by Sam Crescent
“Yeah, I’m thinking the sushi yesterday was a bad idea. Thinking about it, you’re not supposed to eat fish if it smells fishy, are you?”
“Crap, Payton. You’ve gone pale, and you’re sweaty.”
“I’m fine. Hunter has done a lot to put this interview together, and I’m not going to let some bad fish ruin it. How are things with you and Elise? Don’t give me that whole, nothing is happening. Hunter and I saw you the other day. You were smooching.” I’m dying.
The stomach cramp eased, and she was able to stand up, but now she felt so cold. Hugging the jacket around her waist, she turned to Rick, focusing on him. She burped again, another soundless one.
Wow, she was sounding less like a lady with each passing minute.
“I like her. She’s not a reporter, and she understands our life. She adores you, and we’re going on a date this Friday.”
“Excellent.” I won’t be alive by Friday.
Another wave of pain rushed over her. “You know, next time I’m not trusting anyone even if they say it’s restaurant quality.”
“If you have food poisoning, that could be really serious.”
She began to laugh. “Oh my, could you read the headline? Plus-size model dies by eating. Wow, that is actually really depressing.”
The elevator doors opened, and yeah, she really wasn’t doing good.
“Holy crap,” Daryl said.
“She’s ill,” Rick said. “This is not going to look good.”
“Oh, please, I’m going to be more than fine. I can handle an interview and stuff. I will be fine.” My stomach is twisting itself into a fucking knot.
Ouch.
There goes being the lady.
Crap, I hope this is not about to explode out of both ends.
Great thought, Payton, really appropriate.
Her mortification would be complete.
“Everything is set up. Wow, fuck, Payton, are you okay?” Hunter asked.
She stared at the man she had fallen helplessly in love with, and in that moment with how damn healthy he looked, she wanted to gut him. “You know, a girl could get a complex as not just one, or two, but three men have that shocked look on their faces.”
“You’ve gone a little green.”
“Let’s just do this, shall we?” Before I embarrass myself.
Stupid fish.
Stupid sushi.
This is why I eat steak and fried chicken!
Hunter took her hand, and she knew he was worried. She could feel all of their concern, and her stomach began to make noise, and she released a whimper. They were sitting in Hunter’s office, and she sat down, and winced as her stomach began to hurt.
“Thank you all for coming today,” Hunter said, taking a seat. “As you are aware, there have been a couple of headlines that I’ve not particularly liked, and I think it’s time that I cleared the air.”
“Yep, I agree,” Payton said. She tried to smile, but it came out more like a grimace she was sure. “I’m not a whore.”
“No, she’s not.” Hunter took her hand, and she squeezed it, hating that her hand was slick with sweat.
Just keep going. You can handle this. Come on. My stomach, ouch.
“Payton and I met at a charity event, and I pursued her. She was nice, genuine, and I wanted her. Plain and simple. We are together.”
“What about the implication that she slept with you to get the job?”
“I slept with him because I wanted to. Not because of any job,” she said. Pain was making her testy.
She took a sip of the water, and swallowed it down. She left Hunter to do the talking as he had the right words.
The pain was getting even more difficult, and she was trying not to draw attention to herself.
“Payton, how do you feel about Hunter?” one reporter asked.
In pain, feeling like she was going to die at any moment, possibly vomit and crap her pants, she didn’t put a filter on her words. Any other time, she would have been coy, or witty. This time, she was blatant.
“I’m completely and totally in love with him. I want him to be the father of my babies, and if I’ve not completely scared him away, I am hoping he’ll agree to marry me.” If that wasn’t bad enough, she grabbed the nearest trash bin, and began to vomit. Once it started, it didn’t seem to want to stop.
She threw everything up, and knew people had recoiled from the smell. The pain increased, and as she couldn’t stop vomiting, she began to cry, and freak out a little, gasping for breath, and then choking a little.
Rick, Daryl, and Hunter all sprang into action.
Hunter took the lead, getting her out of the office, and down to his car, where she vomited all the way there. “I think I got vomit in my hair,” she said, crying.
“It’s okay. We’ll clean you up, babe.”
“I’m so sorry.” Like all the times before, whenever she was ill, she began to sob, feeling even more sorry for herself.
“We’re going to get you home, and clean you up. Put you to bed.”
“What about the interview?”
“Rick and Daryl will deal with it.”
“It was the fish.”
“What was the fish?”
“This. I’m not pregnant. It was really bad fish. It smelled rotten. I’ve never had sushi before. I didn’t know if it was some weird sauce they put in it.”
“If sushi smells bad, you’re not supposed to eat it.”
“I know that now.” She began to cry.
“Oh, babe, it’s okay. It’s just a little vomit. We can handle this.”
“I think I crapped my pants.” She was full-fledged sobbing now.
He got her to his place, and much to her relief, she hadn’t soiled herself, but vomit was indeed in her hair. Hunter was so sweet, so caring, so loving. He cleaned her up, and watched over her as she soaked in the bath.
When she started to fall asleep, he helped her out, and put her to bed.
Opening her eyes, she curled up in a ball, pressing a pillow to her stomach. “Did I embarrass you today?”
“Not at all. There’s nothing you can do that would embarrass me.” He pushed some of her hair out of her eyes.
“I vomited, and I told them that I loved you, and everything else.”
He began to smile. “Can I let you in on a little secret?”
“Will it make me cry?”
“It might, but it’ll be a good cry. Trust me?”
“I do trust you.”
“Good.” He ran his thumb across her lips. “Because I more than care about you, Payton. I am in love with you as well. You, with your sexy ass, juicy tits, and wonderful curves. You have made me want to be more than a businessman.”
Her heart was pounding, and more tears flooded her eyes.
“You mean that?”
“I do mean it, Payton. I love you, and I don’t know when it began. I only know that I can’t stop thinking about you. Thoughts of you consume me every single day. I love you more than anyone else in this world.” He pressed a kiss to her lips. “You see, you didn’t embarrass me when you told those reporters the truth. You helped me see your feelings. You’re incredibly stubborn, and you keep a great deal to yourself.”
“I can’t help it.” She took hold of his hand, and gave it a squeeze. “What do we do now?”
“You’re going to rest, and I’m going to keep an eye on you. I think you’re going to be vomiting for a little while longer. I’ll be calling my parents and canceling our visit. I want you safe and well before we travel there.”
“Are you sure you’re okay?” she asked, feeling really tired all of a sudden.
“Yeah, I am. Sleep, baby.”
She did.
Chapter Ten
The interview, considering it was really short, was in fact a success. The story of Hunter, the rich billionaire, falling for the plus-size model, had been a huge hit. Hunter was happy that no more negative stories were being written regarding his relationship with Payton.
When his cell phone rang, he saw it was his father calling.
It had been a week since he had canceled dinner, and he had already made plans that weekend as it was the launch that Elise had scheduled.
“Hey, Dad,” he said.
“Hello, son. I just wanted to make sure that you are aware we read the news. We’re old, but we’ve not lost all of our faculties.”
“I know you read the news, and I had hoped for us to be there, but Payton got sick, and I spent all weekend taking care of her.” He knew it was love. There was no way he would have cleaned sick out of her hair repeatedly if it wasn’t love. Hunter didn’t have any doubt that he loved her. From the moment she was sick, he didn’t leave his bedroom, watching her as she slept. He did some work, but every whimper, every movement, he was there, watching, keeping an eye on her.
“Do you love this girl, Hunter? Is it the real deal or is this publicity?”
“Why do you ask?”
“I wanted to know if I should stop your mother from planning your wedding.”
Hunter laughed. “You’re joking?”
“Nope. The bridal magazines arrived in the post. She’s out grocery shopping, and is hoping she can convince Payton to pick her to bake your cake.”
He was in shock. “I’ve never brought a girl home.”
“Exactly. First you wanted us to meet her, and now this interview. No woman has ever been special enough for you to take the time to care. I’ve seen the stuff on the ‘net, and I follow her on all of her social media pages.”
“You’re kidding me, right? I don’t do social media,” Hunter said, feeling really old.
His father burst out laughing. “You really should. It’s a good way to connect to people. She’s a darling, and so is that friend of hers who is there with her. The pictures of the two of you together. I know you, son, this is the real deal, isn’t it?”
“I love her, Dad. She is the real deal for me.”
“Then the wedding?”
He burst out laughing. “I don’t think Payton is ready for that yet, so please try to stop my mother from going crazy.” He shook his head, and finished his call with his father.
Opening the bottom drawer of his desk, he pulled out the velvet box that he had picked out this morning. They had known each other a couple of months, and this was fucking crazy.
He never proposed, or did the whole marriage gig.
Elise entered his office later that day, and she had a key fob in her hand. “Check out some of the shoots. I thought you would totally love to see them.”
He loaded them up on his computer, and began to look through them. They were amazing. “Antonio is really something.”
“Yes. I told him everything that I wanted, and he worked to get it.”
He passed some of Britney, and he stopped on a particular one of Payton. She was in a figure hugging summer dress, strolling through the park. Her head was turned looking at something, and as he stared at her, he just knew there was no one else in the world that he wanted more.
“I’m going to ask Payton to marry me,” he said, standing up.
“What? Wow? Really? Do you think that came from the pictures, the clothes?”
“Nope. It came from the fact that I just love being with her. She is an amazing woman, and I’m damn lucky to have found her.” He grabbed the small box, and his jacket. “Do you know where she is?” he asked.
“Rick mentioned about going over some contracts. They don’t have an office, so they’ll be at her place I think.”
“Great.” He left his office, and made his way down to his car. Opening the door, he climbed inside, and made his way toward Payton’s apartment. When he got there, after dealing with city traffic, he was somewhat anxious.
Buzzing her apartment, he waited.
“Hello,” she said.
“Payton, hi, it’s me. It’s Hunter. I really need to talk to you.” Static came on as she didn’t answer right away. “Payton, baby, it’s me.”
“Hunter, right now is not a good time.”
“Baby, please, there is something I really need to ask you, and I don’t want to wait around to say it.”
“How about we meet up later?” she asked.
“Payton, I really want you to marry me. There, I have said it. I want to marry you, and have lots of sex so we can have babies, and then more sex. You’re the woman for me, and I love you more than anything else in the world. You can blame your ass if you want. I just love it.”
He was expecting her to burst out laughing, or say something witty.
“Hunter, my parents are here.”
Oh shit.
He took a step back. This was not what he expected today, and he ran fingers through his hair. “You’re joking?”
“Nope, I’m really not, and you just proposed to me.”
“And I said all of that other stuff. Damn it, I must sound like a complete lunatic.” He paced the front steps of her apartment block.
“I will buzz you up.”
“No, don’t. I can’t see them, Payton.”
“Hunter, don’t do that. Come on. It will be fine. I want to see you now. You can’t just propose through a buzzer and leave, that is rude.”
The buzzer went, and Hunter opened the door, but he didn’t go through.
He wasn’t a coward, never had been, so he went to Payton’s apartment. She was already standing there.
“Hey,” she said.
“Do I get my answer before I meet your parents?” he asked, holding up the ring.
“You really were proposing to me?”
“I was. I love you, Payton, more than I have loved anyone else in my life.” He cupped her cheek. “I will always love you. Can’t you feel it when we’re together?”
Tears filled her eyes. “Yes. I feel it. I’ve tried not to. I’ve tried to keep my distance from you because I didn’t know where this was going, and that scared me.”
“I don’t want you to. I want every single thing about you.” He pressed a kiss to her lips. “Don’t ever change, not for me.” Hunter held her close, and glanced into her apartment. There two people who were indeed a lot older than she was. “I thought you were avoiding me.”
“No. They are here to talk. It has been too long.” She took his hand, and within second he was in front of her parents. “Mom, Dad, I would like you to meet Hunter Reynolds. He’s just asked me to marry him, and I accept. Hunter, this is my mom and dad.”
“She’s told me a lot about you.”
He saw that her mother had a tear in her eye. “Was it all bad?” she asked.
“Mom, no.”
“We deserve it.”
“Linda,” her father said.
“Look what we did, Matt. One daughter died, and we pushed the other one away.” Linda stood. “There was a news reporting into Bethany’s death. At first we were so angry, and through our grief, we realized we had pushed our little girl away. Bethany, she would have been so angry with us. I’m so angry, and I wanted to come here, and to make it up to you. We’re so proud of everything that you’ve achieved. We have been following you, and even though at times it has been painful, you are doing so well, Payton.”
“I didn’t help either,” Payton said. “I didn’t stick around. I blamed you, and I blamed myself, and then I didn’t want to be around anyone. I’m so sorry.”
Hunter felt her hand tighten around him, and he saw she was struggling with this. He pulled her into his arms and hoped that he gave her comfort. Her parents looked really upset, and clearly wanted to make amends.
“You have nothing to be sorry about. I know it’s going to take time,” Matt said. “I don’t expect you to forgive us. It has been years, and we made the mistake in pushing you away.”
“Bethany meant everything to me,” Payton said. “She asked me to do this. She asked me to make something of my life, and to rock my body all over the world.” She started laughing. “She probably wouldn’t dream of me being a model, but I did it. I ho
pe if I ever see her again, she’ll be happy with what I did.”
Hunter stepped back as Payton went into the arms of her family. He saw they had been broken for too long now, and so he waited. She was going to be his wife, and he could wait for as long as she needed him to.
****
“What if your parents hate me?” Payton asked.
She was in Hunter’s car, driving toward his family’s home. Between her parents visiting, and the hugely successful launch, she was walking on cloud nine. She had to be. Elise’s designs, and everything she had invested into the clothing range, had come true. That one opening with the launch party had already shown a massive response, not just from critics, but also from their consumer base. The party had taken place on Friday, and on Saturday, they had opened at all Image Counts stores.
Hunter had already told her they were reporting queues that hadn’t been seen in years.
“They are going to love you.”
“What if they don’t? I’m not for everyone.”
“They already know that I want you. I’ve already told them I proposed. I will have to warn you though,” he said.
“What about?” Her parents had adored him. While she had cooked dinner, Hunter had kept them entertained with many of his stories growing up. She loved hearing about him as a boy with the dream of making it big. His dreams had all come true, and so had hers. Rick had told her that offers were flying in, but she had signed a five-year deal with Elise. On opening night she had got talking with Elise, and the other woman had so many plans for the future and for Image Counts. Hunter had put Elise in charge. After what Payton had heard, she wanted to work with Elise, and Image Counts. Rick was also all over it. Anywhere Elise was, he wanted to be, which Payton did find incredibly sweet. They both had hit it off big time.
“My mom.”
She had seen a couple of pictures of his mother. The woman was so small, so delicate, and she looked so sweet.
“She’s planning our wedding, and she was doing it before I even proposed to you.”
Payton started laughing, and when she saw that Hunter was serious the laughter faded. “Wait. Did she think I would say yes?”
“She had seen pictures of us together, and I guess she thought we looked so much in love that she just couldn’t help herself. Are you okay? You look like you’re going to be sick.”