by R. S. Lively
“He only knows because he arranged for the cake. When I cut it open, it will reveal whether the baby is a boy or a girl,” I explain.
“Wait, so Victoria knows, too?”
“No. She baked the cake and cut the middle out of it, and Lee smuggled in the gumballs. He put the plug of cake back in and sealed it with a little buttercream before turning it back over to her. With that brand-new baby and Nick to take care of, I don't think she had enough extra time to even consider sneaking a peek.”
“Why is there a napkin on the floor?”
Judy looks right on the edge of panic as she rushes into the room holding the balled-up napkin above her head. I point at Emma.
“That's all on her. She threw it.”
“Emma, you know this place has to be perfect. It is my responsibility as ‘official’ unofficial-official event coordinator of the Magnolia Falls Library to make sure everything is kept completely pristine.”
“And, Judy, you know this isn't your first party and every other one has come off without a hitch. You are a fantastic ‘official’ unofficial-official event coordinator. Even if you do become utterly unhinged whenever you host an event here.”
According to Dean, it's become a tradition of the Laurence brothers to host important events at the Magnolia Falls Library. It goes back to Grant and Emma's wedding reception, which was much more than most people realized. At the time, there had never been a private party held at the library, but Judy convinced the Ladies Guild to give her permission as long as she took total responsibility for the building and swore its treasured, historic interior would get through the event unfazed. It did, and since then, she has taken tremendous pride in the nagging and anxiety she pours into each gathering to ensure not a single book is damaged, and no drink goes without a cocktail napkin.
The library is filling up, and soon it will be time to reveal to all our friends and family what Dean and I found out at the doctor's appointment a few months ago. It's been fun to have this secret to ourselves, not even telling Lee until yesterday, but I'm excited for everyone to know. It makes this little one feel even closer, and many nights Dean and I have spent hours sharing what we envisioned life is going to be like when we are a little family of three. Knowing what the baby is makes it easier to envision what it will look like to sit together around the kitchen table and have breakfast, or play in a pool in the backyard. I look forward to introducing this baby to all the incredible sights in New York and to coming back to Magnolia Falls for the first winter festival.
Almost an hour later, filled with the tremendous array of tiny food Victoria and Alex provided, I sit in the room of the library that was once a parlor and open a mountain of gifts. Virtually every surface is covered with adorable clothing in shades of cream, green, and yellow, and a multitude of gadgets and supplies I didn't even know I would need until the mothers of the room described them to me in elaborate detail. The gift I open last makes everyone in the room laugh. Dean holds up the miniature life preserver.
“I'm assuming this is from Carson,” he says.
“He had one made for each of our children, and for Lily,” Victoria says. “Those have their names on them. But he couldn't put a name on yours because you haven't told us yet.”
I laugh.
“Well, I think Victoria's magnanimous show of patience is as good a transition as any. Dean, are you ready to cut the cake?”
He reaches out his hand and helps me to my feet, then guides me to the table in the center of the next room where Victoria displayed the reveal cake. The buttercream is simple white with yellow and green decorations, so it doesn't give away the surprise inside. Dean and I pick up a cake cutter together and press the tip into the cake.
We push it down in one stroke, then turn the cake toward the guests before making the next. Dean steps up to the side and moves the slice to allow the gumballs inside to tumble out. Our guests gasp and cheer at the cascade of light blue. Dean kisses me and pops one of the gumballs into his mouth.
"It's a boy!"
Five months later…
From the night Dean and I got engaged, there was no doubt about our wedding date. Neither one of us wanted to rush the engagement and get married while I was pregnant. Not only did we want the opportunity to have our son with us to celebrate, but we both wanted to honor our original commitment to each other. The official binding commitments of the handfasting would last a year and a day, but our marriage would begin two days before that.
The preparations for the Saint Patrick's Day Festival tomorrow make me feel like the entire island of Magnolia Falls is getting ready to celebrate our wedding. We had planned it exactly that way. This lets us have the wedding we both dreamed of, then spend our first day as legal husband and wife at the same party that brought us together last year.
It couldn't be more perfect. I woke up this morning to a fine mist of rain coming down from wispy clouds stretched across the sky. It was a quiet sort of rain, the type that refreshes rather than washes away. I'm watching the last bits of it from the window as the women in my wedding party scurry around behind me getting ready.
"They say rain on your wedding day is bad luck," I say to my mother as she steps up beside me.
"This is barely rain," she says, "but even if it is, this will overshadow it."
She shows me a coin from the year I was born. My father had found it in a handful of pocket change when I was ten and set it aside. I found him that night cleaning it until the metal shimmered. When I asked him what he was doing, he told me about an Irish bridal custom about a penny in her shoe bringing luck to the bride. He promised to keep it for me so I would have it on my wedding day. I take it from my mother now and kiss it, a tear sliding down my cheek.
"No tears," Mom says. "He's with you."
I slip the penny into the front of my shoe and tuck my foot into it. It's time for one more moment with these important women before we go down to the ceremony, and I walk over to a small table to the side of the door. One by one I ask each of the women to come up so I can present her with a small gift, a token of my love and appreciation.
The delicate gold horseshoe necklaces are the finishing touch for their wedding outfits, but they are also meant to bring them luck well after my wedding day ends. When each of them is wearing their necklaces and I am just giving the last hug, a soft knock on the door announces Lee's arrival.
"Alice? It's time."
He looks handsome and mature in his tux, the cuffs held closed by the horseshoe cufflinks I gave him last night during the quietest bachelorette party to have ever been celebrated. It was just him and me, curled on the couch in the living room watching movies and eating popcorn. I wouldn't have had it any other way.
His arm is strong and steady, but his eyes are teary as he escorts me to the end of the aisle. At the altar, just a few yards away, Dean stands waiting for me. In his arms is a bundle in a custom-designed bodysuit that looks like a tiny tuxedo.
Patrick is asleep, and I hope he stays that way throughout the ceremony. Nothing else in the world matters as I gaze at the two precious Laurence boys in my life.
The walk seems long and slow, but I savor every step. This is the only time in my life I will experience this, and I want to treasure every second. When I reach the altar, I lean down and kiss Patrick's head. My mother stands and takes him from Dean, cradling him close so he continues to rest quietly.
The rain has long-since stopped, but there's a soft grayness to the sky throughout the ceremony. It is only when we kiss that the clouds part and the sunlight bursts through, shimmering down on us and sending a brilliant rainbow arching across the sky. My heart swells as I look up at it.
"Thank you, Daddy," I whisper.
Two months later…
"Do you think she's going to be here?" I ask.
"She's going to be here. I just talked to her yesterday. She and Mr. Pfeiffer got back into the States a few days ago, and she can't wait to see you." Dean steps up to me and rubs my arms. "Calm do
wn. Everything is going to be perfect."
I nod and he kisses me.
The plans for the grand re-opening of Wonderland have fallen into place and are finally culminating tonight. After months of extensive renovations and restoration to bring the theater back to its original beauty, we are ready to re-introduce her to the world, and have planned an elaborate celebration to do it.
Vendors have started to arrive, and Lee and Alex bustle around the lobby directing them. I cross the space to the new installation on the far end and let my eyes drift over the newspapers, matted and displayed among other pieces of memorabilia from the history of the Goldberg. This will be a focus of the celebration tonight, reminding the community of the role this theater played in the neighborhood for generations, and getting everyone excited about the new things to come.
Out of the corner of my eye I see Emma rushing toward me. Patrick wriggles and whimpers in her arms.
"Mama, this little man is having a hard time."
"It's alright. I've got him."
I take my son into my arms and carry him with me into the theater. The house has been refreshed but maintains its charm, and I walk directly to a row of seats on the left side. All the other seats have been recovered, but there is one that wasn't touched during the renovations. Delicate chains on either side prevent anyone from sitting in it, so I lower us down into the seat beside it. I look at the plaque attached to the arm of the older, worn seat. My father's name looks regal etched on gold.
"I told you I would always save you a seat, Daddy."
I stay in the seat until Patrick falls asleep against me, then walk back out into the lobby. So much has changed in the last year and a half, but it was exactly what it was meant to be. Dean gathers me into his arms and cradles me close so I can breathe in the scent of him and feel him kiss the top of my head while I watch the smile on Lee’s face, and the laughter that has come back to my mother’s eyes as she chats with Emma and Victoria.
In my office there is a GI Joe in a sarong sitting on my desk, a reminder that I have always held onto my past while looking into my future.
Magic.
THE END
Marriage Mistake (Sample)
An Amazon Top 5 Bestseller
*286 Customer Reviews – 4.5 Stars
How did I end up accidentally married to this arrogant jerk?
My memory is a bit hazy, maybe you can tell me…
I had a crush. He's the boy from the other side of town.
Way out of my league.
Rich as sin, and breathtakingly gorgeous.
No way he would ever notice me.
Turns out he did.
The boy I wanted is now a man.
And nothing like the charmer of my teenage fantasies.
He's ruggedly handsome, hot as sin, and knows exactly how to drive me wild.
I can’t control myself around him.
If only I'd listened to reason.
Now, I’m knocked up and married to this domineering billionaire.
Can you tell me how we ended up here?
Prologue
Grant
I push him back further, forcing my body between him and Emma so he can't see her. He doesn't deserve to even look at her. He tries to hold his ground, but he's no match for my size, not to mention the righteous anger coursing through me. I take another step forward, driving him back until he's at the door. One shove pushes the storm door open and sends him stumbling backward onto the porch. The impact seems to snap him out of the shock of my arrival, and he scrambles to his feet to face me. I don't hesitate to step through the door after him. He's out of the house, but I want to make sure he understands he is never welcome back here.
Reaching forward, I grab a handful of his shirt and yank him close to me.
"Get away from here, asshole," I growl.
He hesitates for a moment.
"No," he spits back, shifting his weight to force me down the steps and onto my knees on the sidewalk.
He jumps down the steps behind him, and I turn around just in time to stop him from burying his elbow into the back of my neck. Surging forward, I catch him by his legs, toppling him to the ground.
"Stop it!" Emma shouts from the door.
I ignore her, crawling over to the prone figure on the ground in front of me, and burying my knee in his protruding gut as I pull my fist back and smash it into his face. There's a satisfying crunching sound accompanied by a deep groan, but an instant later, he forces his shoulders up and sends me onto my side. He returns my punch, and finds just enough energy to kick out, hitting me square in the stomach. Suddenly he's on his feet, rushing back to the porch. The wet grass is slippery beneath my feet, but I dig my shoes into the mud and push myself up. I've only taken one step forward when I hear Emma's blood-chilling scream.
End of sample. Click here to continue reading Marriage Mistake.
About the Author
R.S. Lively is a romance writing duo consisting of Ruth Scott and Lauren Lively. With every page you turn, their passion for books and love of romance jumps out. Their novels are guaranteed to bring you laughter, and light up your day/night. If you're looking for a beautiful, sexy, funny, and sweet romance... You'll love their wonderful creations!
Also by R.S. Lively
Lucky Daddy
Married To The Enemy
The Mistake
Marriage Mistake
The Protector
My Billionaire Protector
Not Over You
Hate To Love
Accidentally Royal
Keeping Up With R.S. Lively
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