Falling into a Second Chance by Alie Garnett

Chapter Forty

Agatha wouldn’t tellhim what the plan was, but he called his mom and family and requested that they come to Agatha’s house and meet his fiancée and daughter. Since he hadn’t actually talked to his sister or brother the night of the party, and Agatha hadn’t at all, they were very eager to meet Agatha. His mom once again declined the offer. Once again, he didn’t care. If she wouldn’t make time for his family, he didn’t need her in his family.

Within an hour, the house was completely full, with his family and Agatha’s family there. Agatha and Cliff began immediately arguing in the backyard for a few minutes. When he asked about it later, Cliff had said it had been about property lines. But that had been when Carter and his wife had arrived, so he had to leave them to fight it out. He was sure that Agatha was winning the fight anyway.

Wearing a white “LUN” shirt, Agatha carried Poppy through the crowd. The little girl was in a frilly little dress in sunburst, not orange, or so he had been told.

Harper and Kaine came into the house, both carrying pans of something that smelled amazing. “Okay, Ag, we’re having chicken and pork chops because I didn’t have enough of the dish you were looking for. Luce is bringing the sides and desserts. P.S., there will be a bill for this. A very, very large bill.”

“Just give it to Sera; she’s paying,” Agatha said to her sister and smiled a thank-you at her brother-in-law.

“Why am I paying? The mother of the bride does not pay for the rehearsal dinner,” Sera argued as she tried to bounce her son to sleep. Agatha handed Poppy to Chris and took the baby from her. “Don’t think I don’t know that this is just an elaborate way for you to get out of going dress shopping today.”

Yes, Agatha was supposed to have gone dress shopping after their amazing sex two days before, but Agatha had called in sick, and Sera had nearly cried on the phone. Then Agatha had admitted she just wanted some time with Chris, and her stepmom had given in, saying she would keep the baby for the rest of the day. Sera also hinted that her wedding dress might end up fitting Harper better than Agatha since her sister was trying them on for her. Dress shopping was happening no matter what.

“You caught me.” Agatha bumped her mom with her shoulder and winked. She was surprisingly happy to go with her stepmom after lunch was finished.

Heading over to his family, he handed off Poppy to his sister. The baby was always happy to go to strangers. As a father, maybe he should be a little concerned about that,but Chris decided not to be. Poppy was perfect.

Cliff rushed in the door with an old man who seemed angrier than anything. He looked around the room and groaned at all the people gathered.

Cliff whistled loudly, and half the women yelled at him not wake the babies.

Agatha jumped on the couch and announced, “Thank you, everyone, for coming today. Chris and I are happy we can spend this special day with the ones we love.”

“Special day?” Sera questioned from beside them.

Agatha turned to her and smiled. “We’re getting married.”

“Tomorrow,” Sera reminded her. She had been planning their wedding since the moment the engagement was announced, possibly before. Chris didn’t even know what all the woman had in store for them the next day. All he knew was that they needed to be at the cathedral at 10 a.m.

“Today,” Agatha corrected and jumped off the couch to stand by her mom. “Will you be a witness?”

“Of course, but it’s tomorrow. I still have a lot to do.” She smiled and tried to hug Agatha, who leaned away.

“Not this time. Just relax.” Agatha took her stepmom’s hand in hers.

Sera smiled and looked around the room. “But it’s tradition, Agatha. I plan the weddings, and you girls just go along with it. From it, you get a gorgeous wedding and memories to last a lifetime.” She stopped and then quickly added, “And a husband.”

Agatha pulled the woman into a hug. “It was all a lie, Sera.”

They were all married now, so there was no need to keep the truth from Sera anymore. It had always bothered her that Sera was never invited; she would have loved the late nights with little to no notice of what was happening. They had only kept it from her to spare her feelings since none of them wanted a big wedding. It was time to let the cat out of the bag.

“Agatha! Stop!” Harper yelled, though her next shout was muffled when her husband wrapped her into a hug and covered her mouth with his hand.

“Agatha, you snitch!” one of the twins shouted from behind him.

Agatha just kept hugging her stepmom and said, “Every one of them got married hours before the actual wedding. With only the family there. That’s how everyone wanted to get married.”

Agatha let Sera go and looked into her eyes. Even from across the room, he could tell the older woman was crying. Then her eyes darted to each of her married daughters and asked in a raspy voice, “Why wasn’t I there?”

“Because you were planning the big one,” Agatha said.

“But Maby and Cliff got married in the cathedral. It was gorgeous,” Sera pointed out with tears in her eyes at the memory.

“Actually, it happened in their apartment at two in the morning,” Buzz said from the corner of the couch, still pregnant and miserable.

“Harper and Kaine were married in their living room. It was a gorgeous day,” Sera tried again.

“Same living room, only it was the middle of the night,” Kaine said as he let his wife go finally.

“Lucy and Leo?”

“Six a.m. in the kitchen here at the house as she prepped the food Harper was supposed to be making. Lucy couldn’t let her do it alone,” Leo said as his wife tried to cover his mouth but failed.

“Buzzy?” She turned to her last daughter.

“In the middle of the night at the hotel.” Louisa was grinning as she jumped in with the answer, as if she had been just waiting to tell what she knew.

“Do you know how much money was spent on those weddings? And time? All the time I wasted?” Sera demanded of the room.

“Yes, and they all tried to get out of it. They had plans, and you didn’t let them happen. But I don’t want to just go along with it, so the judge is here, and we are getting married right now,” Agatha said with a smile.

“Now?” Sera sat down on the couch, looking lost.

Agatha sat down with her and hugged her. “Yes, right now, and you’re going to be my witness. You and Chris’s brother.”

That was when Chris realized what was happening. This wasn’t just Agatha’s mom getting the surprise of a lifetime. It was also his wedding day, and he hadn’t even known about it.

“Agatha, can I have a word with you?” he said and picked her up off the couch and threw her over his shoulder. Chris carried her into the empty kitchen where they could talk in peace.

In the kitchen, he sat her on the counter so that they were at eye level. “Did you forget to talk to me about this?”

“I knew you would say no, but then again, you wanted to get married ASAP,” she argued, her dark eyes dancing.

“I thought this was an engagement party,” he replied, pointing at the room full of people.

“Do you know what’s even better than an engagement party? A wedding!” She threw her arms around him and kissed him.

Resting his forehead against hers, he said, “I thought you hated parties.”

“I hate weddings, and you wanted to elope. Let’s elope in our living room with our families.” She wrapped her legs around him and clung to him.

Chris was starting to like her idea more and more. “But my mom and all our other guests are going to be at the cathedral tomorrow,” he argued.

Sera ventured into the kitchen. “How about we do this one today and then the cathedral tomorrow for everyone else? I mean, think of who isn’t here. Bex and Arabella aren’t here. Chris’s mom isn’t here. Your lawyer, Aspen, isn’t here. Leo’s girls aren’t even here. We can’t have you getting married without any of them. Tomorrow they will be there.”

“Mom,” Agatha groaned into his chest.

“No, it could work. It will be beautiful, and we can still go get you a gorgeous dress for the wedding. And dresses for all your sisters since they’re all bridesmaids. All eight of them. Good thing Chris is a football player; we needed more guys,” Sera said, clapping her hands in excitement. “And I already have the top hats. I regretted not using them with Mabel, but I get to with you. Oh, and the doves. I know how much you loved the doves.”

“That’s defeating the purpose of this wedding!” Agatha argued but Sera wasn’t listening.

“Two weddings are better anyway—just ask your sisters. Now I only had one, and I think I would have liked two,” Sera replied as she walked back into the living room, announcing that the other wedding was still on.

“What just happened?” Chris asked her as she shook her head against his chest.

“I got outsmarted. I worked so hard on this. I even wore my good shirt.” She pointed at it but didn’t pull away from him.

“Is it so bad to marry me twice?” He wanted to laugh at her but managed to control it, just barely.

“Doves, Chris,” she stated, her grip on him not loosening.

Pulling her free of him, he set her back on the counter. After kissing her nose, he asked, “Are you ready to start our two-day wedding celebration?”

“This is not happening to me,” Agatha grumbled.

“This could only happen to you. To us. We wasted most of our lives to get to this day, so let’s make it an event. Bring on the top hats and the doves and whatever your mom throws at us. It’s nothing compared to what we’ve gone through to get here.” He stepped away and lifted her off the counter.

Agatha took a deep breath once she was on her feet. “Can I just have a second to get emotionally ready for this?”

“Of course, Agatha Christie Lovely. But you know the moment you walk back out there, we get to get married. For the first time,” he said, because he was ready to start this life with her. No matter what life brought their way, they were in it together.

“Okay, I know,” she said and took another breath. He knew this was out of her comfort zone. All of it. But he also knew she was ready. Their days of sabotaging themselves were over. They were destined to find each other again and again until they got it right.

Walking out of the kitchen, he stopped at the door and looked back at her. He loved looking at her and knowing she was his. She must have sensed it because she turned to him and smiled.

Turning around, he walked back and tucked her hair behind her ears and whispered the first thing that came to his mind. “Hey, Chris.”

Smiling at him, she replied, “Hey, Chris.”

Kissing her forehead, he added, “I love you.”

This was his past, present, and future all rolled up in one package. In a few minutes, she would be his wife. Then again tomorrow, she would be his wife again. And who knew what the day after would bring. Nothing but surprises and happiness lay ahead of them. Forever.