by Sadie Grubor
Tentative Release – May 2013
Also in the works:
All Grown Up
When the Mackey's move next door to teenage Chloe Fisher and her blended family, she
gains a best friend, a crush on Leo Mackey- the boy next door, and a future she never planned
on. All grown up now, she thinks the crush of her dreams is ready to go the distance it’s whooshed away without her understanding why. Chloe and Leo follow different paths in life and try to move on, but pivotal life altering events drive them back for another chance of the passion they started years before. Can they fan the flame of their love, or will stubbornness and lies tear them farther apart.
Tentative Release – Summer 2013
Books by Sadie Grubor (& other pen names):
Falling Stars Series
Falling Stars
Stellar Evolution (a Falling Stars novella)
Hidden in the Stars (coming soon…)
Live-In Position
Under pen name V.S. Tice
Young Adult Books as Saewod Tice:
Amongst the Ruins
About the Author:
To keep up to date on upcoming releases, sneak peeks, cover reveals, and inspirational music & images for the Falling Stars book(s) you can find Sadie Grubor on Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, and her website.
Amazon Author Page: Sadie Grubor
Facebook: Author Sadie Grubor
Goodreads: Sadie Grubor
Website: www.sadiegrubor.webs.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SadieGrubor
You can also find me on Authorgraph.
About this Editor (& Script Savior):
There is so much I could say about the woman who corrects my missing words, bad grammar, over use of the semi-colon and comma, and all the other craziness I send to her. Though I could go on and on, she would probably edit me. J
So, what I will say about the lovely Ms. Black is that She Corrects Me.
Monica Black – freelance editor
https://www.facebook.com/Monica.Black13
http://monicastormynightbooks.blogspot.com
Happily Ever Addendum
(Modern Arrangements Series – book 3)
by Sadie Grubor
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Copyright 2013 Sadie Grubor
Cover Art by VST
This book may not be reproduced or used in whole or in part by any existing means without written permission from the publisher. Contact Author at [email protected].
This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. The characters are products of the author's imagination and used fictitiously.
Dedication & Special Thanks:
To my husband, you know how you are the best supplier ever. Thank you for fueling my reading and writing addiction.
To my Son, my Second Minion, Happy Birthday baby!
And BIG shout out to my Facebookies! All the posts, support, and encouragement you guys provide is more than awesome.
To all of my readers, long timers and newbies, without your support I would be lost. You are all so amazing. Thank You for taking a chance on a little author like me.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
This book is dedicated to all the children out there who grow up without parents, role models, or any support from a loving family. Please know that somewhere someone loves you and wishes you the best. I'm one of those people.
Blurb
This is the third installment of the Modern Arrangements Trilogy.
LILLIAN SNOWE has been seduced, wedded, and bedded by the reformed playboy turned husband.
AIDAN IVERSION III finally has his wife and unborn children home, where he can participate in their lives and protect them. But when hurdle after hurdle is thrown in the way of their happily ever after, will they be able to survive betrayals, lies, and the realization that they may really be meant for each other after all.
Join Lillie and Aidan as they fight to prove to their unknown enemy, and to themselves, that they are more than the contract they signed.
Chapter One
Happily Ever After Addendum
Aidan
Arriving back to New York, Celia, Dixon, Oscar, Maggie, Viola and Liam waited to welcome us home. Phoebe broke away from Lilli and me, jumping into Oscar’s arms. Maggie descended upon Lilli before she got her feet to the tarmac.
Maggie wrapped her arms around Lilli and smiled wide.
"I missed you too, Maggie." Lilli giggled.
"I’m so excited you're back!" She exclaimed.
"Quit hogging her, squirt!" Dixon pulled Maggie away and lifted Lilli into a tight hug.
"Be careful!" Celia exclaimed, smacking Dixon’s arm.
"Damn, woman, I am!" Dixon scoffed at her playfully. "Like I'd hurt my future football star!" Dixon boasted, a wide smile spreading across his face.
"Football player?" Lilli raised one eyebrow "Your football player?"
"Uncle Dixon will be teaching the little one all of the necessary football skills." He beamed, proudly.
"No way!" Phoebe shrieked. "That’s a future fashionista in there, total supermodel material." Phoebe grinned.
"Aidan, dear." Viola moved in quickly, kissing my cheek before turning to Lilli. "Congratulations, Lilli." She whispered. Lilli gave a weak smile.
Her reaction to the pregnancy talk confirmed just how unsure she felt. Lilli didn’t seem excited or even happy, for that matter, when all things baby related were brought up in conversation. My heart broke for her.
"Okay, come on. It was a long flight. I’m sure Lilli is exhausted." Wrapping my arm around her waist, I pulled her toward the idling car.
When she leaned on me, I could only hope it meant that she knew I was there to support her, through anything and everything.
"Thank you." She said softly.
With a nod and a smile, I help her into the car before climbing in behind her. Though I'd rescued her from the welcoming committee for now, they were following us to our house.
We stepped into the house, the smell of Mexican spices filling the entry hall.
Viola entered the house right behind us. "I called Rachel and asked her to have dinner prepared."
Mrs. White, the housekeeper, appeared.
"Welcome home, my boy." She kissed my cheek. "I see you brought my girl back." She hugged Lilli and rubbed her stomach. "Look at you already." She smiled brightly. Though Lilli smiled back, it still wasn't genuine. "Dinner is ready." Mrs. White motioned for Lilli follow.
Just a few steps into the dining room and Lilli froze.
"How did you know?" Lilli provided us with her first real smile since arriving home. Her eyes moved over the large spread on the table. A large tray of rolled and fried tortillas, salsa, sour cream, tortilla chips, yellow rice and a large pitcher of lemonade.
"Oh, a little birdie gave us a heads up." Mrs. White looked past us and winked at Phoebe.
Lilli turned, her face flushed with embarrassment. "You told people about my cravings?"
"Of course." Phoebe shrugged, "you love them and it seems to be what you always want. Besides chow mien noodles." She giggled.
"What are they?" Liam examined the fried tortilla rolls.
"Those.” She pointed at the object in question. “Are called Taquitos.” Lilli giggled. “I became a fan of them a few years ago. For whatever reason, they’re all I seem to want to eat.”
"Holy shit." Dixon exclaimed, picking one up between his finger and thumb. "I remember the fridge being stocked with these things."
"Okay, enough talking about them." Lilli sat down. "I’m starving." She grabbed a plate and started to load up. I watched her dump salsa and sour cream on top of them before she picked one up and shoved it in her mouth. She closed her eyes and moaned.
She paused, mid chew, and looked around at everyone. "Okay, can everyone not watch me eat?"
"Sorry." Viola was the first to smile an apology, sitting down a
t the table. "You really looked like you were enjoying that."
Sitting next to Lilli, I realized I didn’t have one clue about her cravings. A part of me rationalized that it was because we'd been separated for so long, but the other part of me felt guilty for not knowing.
"So, Aidan…" Snapping out of my internal rambling, I looked up meeting Liam’s eyes. "Boy or girl?"
"I, uh, well…um…" I could feel everyone’s eyes on me, "honestly? I really don’t mind either way." I shrugged. Lilli stiffened next to me.
"I think a boy would be nice." Viola smiled, "another Aidan Iverson." Her smiled grew wider.
"Well, either way, you’ll get two of them, so…" Lilli stopped once she saw the look on Viola’s face. "What?"
"Two?" Liam questioned.
Lilli turned her wide eyes on me. "You didn’t tell them?"
"I really couldn’t get much out other than you being pregnant." Shaking my head, I took her hand.
"You’re having twins?" Maggie spluttered.
"Oh my goodness!" Viola place her hands over her mouth, tears forming in her eyes.
"I guess more congratulations are in order." Liam chuckled, looking between Lilli and me.
"Are you going to find out the sex before you have the babies?" Celia asked Lilli between mouthfuls.
Lilli shrugged and looked to me.
"It’s up to you." I said. "Whatever you wish." Squeezing her hand a bit tighter, I smiled.
"I’m not sure." Lilli answered quietly. Again she was unsure and struggling to be as excited as everyone else.
After dinner, our company stayed long enough to talk about baby nursery ideas, maternity clothes, Donald’s health, Lilli's next doctor appointment and baby names. Lilli looked uncomfortable throughout most of the conversation. Once we said goodbye to the last guest, I caught Lilli on her escape up the stairs.
"Are you okay?" I held her forearm, rubbing my thumb lightly over her skin.
"I just need a warm bath." She answered. Forcing a smile, she continued up the stairs.
With a sigh, I went to my study, trying to give her some space. My mind stayed restless and I couldn’t focus on any emails or contracts. Putting my head in my hands, I leaned my elbows onto the dark mahogany desk.
"Fuck!" I growled out to the empty room. Sitting back roughly into my chair and slouching down, I stared at the ceiling. I sat there for a while, contemplating everything that had happened and thinking about Lilli’s withdrawn behavior.
Her hesitation was understandable. She knew I hadn’t been the one to drug her. But, the fact still remained that someone had. All because of my damn grandfather. I want us back to where we were before the ball. I just can't seem to figure out how to get there.
The woman on the second floor of our home had been insulted by my jealousy, scared for her father’s health, hit by a fucking truck and, then, found out she'd been drugged and was pregnant with twins. Oh, yes, I understood she is still coping. But I'm a selfish man, wanting her to be my Lilli again. The Lilli who gave me a copy of ‘Dating for Dummies’, who called me a ‘Loser’, who moans my name from underneath me. I want it all back.
My restlessness wasn’t improving, so I decided the workout room may help. Without changing my clothes, I ran on the treadmill. Five minutes into the run, images of Lilli spread across my treadmill, naked, flooded my mind. I ran harder.
After an hour of running myself into exhaustion, I was ready for bed.
I entered the dark bedroom and quietly walked to the bathroom to shower. Once dried off, I walked naked to my closet and slipped on a pair of pajama bottoms before climbing into bed.
Thinking I would be slipping in next to Lilli, I smiled and climbed under the covers. My smile disappeared the moment I felt the cold, empty side of the bed where Lilli slept. Getting out of the bed, I called out for her.
"Lilli?"
No response. The room was definitely empty. I didn’t need to look at the clock to know it was extremely late.
Worry settled like a three ton weight, tightening my chest. Walking a little faster than necessary from the room to room, I burst through the library door.
The sight of her lying on the leather couch, pregnancy book tucked to her side and a laptop sitting on the floor, sent a flood of relief over me. The weight of worry lifted.
Padding quietly to the couch, I knelt down, watching her chest rise and fall. Her forehead was wrinkled with what I could only guess was stress. Trying to rub the lines away with my hand, Lilli’s face turned into my hand. I smiled, thinking about how my touch brought her some sort of comfort.
Slipping my arms under her warm body, I lifted and carried her to the bedroom. Once I placed her in the bed softly, I slid in next to her.
Curling up beside to her, I took a large breath, exhaled, and fell into a restful sleep.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Lilli
I was trying so hard to seem invested in all of the baby conversation, but my heart wasn’t into it. How could I tell them I wasn’t feeling any connection to pregnancy? That I wasn’t happy at all? I couldn’t, not when everyone else looked so excited.
Instead, I forced smiles and made conversation until I was able to retreat for the evening. Aidan seemed to pick up on my mood, but I didn’t know how to talk to him about how I felt either. There is no way he could understand all of these emotions. Hell, I don't understand them.
After the bath, which I soaked in until I was a prune, I headed to the library with one of my pregnancy books. Most of them discussed postpartum depression, but didn’t focus on women with partum depression or feelings of disconnection.
Putting down the book, I turned to my laptop for answers. Finally, a website that discussed women not feeling connected to their pregnancy. There was even a blog where women held discussions. I joined and read a few of the posts. Relief coursed through me, relaxing every tense muscle. I wasn’t the only person who felt this way. Reading further, I found that most of the women had a traumatic experience around the discovery of their pregnancy or had a prior traumatic experience with pregnancy in general. I was pretty sure that my experience was unique, but just knowing there were others battling these same feelings of disconnect made me feel like I wasn’t alone any longer.
The site went on to state that about half of the women start to relate more once they feel the baby move, some when they found out the sex and saw the ultrasound, while others didn’t connect until after birth. I really hoped it didn’t take that long. I did not want to feel this miserable throughout the entire pregnancy. Closing the laptop, I reopened the pregnancy book and flipped to the chapter on fetal movement.
The book said that first time pregnant women typically felt movement around four months, though all were different. The fact that I was having what the book called a multiple birth, I could possibly feel the babies move earlier. And, sometimes, first time pregnant women felt movement without realizing what it was.
Placing the book in my lap and my head back against the arm of the couch, I tried to think about any movements or mistaken feelings.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Waking up in the bedroom was a little disorienting since the last thing I remembered was being in the library. Looking over my left shoulder, I found Aidan sleeping. My stomach began to gurgle. Thinking I was going to be sick, I prepared to hurry to the bathroom, but then quickly realized I was starving.
Quietly, I slipped from the bed and walked downstairs. Rachel was in the kitchen at the small desk, writing in the black daily menu book.
"Mrs. Iver…Lilli, good morning." She smiled brightly.
"Good morning, Rachel." I returned her smile.
Opening the refrigerator, I pulled out the milk. "Please tell me we have cereal or something in a cabinet somewhere." I whined, eager to eat.
"Ummm…yes, I believe we do in the pantry." She stood up and walked into the large pantry. I was right behind her when she turned with a box of Apple Jacks. "These are what my son eats." She smiled meekly.
&nb
sp; "They are perfect!" I grinned, taking the box from her hand.
"I can make you something to eat—"
"Cereal is fine. Plus, I need to eat or I will get sick." Rachel smiled knowingly.
"I completely understand. Would you like some orange juice and toast?"
"Oh, Rachel, I love you!" I smiled widely.
I was shoveling the cereal into my mouth when Alex came bouncing into the kitchen.
"Morning, Mom!" He hugged Rachel. She kissed the top of his head. My chest warmed watching their sweet mother and son moment.
He turned his attention to me.
"Those are my favorite!" Alex exclaimed, eying my cereal bowl.
"Get a bowl and join me." I waved him over.
Rachel handed him a bowl and he hurried into the chair next to me. He poured the cereal into his bowl and into my now empty bowl. I poured the milk.
"Thanks." He took a bite and then smiled, milk dripping down his chin. I laughed.
"Alex." Rachel scolded lovingly, "don’t talk with your mouth full." She wiped his face and he rolled his eyes. "And don’t roll your eyes at your mother."
He smiled bashfully. "Sorry, Mom."
She smiled. "Hurry and eat. Your bus will be here soon."
He groaned.
"Don’t you like school?" I asked.
Shrugging he responded. "It’s alright, I guess." He scooped another bite of cereal and crunched away.
The mention of school made me think about the classes I'd had to cancel when I left to take care of my dad. Aidan didn’t know yet and I wasn’t sure what his reaction would be.