After a slight hesitation, Jerry said, “I get it.” He chuckled while rubbing the back of his neck. “Yeah, I totally get it, and I’m happy for you, man. I’m glad you and Charlee found your way back to each other.” They hugged, and Jerry pounded him on the back. “But I still can’t wait until Sunday. Brunch is going to be lit.”
“Whatever, man. Just make sure you keep your trap shut until then.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
“Your wife?”
“You did what?”
“Oh, snap!”
“Get out of here!”
The noise volume in Liam’s grandparents’ enormous kitchen was almost deafening, causing family members who were spread out over other parts of the house to rush into the room.
Questions and comments flew at him and Charlee from all directions. Before they could answer one, another was thrown their way. It was safe to assume that Jerry and Rayne hadn’t said anything to anyone. Liam wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or if he should’ve allowed them to start spreading the news. At least then, he could’ve fielded phone calls and not have to deal with everyone at once.
The past week had been busy with them moving Charlee into his place. At the airport, after they were married, they started working on logistics of how to join their lives and homes. She agreed to move in with him since his place was bigger, and they planned to rent out her condo, furnishings and all.
There was still a lot for them to figure out, but so far, married life was terrific. Now all they had to do was get through the next couple of hours with his family. At least they had time before her father showed up. He’d had to make a quick trip out of town and was flying in from Florida. He wouldn’t get back to Cincinnati for at least another couple of hours.
Charlee handed Liam the cake that she insisted on picking up on the way to the brunch. He set it on the oversized kitchen island that they were standing next to. She was in for a gentle tongue lashing when his grandmother found out it wasn’t homemade.
“This is quite a surprise. Why didn’t you tell us you were seeing each other?” Liam’s mom, Kirsten, asked after hugging Charlee and then him. “Then again, I should’ve known. I remember catching Liam staring at you more than once at Jerry and Rayne’s baby shower.”
Charlee glanced Liam’s way. When she smiled at him, his heart kicked against his chest. Everything between them unfolded so fast. Yet, he was sure they’d done the right thing. It had been a long time since he’d been as happy as he was now, and he wanted to maintain the feeling for the rest of their lives.
“Yeah, that day your mom suspected something was up. She wanted me to pump you for information,” Liam’s father Lee Jenkins said, pulling Liam into a hug. “Congratulations, son. Can’t wait to hear the details.” The words were spoken only loud enough for Liam to hear before his father embraced Charlee.
He and his dad had always had a good relationship. They could often be found on the golf course or somewhere fishing. Since neither of them were big talkers, they enjoyed each other’s company while being content with quiet moments.
Liam was reminded of a lively conversation during a round of golf. His father had once told him that he had fallen in love with Liam’s mother the first time he asked her out for dinner. She turned him down. He kept asking, getting more creative with his methods and she finally said yes. Less than a year later, they were married.
As their parents went back to fixing their plates, Jada approached Liam and Charlee. She was smiling like she had just learned the secret of how to be cute and comfortable in high heels. She stopped in front of Charlee.
“All I have to say is, I am so glad he married someone who enjoys shopping as much as I do!” She hugged Charlee, and they both burst into giggles. She then turned to Liam. “You’ve been holding out, big brother.”
Liam smiled and accepted a hug from her, remembering Jada’s speech in Peyton’s living room.
Give her a chance. Don’t expect her to be perfect.
It was the first time his sister had ever given him advice, and he was glad she had. That conversation and the thousands of thoughts that kept invading his mind about Charlee was just the push he needed to follow his heart. No longer did he have to fantasize about what it would be like to have her as his wife. She was now his reality.
“I knew there was someone special.” Jada poked him in the chest. “I just didn’t know it was Charlee. You did good, big brother.”
“I guess I need to add another line-item to our family budget if you two are planning to shop together,” he grumbled good-naturedly.
Jada noticed the cake. “Why’d you guys bring dessert?”
“Charlee insisted.”
“I couldn’t come empty handed. We stopped on the way here to pick it up.”
Jada grinned. “Girrl, I suggest you hide it before—”
“All right, move along and let me meet my newest granddaughter,” Katherine Jenkins, the matriarch of the family, said.
Jada’s grin turned into full-blown laughter and Liam groaned again.
“Well, too late, sister-in-law. You’re going to have to find out the hard way.”
They both knew how funny-acting their grandmother was about store-bought baked goods. Not that anything was wrong with them. She just insisted that homemade tasted better.
“So, this is your wife,” Liam’s grandmother said, a twinkle in her eye as she reached for Charlee. “Welcome to the family, sweetie.”
She hugged Charlee than patted Liam on the cheek. Her warm smile was the one thing he missed about not attending brunch on a regular basis. His grandmother was in her eighties but still got around better than some people who were twenty or thirty years younger.
“Thank you, Mrs. Jenkins. It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Charlee said and picked up the dessert. “I hope you don’t mind, but I didn’t want to come to brunch empty-handed.”
Katherine frowned, then looked at Liam. “You didn’t tell her that I don’t allow store-bought cakes in this house?”
Charlee’s brows shot up, and her eyes rounded as wide as saucers. Liam tried not to laugh at her horrified expression, but couldn’t stop his lips from twitching.
“Come on, Gram.” He put his other arm around her and kissed her cheek, knowing that’s all it took to wipe away a frown. “You can make an exception for my wife this one time, can’t you?”
“Don’t try to be all sweet now. You know you should’ve told her.” She shook Liam’s arm off, and this time he laughed.
“This is thoughtful, dear, but come with me.” She took the cake from Charlee. “We can eat together while I share some of the rules of the house. See that baker’s rack over there?” She pointed to the tall, wide stand that had family photos on the top couple of shelves and four cakes, one bigger than the next, on the main shelf. “Those are all homemade. Can you cook?”
That was the last thing Liam heard of the conversation as his grandmother led his wife away.
“Well, Cuz. Seems like you’ve been busy,” Nick said, as they began fixing their plates. “I’m starting to think I don’t know you at all. Dating on the sly? Flying off to New York to get married?”
Liam and Charlee agreed to let people think what they wanted as far as how long they’d dated. Most of his family already knew that he was only going to tell them just so much anyway.
“What’s next? You gon’ tell us that you have a couple of kids running around?”
Liam shook his head. “That would be a no.”
“Yeah, so you say,” Nate added. He was holding one of his twin boys and juggling a plate in his other hand.
Jerry sidled up to them, his plate already loaded down. Since the family was growing and more people were attending the brunch, their grandmother set up additional food stations. Though the kitchen still held most of the food items, there were some in the dining room, as well as downstairs in the rec room where most of the men hung out.
“You’re lucky Martina and Paul had to stop somew
here else first,” Jerry said, biting into a meatball. “Otherwise, she probably would’ve acted a fool up in here. You know how she prides herself on knowing everybody’s business before they’re ready to share it. She’s going to be pissed that she didn’t know about this ahead of time.”
“That’s assuming she doesn’t know,” Jada said, handing a plate to Zack before she started preparing another one.
“She doesn’t know, and I’m not worried. Charlee and I can handle Martina.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Charlee didn’t think she had ever tasted food as good as what was on her plate. She’d heard of smothered fried chicken but had never tried it before. Now it was probably her favorite. Between that and the mac and cheese, fried cabbage, and the blacken fish, she didn’t realize what she’d been missing. While there was plenty of soul food, there was also ample healthy choices, including a ton of vegetables and vegetarian dishes.
When Liam compared Sunday brunch to a brunch on steroids, he hadn’t been exaggerating. She was so full. She didn’t think she’d be able to eat for a week.
“I’m telling you. There is nothing wrong with getting married more than once,” Liam’s aunt Carolyn said. She was in her mid-fifties but looked as if she was Charlee’s age. “Sometimes people don’t get it right the first time.”
“Or the second time,” Katherine cracked, and giggles flowed around the long dining room table.
At first, it was just Charlee and Liam’s grandmother, but they had since been joined by his mother, some of his cousins, and one of his aunts, Carolyn. Nick’s wife, Sumeera and their youngest daughter, as well as Nate’s wife, Liberty who was rocking one of her babies, was also at the table.
“Or the third time,” Jada added, giggling with the others.
“Ha, ha, ha. I see you all have jokes,” Carolyn said. “Okay, so I tried a few times. At least this third time I got it right.”
“That’s true. She definitely hit the jackpot with Lincoln,” Christina, Jerry’s younger sister, said. “He’s fine and wealthy.”
“A great combination if I must say so myself,” Jada added.
They were definitely a lively group, bouncing from one topic to another. Rayne had told Charlee that some of the conversations got so heated that they had to ban certain subjects from being discussed during brunch. Like politics and who was the best cook in the family were off limits.
“Has anyone spoken to Toni this week?” Katherine Jenkins asked.
“I talked to her yesterday, and she mentioned that they had started adoption procedures.” Christina glanced at Charlee. “Have you met Toni, yet?”
“I’m not sure. I met a few people at Rayne’s baby shower, but—”
“She’s the plumber,” Rayne said.
“Oh, yeah.” Charlee snapped her fingers. “She’s the one who had on the bright orange T-shirt that said: I’m the plumber who fixes the crap that you can’t.”
“Yep, that would be the one.” Christina explained that Toni and her husband, Craig, had been trying to have a baby for years. She had gotten pregnant with their second child over a year ago, but had miscarried during her first trimester.
“She was devastated when she lost the baby,” Jada added. Several of the cousins were pregnant at the same time, and Toni had stopped coming around as one baby was born after another.
Charlee’s heart broke for the couple. She couldn’t imagine that type of loss. She and Liam had talked about having kids in a year or two, which was fine by her. She wanted at least two, a boy and a girl, but first she wanted to enjoy her husband before they added to their family.
“What the hell?” Martina said, bursting into the dining room. “What is this nonsense I’m hearing about Liam being married? How in the heck did…” Her gaze landed on Charlee.
“MJ, don’t come in starting no mess,” Carolyn said. The resemblance between her and Martina was uncanny. Anyone would be able to tell they were mother and daughter or maybe even sisters.
Charlee set her fork down as Martina inched further into the room with her hands on her hips.
Once she was a few feet away, she narrowed her eyes at Charlee. “I just want to know. How’d you guys do it?” she asked, now folding her arms across her chest. “Nothing, and I mean nothing gets by me in this family. So I want to know what gives. How’d you guys pull this off without me even knowing you were dating?”
Liam was right. Martina was a trip...and Charlee liked her already.
“Apparently, some things do get by you,” Jada said in a sing-song voice. “Let me formally introduce you to my new sister-in-law. MJ, this is Charlee. Charlee, this is our pain-in-the-butt cousin, Martina.”
“Oh, I know Charlee. We’ve met once or twice. I just can’t figure out how she and Liam got together. “Are you pregnant?”
“Uh, nooo,” Charlee said, more amused than offended by the question.
“Did you get him drunk? That’s it, isn’t it? He was wasted, because there’s no way he would just up and get married.”
Charlee couldn’t hold back the smile forcing its way through. “He was in his right mind when we said, I do.”
Martina shook her head, frustration marring her face. She pulled out the only empty chair at the table and carried it to where Charlee and Katherine were sitting, sandwiching herself as close to the table as possible.
“I just need you to help me understand how this could’ve happened.”
“Oh, give it a rest,” Christina said from across the table. “You’re just mad that they eloped without you knowing about it.”
“Damn, right I’m mad!” Martina pounded the table.
“Martina!” Her grandmother swatted her arm. “What did I tell you about your mouth?”
“Come on, Gram. You more than anyone should understand what I’m going through right now. I usually know everything that goes on in this family, but now…” Her shoulders sagged and she shook her head. “Can’t you see how upset I am?”
Charlee couldn’t hold back the laugh that burst free, wondering how everyone could just sit there shaking their heads.
“I just can’t with her.” Katherine stood with her plate and headed to the door, but not before Charlee saw her fighting back a smile.
“I’m tellin’ y’all.” Jada said, pointing her fork at Martina. “Something is definitely wrong with this girl.”
“Yep. She’s crazy at its best,” Christina added.
“Do you see what type of family you’ve married into?” Martina asked Charlee, her expression serious as she pointed to those at the table. “They think I’m the crazy one. You’ll learn soon enough that the whole damn family is a little touched, especially those of you who married into this family.”
Everyone burst out laughing, including Charlee. Rayne had told her plenty of stories about Sunday brunch, and more often than not, Charlee thought she’d been exaggerating. Apparently not. For the next twenty minutes, Martina kept up a running monologue. Sharing funny family stories one after another that had them all wiping tears from their eyes.
“Okay, who wants cake?” Katherine asked, carrying in slices of cake on a platter, everything from chocolate to coconut. She set the long, glass dish on the table where she was seated and immediately put two slices in front of Charlee. One was chocolate with chocolate frosting. The other was marble with chocolate frosting.
Charlee held back a groan. The marble cake was the one she had brought.
“Soo, Jada. Why didn’t you warn your sister-in-law about what happens to people who don’t bring home-cooked dishes to Sunday brunch?” Sumeera asked, a smile in her voice before she eyed Charlee.
“I would’ve had I known I had a sister-in-law.”
Rayne leaned in close. “I told you not to bring anything,” she said in a loud whisper.
Charlee eyed the cake. “I’m never going to live this down, am I?”
“Nope,” several of them said.
Katherine reclaimed her seat and reached for a slice of ca
ramel cake. “Okay, Charlee. Go ahead and eat. You don’t have to announce which is better, because I already know. I just want you to recognize the difference.”
Charlee ignored the laughing and took a bite of the marble cake which was amazing. She smiled to herself. She’d let them think that homemade is the way to go, even if what she brought was just as delicious.
Rayne nudged her with her elbow. “Don’t get too pleased with yourself. Try the other one.”
Charlee cut into the homemade one with her fork and put it in her mouth. Oh, wow. The cake was moist, decadent, and practically melted on her tongue. She had to keep from moaning, and there was no way she was going to look at anyone. She already felt their eyes on her.
“See, when you go against house rules, you have to pay the price,” Martina said finishing off one slice of cake and reaching for another one. “We had to torture you with bought cake before you could taste one of these southern, down-home cakes.”
“I can’t believe you guys embarrassed her like this,” Liberty said, rocking her baby who was now getting fussy.
“We did it to you. Now it’s her turn,” Martina explained. “We call this new ritual, welcome to the Jenkins family, sucka!”
Charlee couldn’t remember the last time she laughed this hard or ate this much. When she finished the dessert, she stopped short of licking the fork. “If this is how you guys welcome people, I don’t want to know what you do when you don’t like someone.”
“Oh please.” Martina snorted. “We just run their asses up out of here!”
“Martina!” Katherine yelled, and a fit of laughter rocked the room.
Charlee’s heart swelled as she glanced around at the Jenkins’ women. Growing up, she had dreamed of having sisters and brothers, but it had been just her and her father. Though she had just met the Jenkins clan, she already loved them.
An hour later, she went in search of Liam and ran into him in the main hallway.
“Hey, baby. You doing all right?” he asked before kissing her.
Unplanned Love Page 17
