“Sounds good. We’re all set for the lingerie shower Tuesday, right?”
Abby nodded. “Yep. We’re ready. It’s going to be low-key like she wanted, no strippers or anything, but lots of fun.”
“Excellent. I have games ready and Olivia is completely clueless about all the details. Did she give you the names and numbers for all the vendors yet?”
Abby insisted Olivia let her make phone calls and be the point person on the wedding day. Abby already decided she was going to close SkinnyCakes, her bakery, for the day. She was baking some of the desserts, and Charlie was baking a few others. Abby didn’t want Olivia stressing on her wedding day if there were any issues.
“Some of them. She said she can handle it. I almost said something to Ethan on Tuesday.”
“About what?” Olivia asked, stepping out of the dressing room. I stood and went to help Donna carry the train. The dress was perfect for Olivia. The seamstress brought it up an inch, maybe two, and it was perfect with her heels. She also made the cups just slightly wider after the last fitting. I thought it was perfect, but Olivia worried she’d be showing too much. Now they were wide enough that Olivia felt comfortable, but not so wide that the effect of the dress was lost.
“What did Ethan do?” Olivia asked, her eyes wide and worried in the mirror.
“He didn’t do anything,” Abby said gently. “I was going to ask him to nudge you to let me handle the vendors on the wedding day.”
“There aren’t that many vendors,” Olivia said carefully. “You don’t have to do everything.”
“We’re barely doing anything,” Tara insisted. “And if there aren’t that many vendors, Abby can handle it without any trouble.”
Olivia stared at herself in the mirror. We all fell silent and followed her gaze. She really was beautiful with her long, dark waves. She didn’t have the same hourglass figure I did, but she was curvy in all the right spots. The dress accented her chest and made her waist seem small. When she added the veil, she was stunning.
“It’s perfect,” Abby breathed.
“Absolutely,” Tara agreed.
“You’re gorgeous,” I said.
Her eyes watered. She smiled at all of us in the mirror then admired herself again. She had every right. She looked perfect in her dress. It suited her.
“The first time I got married, I didn’t get to wear a dress like this. I was starting to show, and we were young and broke. My parents were out of the picture by then and Bill and I didn’t want to spend much on a wedding when we had a baby coming.” She looked up at the mirror again, meeting our eyes. “Thank you guys for doing this for me. I wouldn’t be here right now if it weren’t for all of you.”
We caught her in a group hug, all of us smiling and wiping our eyes. Donna even teared up.
“Let’s get her out of this dress so she can finally take it home.”
“Is Ethan going to peek?”
Olivia shook her head. “No. He’s really funny about not breaking traditions. He’s staying in a hotel the night before the wedding. He’s taking the kids with him so I can have the house to myself. I have a big night of drinking wine and soaking in my bathtub planned.”
“That sounds pretty perfect for the night before your wedding,” Abby gushed.
Donna helped Olivia change quickly. She walked out of the dressing room with the huge garment bag lifted high in the air, carrying it straight to the cash register up front. Olivia paid for the last alterations then grabbed her bag and jumped right back into our conversation.
“I’m looking forward to a night alone already. The kids are going to wear Ethan out. He’s been telling them all the things they can do at the hotel. Starting with the indoor pool and ending with an all-night movie marathon.”
“They won’t last,” I said.
“I know, but Kevin will try. Becca will pass out early.”
We all walked outside and stretched Olivia’s dress out over the backseat of her car. We all went to our cars and followed each other to a chain restaurant that we agreed had great drinks, and good enough food for a quick dinner. We were seated quickly and ordered dinner and drinks before we started talking about Ethan again.
“It’s nice that he wants to be so involved with the kids,” Abby said, scooping a chip into salsa.
Olivia nodded. “Yeah, he does. He’s also started the process to officially adopt them. Bill gave up his legal rights and once we’re married, Ethan can legally adopt them.”
“Wow. That’s huge,” Tara breathed.
“It is. The kids have already started to call him ‘Dad.’ It’s really sweet.”
“What did he say the first time they did?” I asked.
Olivia’s eyes teared up with her smile. “He couldn’t say anything for a minute. He told me later he almost cried. It was actually Kevin who called him ‘Dad.’ I think he was kind of testing it out. He said he thought of Ethan as his dad, but once he said it, he asked Ethan if it was okay. Ethan nodded and hugged him. Becca started after that. Sometimes they’ll both still say Ethan, but at home they call him dad.”
“I knew there was a softy inside that gruff guy.”
Olivia rolled her eyes. “Don’t try to tell him that.”
We laughed, understanding exactly what she meant. I was about to say something else, but stopped when I saw my sister.
“Peyton,” I called to her, barely loud enough to be heard over the crowd.
She turned toward me and I waved her over. She hesitated, but moved toward us. “Hey,” she said, flashing an uneasy smile around the table. “I thought you were going to be late tonight.”
I nodded. “I am. Olivia had her last dress fitting and we all wanted to have dinner.” I pointed around the table and introduced Peyton to Olivia, Abby, and Tara. “Are you meeting someone here?”
Peyton shook her head. “I was going to grab some take-out.”
“You should join us,” Olivia said quickly. “We’ve all heard so much about you.”
“Please,” Abby said.
“Join us,” Tara added.
Peyton looked at the four of us, her eyes showing fear. I gave her an encouraging grin and she finally nodded. “Okay, if you’re sure.”
“Of course,” Abby said, grabbing a chair from the table next to ours. “We’re thrilled to finally meet you.”
Our waiter came over and took Peyton’s order, promising he would push it through so she could eat with the rest of us. I handed her my drink, knowing she needed the alcohol confidence.
“You’re a doctor, right?” Tara asked.
Peyton nodded. “I am. I’m an OB/GYN, but I specialize in fertility issues. I don’t deliver babies or do annual exams, but I could. I mostly run tests and do procedures to help women get pregnant.”
“Like Addi, right?”
Peyton nodded. “Yes. She’s a patient of mine. But I’m under legal obligation not to discuss her case.”
“Oh, we wouldn’t ask,” Abby assured her. “I think it’s pretty awesome what you do.”
Peyton nodded. I knew she felt uncomfortable being the center of attention, so I deflected some of it for her.
“Olivia’s dress is amazing. She’s getting married in a few weeks. Her fiancé owns Timeless Timber Toys.”
“Congratulations,” Peyton said with a genuine smile. I knew my sister liked weddings as much as the rest of us. “Where are you getting married?”
We jumped head first into wedding talk. Little by little, Peyton grew comfortable with my friends. She was laughing at our stories and teasing Olivia about a honeymoon baby. She even opened up a little and told them that she barely had time to date because she was always so focused on work. It shocked me when she confessed something I didn’t know.
“I always felt like I was failing my patients if I couldn’t get them pregnant. I also felt guilty for wanting to spend time doing something else. And I worried that if I ended up in a serious relationship and got pregnant quickly and easily, it would be harder for them
to come to me. These women spend small fortunes and pump themselves full of drugs in order to have something that many people are lucky enough to take for granted. I didn’t want to have to split my focus between helping them and raising my own family.”
“Didn’t you ever want a family?” Tara asked.
Peyton nodded. “Growing up I did. As I got older, I pushed aside all those interests. Med school was so taxing that I couldn’t have imagined surviving and having a family. A friend of mine was married when we started but divorced by the time we finished. It’s hard.”
“You shouldn’t have to put your life on hold for your career,” Abby argued.
Peyton flashed me a grin. “You sound like my sister.”
“She’s right.”
“She is,” Peyton agreed. “I never thought I put my life on hold. I thought I was doing something I loved. I never met anyone I would rather spend time with instead of working.”
“What do you mean?” I asked, confused and hurt at the same time.
Peyton shrugged. “Life is all about making choices. We choose which school we want to go to. Who our friends are. What we want to do with our lives. We choose what music we like and which books we read. We choose what to do with our time. I’ve chosen to spend most of my life helping people get pregnant. But I think if there was someone that made me want to leave work early, or take a day off, or even go out to lunch, then I’d choose to do that. So far, I haven’t met anyone that I wanted to do those things for.”
“That makes sense,” Abby said. “I love my job, but I love Graham more. If he stopped by and wanted me to leave early, I’d do it in a heartbeat. Because it’s him. I’d do it if you guys needed me, but for Graham, I’d do it just because he asked me. I wouldn’t need more details than he said so.”
“That’s what love is,” Olivia said. “Giving someone else that power. And trusting they won’t abuse it.”
Their words sunk in and made me sad. I wasn’t ever that important to another person. The men I dated, and my sister, had always chosen work over me. A part of me felt sad for Peyton, but a part of me felt sad for me. Because I never had that. I was never enough to make someone walk away. I was never enough to make someone do something without question. I was just never enough.
The others kept talking, but I couldn’t sit there and pretend I was okay. I fell silent, listening to my friends and my sister bond. I was happy for them. I wanted Peyton to get to know my friends. But I couldn’t share in the excitement.
Was I important enough for Hunter? Was I someone he’d walk away from work for? I wouldn’t ask him to, but would he if I needed him to? If he was painting and I walked in, would he ignore me or stop and let me know I mattered?
And would I be able to handle it if it was the former? Because I already knew that he was that for me. Listening to the easy way my sister put it, I knew I would have done anything for Hunter. If he really pushed back, I would have convinced Drew to push off all other projects to work on Hunter’s studio. I didn’t want to, but I would have if it was that important to him.
But was I?
Chapter 18
The next night, I was ready and waiting when Hunter finally showed up. Almost forty-five minutes late for our date. I tried to give him the benefit of the doubt and believe that something came up that couldn’t be avoided, like an accident, but I was doubtful.
Especially when I saw the look on his face.
“I’m so sorry,” he said when I let him in. “I was working and completely lost track of time.”
I nodded, hurt and mad. But mostly hurt. “It’s fine.”
“It’s not fine. I know that means it’s anything but.”
I forced a smile. “Really. Your job is important to you. I get it.”
“You’re important to me, too.”
I shrugged. “It’s fine.”
“That means you don’t believe me. What the hell, Vicki?”
I sighed. “Really? You want to do this now?”
“It sounds like we need to. You’re mad. I get it. I’m sorry.”
“I told you when we first met that I didn’t want to be with someone who put work ahead of me. This isn’t the first time, Hunter.”
“What are you talking about? How did I put work ahead of you?”
“Well, for today, work was more important. You forgot about our date because you were working.”
“Vicki…”
“And last weekend, you rushed through our date so you could work. I felt like you’d wanted to be working instead of spending time with me.”
“That’s not true,” he said gently, crowded me and trying to kiss me. I pushed him away, knowing I couldn’t handle it.
“And Monday you pushed me to challenge my boss because it didn’t suit your work schedule. A change you made, and you wanted me to risk my job.”
“I didn’t mean it like that,” he said, trying to get close to me again. “Vicki, it’s not like that.”
“Then tell me what it’s like, Hunter.”
He sighed and held my gaze. I didn’t give him anything with my arms crossed and my eyes hard. I didn’t do hurt well. Hurt went to mad for me. And being mad and hurt at the same time had a tendency to get explosive.
“I wanted to go out with you. If memory serves, I’m the one who had to beg for a date. And I want to be here. I want to be with you. I wasn’t trying to get you to do anything that would risk your job. I’m sorry you felt that way, but that wasn’t my intention.”
“Then what was your intention?”
“I don’t know. I know this opportunity is huge for me, but I’m ready to be in my own place. To have somewhere we can be together instead of feeling like we’re sneaking around. I want to have you in a bed. In my bed. I want time we can be together. And delaying the upstairs apartment means it’ll be even longer before we can have that.”
Oh.
“Is that really why?”
Hunter took a tentative step toward me. “Yes, it’s why. I know I messed things up with the schedule. I’m not trying to mess things up with us.”
If he was lying, he was good. His blue eyes begged me to give him a chance to prove it. And my body ached to let him.
“Okay, I believe you.”
The grin that split his face said I made the right choice.
“Good. How about we order some dinner in and I can show you what a great boyfriend I can be?”
“I like the sound of that.”
We ordered enough food to feed us for days. When the delivery driver arrived, Hunter paid for everything. I helped him carry the bags of Chinese food to the kitchen, stashing Peyton’s dinner, which Hunter insisted we order, in the fridge. We loaded up plates and went back to the living room to finish the movie we started.
After dinner, we snuggled on the couch to watch the end of the movie. Hunter’s hands started to wander, and we both forgot to care about the movie.
He pressed me to the couch and crawled on top of me. Nestled between my thighs, he kissed me like he’d been neglected. His tongue danced over mine, his hips slowly rotating against me. With all our clothes on, his movements were sensual and turned me on. I lifted my hips to meet his, inching closer to an orgasm before he even got his hands on me.
“Where’s your room?” he breathed, pulling back.
I waved over my shoulder. “Down the hall. At the end.”
He yanked me to my feet and we bounced down the hall, kissing and groping as we went. Once we were in my room, he kicked the door closed and flipped the lock. My pulse kicked up another notch. Then he was coming after me.
I moved backward, knowing I’d hit my bed before long. He stalked toward me, his midnight eyes locked on mine. When the mattress hit my calves, I stopped. He paused, giving me a lewd grin, then pounced.
He was on me in a second, his mouth sealing over mine. His hands went to the bed, forcing me back. I fell onto the mattress, breaking our kiss, but he followed me down, leaning over me and kissing me again. The only
part of us touching was our lips, which added to the sexiness of it. I wanted to touch him, to wrap my legs around him, but he was keeping his weight off me, not touching me.
When he pressed against me, I moaned. His cock hit me right where I wanted him, flooding my panties and locking the switch in the ON position. I was ready and willing.
One hand grabbed my boob, hard. He massaged and teased and made me crazy. I reached for him, but he grabbed my hands into one of his and lifted them over my head, pinning them there. I resisted for a second, then decided to go with it. I would happily lay back and let him do all the work.
When I stopped fighting, he removed his hand. He tugged my shirt off, helping me sit up to remove it. When I laid back down, he pulled my bra cup aside so he could torture me with his lips and teeth and tongue. I was writhing beneath him, begging him for more, when he finally removed the rest of my clothes.
He knelt between my thighs, pressing them wide with his palms. “I’ve missed you,” he whispered.
“Are you talking to my vagina?” I asked, teasing.
He chuckled. “I was talking to both of you.”
I snorted, then sobered. I’d missed him, too.
“A lot of my work has taken a very different path lately,” he whispered, running his tongue down my thigh. I trembled. “I’ve been using colors I’ve never used before and envisioning very different things when I work.”
“Like what?” I whispered, trying to focus on his words, but getting distracted by his teasing tongue.
“I found a pink today that reminded me of this,” he said with a lick. “This same pink color. A touch of red, but mostly a dusty pink color.”
“You were painting my vagina?”
He laughed. “Not exactly. I was inspired by it. I missed you, and the color made me think of you.”
“Oh.”
“I also found a purple. Real light. Like those panties you have. The ones you wouldn’t let me keep on my rearview mirror?”
I laughed, then moaned. “Oh, yes.”
He spread me apart with his thumbs and ran his tongue down my center. My hips rose, seeking more from him. He eagerly dove in, sucking and licking, and even biting. I was so beyond ready for him that it wasn’t long before my breath was shallow and my brain was foggy.
Stocky & Sumptuous Page 13
