s nervous?”

Lacey shook her head.  “I think he is just anxious to get this all over with and I for one can’t blame him.”

“This was a lot of work,” Ava admitted.  “I mean, I didn’t use a binder or anything this time but just the whole process of getting here was more than a little exhausting.”

“Yes, I’m sure that picking up the phone and screaming ‘
We’re going to Vegas
!’ had to wear you out,” Lacey deadpanned.

“You know, it was harder than it sounds.  There were flights to coordinate and then deal with the disappointment that we weren’t going to have a whole big gala event…I’m telling you, it wasn’t easy.”

“Personally, I think it’s great.  When you gave me and Ean your wedding two years ago, at first I was disappointed that I didn’t get to really plan anything, but in the end, we enjoyed ourselves so much more!  We were able to relax and celebrate and have fun.”

“I know this isn’t the wedding that anyone ever thought I would have…”

Lacey waved her off.  “Don’t worry about that; you know your folks are going to have a big party for you after Christmas.”

“No, I know
, but Brian and I tossed around so many ideas and we wanted something that was quirky and fun and not like anything anyone we knew had ever done before.”

“Seriously?  And you thought Vegas wa
s the way to go?  The land of the drive-thru wedding chapel?”

“Ha, ha, very funny.”

“Am I wrong?”

“As a matter of fact you are,” Ava stated.  “
It’s not like we’re getting married by an Elvis impersonator.  We have done some extensive research…”

“You decided on this two days ago,” Lacey reminded.

“After some extensive research!” Ava cried.  “Now hush up and let me talk!  Anyway, we wanted something different and while everyone thinks of a Vegas wedding being in some cheesy drive-thru chapel,” she stared pointedly at her friend, “the truth is that there are some absolutely amazing places here to get married.”

“Okay, fine; I take it back. You are unique.”  At that moment, Olivia toddled over and lifted her arms up to her mother.  “And I hate to be a spoil sport because I appreciate that you wanted Olivia to be a part of this
, but it took a little bit of the fun out of it for me and Ean.  We were hoping for a second honeymoon of our own.”

“Too bad,” Ava said as she checked her reflection and fixed her lipstick.  “You already got more out of my last wedding than I did; this time it’s all about me, baby.”

“I can’t even argue with that,” Lacey said as she picked up her daughter who was donned in a frilly pastel blue dress that matched her eyes.  “So where are we going?  You’ve been a little quiet about it.”

“We will be having an outdoor ceremony at
Mt. Charleston.”

“The mountains?  Seriously?  You said that you didn’t want to get married in the mountains!”

“I said we didn’t want to get married in Asheville; big difference.  We both love the mountains but we just didn’t want the ceremony in those particular ones.  Does that make sense?”

“It does,” Lacey sighed.  “So, outdoor ceremony at
Mt. Charleston.  Okay; are we ready to go?”

Ava stood and smoothed her princess style gown.  It was more ornate than the one she had chosen two years earlier
, but something about Brian made her feel more feminine and princess-like.  It felt wonderful. 

They had opted for an ultra-private ceremony with only Lacey, Ean and Olivia in attendance.  As Lacey had stated earlier, they’d have a more casual reception after Christmas; this wedding was purely about the two of them and the commitment they were finally making to one another. 

There was no denying that people were shocked at their decision to ultimately elope, but in light of the wedding that Ava had planned and abandoned two years earlier, they all ultimately understood.  Brian didn’t care where he married Ava, just the fact that they were finally getting married.

As the limo pulled up to the site, Ava’s tummy was full of butterflies and she anxiously looked to Lacey.  “I’m nervous!  I really shouldn’t be nervous!  This is what I want; what I’ve been dreaming of.”

Lacey reached over and grabbed one of Ava’s hands.  “It’s natural; I knew that I loved Ean and couldn’t wait to be his wife and yet that walk down the aisle was the most nerve wracking.” She smiled.  “C’mon, let’s go and have a wedding!”

They emerged from the limo and were escorted down a path that had been lined with a white carpet that led them to where Brian was standing and waiting.  The wedding coordinator stopped her about fifty feet
from him and cued Lacey and Olivia to walk ahead of her.  There was a harpist off to the left and Ean stood beside Brian, both looking so handsome in their tuxedos.

When Lacey made it to the preacher’s side, Ava was cued to begin her walk.  She felt a moment of sadness at not having her parents with her
, but one look at Brian and she knew that all was going to be fine.  The closer she got, the calmer she felt.  Her long gown flowed on the covered path and all around her she could see nature at its finest; the mountains, the wild flowers and the sunshine were just the perfect touch.

As she finally came to face to face with the man who would soon be her husband, she felt nothing but peace. 
Her whole life had led to this very moment.  There were no more yesterdays, only the promise of tomorrow and the wonderful future that they were going to share.

The pastor spoke briefly and then it was their turn to speak their vows.

“Ava,” Brian began softly.  “You came into my life in a most unusual way and I knew from our first meeting that you were the woman for me.  I knew that the timing wasn’t right for us just then, but I also knew that I would wait an eternity for you.  You are my love and my life; you are my everything.  I promise to love you all of the days of my life.”  He placed the ring on her finger.

Taking a deep breath, Ava took her turn.  “Brian, nothing could have surprised me more than you
r declaration of love.  It was the most amazing thing that ever happened to me.  I wanted to be perfect for you but you taught me that I don’t need to be; I just need to be me.  Thank you for encouraging me to be myself and to live, love and laugh – mostly at myself,” she said cheekily.  “You are my strength; you make me believe that anything is possible.”  And then she quoted the words she once said to him.  “You are my every hope, my every dream; you are my knight in shining armor and I can’t think of anyone else I’d rather live my fairytale with than you.  I promise to love you all of the days of my life.”  And she placed the ring on his finger.