Joanna looked at me with a smile, almost like a smirk, and I knew I was in trouble. She sat at my table outside and asked questions.
“How big of a wedding do you want?” she asked, leaning back in her chair.
“I’m not sure,” I answered honestly.
“Well, do you want four hundred people?” my mother asked. “Or do you want intimate?”
“Definitely intimate,” I said the truth and looked up to see Hunter shake his head, almost saying I was setting myself up. My mother took notes.
“Do you want an indoor wedding or an outdoor wedding?” Joanna then asked. I looked over at my mother for her to help me, but all she did was tap her pen on the pad.
“Um,” I said, “Hunter?” I turned to look at him. “What do you think?”
“I don’t give a shit as long as I get to marry you,” he said, and I glared at him and made a mental note to hurt him really bad when his mother wasn’t around.
“If I had to pick, I would love to get married on the beach at sunset but have the reception in the air conditioning.”
“Yes,” Joanna said. “No one needs to sweat in a nice dress.”
“What about the hotel on the beach with the restaurant with the panoramic views?” my mother asked. “What’s it called?”
“Seven seven seven,” Joanna said. “I know the owners. I do their books, so I’ll make a call. They owe me a favor.”
“Oh, perfect,” my mother said and made more notes.
“Stop taking notes,” I told her, and she just looked up at me.
“It’s my job to take notes,” she said to me, and I had no idea what the hell she was talking about. “During this conversation, my job is to take notes, and Joanna’s is to ask the questions.”
“Why?” I asked.
“Because your mother seems to think you won’t tell me to fuck off since I’m Hunter’s mother,” Joanna said, laughing, then leaned over to put her hand on mine. “I told them that it was only a matter of time.” She winked at me, and I had to say she was the most down-to-earth person I had ever met. Sometimes, I forgot she was Hunter’s mother and not just another one of my friends.
“Now the big question,” my mother said. “Dress.”
“I’m not wearing an ugly mother of the groom dress,” Joanna said right away, “and I’m not making your mother wear anything drabby either.” She looked at my mother who nodded. “We are young, independent women who raised two amazing kids. We should not have to wear long sleeves and low heels.”
“Yes,” my mother agreed. “No ugly brown for me. I want fuchsia.”
“That’s a great color with your hair,” Joanna said, then looked at me. “I know the wedding designer from that TLC show Say Yes to the Dress,” Joanna said.
“Pnina?” my mother asked, and Joanna nodded.
“Yes, I do her American taxes,” she said.
“Oh my god,” my mother said, “you think she would design the dress?”
“I don’t see why not. I can call and ask her. Why don’t we get our dresses designed also?” Joanna asked.
That was the way the whole night went, and by the next week, everything was booked. I got my ceremony on the beach, and the restaurant was shut down that night just for us. Joanna said it was comped. I didn’t believe her, but Hunter just said to let it be.
Two weeks later, we were in New York and I had the dress of my dreams designed.
I knew right away it was the dress when I walked down the aisle two and a half months later and Hunter had tears coming down his face. It was perfect, our wedding was perfect, and so was the fact I was hiding the secret that I was carrying his child. A surprise I told him that night when he peeled me out of my wedding dress. There in the middle of my stomach was a removable tattoo of a bow.
“What is this?” he asked with a smile, sitting on the bed as I stood between his legs in my garter and bra.
“It’s your groom’s gift,” I told him, and he looked up at me. “We’re having a baby,” I whispered the words before I saw him cry for the second time that night.
Eight months later, I gave birth to our son, who came out with a full head of black hair and eyes exactly like his father.
“Mommy, Mommy, Mommy.” I hear Logan while he runs into the house we brought him home to. I turn to watch him, his hair flying everywhere as he jumps into his father’s arms.
“I had ice cream,” he says, and I don’t have to ask him what kind because he has chocolate on his nose.
“Where is Grandma?” I ask him and look over their shoulder to see Joanna walk in, or actually waddle a bit. Yup, my mother-in-law, grandmother to almost two, is six months along with twins.
“Don’t blame me,” she says, and I look at her. Even pregnant, she rocks it; there are no maternity clothes for her. Nope, she refused. So, she stands there in a long skirt flowing around her with a tight tank top. “It’s them.” She points at her stomach. “You can blame them. All I did this week was eat ice cream. Tubs and tubs of it. I’m surprised my ass fit through the door,” she says, going to Hunter and kissing his face. “Hey, honey.”
“Where is Dominic?” Hunter asks.
“How many times have I asked you to call me dad?” Dominic says, walking in with a smile while Hunter groans.
“Is Uncle Dom your dad?” Logan asks, and Hunter shakes his head while we all laugh.
“Did you tell Mom and Dad that we went shopping for your new room?” Joanna says, and Logan shakes his head. “We bought him a carpet with a spaceship on it, and we bought him a telescope so he can see the stars.” He just nods.
“We bought stuff for sissy also,” he says of his sister. “Mommy, is sissy going to poop in her pants?” he asks me, and Hunter answers.
“Yup, just like you did.” Hunter leans in and kisses his neck while he giggles.
“Are you guys ready to go?” Dominic asks. “The new owners said for you guys to get the f-” he almost said fuck but stopped when he looked at Hunter, “to get out so they can get in.”
“Rachel would never tell me to get out of my own home,” Hunter says.
“It’s not our house anymore,” I tell him. “Let’s go. I’m tired, and I need to put my feet up, and now I’m craving ice cream.”
We walk out of the house, looking back one more time, and smile at each other.
That night when I walk into our new house, I smile as I look around my dream home. Directly on the beach like the other one but with five more bedrooms. I walk through the house that has already been unpacked, thanks to all of our friends and family members. I grab a water bottle and head upstairs, going straight to Logan’s room. I stand at the doorway and watch my husband read him a bedtime story. Logan’s trying to fight sleep, but he’s losing the battle. I drink the water, watching them, and Hunter finishes the whole story even knowing that Logan has long ago fallen asleep. He kisses him on the forehead and turns off the light before coming to me.
“Are you okay?” he asks me, and I just smile at him as he takes my hand, and we walk to our bedroom.
The picture of us on the beach with me in his arms the night he proposed to me hangs right over our headboard. That was the first picture we hung up when we got into the house, and then we added other pictures next to it. Our wedding day, then the first ultrasound picture. My eyes go to the next picture; it’s our first family picture. Logan’s placed on my chest, my eyes on him as I cry in joy, and Hunter looking at both of us as he shed his own tears. Two more pictures are hanging there. One is of the ultrasound picture of our baby girl and other is an empty frame for a picture waiting to be added.
One month later, I place the picture in the frame, and it’s almost identical to Logan’s except Logan is in Hunter’s arms as he points at his sister, Corina Joanna.
I hang the picture and look at the wall. Who would have known that being set up on that blind date would have gotten me mixed up in love?
The END
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Books By Natasha Madison
Something Series
Something So Right
Something So Perfect
Something So Irresistible
Something So Unscripted
Tempt Series
Tempt The Boss
Tempt The Playboy
Heaven & Hell Series
Hell and Back
Pieces of Heaven
Heaven & Hell Box Set
Love Series
Perfect Love Story
Unexpected Love Story
Broken Love Story
Acknowledgments
My Husband: Thank you for being by my side through this whole thing.
My Kids: Matteo, Michael, and Erica, thank you for letting me do this. Thank you for being proud of me, I love you honey bunches and oats!
Rachel: You are my blurb bitch. Each time you do it without even reading this book and you rocked it. I’m so happy that I didn’t give up when you ignored my many messages.
Dani: You are hands down one of the most genuine person I’ve ever met thank you so much for guiding me.
Lori: I don’t know what I would do without you in my life. You take over and I don’t even have to ask or worry because I know everything will be fine, because you’re a rock star, I’m also scared of that whip!
Beta girls: Teressa, Natasha M, Lori, Sandy, Yolanda, Yamina. Thank you for holding my hand, telling me when things sucked and for being by my side.
Julie: Thank you for taking my book with all its mistakes and making it pretty, or as pretty as it can be.
BLOGGERS. THANK YOU FOR TAKING A CHANCE ON ME. You give so much of yourself effortlessly and you are the voice that we can’t do this without.
And Lastly and most importantly to YOU the reader, Without you none of this would be real. So thank you for reading!
Mixed Up Love Page 15
