Single Wide Female in Love Complete Bundle: Books 1-4

by Blake, Lillianna

  “Oh, are you doing the pineapple cleanse? Here, let me whip that up for you while you and I discuss.” He waved me right out of my own kitchen.

  I took a seat at the bar and watched as he easily diced the pineapple and tossed it into the juicer.

  “My cousin did this and lost thirty pounds in about two months. Is your weight an issue?” He tilted his head back and forth as if he was trying to decide for himself.

  Chapter 12

  Was my weight an issue? The question made my head feel like it was going to explode. I wanted to tell him just how much of an issue it was and how it had been an issue for so long that I didn’t have any other issues. But I still wasn’t sure if he was the right choice for a wedding planner.

  “I could stand to lose some before the wedding.”

  “Hm. Every bride is beautiful, you know.” He winked at me.

  “Sure. I know. But there’s a comfortable place I’d like to be.”

  “I understand. Now this just needs a little something.” He wiggled through the kitchen. He opened and closed every cabinet and drawer until he found what he was looking for. He moved so fast that I didn’t even see what he’d selected, but whatever it was, he sprinkled it onto the top of my drink.

  “Thanks.” I took a sip. “Wow, this is better than I expected!”

  “Exactly, Samantha—and if you work with me, that’s what you’ll be saying every single day. Yes, you will!”

  I cringed at the “will” reference again but tried to keep an open mind. He was quite perceptive, he’d figured out how to use my juicer a lot faster than I ever could, and his enthusiasm was something to be admired.

  “Alright, Will, let’s give it a try.” I smiled. “I am in a bit of a mess. The wedding is in two months and I now have no location.”

  “What kind of location were you interested in?” Will whipped out his phone.

  “I had my heart set on this little chapel.”

  “Religious then?”

  “Not exactly. I just liked the building.”

  “What did you like about the building?”

  “I suppose just how airy it is. It has large windows and high ceilings.”

  “So you like the feeling of being outside?” Will looked up from his phone.

  “Yes, I guess.” I nodded and sipped my drink.

  “Well, then why not have the ceremony outside?” Will clapped his hands. “I have the perfect place.”

  “I don’t know. Bugs. Bugs. Sunburn. Bugs.” I scrunched up my nose. “What if there’s a bird poop disaster?”

  Will laughed. “I see you like to think of every potential problem. That’s a good quality. But you must trust me. I always have the perfect solution. Just come see the place with me? I’m sure you’ll enjoy your visit.”

  “Okay. I guess it wouldn’t hurt to check it out.”

  “Great! I will set up the appointment, yes I will.” He saluted me and walked toward the door. “You will be so happy with your wedding, yes you will!” He let himself out of the apartment.

  I stared after him.

  “I hope I will.” I snapped my fingers. “Now I’m doing it!”

  By dinnertime that night, my stomach ached.

  “This is normal. It’s all part of the process. Just have to get through a few hours of hunger and l’ll be fine.” I turned on the television to try to distract myself. As I watched, a commercial for a steakhouse came on.

  “Sink your teeth into it. Go on, you know that you want to. Just take a bite of this juicy goodness.”

  I did want to take a bite. In fact, I wanted to devour it. I groaned and changed the channel. On the next one was a movie. The stars sat at a table in a fine restaurant. As I watched, they were delivered plates of pasta soaked in sauce and dotted with meatballs.

  “That’s it!” I turned the television off and retreated to my computer. Television was far too dangerous for me to be involved in right now.

  I tried working on my book, but when my fingertips struck the keys they made a subtle crunching sound that reminded me of munching on potato chips. I didn’t realize I’d started drooling until a splash hit the keyboard.

  “Oh, this is not working.” I shook my head.

  I turned off the computer and paced back and forth. I remembered that sometimes the best way to get through the detox of a diet change was to sweat it out. “Yoga. That’s what I need—something peaceful that can take my mind off my hunger and give my body a chance to sweat it out while the pineapple juice works its magic.” I called my usual yoga studio.

  “Hi, it’s Bonnie.” She sounded so happy to answer the phone that I couldn’t help but smile.

  “Hi, Bonnie, my name is Samantha. I’ve taken your class before and I was just wondering if you had any classes tomorrow?”

  “Actually we do. There’s one at ten. Do you think you could make it?”

  “Sure, that sounds perfect.”

  “Oh, that’s so great, Samantha. I can’t wait to see you.”

  I was sure that she didn’t remember me, but that didn’t change the fact that it perked me up to be treated so well.

  I used the motivation of the upcoming yoga class to get me through most of my evening. When that began to fade, I logged onto my blog. I saw that I had quite a few comments from my readers.

  SWF, why would you put yourself through the pineapple cleanse?

  SWF, aren’t you concerned about your overall health? Are you sure this is safe?

  I bit into my bottom lip. It warmed my heart to know that they cared, but it also bothered me that they thought it was a mistake. I looked up some of the reviews I’d read about the pineapple cleanse and posted them for my readers. I also added a note to thank them for their concern. I promised to keep them updated and mentioned the yoga class as a way I was balancing the cleanse with physical activity. I sat back in my chair and thought about what they’d said.

  Was I taking this need to get the twenty pounds off fast a little too far? I didn’t think so. Lots of people went on crash diets when they needed to drop weight. Celebrities, athletes, models, and of course, brides.

  I turned my focus from my blog to my book. I added in a section about motivation and how it comes in all forms.

  “Sometimes it’s about self-discipline.” I cringed at the memory of Blake, hoping I was settling into the right kind of discipline for me.

  Chapter 13

  When I woke up the next morning, I felt an urge deep within me that I’d never experienced before. I likened it to the drive that supernatural bloodsuckers felt when waking from a one-hundred-year slumber. My entire body yearned for food.

  I sat up and was hit by a wave of dizziness.

  “Ugh. This is not good.” I rushed into the kitchen. Luckily, I couldn’t devour everything in my cupboards, because I had no other food but pineapple. Unfortunately preparing the pineapple juice was a long process. By the time the whir of the juicer greeted my ears, I felt very faint. I gulped down the juice. It hit my stomach and caused a bubbly sensation.

  I leaned back against the counter and sighed. I expected to be satisfied by the juice—all of the reviews had led me to believe that I would be—but I felt just as hungry.

  I closed my eyes tight. “You can do this, Samantha. You can do this. Just remember the dress. Remember your goal. It’s only a few more days, and you will have a jump-start on your weight loss—and you will be able to stop talking to yourself.”

  I rubbed my stomach and pretended that I was full. I thought maybe if I convinced my mind that I was satiated, my body would agree.

  I changed into my yoga leotard and tights. The constriction reminded me of the pounds that I had put on. “Yes, I can do this.” I chanted those words as I drove to the yoga studio.

  Still, I was sluggish when I walked through the door. Bonnie bounced right over to me.

  “Oh hi, you must be Samantha. We talked on the phone yesterday.”

  “Yes.” I nodded. “Actually, I’ve taken your class before.” />
  “I thought so, but you look different.” She tilted her head to the side and studied me.

  It made me feel uneasy to think that she might be analyzing every part of my body.

  “I’ve put on a little weight.”

  “Oh, don’t worry about that.” She patted my shoulder. “This class will get rid of those extra pounds real fast.”

  “Not fast enough.” I muttered my words under my breath. Yoga was a great exercise, but I needed speedy results.

  I tasted a bit of pineapple on my tongue as I walked into the classroom. There were about a dozen other women there and none of them looked anything like me. I reminded myself that everyone was there for the same reason and no one was going to judge me. The fact that my leotard gave me a wedgie with every step I took made that idea a little hard to believe.

  “Alright, everyone, let’s get started.”

  I spread my mat out between two other women.

  Bonnie sat in a lotus position at the front of the class. “I’m so glad that each and every one of you is here. There is so much to be grateful for today. I want you to think about that as we relax into our first pose. Alright?”

  I noticed that she smiled at each and every person in the room, which included me—right at the moment when I freed my leotard from a rather awkward place. If she noticed she kept it to herself.

  I took a deep breath in and shifted my body into position. My muscles burned and then relaxed with the stretch. I took another deep breath in. To me yoga had a smell. It was sweat, skin, and incense—even if there wasn’t any burning. Some of the people wore oils on their skin or used fragrant shampoo.

  Everything smelled delicious. It didn’t matter that the smells weren’t food smells. I still salivated like a thirsty bulldog.

  “Samantha? Are you okay?” A warm hand settled on my back. I recognized the touch right away.

  “I’m fine, Bonnie. I’m sorry, I’m just a little distracted.”

  “Just breathe deep, Samantha.” Bonnie smiled.

  I tried to smile back, but she smelled like vanilla ice cream. I had to fight the urge to lick her. I didn’t think that would be appropriate yoga class behavior.

  I tried to breathe.

  “Okay, everyone, let’s just have a little quiet time. Everyone calm and quiet—and deep, deep, breaths.”

  I stretched out on my mat. I was afraid I might fall asleep. I was exhausted. I hadn’t gotten that burst of energy since the first pineapple juice I’d guzzled. I forgot to be careful and gulped down a big breath of air. All of the scents in the room combined.

  The silent room was suddenly filled with a deep terrifying growl. The women on either side of me jumped off their mats with widened eyes. That was when I recognized that terrible sound had emerged from my leotard-clad stomach.

  “Oh no!” I sat up. Another rumble escaped. More perfectly shaped women scattered for cover. “Wait, it’s just that I’m hungry. It’s not gas, it’s not gas!” I tried to get to my feet but my muscles were a little sore from being out of practice and I lost my balance on the way up. I fell back down on to my mat. Another loud noise escaped.

  “Okay, that was gas.”

  The last of the women snatched up their mats and ran. At the front of the room, Bonnie was still stretched out on her mat. She cleared her throat.

  “Okay.” She sat up. “I’m just going to open a window. Everyone keep relaxing.” She paused on the way to the window. “Wait, where did everyone go?”

  “I—uh—well, I think they thought you were sleeping. There was this weird snoring sound.” I scrambled to my feet and rolled up my mat.

  “Maybe it was that awful smell.” Bonnie shook her head and slid the window open. “Someone had too much pineapple!”

  I ran from the room with little pellet toots escaping me along the way.

  Pineapple juicing had to stop!

  Chapter 14

  After yoga class I was so embarrassed that I hid out at home. I sent a text to Will to cancel our meeting and camped out in the middle of my bed. If I’d had any food other than pineapple in my apartment I would have chowed down. Instead, I used my phone to search for another diet. This time I wanted one where I wouldn’t be starving. Liquid sustenance was not enough for me. My teeth longed to crunch and chew. I found one in particular that sounded too good to be true, but the results were very promising.

  As I was reading about it there was a knock on the door. Then the door swung open.

  “Max?”

  “It’s me, babe.” I heard the door close.

  “I’m in the bedroom.”

  “Oh yeah? Is everything okay?” He plopped down on the bed beside me.

  “Yes, why?”

  “Well, you’re in Camp Bed.”

  “Camp Bed?” I laughed.

  “Sure. Whenever you’re upset about something you camp out in the middle of your bed.”

  I smiled at how well he knew me. “I’m okay. Really.”

  “Then why did I get this weird text from someone named Will?” He held up his phone and read me the text. “I will need to see you both at Cerulean Gardens in an hour. You will be there.”

  “Oh, he’s the wedding planner. Sorry, I should have mentioned to you that I’d given him your number. I cancelled the meeting that we’d had scheduled. I guess he doesn’t want it to be cancelled.”

  “The more important question is why do you want to cancel it?” Max wrapped an arm around my shoulders. “What’s going on?”

  “Oh, just a little tummy trouble.”

  “Want me to get you some soup?” He rubbed his hand slowly across my back. I nestled close to him and sighed.

  “No, it’s okay. I guess that we really should go.”

  “Are you sure? We could stay here and I could pamper you.”

  “Hm, that’s tempting. But we shouldn’t keep Will waiting. He’s a little excitable.”

  “Sounds interesting.”

  “Let me just get changed and we can head out.”

  “Alright. I’ll take over Camp Bed for you.” He sprawled out across my bed. I laughed as I grabbed some clothes and ducked into the bathroom.

  When I came back out Max held my phone in his hand. “I hope you don’t mind, this looked interesting.”

  “I don’t mind.” I sat down beside him. “I’m thinking of trying it.”

  “So the theory here is that you eat twelve times a day?” Max laughed. “That sounds a little backwards.”

  “It’s meant to keep my metabolism active, so that my body never stores fat.” I smiled. “I really think that it’s going to work.”

  “Sammy, you know that I support you no matter what you do. I just want you to remember that you’re gorgeous. You don’t need to focus on your weight.”

  “I know, I know. You’re amazing, Max.” I kissed his cheek. “But this isn’t really about you. I set a goal for myself and I want to accomplish it.”

  “Okay.” He grinned. “I guess you’d better go shopping. I went to get a drink and the only thing you have in that fridge is pineapples. Why is that anyway? Please tell me it has nothing to do with the bridal shower.”

  “What?” I laughed. “No. Don’t worry about that. I’ll go shopping this afternoon.”

  “Well, we can just stop on the way to the chapel. It’s right around the corner.”

  “Oh, actually I can’t go to that store any more.”

  “Why?” Max raised his eyebrows.

  “Oh—uh—I just don’t like it any more.”

  “I feel like there’s a story there.” Max studied me.

  “Oh, and about the chapel—we’re not going to be using it.”

  “What do you mean we’re not going to be using it?” He took a step back and looked at me. “What’s going on?”

  “Well, unfortunately the chapel fell through. But there’s nothing to worry about. Will has it all under control.”

  “Excitable Will?”

  “He’s unique, but he’s a good wedding planner
. Wait until you meet him.” I grinned.

  “I’m looking forward to it. But now I’m wondering if I should be.”

  “You should.” I hugged him around the waist. “So today we’re going to look at a venue he suggested. I know we were thinking indoor all the way, but now I’m wondering if it wouldn’t be more fun to do something outside. I mean we could still have the reception inside. What do you think?”

  “I think anywhere that I’m marrying you is going to be the most beautiful place on earth.”

  “Oh that gets a kiss.” I laughed and planted a big kiss on his lips.

  As we drove to Cerulean Gardens, I set up a series of alarms on my phone to remind myself to eat. I was a little hesitant about eating so often, but at least I wouldn’t be hungry.

  “Do you mind if we pick up some snacks?”

  “No problem. Like I said, the grocery store—”

  “Can’t go there.” I smiled at him. “And I’m still not telling you why.”

  “Hm, secrets aren’t good, Sammy. Maybe I’ll have to find a way to get the truth out of you.”

  “I might enjoy that.” I laughed.

  Max drove past a gas station.

  “Max, I said I wanted some snacks.”

  “Okay, well, there’s another store a few miles up.”

  “But I’m hungry now.”

  “You can’t wait a few minutes?”

  I fixed him with a stare that made my own eyes burn. “Max, I’m hungry.” At least, that’s what I thought I said, but what actually came out was: “Max, if you don’t turn this car around and go back to that gas station right this second I will make sure you never drive again.”

  Chapter 15

  Max stepped on the brake and looked over at me with wide eyes. “Sammy? Are you serious?”

  “What?” I blinked.

  “Wow.” He shook his head and turned the car around. His lips were tense and his eyes narrowed. I realized I might have struck a nerve.

  “Oh no, don’t let that person go—Max, you should have turned!”

  “Sammy, stop. I’m not going to cut in front of someone to get you some beef jerky!”

  “You would if you loved me!”

  Max raised both of his eyebrows. He looked at me with a half-open mouth. Then he gunned the engine right into the gas station parking lot.