Then Comes Marriage Read online

  Contents

  Title Page

  A note from the author

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Preview: Then Comes Baby (Hanna’s Happily Ever After, Book 2)

  Preview: The Bride Tribe

  Preview: Single Wide Female

  Preview: Alex in Onederland

  Other Titles

  Legal Notice

  Hanna’s Happily Ever After

  (Book 1)

  Then Comes Marriage

  By

  Lillianna Blake

  Copyright © 2018 Lillianna Blake

  Cover design by Beetiful Book Covers

  All rights reserved.

  LilliannaBlake.com

  Dear Reader,

  These books are written for every woman out there who has struggled with their weight, self-esteem and any number of issues that we all face as we work to become the best versions of ourselves that we can be.

  They are meant to be light-hearted and fun, but I do hope that they will inspire you—to REALLY live your life to the fullest, loving yourself completely as you do so.

  If you enjoy the “Hanna’s Happily Ever After” series, be sure to check out “The Bride Tribe” series and you might also like Samantha and the “Single Wide Female” series. You can read previews and at the end of this book.

  If you’ve enjoyed Then Comes Marriage, I’d appreciate it if you would take a moment to leave an honest review here:

  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CLFFLNL

  Enjoy!

  Sincerely,

  Lillianna

  Chapter 1

  “No peeking!” Dawn swatted Jake’s hand away just before he could take a swipe of the frosting off the top of the cake.

  “I wasn’t peeking!” He laughed as he drew his hand back. “I was tasting! Hanna has had us on this health kick—no sugar in the house for months. No sugar, Dawn!”

  “Oh, you poor thing.” She laughed and shook her head. “She’s only trying to do what’s best for the baby. But don’t worry, there’s plenty of sugar in this and you two are going home with the leftovers, because it’s not coming home with me.”

  “Yes, I think I love you, Dawn.” Jake grinned.

  “Excuse me?” Garrett draped his arm around Dawn’s shoulder and pulled her close to him, laughing as he placed a kiss on her cheek. “Are you enticing men with your baking skills again?”

  “He’s just a little delusional—sugar withdrawal and all.” She laughed.

  I stepped around the side of the house and did my best to pretend I hadn’t been watching them.

  Jake was right, I had been pretty militant about the sugar-free lifestyle. I had to be careful of gestational diabetes and also I didn’t want to gain a ton of weight with the pregnancy. According to my doctor I really didn’t need to gain any weight, but I’d already packed on fifteen pounds.

  I was well into my eighth month of pregnancy and to most women that might not seem like much of a weight gain, but since I’d been quite overweight when I’d become pregnant, the doctor didn’t want me gaining too much. It was hard when the little being inside of me was always hungry.

  I didn’t judge Jake for his desire for cake. In fact, when I saw it, my mouth watered and I had to force my eyes elsewhere.

  “There’s the beautiful mama.” Dawn clapped her hands as I approached. “Hanna, every time I see you, you’re even more gorgeous.”

  “Oh, please.” I rolled my eyes. “I’m waddling like a penguin and if my stomach gets any bigger I’m not going to fit into the car for the trip to Blu’s wedding.” I shook my head. “But that cake does look delicious.”

  “Oh, I hope you like it.” She smiled. “I had so much fun making it. It’s my first gender reveal cake, you know.”

  “I’m honored. I wasn’t going to do this, but then Noella showed me all these videos online about it and it looked like so much fun.”

  “I think it’s a great idea.” She gave me a light hug. “How are you feeling?”

  “A little better.” I sighed. “If I could just get some sleep, I’d be great.”

  “We both would.” Jake slipped his arm around what was left of my waist and nuzzled my cheek.

  “Oh, the body pillow didn’t help?” Dawn frowned. “I hoped it might.”

  “It’s not as comfortable as I thought.” I cringed.

  “That body pillow did not survive.” Jake lowered his voice as he looked at Dawn and Garrett. “She beat it up and threw it out of bed.”

  “Jake!” I laughed. “It wasn’t that bad.”

  “Feathers everywhere.” He shook his head and winked at me.

  “Oh, boy.” Dawn laughed. “Well, I hope you can enjoy the party.”

  As she spoke music started to blast through speakers lined up around the backyard.

  Noella gasped as she stepped out through the back door.

  “Too loud, Trent!” she shouted back through the door.

  The volume was lowered and my sister hurried across the yard toward me.

  “Hi, beautiful.” She smiled and hugged me.

  “I wish everyone would stop calling me that.” I frowned. “I’m not beautiful.”

  “Yes, you are.” Jake met my eyes. “You’re absolutely stunning, Hanna, and sorry, but nobody is going to lie to you and tell you any different.”

  I rolled my eyes and stalked off toward the one person I was sure I could expect honesty from—Zoe. She was taping up some last-minute decorations.

  “Hi, Zoe.”

  “What’s wrong?” She looked up at me. “You look upset.”

  “I’m always upset. You would think I’d be over-the-moon happy, what with an amazing husband and a baby on the way. But it’s like every little thing gets on my nerves.”

  “I think that’s fairly normal for this stage. Have you asked Noella about it?”

  “Noella just keeps saying how great it will be once the baby is here. But what if it isn’t, Zoe?” I eased myself down into a folding chair. “What if I’m still cranky and miserable?”

  “Sweetie, you’re not cranky and miserable. You’re growing a baby. That takes a lot of energy, you know.” She sat down across from me and patted my knee. “Just keep in mind that all this is temporary. Pretty soon you’ll be holding your baby girl or boy in your arms and you’ll be starting a whole new chapter.”

  “But I already can’t sleep. Once the baby is here, won’t it be worse?” My eyes misted at the thought. “What if I can’t do this, Zoe?”

  “Oh, sweetheart, of course you can. Just think of all that has happened that you never thought possible. There’s so much to look forward to.”

  “I do think about it, but sometimes it’s so overwhelming. Yes, I know I’m pregnant and I’m grateful that I have this wonderful blessing coming into my life, but how will I ever be ready? How can I know how to be a mother?” I sighed. “I wish there was an instruction manual.”

  “None of our mothers had one.” She smi
led. “We all turned out okay.”

  “Did we?” I rubbed my hands together and looked out at my friends, all gathered to celebrate the gender of the baby that I carried.

  “Yes, sweetie—yes, we did.” She hugged me.

  Chapter 2

  Zoe’s words warmed me to the core. I knew she was right. How could I question how amazing life was when I was surrounded by all the people I loved—all the people who loved me right back?

  Still, every little flutter in my stomach made me wonder if it was just the moment.

  What would I do when that baby was placed in my arms? What if it was a boy? What if it was a girl? I was used to being around little boys, thanks to my nephews, and I had some experience with little girls, thanks to Garrett’s daughter, Lily. But that certainly didn’t make me an expert.

  I wouldn’t be raising just a boy or girl, I’d be raising my own child, introducing him or her to the world through my eyes and my experience. How could I ever survive that kind of pressure?

  I watched as Tyler and Brady chased one another across the grass. They were so full of life and questions and uncertainties. I adored them as my nephews, but I had no idea how I would raise them if they were my own sons.

  As I watched, I noticed Wes approach them with a wide smile. I watched him with the critical eye of an aunt—and of a sister. Ever since he’d moved to town, Noella had been the happiest I’d ever seen her and that was reason enough for me to like him.

  “He’s so good with them.” Noella sat down beside me. “I’m still surprised by it—a younger guy, with no kids of his own—and honestly, he’s given me new insight into parenting.”

  “That sounds pretty amazing.”

  “Sometimes we get stuck on the idea that we need an expert to tell us what to do, but a fresh pair of eyes can be even better. Ever since we had our pizza night with the boys and he met them for the first time, they ask about him all the time. I sure did fight the idea, but so far it’s worked out perfectly.” She gave my shoulder a nudge with her own. “Just keep that in mind.”

  “I will, Noella. Thank you. I really do think Wes is a great guy.”

  “I’m glad.” She gave me a quick hug then headed off to join her sons and her boyfriend.

  “Here, darling.” Jake handed me an ice-cold bottle of water. “Feeling any better?”

  “I’m sorry, Jake. I’m just so nervous.” I cracked open the bottle and took a sip.

  “It’s natural to be a little nervous. But don’t forget, you’re not in this alone. You have me and a whole team of friends and family. We don’t need to know what college the baby will go to right now. All we need to know is what diapers to buy and how many hours of sleep we can expect to squeeze in.”

  “I wish it was that simple.” I frowned. “Diapers alone are so complicated. What brand, what size, and what if the baby is allergic? What about cloth diapers?”

  “Yeah, no. I draw the line at cloth diapers.” He crossed his arms.

  “But they’re supposed to be better for the environment and prevent rashes and—”

  “Hanna.” He placed his hands on my shoulders and looked into my eyes. “If you want cloth diapers, we’ll get cloth diapers. If you want silk diapers, we’ll get silk diapers. We’ll figure it all out, I promise. Now, we need to go cut this cake, because I think our friends are more eager to find out if we’re having a boy or girl than we are.”

  “Maybe this was a mistake.” I stared across the yard at the cake. “What if we shouldn’t find out? What if we’re already defining who the baby is by finding out the gender? Shouldn’t it be a surprise?”

  “Hanna.” He slipped his hand into mine and pulled me to my feet. “This moment is like a lot we’re going to face. There will be many different right answers; all we have to do is pick one. I’d like to know what to expect. I can respect it if you don’t want to know. But when we had the ultrasound done, you were pretty excited about it. Our kid is going to be our kid, whether boy, girl, or elephant.”

  “Elephant?” I laughed. “You had to go there?”

  “Let’s go.” He gave me a playful kiss on the cheek.

  As we headed for the cake, a crowd gathered around us. I could see that Zoe was holding up her phone with Blu’s face on video chat. Alex had just arrived with her new boyfriend in tow. Samantha was set up on video chat on my laptop not far from the cake.

  Jake was right. Everyone we loved was there to support us, and that in itself was a miracle.

  “Alright, let’s find out what we’re having!” I laughed and finally felt the excitement bubble up within me.

  Jake and I both gripped the cake cutter and sliced through the cake together.

  “Blue means boy, pink means girl!” Dawn clapped her hands and cheered.

  I slid the slice of cake out and stared at the color that was revealed. After a moment I looked over at Jake.

  “Are you seeing what I’m seeing?”

  “Uh, yeah.” He shot a look over at Dawn and grinned.

  “Oh no, it’s purple!” She gasped and her cheeks flushed a bright red shade. “Oh no, I’m so sorry. I don’t know what went wrong!”

  “Don’t be.” I grinned and took a bite of the cake. “This is so good! Everyone have some!”

  As Jake continued to cut more slices for everyone Dawn rushed over to me.

  “I’m so sorry, I’ve ruined the moment.” She grimaced. “I must have put too much coloring in or something.”

  “It’s alright. Clearly it’s a boy.” I smiled as I patted my tummy. “I’m having a son.”

  “Oh—uh—no.” She pointed to the center of the cake, which had finally been revealed.

  It was cotton pink.

  “A girl?” I gasped. “Are you sure?”

  “Yes, that’s the gender that was in the envelope you gave me from the doctor. You’re having a daughter.” She grinned at me as I threw my arms around her in a big hug.

  “It’s a girl!” I laughed as I called out to Jake.

  “Yes!” He thrust his fist into the air and grinned.

  “A girl?” Brady groaned. “What am I going to do with a girl?”

  “It’ll be just like Aunt Hanna!” Tyler smiled. “Awesome!”

  “Aw.” I hugged both my nephews and kissed the tops of their heads.

  As they squirmed away and ran off across the grass, for an instant I saw a little girl toddling after them. In that instant, everything became real. Tears flooded my eyes and my heart warmed in a way that I’d never felt before. My little girl, my daughter.

  I looked up just as Jake walked over to me and I could see the tears in his own eyes. He crouched down and kissed my stomach.

  “I can’t wait to meet you, baby girl. You’re going to have the best mama in the world.”

  “Oh, Jake.” I wiped my tears away as he stood up.

  He met my lips with his own and in that second I was certain that everything was going to be just fine.

  Chapter 3

  After the reveal, my friends and I settled in to enjoy our cake and conversation.

  The sugar tasted amazing, though I did feel a pang of guilt for eating it. I’d been so strict about my diet since I’d gained weight in the first few weeks of my pregnancy. If I was honest with myself, I felt pretty fantastic from the healthy eating, but I couldn’t deny that the cravings were hard to handle.

  More than once, Jake had made a late night fast food run for me, but overall, I’d done fairly well with both my diet and exercise.

  I still went for a run—more like a fast walk—every day with Dawn, though we’d had to adjust our timing due to the bakery’s opening so early. I also went for walks with Jake in the evenings when he was home. Now that I was in the later stages of pregnancy, he made sure that his business trips were minimal and within driving distance, just in case anything came up. Everything had been going very smoothly.

  “I can’t wait to see you all at the wedding—my wedding—wow!” Blu laughed. “I don’t think I ever imagined m
yself saying those words.”

  “We can’t wait to be there.” Noella smiled into the camera on her phone. “Who knew we would have so much to celebrate this year?”

  “It really has been an incredible year.” Zoe sighed as she settled back into Trent’s arms.

  She seemed so much more relaxed with him lately, and I loved seeing the way she now responded to his affection. Though Trent was the quiet type, he wasn’t shy about showing Zoe how much he cared for her. I liked that about him.

  While the others chatted, my eyes shifted to Alex, the owner of our favorite cafe, Common Grounds. She’d been a good friend to us all and had become like part of the family. I noticed the man she was with was far different than anyone I would picture her being attracted to. Despite the backyard setting of the casual party, he wore business attire and his body, though very fit, appeared to be quite stiff.

  “Alex!” I waved her over with a smile. “Is this the mystery man you’ve been hiding from us?”

  “I wouldn’t say hiding.” She grinned and blushed at the same time.

  “Thatcher.” He extended his hand to me. “Congratulations on your little girl.”

  I shook his hand—though it felt very awkward—and nodded in return.

  “Thank you. I’m pretty excited to meet her.”

  “It’s wonderful—the beginning of a new life.” He glanced at Alex, then back at me. “I mean, there’s nothing much more miraculous than that, is there?”

  “I guess not.” I smiled. “It doesn’t always feel miraculous, though.”

  “Oh, those last few weeks are the worst.” Alex cringed. “But don’t worry, sweetie, they’ll pass.”

  “Thanks, Alex. I know women do this all the time. I shouldn’t be so worried, but I can’t help it.”

  “It’s natural to be a little worried.” She gave my shoulder a squeeze. “But trust me, everything will be fine.”