Copyright © 2016 by Jackie Chanel
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This one is for my homie/lover/friend. You know why.
Chapter 1: Only Heart
WARMTH, AN ALL-OVER WARMTH, invaded my body when movement on the other side of my bed caused my eyes to open slowly. Aiden’s long body shifted. He turned over and tucked his arms under my pillows. He was still asleep. Blindly, I reached for my phone and turned off the alarm before it could rudely jolt both of us out of our silent peace. When I turned my head, I was met with a cascade of shoulder-length yellow hair. I couldn’t help but smile. Lying in my bed, Aiden looked like a sleeping Greek god. His hair is finally at the length that we both love.
I didn’t want to wake him but the temptation to touch him was too great to ignore. Carefully, I fingered a lock of his blonde hair. He didn’t move. Even though he was asleep, gripping my pillow like a baby, I couldn’t help but trail my fingers along his tanned and muscular shoulders. The canary yellow diamond on my left ring finger caught the light of the rising sun and cast a kaleidoscope of colors on the stark white walls of my bedroom. I glanced down at my hand, still marveling at the perfect symbol of Aiden’s love and commitment to me. It’s simply perfect and I cannot believe he remembered how much I loved this ring. Normally, he doesn’t pay attention when I’m drooling over jewelry that I can’t afford.
I closed my eyes before easing away from him to the edge of my bed. I placed my hand over my stomach. It’s way too early to feel anything but I know what’s going on in there. Engaged and pregnant in less than six months? Talk about moving fast.
Aiden proposed before I had the chance to tell him that we’re expecting baby number two. That’s how I know this is not a dream. His proposal wasn’t coerced by the idea of having another child with me out of wedlock. It was genuine and I am certain that he wants a life with me and our children. The moment he got on his knees and slid this twenty-four carat honey gold and diamond ring on my finger and professed his desire for me to be Mrs. Aiden Tyler was the moment I have longed for since I realized that I was in love with him. God, how long ago was that? Ten, twelve years? Has it really been that long?
I bent over and grabbed the wrinkled white dress shirt Aiden had tossed on the floor last night and threw it on before standing up. I gave him one last glance before I eased silently out of the bedroom.
Out of habit, I couldn’t pass my daughter’s room without poking my head in. I knew she wasn’t in there before I even opened the door but a little moment of panic ran over me when I looked at her empty bed. Summer is spending the night with her aunt and uncle and their new baby. I’m sure the little princess is sleeping right next to Tyler.
I am a little worried how Summer is going to react to the news of a new baby. She’s taken to baby Tyler very well but he doesn’t live with us. Like me, Summer is certainly a daddy’s girl and probably won’t appreciate having to share Aiden with another kid. It’s probably best that she hear the news from her father.
Despite Aiden’s constant touring, writing, and working on other people’s music, despite his constant need to have the glaring Hollywood spotlight shining on him at all times, Aiden has turned out to be a great father. That’s the only reason I didn’t jump completely out of my skin when I went in for my annual and my OB/GYN gleefully announced that I’m six weeks pregnant. Aiden and I haven’t been trying to have another kid, but we haven’t really been consistent with taking precautions either. I should be more responsible but that man…
I’ve never been able to control my desire for Aiden. Now that we’re officially together, I haven’t had to. Thankfully, I’m not so far along in this pregnancy that I can’t hide this new development until after Fashion Week.
“Oh God, Fashion Week,” I groaned as I stepped onto the cold marble of my kitchen floor.
As if on autopilot, I loaded my Keurig with a Black Silk K-cup and waited impatiently for my morning addiction to brew. There’s no time to celebrate our engagement or pregnancy with the massive amount of work Delilah, Kirk, and I have left to do in the next month and a half.
I have to finish designing my collection, Uninhibited, way before Fashion Week starts. Even with all the shows, parties, and meetings with designers for New York Fashion Week, all eyes will be on me while we’re there. My clothes will be hitting the runway at Bryant Park then it’s off to Paris and London for ten days then back to Los Angeles where Uninhibited will walk the runway again.
When my coffee was finished, I added an obscene amount of French Vanilla creamer and took the cup into my home office. I sipped my coffee while flipping through my most-prized possession, my sketchbook. This collection is the most important thing I have ever done in my life, aside from giving birth. I’ve been making clothes since I was a teenager. Setting my design skills aside in order to become Aiden’s personal assistant and stylist was a huge sacrifice.
I never thought I’d build my name and brand on dressing other people, especially not a blues guitarist who never wanted to dress up for any occasion. However, as Aiden continued to wow his fans and other designers on the red carpets styled by me, the industry began to ask, ‘Who is Sunny Rain?’
Now here we are. I have a brand, a very successful brand at that. The S.T.Y.L.E.Z team is one of the most requested celebrity styling teams in the industry right now. I don’t even have to go looking for clients anymore. I’m booked until next Christmas. The S.T.Y.L.E.Z by Sunny studio is the busiest studio on Earth.
On top of that, Delilah, Daniela, and I decided to open an online shoe store that soon turned into a ready-to-wear collection called RainDrops and we have stores in six major malls and ten shopping centers. Thank God that Delilah and Daniela do most of the work. They are working with an extraordinary team of young designers. I just show up at the meetings. I may add a little Sunny Rain flair to a design but nothing too major.
With all this going on, I have no idea how I’m going to fit in a wedding and another kid. I don’t care what Aiden thinks, I will be re-hiring Jessie. She’s a great nanny. Summer loved her and we’re definitely going to need her around with the new baby.
I was on my second cup of coffee when Aiden tapped on the doorframe of my office. Barefoot, shirtless, and jeans barely hanging on to his slim hips, he looked like he was about to do a photo shoot for Calvin Klein.
“You’re working already?” he asked. “It’s barely eight. And you’re not supposed to be drinking coffee.”
Barely eight? I panicked and downed the rest of my tepid coffee. I hopped up from my desk and headed towards the stairs. I should have been at the studio at
least an hour ago! I paused on the step just long enough to give Aiden a quick kiss.
“Slow down,” he insisted. “What’s the hurry?”
“Work,” was my over-the-shoulder answer while I ran up the stairs two at a time. Aiden followed.
“You can’t take the day off?” he asked when he caught up with me in my closet looking for a specific pair of black joggers.
“Yeah right. I have to pull looks for press tours for you and three other clients and we have more fittings than I could fit in my schedule. I’ll be lucky if I make it back here before midnight.”
Aiden leaned against the wall. “So, I’m supposed to tell everyone our news without you?”
I stopped looking through my drawers abruptly and turned around slowly. I’m sure the expression on my face displayed the pure horror I was feeling at his innocent suggestion.
“No,” I stated firmly. “Do not tell anyone anything right now.”
“What? Why not?” I’ve heard this before in Aiden’s voice. His disbelief and wonderment at actually being told no is something that I’m quite familiar with because, as it seems, I’m the only person who tells him no.
“Come on, Sunny,” he begged. “This is like the most important thing that has happened to me. Sunny, we’re getting married. And having another kid. Don’t you want to celebrate that?”
“We will celebrate it,” I assured him. “Just not today.”
“Then when?”
I shrugged, wishing for a tiny moment that I didn’t have to tell him no this time.
“I don’t know, Aiden. Soon. I have too much on my plate right this minute. And so do you. Plus, Fashion Week is coming up and…” I let my words trail off because Aiden, of all people, knows the rest of that sentence contained something about him not stressing me out. His frustrated groan brought a small smirk to my face.
“If I hear one more thing about Fashion Week, I swear, Sunny, we’re gonna end up in a lesbian relationship. It’s all you and my sister talk about. I can’t take it.”
“It’s not that bad, Aiden,” I laughed.
“Not that bad? You dragged me all around Atlanta looking at fabric and buttons! You had me pick up panties just so you could see how a dress looked with a thong on! I can’t hear about Fashion Week anymore.”
Finally having found my joggers, I grabbed a pair of Steve Madden wedges and a RainDrops slinky tee then moved past my fiancé with a grin on my face.
“Aiden, you have been around me for at least five Fashion Weeks. Do not start complaining now.”
“That was when you were introducing me to models. What the hell am I supposed to do now?”
The sexy smile that spread across Aiden’s face made me weak but I had to stand my ground and not give into his temptation, although I’m rarely able to do that.
“Don’t,” I warned. “I’ll still introduce you to models.”
“What’s the point?” he laughed. “Unless…are you suggesting what I think you are?”
I shook my head slowly at the pervert standing in front of me. “Not at all. Just let it go, babe. And if you start telling the world about the baby and this,”—I pointed to my ring—”it’s going to take the focus off what’s important, my clients and my collection.”
Aiden grinned. His green eyes sparkled with a significant amount of mischief that slightly worried me.
“I know you’re not saying your clients are more important than me. Don’t do me like that. That kind of emotional trauma could cause me to do something incredibly reckless.”
“Like what? Out us on national television?” I teased. “Oh right, you did that yesterday.”
Shaking his head, Aiden patted my ass then kissed the side of my neck. “Just let it go, Sunny.”
“Only if you promise to keep your mouth shut until after I show my collection. When the orders start coming in for Uninhibited, you can tell everyone we know that you knocked me up.”
“Can I tell my family at least? You know how funny Sara and Delilah have been acting towards you? That’s because they think that I proposed at the villa and you said no. If you want your assistant to stop giving you the cold shoulder, one of us better say something.”
I rolled my eyes to the ceiling but I can’t be upset that Aiden wants to share this news with his family. Actually, I wouldn’t mind the Tylers knowing. It’s the Russells and the rest of the world that don’t need to know yet. Sara, Delilah, and Dina are great at keeping Aiden’s secrets.
“Can you give me one day? Just one day. Tomorrow, I’ll have Kirk and Candace handle anything that comes up. Then you and I can tell your family together. Can you do that for me?” I desperately asked the mortal enemy of compromise.
Aiden pulled me against his broad chest and squeezed me in a tight hug. I closed my eyes, briefly consumed by the strength and warmth of his body. I have loved this man in secret for so long that every time I look at him and realize that he’s finally mine, my heart flutters, and my ability to breathe diminishes greatly.
“You got it, babe. Tomorrow, we’ll tell them about the baby and the engagement tomorrow.”
“No, just the engagement.” I hated to thwart his plan but he needed to be stopped. “I’m planning something big for the baby announcement. I was going to do it for you but you ruined my surprise by proposing,” I giggled.
Aiden’s eyes grew as wide as saucers. Excitement poured out of his pores at my little white lie. Being the consummate Drama Queen that he is, the idea of a big baby announcement is right up his alley. If I didn’t stop him in his tracks, he’d be looking at YouTube videos of engagement and baby announcements all day. It was a brilliant lie on my part. If I had straight up denied him the chance to run his mouth, the very first thing out of his mouth when he sees his mom will be, ‘Sunny’s pregnant’ and I’d hear nothing else for the next two months.
I’ll plan something up to par. Maybe we’ll put something cute on Instagram or maybe I’ll just let Aiden announce it at one of his shows. That’s the kind of dramatic touch that he adores. But for now, our baby needs to remain our little secret.
Chapter 2: Yeah, I Said It
“AIDEN!” ROXY SCREECHED into my Bluetooth. “What have you done now?”
For a fleeting second, I thought my manager had somehow found out about the new developments in what she refers to as the Aiden and Sunny situationship.
“I haven’t done anything, Roxy. Why does every conversation we have always start with you asking me that?”
Roxy’s laugh was familiar and sweet. Roxy Steele has been my one and only manager since day one. She said, ‘Aiden, I can make you a star’ and she came through tenfold. True, I’ve made Roxy a very rich woman but she’s made me even richer. Without her, I have no idea what would have happened to me. I doubt that I’d be mega famous with five platinum albums. Yeah, I highly doubt that would have ever happened.
“You know Tracy is not happy with you right now, don’t you?” Roxy asked. “And when you get on television and do the complete opposite of what your publicist tells you, guess who gets the phone call at seven in the morning. Why can’t you ever just listen to her, Aiden?”
I swerved into the left lane to avoid hitting the red hybrid whose driver was more interested in taking my picture than watching the road. Driving on the 101 is about as safe as walking across the lanes at the Atlanta Motor Speedway. It’s the quickest way to get to my house though.
“They asked a question and I answered it. Sunny’s not mad so why are you trippin’?”
“Sunny’s not mad?” Roxy questioned. Clearly, she didn’t believe me.
“No, she’s not. She’s cool with it. She kind of figured that I was going to spill the beans anyway. She was mad about the paparazzi being camped outside her studio yesterday morning but that was it. She’s not mad at me.”
Of course she isn’t. I just made her dream come true. Sunny acts like she hasn’t been waiting on me to propose to her since she told me about Summer, but I know the truth. If I had a
sked her to marry me back then, she would have jumped at the chance. Shit, if I had married her in Vegas instead of Ramey, we wouldn’t have wasted all those years playing games.
Sometimes I fault myself for the bullshit that Sunny has been through with guys. She’s had her heart broken on more than one occasion simply because I wasn’t ready to tell her how I felt about her. Now, I have to give her a hundred percent of me every day in order to begin to ease that pain.
Tristan was the worst and if I ever see that guy in dark alley, I am going to beat the living shit out of him. I’ve never seen Sunny so brutally hurt like that before. I didn’t even know how to be there for her. She tried to cover up her pain every time we were together but I saw it in her eyes. There was no sparkle, no life. The laugh that I love so much was joyless, as if laughing was an obligation. It’s taken a minute but she’s getting back to her old self. I like to think that being with me has a lot to do with it.
Leaving Sunny so she could go to the studio was more difficult than I thought it would be, especially since we have all of this good news to share. Another baby and a wedding…I’m more surprised that she said yes than by the fact that I knocked her up again. I can’t help but wonder what my mother is going to say. I already know what she’s going to do.
Start pestering the hell out of Delilah.
With Sara’s one kid and my two, it’s time for my little sister to make a contribution to the population of grandchildren. She’s been married for a while now. Delilah better have a kid soon or start coming up with better excuses if she wants to stay off Mom’s nag list.
“Roxy,” I said when I remembered that I was still on the phone with my manager. “What are you talking about?”
“I said that you and I need to meet with Tracy this afternoon to come up with a plan since you and Sunny are going public with your relationship. You’re a superstar, Aiden, and have been for a lot of years now. I don’t know why we have to remind you that who you date is a big deal.”
UNBROKEN (Friends, Lovers, or Nothing Book 5) Page 1