Okay. Saying yes was not her best idea by far. She knew she made a huge mistake. This guy was really her krytonite. She would always think one way and then he came around. Next thing she knew, she was agreeing to the complete opposite.
Crowds of people came up and offered their congratulations. Chris felt as if she was at the start of a receiving line for a funeral. The congratulations might as well have been further assertions that she was heading to her death. Looks like she did get some of those dramatic genes from Fiona.
Part of her brain screamed, "End this now! Tell him you actually meant no." Then, she came back to reality where she was taking selfies with well-wishers. Where Andrew was being patted on the back by his excited teammates. When she looked at him, she realized that he looked so happy. Happier than she ever saw him when they were dating. He smiled as he looked at her. Chris thought she saw a blush glow bright red on his tanned face as his teammates joked about their future wedding night. Maybe what they had was love.
Not the showy, affectionate kind, but the quiet, boring kind.
Yep, the boring kind of love where you just know you must be in love. No need to actually show it, right? The thought calmed her down even if there was itch in the back of her head that continue to grate at her. She sucked it up the same way she did when the opposing defender for the Russian national team elbowed her in the gut.
Besides, she had a passionate love before and it ended tragically bad. Maybe this type of love demonstrated how she had matured.
Yep, that sounded right. The more she thought to herself, the more it made sense.
She said yes because it was the right thing to do. With this assurance, she smiled at her well-wishers and pictured the wedding aisle to marital bliss rather than the sad path to her coffin.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This worked well until her phone buzzed her awake. Chris reached blindly for her phone only to hit Andrew square in the chest.
"Damn, Chris. Watch the paws, would ya?" whispered Andrew before turning over and going promptly back to sleep.
She hated sharing her bed afterwards, but waking up together in celebration of an engagement seemed to be the right thing. She would grow out of it. She picked up her phone and took it to her living room.
"Hello," she whispered as she headed to her kitchen. Might as well get breakfast started.
"So when were you going to let us know?" shouted her sister.
"Fiona, calm down. What are you talking about?"
"Your engagement, you stranger."
"Oh that. . ."
"That? That? Is that it?" Fiona sounded outraged despite coming off a honeymoon.
"Well, you know we were dating," Chris added feebly.
"Not seriously. I thought you guys just got dates here and there."
"Well . . .now we're engaged."
"I know. Instagram and Twitter let me know," said Fiona angrily, but Chris could hear her being calmed down by Brick.
Chris grabbed a granola bar as she remembered her sister's wedding. Her sister cried when she faced her husband Brick at the end of the aisle. Even with tears running down her face, Fiona still looked like the beauty she was known for. Brick's stoic demeanor broke down as he looked her in the eyes to say their vows. She wanted that. She was on her way there.
"Sorry. There was a lot going on."
Fiona huffed in the phone one last time before continuing.
"I understand. I am happy for you. You know that, right?"
"I love you too." Chris responded as she smiled. She always felt support from her family.
Fiona laughed in response. "Don't forget Big Brother. He will definitely want to know."
Chris leaned against her kitchen counter as she thought of her brother. Maybe, Cole hasn't seen it yet. He was not the kind of guy who cared about social media. His go-to reading material was the Wall Street Journal. She was sure the newspaper was not the gossiping type.
"I'll set up a lunch with him or something."
"Sis, do it soon. It will be better from you than some stranger. And congrats. I hope you two will be as happy as we are. I'll definitely help you plan the wedding."
Chris swallowed hard. "One thing at a time, sister."
"Whatever. Bye." Chris hung up just as she saw Andrew come around the corner in his boxers. If anything, the eye candy level was off the charts.
"Did you make me something to eat yet? I need a full meal to start the day."
Then, he talked. Panini-ed once again!
"Don't worry. We are going to meet with my brother. Get dressed."