MOTHER'S DAY With Dori Lavelle

I loved you before I met you, before I had the pleasure of gazing into your chocolate brown eyes, which shone like the surface of a lake coated with sunshine. Before I heard your laughter, so pure and unpolluted by life’s complications. 

The way your eyes sweep the room in search for me, the way your face splits into a grin when I enter the room, the curl of your fingers around my thumb; those are the things that expand my heart and flood it with undiluted joy. 

I didn’t only fall in love with you the first time you were placed in the crook of my arms. I fall in love with you every day, as if it’s for the first time. I’m far from being perfect, but I must have done something right to be gifted with the perfect slice of heaven that you are.  

I will love and cherish you always. Nothing is too big to sacrifice, if it means I would be protecting you. Even when you grow up and let go of my hand, there’s a reserved spot on my shoulder that’s kept warm for any time you want to return home. 

With you in my life I don’t need to celebrate Mother’s Day once a year. Mother’s Day is every day I can call you my little girl.  

Bittersweet Moments (Moments In Time 3) by Dori Lavelle

Mother’s Day Exclusive Scene (Not in the book)

Melisa Dane opened her eyes and blinked away remnants of sleep. Although the place next to her was warm, her husband Florian—who everyone called Heat—was not in bed next to her. Where was he? It was Sunday and they usually slept in. Her bakery was closed every Sunday so she had all the time in the world to spend the time with him and enjoy being pregnant.

She swept the bedsheet to one side and climbed out of bed. Still drowsy from sleep, she walked to the bathroom, where she brushed her teeth, splashed tepid water on her face, and tied her hair into its usual ponytail. Then she went looking for Heat.

At the top of the stairs, the aroma of eggs, bacon, and fresh coffee greeted her, making her mouth water and her stomach rumble. She wasn’t usually a breakfast person, at least not on weekdays. But now that she was pregnant, she did make an effort to grab something on her way out the door. Weekends were different because they were her time to slow down, to enjoy the blessings in her life.  

She followed the aroma to the kitchen and a smile spread across her face as she watched her husband standing at the stove, his back to her.  Behind him, the kitchen table was laden with all kinds of breakfast goodies—pancakes, eggs, slices of watermelon, and orange juice.

As if sensing her presence in the doorway, Heat turned around. Smiling, he put down the wooden spoon in his hand, and approached her. He planted a coffee-scented kiss on her lips, and wrapped his arms around her waist. “Happy Mother’s Day,” he whispered into her ear.

Melisa stepped back and gazed into his warm, dark eyes. “Why?”

His brows knitted. “Because you are a mother.”

“Not yet,” she said, her heart slamming against her chest. “I won’t be for another few months.”

“What about Ben?”

She moved away from him and approached the table. “Mother’s Day is for mothers who didn’t give up their kids. I don’t deserve to celebrate it.” She picked a slice of watermelon from the plate and bit into it, closing her eyes to better savor the sweetness.

Heat pulled out a chair and sat. He gently pulled Melisa down so she could sit on his lap. “Honey, you gave Ben up for adoption. But you did it for a good reason. You were not in the position to raise him, to give him the future he deserved. You made a choice that a mother who loves her child and wants only the best for them would make. You gave him away even if it killed you inside. You made a mother’s sacrifice. So, you deserve to be celebrated just like any other mother.”

Heat’s words seeped into Melisa’s soul and enveloped her heart. Those words were enough to make her happy for the day.

(Exclusively Written For Scandalous Book Blog)

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