Page 69 of Beau & Autumn

“Bob!”

He ignores his wife. “Your mom’s thrilled, but I still think this is all very sudden.”

Beau’s hand is on the small of my back. It feels so safe. He makes me feel special, like I matter to him. Even if it is a fake marriage, he’s not faking being a nice guy. This is how he is without the marriage certificate.

“We get it’s a shock,” Beau says. “But you can’t fight love. When it happens, you just know.”

I battle with myself not to gape at him, the sincerity in his voice overwhelms me. You can’t fight love. Go, Beau!

Gayle claps her hands together, an excited flush of red is prominent on her cheeks. “I can’t believe you’re married. We have to call Aunt Patti and Uncle Jack.”

Beau shakes his head. “I have to tell my brothers first, and Georgia.”

Bob snickers. “This should be fun.”

Gayle glares at him, then smiles back at us. “Well if any of them have anything to say about it, you send them to me, okay?”

I smile. She’s so kind. They both are. His dad is just being cautious and I get that. But I feel like he sees right through it. “Okay.”

We spend the rest of the morning having scones and tea and Gayle asking about all our plans and where we’ll live. I’m waiting for her to ask if I’m pregnant and if this is a shot-gun wedding; I can almost feel the vibrations coming off her. Bob is polite and sits and listens to our fake, loved up whirlwind romance. All the while, I want to slither away and pretend none of this is happening. But it is.

I’m married. There’s no going back now. And the funny thing is, I don’t want to.

??

“Holy cow, what?” Georgia shrieks. “You’re married?”

Beau puts one finger to his ear and shakes it. “Not sure the folks down in Alabama heard you, sis.”

She stares at us in complete shock, her eyes wide, her mouth gaping. It’s not often you can shock the hell out of Georgia-Blue.

“What’s all the screaming about?” Gabe comes down the hallway and stops short when he sees us. Beau’s arm is slung lazily around my shoulders.

Oh, brother.

Beau runs a hand through his hair “I think we need to call Gray and Brook in here before?—”

“They got married!” Georgia’s tone isn’t as loud this time, but it’s still high pitched and accusatory.

Gabe balks. “What?” His eyes shift from mine to Beau’s, then sees our serious faces and Beau’s arm around me. His eyebrows shoot up, surprise littering his face. “Are you serious?”

Beau turns, pecking me quickly on the lips. “Yep. We’re serious. We’re in love and we got hitched a few days ago in Jackson.”

“Holy fuck.” Gabe blinks a couple of times while he registers it. “Wait, didn’t you only start dating like two weeks ago?”

Beau waggles his ring finger at him. “We couldn't wait. We didn’t want to live in sin, with Autumn’s family being catholic…”

Another blink, and Georgia still has her hands slapped over her mouth. Finally, she pulls them away. “I can’t believe it. I can’t believe you got married and didn’t tell me!”

Uh, oh. Now she looks and sounds more like Bob Bassett than ever before.

“George, we’re gonna plan a big wedding and you can help Autumn with all the details.” Every time Beau says that, a slice of my heart breaks away. I want it to be real, I realize. I want him to want me. I’d love to have a romantic wedding with all our friends and family there to celebrate our union.

Gabe slaps Beau on the back. “Way to go bro, I guess congratulations are in order.”

They share a one-armed hug before Gabe comes toward me and hugs me too. “I have to say, I am surprised. But welcome to the family, sis.”

“I have a sister!” Georgia muffles behind her hands. “I mean, I already have Eden, Hartley, and Skye. But this… Like, this feels really surreal. I know you two liked each other but I had no idea…”

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