Before planning my own wedding, I had no idea of the details and decisions we would need to make. A wedding dress and veil, rings, registries, invitations, musicians, and…cake napkins? We didn’t have a lot of time or money to work with. We had to sacrifice some of the things we wanted to save money.
One of the things we saved money on was our wedding cake. There were two people we knew who did wedding cakes as a side business and neither of them could make ours. One suggested we make our own cake. So we decided to. Since it was a February wedding and close to Valentine’s Day, we went with a heart-shaped cake.
Or rather, several of them. Different flavors included chocolate, carrot cake and cherry chip cake. We, meaning my fiancé Pat and I, mixed up the batter and baked the heart-shaped cakes in my mom’s kitchen. We coated the baked cakes with an icing glaze to keep them moist.
My sister iced and decorated the cake and added some sugared hearts that a friend helped her make. A friend gave us a musical figurine that we used as a cake topper. It wasn’t perfect, but it was pretty, and uniquely ours.
We had way too much cake left over. I think we were eating it for weeks. We put the top layer in the freezer for our one-year anniversary, but we didn’t eat it when that day came. The thought of eating one-year-old cake, even though it had been preserved by freezing it, didn’t appeal to us.
We didn’t just have cake left over. We also ended up with about 50 unused cake napkins. We packed them away and planned to take them out on our 25th anniversary , when we would have family and friends gather to celebrate.
However, we didn’t make it to our 25th anniversary. Not because we fell out of love, but because a tragic work accident took Pat’s life after just 20 years of marriage.
1 Corinthians 13 is known as the Love Chapter. It is incorporated into many wedding ceremonies. I don’t remember if it was read at ours, because my head was in the clouds that day.
…Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails.
1 Corinthians 13:4-8
These verses speak of unconditional love. Pat loved me unconditionally. He was my rock, my biggest supporter, provider and protector. I miss him, but God is healing my grief. I’m learning to stand on my own two feet, with the love and support of family and friends.
Our “Happy Ever After” was cut short, but I’m grateful for the twenty years we had together.
Today I’m featuring author Katy Eeten’s three Christmas novellas. They are unrelated to each other, but each is a heartwarming holiday story. You can find out more about the books in the details below:
Wrong Turn Christmas (Anaiah Press 2021)
April is desperate to eliminate her dad’s cancer bills so her family can enjoy the holidays. But, on her way to get legal assistance, she ends up at the wrong house. There, she finds a warm and caring soul… but a boyfriend won’t solve her family’s financial issues.
Jake is surprised to find a beautiful woman on his doorstep asking for help. It’s a case of mistaken identity, but after spending just a little time with April, he knows they are perfect for each other—even if she does have bad taste in football teams. Except April is facing an uphill battle, and he believes he has nothing of real value to offer. Or does he?
One wrong turn might just end up turning a Christmas crisis into a Christmas miracle.
When Mandy Brockman flies home from her friend’s destination wedding, her heart is on empty at the thought of spending Christmas alone. It doesn’t help that her ex is on the plane, seemingly unaffected by their breakup. But the kind-hearted man seated next to her seems to have it all together—and he’s handsome to boot. She knows her emotional healing won’t come in the form of another guy, but will the source of this man’s peace and joy help Mandy find the Christmas she’s looking for?
CJ Hawkins is captivated by the beautiful, feisty woman he meets on his flight. The only thing is, she’s fresh out of a relationship, and he has no interest in being anyone’s rebound. But the more he learns about Mandy, the more he’s drawn to her unique mixture of compassion and spunk.
Can he figure out how to make their relationship take off before this First Class Christmas is grounded forever?
Sarah Laughlin left her big-city life and dead-end relationship behind for a fresh start as a fourth-grade teacher in the small, Wisconsin town of Meadow Creek. And it feels like home, too, despite the persistent troublemaker in her class and the lack of familiar faces. But the holidays are going to be lonely this year. Until she meets firefighter Lincoln Thompson. Suddenly, the hope of spending Christmas with someone she cares about is within reach.
Lincoln loves his home town of Meadow Creek, but ever since his long-time girlfriend left him for a better life in the city, he wonders if he’ll ever find love in this small town where everyone knows everyone. Then he meets Sarah during her class’s field trip to his firehouse, and a spark is lit. But when they discover that Sarah’s troublemaking student is none other than Lincoln’s beloved nephew, their newfound relationship is put to the test. Can they navigate through the complexities of family dynamics to find a love that will last?
Today’s featured book is about high school friends who made a Love Pact to marry each other if they were still single at the age of 30. This Christian contemporary romance by Liwen Y. Ho is heartwarming and a great read any time of year.
Author’s Inspiration:
I was inspired by a web series I saw on YouTube titled Single by 30. That series had the same premise of my story, which is that the main characters made a pact while in high school to marry each other if they were still single by age 30. I thought the idea was sweet and fun and had the potential for a lot of tension and romance.
About the book:
Two best friends. One little girl’s prayers. And a love pact that may be the answer to all of their Christmas wishes.
Haven Alexander used to believe in happy ever afters—before she lost her husband and became a single mom. These days, she keeps herself busy as the event planner at Freedom Ridge Lodge, helping to make other couples’ dreams come true. Her other job? Humoring Miah, her spunky three-year-old daughter, who has a dream of her own: finding herself a daddy. This task proves challenging, though, when Miah sets her sights on Haven’s childhood friend who comes home for a visit.
Jeremiah Gilbert left Freedom a dozen years ago with a bad reputation and an even worse regret: not confessing his love for his best friend, Haven. He has returned, however, older and wiser, and ready to rekindle their friendship—and more. There’s a promise on the line, one they made in high school, that he longs to fulfill. Winning over her daughter, Miah, is easy, but helping to heal Haven’s broken heart proves to be nearly impossible.
When Miah gets into a dangerous situation, these old friends must put the past behind them and find new ways to trust in each other and in the One able to meet their deepest needs.
Excerpt:
Her breath caught in her lungs. It seemed like Jess couldn’t have a single conversation without mentioning her twin brother’s name. The guy Haven used to be best friends with and who was responsible for this wedding scheduling fiasco. Partly responsible, at least. She hadn’t seen or spoken to Jeremiah since they were eighteen, but she’d been following him on social media. And the day she’d scheduled December’s events into the computer happened to be the same day she found out he had gotten engaged. That bit of unexpected news had thrown her off so much, she’d gone and made a huge mistake that was coming back to bite her now.
If only she didn’t still care about Jeremiah Gilbert.
Haven decided to ignore Jess’s comment and instead asked the question that had been burning a hole in her mind lately: “Do you know if he’s bringing his fiancée to the wedding?”
“I think they might’ve broken up or will be breaking up soon.”
“Really? You think or you know?”
“It’s an inkling of mine.”
“You and your inklings.” Haven had learned long ago about the bond between the Gilbert siblings. She wouldn’t go as far as to call it twin telepathy, but there was something special that connected Jess and Jeremiah together. “What’s your inkling telling you this time?”
“That his love life’s not going so well. I thought he was finally ready to settle down with Gretchen, but he hasn’t mentioned her recently.”
“Oh yeah?” Haven tried not to sound too interested or excited at this news. She knew she’d never hear the end of it if Jess knew she’d had a crush on her brother since junior high. Had being the key word. She didn’t know Jeremiah anymore, apart from the pictures he posted online of his travels or of the gorgeous women—mostly redheads—that he’d dated over the years. He’d been fairly popular with the opposite sex and had even been named both Class Heartthrob and Class Heartbreaker. Meanwhile, she’d been voted Most Likely to be a Librarian.
It’d been nothing short of a miracle that they’d been friends. Haven chalked it up to the fact that they’d started hanging out before he’d morphed from a gangly, buck-toothed kid into a hot and hunky quarterback. Before he became more social, they, along with Jess, used to do everything together. During senior year of high school, however, they hung out less often when he started running with the wrong crowd. That was around the time Jess and Jeremiah’s dad had left their mom. Jeremiah had taken it hard and started partying and drinking and not caring about his grades. Haven and Jess had prayed every day that he’d find his way back.
Unfortunately, it’d taken a DUI three months before graduation to wake him up. Thankfully, no one had gotten hurt when he crashed his car into the church sanctuary one night, but it had shaken up his family and his future. Mrs. Gilbert moved the kids to California to escape their shame and Jeremiah decided to enlist in the Army to clean up his act.
Haven lost both of her best friends in one fell swoop, but she and Jess ended up reuniting at University of Colorado. They’d been inseparable ever since Jess moved back to Freedom after college. Jeremiah never returned, though, not even for a visit. Haven had lost any hope of seeing him again, especially when he stopped replying to her emails during his first deployment. She’d long stopped asking Jess about him, too, but she had to admit, she was growing more curious, knowing that she’d be seeing him at the wedding. She was about to ask for details about Jess’s inklings when something caught her eye.
Or rather, someone.
That profile looked so familiar. Thick dark brown hair, a straight nose worthy of a Greek statue, and a full beard. She couldn’t stop staring at the tall man standing at the registration desk ten feet away and marveling at how much he resembled Jeremiah. There was no way Jess’s twin would be here at the lodge … right?
Jess suddenly spun in place, her head cocked to one side. She scanned the area with narrowed eyes, looking from person to person, until her gaze landed on the same man Haven had spotted. “Jere?!”
The man turned around at the sound of her voice and sure enough, it was Jeremiah. His whole face brightened when he saw Jess, especially when she ran over to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. It was a sweet reunion worthy of a Hallmark movie.
Haven’s steps faltered as she watched her childhood friends hugging. She missed the old days when she’d be in the middle of their embrace. So much had happened, though, since they’d become adults, she didn’t know if their friendships could ever be the same.
But when Jeremiah looked over Jess’s shoulder and locked gazes with Haven, the huge grin on his face made her doubts fall away. It was as if they were eighteen again with their entire future ahead of them. For the first time in as long as she could remember, Haven felt hope stirring in her heart. It was a strange, unexpected feeling that made her want to run over to Jeremiah and wrap her arms around him.
Could she?
About the Author:
USA Today bestselling author Liwen Y. Ho works as a chauffeur and referee by day (AKA a stay at home mom) and a writer by night. She creates sweet and inspirational contemporary romance infused with heart, humor, and a taste of home (her Asian roots).
In her pre-author life, she received a Master’s degree in Marriage and Family Therapy from Western Seminary, and she loves makeovers of all kinds, especially those of the heart and mind. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her techie husband and their two children (AKA munchkins).
Learn more about Liwen and also sign up for her newsletter to receive an exclusive free book, news about her upcoming releases, giveaways, sneak peeks and more at liwenho.com.
Inspirational Author 