Blessed Be -Excerpt

What people are saying about "Blessed Be:"

Renae Johnson has crafted a beautiful love story in Blessed Be. Her characters are real with real insecurities and emotions. The sensuality of this story flows from the very beginning. There is a richness of passion and lust that will draw the reader in and make them want to keep reading. If you want a story that is hot and sexy with an emotional draw then this is the story for you. - Kimberley Spinney, Ecataromance Reviews, 4 Star Review

Blessed Be is a story about obstacles, and their ability to either cripple you for life or make you a stronger, more determined person. Ms. Johnson has written a wonderful holiday romance that is sure to bring tears and smiles to readers who enjoy the genre. - Scandalous Minx, Literary Nymphs Reviews Only, 4 out of 5 Nymphs Review

Two weeks before Christmas

Leah Montgomery blew an auburn strand of hair out her eyes and once again tried to pull the torture device up and over her knees.

The stretchy fabric clung to her calves, even as she continued to tug at it. After several long moments of butt wiggling, jumping up and down, and doing the Hokey Pokey, Leah finally managed to get the legs of the garment over her knees.

She glanced into the mirror and noticed her flushed cheeks and heavy breathing, and decided that maybe a break was in order.

“How are you coming in there?” Leah’s sister, Bella, called from the living room.

Leah breathed deeply and rolled her eyes. “Whoever invented these things is a sadist.”

Bella peeked into the bedroom and looked at Leah. “They can’t be that bad.”

“They are! Power Panties, my ass. More like Torture Panties.”

Bella snickered and entered the bedroom. “Why are you even wearing them?”

Leah glanced down at her tummy and back up at her sister. “Have you not seen my stomach?”

Bella waved a hand in dismissal. “Oh, whatever. You have a natural-looking tummy. Besides, your bridesmaid dress has an empire waist.”

“Which is made from this damned clingy silk material. It’s not like it’s loose and flowy chiffon, Bella. So your point would be?”

Bella sighed. “My point is that you’re beautiful just the way you are. That, and if you don’t hurry up and get dressed, we’ll be late to my wedding.”

“I won’t have the proper underwear, though, if I don’t wear these.”

“So don’t wear any.”

“Don’t wear any panties? Are you crazy?”

“Not at all. It’s not like anyone but you and I would know anyway.”

Leah shook her head. “You are crazy.”

“And you’re making us late. Now, hurry up and get your dress on.”

“I thought the big sister was supposed to boss the little sister, not the other way around,” Leah grumbled.

Bella laughed. “Usually, yes. But not today.”

Leah watched as Bella walked out of the bedroom, and then looked back down at the body-shaping garment currently stretched between her knees. Warily, she bent down, grasped the waistband, and tried to wiggle it up her thighs.

The panties were like shrink-wrap and refused to budge.

After a few more minutes of futile tugging and pulling, Leah gave up.

Screw it. I’ll just wear regular panties. It’s not like anyone will be looking at me anyway.

Frustrated, Leah walked over to her dresser and chose a pair of cotton hipsters. Unlike the Power Panties, those slipped on with no problem whatsoever. Once again in her comfort zone -- and simply comfortable, at that -- Leah grabbed the forest green bridesmaid dress off the bed, stepped into it, and zipped it up the back as much as she could without assistance. She turned in front of the mirror and saw no visible panty lines. However, her stomach could’ve been flatter. Much flatter.

Get over it, Leah. So what if you’re fat. No one will be paying attention to you, remember? It’s Bella’s day. No one ever pays attention to the bridesmaids.

Except the groomsmen who have to dance with them at the reception.

Sighing in resignation, Leah slipped her feet into the gold flats Bella had chosen for her bridesmaids to wear and made her way to the living room.

Bella turned and gasped. “Leah! You look beautiful.”

Leah rolled her eyes. “Stop lying to me and get over here and zip me up.”

Her sister got up and walked to her. “Here, turn around.”

Leah did so and held her hair up off her neck in the process.

“And you do look beautiful. I wish you wouldn’t be so hard on yourself.”

“I’m not hard on myself, just realistic.”

Leah felt Bella place the hook through the eye at the top of the zipper, and let her hair back down.

“You’re not realistic, either.”

“Yes, I am. I’ve ballooned from a size eighteen to a size twenty-four in eight short years.”

A very unladylike snort escaped from Bella. “You have not ballooned. I call it aging.”

“Oh, thanks, that makes me feel so much better.”

“You’re only twenty-nine!”

“You’re the one who just said I was aging.”

Bella sighed. “I meant that your weight gain is just a natural part of being a woman in your twenties. Physiologically, we’re programmed to gain weight during our child-bearing years. Our hips spread. Our stomachs get a little bigger and we have extra padding in places we didn’t have it before.”

Leah turned her skeptical gaze Bella’s way. “Then why, pray tell, have you not gained an ounce over the past five years?”

“Because I have a fast metabolism? I don’t know. And I have gained weight. I just don’t obsess over it the way you do.”

“I don’t obsess.”

Bella crossed her arms over her chest and raised an eyebrow.

“So maybe I obsess a little bit. But it’s not like I weigh myself every day or anything crazy like that.”

“No, instead you just constantly talk about how fat and ugly you are, which is just as bad if not worse than constantly weighing yourself or sticking a finger down your throat.”

Leah glanced at the clock above the television. “Shouldn’t we get going?”

Bella sighed. “Yeah. Don’t think I’m dropping this for good, though.”

“I wouldn’t think that for a minute, believe me.”

* * * * *

“You ready to do this thing?”

Bella grinned at Leah and nodded. “Oh, yeah. It feels like I’ve been ready my entire life.”

“You always did believe in fairy tales.” A soft smile curved Leah’s lips. Her frustration from earlier was gone, replaced now with a feeling of bittersweet excitement for her baby sister.

“Yes, I did. And I’m marrying my Prince Charming in just a few minutes.”

Leah lifted up the edge of Bella’s skirt and teased, “You didn’t replace your heels with glass slippers, did you?”

“I looked but couldn’t find any.”

Leah grinned back at her sister, trying her hardest not to get misty-eyed.

“Oh, hey, I almost forgot. I have a gift for you.”

“A gift? Isn’t it supposed to be the other way around?”

Bella shook her head and rummaged around in the backpack she’d brought with her. “Here it is,” she said as she pulled out a square, flat box wrapped in gold paper.

“What is it?”

“Open it up and see, silly.”

“You’re not giving me a love potion or anything, are you?”

Bella rolled her eyes. “No, because I know you don’t believe in magic. Just open the box.”

Leah peeled the paper off, tossed it in the trash can, and removed the lid. Inside laid a solid silver bracelet, the ends of which formed the shape of flower leaves. It looked old. She removed it from the box, felt the cold metal against her fingers, and looked at her sister.

“It’s beautiful. You shouldn’t have.” She swallowed back tears that threatened to choke her. The bracelet really was beautiful in its simplicity, and definitely something she would have picked out for herself. She slipped it onto her wrist.

Bella smiled -- one of those secretive smiles she’d worn her entire life -- and stood to hug Leah. “I just wanted to do something special for you. You’ve helped me so much with this wedding, and you really are the best big sister a girl could have.”

“Awww. Shucks.”

Bella saw right through Leah’s facade and leaned back to brush a couple of errant tears from Leah’s cheeks before brushing away her own.

A knock sounded on the door seconds before their mother stepped into the room. At fifty-two, Elaine Montgomery was still a stunning woman with a lithe body, expertly cut and highlighted red hair, sparkling green eyes, and a dusting of freckles across her always-powdered nose.

Leah sometimes wondered if the stork actually had dropped her off, because there was no way she was genetically related to the two women standing next to her.

“Don’t both of my girls look lovely today?”

She leaned in and kissed Leah and then Bella on the cheek before wrapping her toned arms around both of them. It was all Leah could do not to shrink away.

“You look beautiful too, Mom,” Bella said.

“Why, thank you, dear.” Elaine fussed a bit over Bella’s hair before turning to Leah. “That dress is very figure flattering, dear.”

Leah bit the inside of her cheek. She knew her mom loved her -- she really did -- but sometimes she wondered if the woman purposely made comments to get under her skin, or if Elaine was simply that oblivious.

The feeling of a sharp elbow poking her in the ribs reminded Leah that she hadn’t yet spoken. “Uh, yes, yes it is.”

“Let me see it from the back.”

Leah barely managed to not roll her eyes, and instead turned in a slow pirouette in an effort to please her mother.

“Are you wearing cotton underwear underneath that dress, young lady?”

She glared at her mother over her shoulder. “So what if I am?”

“Everyone can see the panty lines!”

Apparently her mother was staunchly anti-VPL and could see things Leah couldn’t.

“No one’s going to pay attention to me, Mom. It’s Bella’s day and all eyes will be on her.”

“Yes, but you walk out before she does. Besides, don’t you want to look your best? It’s such a shame to let a dress like this be ruined by the wrong underwear.”

Leah turned back around and caught her sister’s gaze with her own. Bella was apparently busy stifling a laugh, so Leah was left on her own to deal with this one. “Mom, I honestly don’t care if everyone can tell I’m wearing regular panties. Besides, no one wants to think about a fat girl in a thong anyway.”

“How many times do I have to tell you, you’re not fat!” Bella exclaimed.

“Now, now, dear.” Elaine patted Bella soothingly on the shoulder. “Leah, honey, you are not fat. You simply have curves, is all.”

“Curves, my ass. More like rolls,” she mumbled.

“At any rate, I still don’t think you should walk down the aisle with your panties visibly showing. Do you have any other undergarments here with you?”

“Yes, Mom, just let me go check my other dress first.”

“There’s no need to be a smart-ass, Leah Montgomery. All I’m suggesting is that maybe you don’t wear any at all.”

“What is it with you two? First Bella and now you suggesting I walk down the aisle commando. I thought y’all were more cultured than that.”

Bella laughed and finally jumped in on the conversation. “Leah, just do whatever makes you comfortable.”

Leah was about to hug her sister when her mother held out her hand -- palm up -- and tapped her foot impatiently.

Leah would be so glad when this wedding was over.

*****

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