Faking It (UnReal #1)

by J. D. Hollyfield

  Hannah grabs for my hand and squeezes. “Are you doing okay?” she asks, concern audible in her voice.

  I turn to her trying not to lose it. “What if he’s not okay Hannah? What if something goes wrong? What if the last thing I ever got to say to him was stay away from me? What have I done?” I lose it for the billionth time and start to cry. Hannah uncomfortably wraps her dainty arms around me. “Lexi, they’re operating on his leg. Not his heart. I’m sure he will make it through it just fine. And then you can say everything you have been babbling to me about the last two hours to his face.”

  Maybe I’ve been a little off my rocker since we got here. Okay so maybe a lot. I have spent the last two hours telling Hannah of all people, all the things I want to say to Hunter when he wakes up. I’m pretty sure she is about ready to claw her ears off.

  “Miss Hall?” My name is called and I bolt from my chair.

  “Yes, that’s me!” I find the nurse and run up to her. “Is he okay? Is he alive?”

  The nurse offers me a strange look, “Yes, Miss Hall, he’s fine. He is awake and asking for you.” There goes that chest tightness again. I guess it’s a good thing I’m already in a hospital, in case I drop dead of a heart attack.

  “Please can I see him?”

  “Right this way.” She nods, and off I go trailing her toes, unable to get any closer to her while my heart beats out of my chest with every step closer I get to Hunter.

  The nurse allows me to enter first and the sight before me causes my insides to squeeze. My poor Hunter. He’s lying with a full cast around his left leg, and bandages covering his arms and chest. A loud gasp leaves my throat as Hunter opens his eyes, his sight directed straight toward me.

  I fear my legs will buckle before I make it to his bed but I hurry and the moment I’m within arm’s reach, I begin to bawl my ever-loving eyes out.

  “I’m so, so sorry,” I stutter between sobs. “Please forgive me. I didn’t mean what I said, Pl…pl… please.”

  “Shhh,” Hunter says soothingly as he lifts his bandaged arm to console me. “Lexi, please don’t cry.”

  “Oh my God, Hunter I was so scared. I’m so sorry. I thought you gave up on me. But the letter… And the painting… And… And…” I can’t. I begin sobbing harder.

  “Baby it’s okay. You’re here now. I just needed you to know how I felt. How I truly saw you. Do you understand? Do you know how much you mean to me?”

  Flashes of the beautiful painting captured by a moment so intimate causes my heart to swell. Then it causes me to cry even harder, because this all points to what a total blind ass I’ve been.

  Hunter attempts to sit up to comfort me, but grunts in pain at the movement.

  “Oh my God, don’t move!”

  “Then stop crying.”

  I nod quickly because I don’t want him to be in any more pain because of me.

  “Lexi, I’m the one who is sorry. For everything. I would never do something to hurt you like that. I can’t take back what’s happened, but by God, I will make Victoria pay for what she has done. ”

  “No Hunter, it’s done. I don’t even care about that anymore. I care about you. I can’t… The moment when I thought you were. That you were…”’

  “Lexi?” Hunter tries to distract me from another sob spell.

  I focus on his alluring eyes. “I love you, Lexi Hall. And no person in this world could stop me from loving you. If I had to hop on one leg, after they fought to keep me here, I would have still come for you. I would never just let you go. I told you. You are mine. And my tomorrow doesn’t happen unless you are in it.” He pauses.

  “And Lexi? My tomorrow and the many days to follow will always have you in it.”

  I wipe the tears still flowing from my cheeks as I press my lips to his. “I love you, Hunter James. And I will be here today, tomorrow, and every single day after that,” I confess as my heart feels full with his words. His confession.

  A knock on the door has us both turning to see an officer and a very angry looking nurse in the doorway.

  “Sorry to bother, but Miss Hall, may we have a word with you please?” the uniformed gentleman addresses me.

  Shit.

  I turn to Hunter who looks as confused as I look possibly guilty.

  “So we may have to put this love fest on hold for a bit.”

  “Why?” His eyes fill with worry.

  “Well, I may or may not have kind of tried to bite a nurse while trying to get back to you and apparently they have some silly rule against assaulting the staff here.”

  Surprising me, a smile spreads across his beautiful face and it sends a flutter so strong it almost knocks me off my feet.

  “Who would have thought the real Lexi Hall was a biter?”

  “The real Lexi Hall has a huge fetish with unicorns too.” I wink.

  I’m rewarded by his signature eyes as they gloss over and dilate to the darkest of dark.

  And if you’re curious, biting only gets you a slap on the wrist. It’s the indecent exposure that took place a few hours later that got me the fine.

  All worth it though.

  One year, eight months and fourteen magical days later.

  I TAKE ONE SWING and smack him.

  “Baby, one more time and I’m going to have the nurses restrain you.”

  “Do it and I swear I will rip your fucking balls off.” The anger hits me so hard, but my emotions are so unstable I start begging just as bad as I’m threatening.

  “I’m so sorry. I love you, I love you, I love you.” I begin to cry.

  “Baby calm down.”

  “No I can’t. I'm going to die.”

  “Honey, you’re not going to die. The doctors are all here and everything is going to be just fine.”

  “No Hunter, you don’t understand. It’s not normal for something that big to come out of my flawlessly shaped vagina. It’s so perfect. And now it’s going to get ruined and I’m going to end up dying. Because it’s going to rip me in two!”

  Oh God, this was such a bad idea. I go to swing at him again.

  “Honey, seriously stop swinging at me.”

  “No,” I cry harder. “You did this to me.”

  “Baby, we did this. And up until three hours ago you were very happy about this.”

  “Well yeah, that was before this all became too real and I was going to be responsible for another human and I'm not sure I can do that. And I lied! Oh my God, I lied to you, Hunter. I never read any of those birthing books!”

  I have officially hit complete panic mode.

  “Oh fuck me!” I sob. “I'm going to die!”

  The nurses all gawk at me like I’m a lunatic. Hunter begins to move away from me and I panic, grabbing for him. “Oh God, Hunter please don’t leave me! I didn’t mean it! I love this baby. I'm just so scared.”

  Hunter immediately returns to my side. “Baby, I know, I'm not leaving you. Ever. I love you and this little girl. You are going to do great, I promise.”

  “No I'm not,” I continue to sob, because I am scared out of my fucking mind. How the hell did I go from being a wild diva to a soon to be mom?

  “Okay kids, looks like she is ready.” The nurse breaks through our embrace.

  Which is my cue to go nuts.

  “Nope! I’m not! Oh shit I’m so not ready!” And then I scream. Because no matter how much I’m not ready, this baby is. This little girl, who I have spent an endless amount of hours with for the last nine months, teaching her everything I know about the superhero legacy, is ready to be born into this world.

  “She’s ready, baby. And I’m ready to meet my baby girl. I love you.” Hunter breaks away to look at the clock bringing his anxious eyes back to mine.

  “By tomorrow my life will have not only you but this beautiful baby girl in it. You both make my life complete. Because it’s never a life without you both in it.”

  I watch Hunter’s eyes glisten with unshed tears. The look of happiness shining in his eyes gives me t
hat calm I need to embrace what’s coming.

  “I love you Lexi.”

  “Oh, just shut the fuck up Hunter and kiss me,” I groan grabbing for his face.

  Unfortunately, before his lips hit mine, I begin screaming my ever-loving head off, because the most amazing and scariest thing I have ever experienced in this world happens. Together we bring something so perfect into the world. A real world which Hunter James gave me.

  I know.

  Don’t get all sentimental on me. This isn’t your ordinary love story. I fought hard not to become a statistic in that typical girl meets boy, gets married, and proceeds to have way too many kids for their liking scenario. I wanted to make sure I experienced life. Took it by the balls and swung, squeezed, and possibly taste tested.

  I thought love wasn’t in the cards for me. Nor was the happily ever after bit.

  Not until Hunter.

  Okay, so maybe I didn’t play too hard to get, but as they say, the heart knows what the heart wants. And, for once, even my lady parts came in second on that vote.

  Yes, I, Lexi James, fell in love. If that’s what the kids are calling that strange feeling that sucks you so far in that you barely see the world in the same spectrum as you once did. I’m living in so much color and warmth, sometimes I find myself stopping just to hold my chest, in fear of that damn heart problem. But I'm not sure I will ever get used to the feelings Hunter James gives me. But then again, I hope I never do.

  Hunter walked—or should I say hopped, since he was on crutches—out of the hospital two days after the accident with one mission. To make sure we were never separated again. It turns out that when you are a famous artist, you can create your art anywhere. He claimed the only attachment he had was to me, so he didn’t even blink before agreeing on the idea of relocating to San Francisco. We moved him into my suite only to quickly move both of us out and to a quiet ranch outside the city. Hunter was still Hunter, so we left the luxury of the wild city for a more secluded neighborhood life. Turns out it wasn’t all that bad. A small little world with waving neighbors, block parties and endless invitations to something called Bunko, which I always kindly decline.

  It was on a quiet California summer night shortly after we moved in, that I came home to a dark house. Wondering if Hunter had made it back from his showing, I entered our quaint one-level home, walking to the kitchen, and straight to my wine collection. It was when I passed the Persian sofa, that the sound of music hit my eardrums. As I swiftly turned I caught Hunter kneeling before me holding out a shiny diamond ring. My hands shot up over my mouth and he spoke.

  “I’ve been practicing this for hours and I break down every time. I don’t think you want a man who can’t hold it together through a simple proposal so this will be very unromantic and to the point. Lexi Hall…” he clears his throat wiping at his perspiring forehead, “…I am not perfect, by any means, but you give me purpose and for that I promise to never disappoint you. Let me love you for the remainder of our time on this earth. Offer me all of you. Because you consume every part of me. Today, tomorrow, for every single day you allow me to be yours, I will spend my last breath making you happy. Say yes to forever with me. Say you will be my wife.”

  In the end it was me who broke down crying. Him and his words. Always had and always will have that effect on me. There was no thought to his question. I fell to my knees in front of him and accepted his offer, as he took my lips and kissed me something fierce. It wasn’t until he was caring me to our bedroom that the song that was playing registered.

  Of course it was “Time of My Life”.

  We married six months later. A small ceremony with our closest friends and family. Chrissy went bonkers and planned everything. She said it was the least she could do for not being able to throw me a proper bachelorette party. And it was because she had confessed that she and Ian were expecting. As I got drunk for the both of us, I told her she was off the hook because it was only fair I made New Leaf my maid of honor. Chrissy wrote if off as over-indulging and went on planning. New Leaf was there in spirit.

  She wore pink.

  The whole “How we got pregnant” story is fairly obvious. When two people love each other, they tend to have tons and tons of amazing sex. We weren’t planning on kids so fast, but we also weren’t preventing it, so when I found out I was pregnant it was equally shocking as well as shocking. But when we finally came to terms with it, it was an amazing thing. To grow life. To hear a heartbeat. To pick out colors and clothes. To find out you will be giving life to a little boy or girl. It’s just another thing that Hunter gave me.

  Everyone always wants to know what happened to the villain in the story, so I will feed your minds and just let you know that we never heard from Victoria again. Hunter never elaborated on how he made her pay. He promised me he wouldn’t let it get ugly; we agreed she had stolen enough of our happiness and she didn’t deserve any more. I do know that the lawyers called a few weeks after Hunter was released from the hospital to confirm that she had signed the annulment papers. End of story. As they say, “Ding dong…”

  So, in the end, this unconventional love story ends with the girl practically throwing herself into the arms of a man who stole her heart, and without thinking twice, she gave it to him. She took his name and birthed his child all while painting that white picket fence.

  And it’s all because he saw beauty in her. He saw something he loved. And she saw a new beginning.

  A piece of me was given to him that fateful night in the hotel bar we met. And I’m not referring to face slapping or flying vibrators. I’m referring to the day my life transformed from being something completely fake to something more real than I could ever imagine.

  The day I let the real me shine and fall in love.

  All while New Leaf sat back, shaking her head with pride, singing, I told you so.

  Thank you first to my bomb ass husband. Who always puts me before himself. I know it takes a lot to deal with a writer. So thank you for all those times you’ve questioned my sanity at two in the morning, and just turned and walked away. Since they haven’t invented a word strong enough for how much I love you so we will stick with love for now.

  A screaming from the rooftops thank you to my editor Vanessa Bridges from PREMA. Thank you for taking this story on head first. Your brain, patience and friendship are one bad ass combination and I am glad to have you on my side.

  Thank you to my amazing Beta team, Lisa Jayne, Arabella Brai, Robin Bateman and Christy Baldwin who took the time to jump on my story and work together to make it what it is today. I appreciate you all!

  Thank you to Nicole Blanchard for your patience when it comes to once again creating my amazing cover. A cover is the first representation of a story and you know to nail it every time.

  Thank you to my awesome reader group, Club JD. All your constant support for what I do warms my heart. I appreciate all the time you take in helping my stories come to life within this community.

  A big hug and wine clink to Stacey at Champagne Formats for always making my books look so pretty.

  And most importantly every single reader and blogger! THANK YOU for all that you do. For supporting me, reading my stories, spreading the word. It’s because of you that I get to continue in this business. And for that I am forever grateful.

  Cheers. This big glass of wine is for you.

  Creative designer, mother, wife, writer, part time superhero...

  J.D. Hollyfield is a creative designer by day and superhero by night. When she is not trying to save the world one happy ending at a time, she enjoys the snuggles of her husband, son and three doxies. With her love for romance, and head full of book boyfriends, she was inspired to test her creative abilities and bring her own story to life.

  J.D. Hollyfield lives in the Midwest, and is currently at work on blowing the minds of readers, with the additions to all her series, along with her charm, humor and HEA’s.

  Hollyfield, Faking It (UnReal #1)