The Billionaire's Big Beautiful Bride (BWWM Romance Book 1)

by Fielding, J A

  “Shit!” he cursed as he tried running after her. But running was not working. He decided to ski down the mountain to where she was. A crowd had already gathered around her, mostly staff and it might have been one of those moments where he might have been proud of his staff but he could not bear to think of that. He was too worried about Trina to focus on anything else.

  “How is she?” he asked one of the medics who was already examining her.

  “Sir, I strongly suggest that you stay back…she needs air…” the medic started but Axel pushed through anyway.

  “Look at me!” he said a bit louder than he would have wanted to.

  “Mr. Anderson…I’m sorry. I didn’t know…” the medic started but for the second time, he could not let him finish.

  “Just tell me if she is okay,” he said in a soft voice and the medic nodded.

  “Her vitals are stable. But I saw her landing, I think we should really take a look at that leg,” he explained and Axel nodded.

  “Get a stretcher and get her down to the resort.”

  “I don’t think we should be…” the medic started before Axel shook his head.

  “Is her neck stable?” he asked and the medic nodded. “And will going down to the resort put her in any danger?” The medic shook his head. “Good. Then get her on a damn stretcher and into the next cable car right the fuck now!”

  The medic didn’t need to hear another word. His boss had spoken and he had to do as Axel asked. And before long, they were in a cable car going down the mountain.

  “This thing couldn’t possibly go fast enough,” Axel thought as he held Trina’s hand in his.

  *****

  When Trina’s eyes fluttered open, the first thing she noticed was the huge Monet on the wall. But when her eyes finally got used to the lighting in the room, she realized that she was in what seemed to be an apartment and that she was looking up at Axel.

  “There you are,” he said in a soft voice. “You had me worried.”

  “What happened?” she asked as she tried to lift her head.

  “Don’t try to get up,” Axel said. “The doctor is still working on your leg.”

  “My leg?” she asked just as she realized that she was lying on Axel’s lap.

  “You fell down the mountain, remember?” Axel asked and she bit her lower lip. “You had a pretty bad fall and have a serious sprain. This is Dr. Van Dyk. He is our resident doctor here at Ornen Resort.”

  Trina tried lifting her head again but Axel shook his head.

  “I need you to rest easy now,” he said as he put his hand on her forehead to gently force her down.

  “Whose clothes are these?” she asked when she saw the stylish dress top she had on. It was a striped gray and black top with a falling drooping turtleneck that was just low enough for him to have a perfect view of her neckline.

  “Yours,” Axel said.

  “Mine?” Trina wondered out loud. “I don’t own anything like this.”

  “Well, you do now. We had to get you into something after that fall…your clothes were caught on one of your ski poles as you fell and let’s just say that a skilled tailor will have to work some magic before you can put them on again.”

  Trina felt the soft fabric of the sweater she had on. She could guess that it was probably cashmere for sure. There was no doubt about that.

  “Well, someone is probably going crazy looking for this sweater in the lost and found,” she said and Axel forced out a laugh.

  “This is not from lost and found,” he said. “It’s one of the more popular pieces in the Anderson Collection.”

  “Anderson Collection,” she echoed and he nodded.

  “Yeah, that’s my clothing line. I just launched a couple of years ago. We are still trying to figure out the American market.”

  Trina raised an eyebrow.

  “You have a clothing line?” she asked.

  “A plus size clothing line to be specific,” he said and she exhaled loudly.

  “Wow,” she said in a soft voice.

  “All done Mr. Anderson,” the doctor said as he stood up.

  “Thanks Isaiah,” Axel said.

  “She will need to keep the weight off her foot though. It might be an okay sprain but she needs to be as immobile as she possibly can,” the doctor explained and Axel nodded.

  “It’s alright. I already moved her to a private suite to aide with her healing…” Axel started before Trina looked up at him surprised.

  “Wait, what?” she asked. “You got me out of the room I got with Vickie?”

  “You both need your own space and your roommate is alright with the arrangement….”

  That was it. Trina pulled herself to a sitting position and that was when she noticed Victoria standing in the corner.

  “Hey, T,” she said as she began walking towards them. “Glad to see you are okay. You had us scared for a minute there.”

  “I told you skiing is not my idea of a vacation. Maybe I was already seeing something like this happening,” Trina said.

  “You’re okay now,” Victoria said. “That’s all that matters.”

  “So, you are on board with us having separate rooms huh?” Trina asked and she noticed the look Victoria exchanged with Axel.

  “Well, to be honest there is someone I have been spending time with ever since I got here and separate rooms is not exactly such a bad idea.” she leaned in and looked at Trina. “If you know what I mean. Wink, wink, nudge, nudge.”

  Trina’s lips parted as she looked at her and then at Axel before she shook her head.

  “Actually, I know and I wish I didn’t.” She rubbed her temple and sighed. “So, where am I?”

  “You are actually on the same floor. Victoria here already has her key and I will take you to your own room,” Axel said.

  “Sweetie,” Victoria said when her phone rang. “I will come and check in on you later but right now I have to rush out.”

  Trina barely had any time to nod in agreement before Victoria ran out leaving her, Axel and the doctor in the room.

  “I already arranged for a pair of crutches to be delivered to her room and maybe a cane….” The doctor went on.

  “Hold up. Crutches? A cane?” Trina asked putting a finger up.

  “You heard Dr. Van Dyk. You need to keep weight off that foot,” Axel said.

  “The boss is right, miss,” Dr. Van Dyk said and she shook her head.

  “Sir?” she asked and Axel looked at the doctor.

  “Don’t worry. I’ll get her to the room,” he said.

  “There is a wheelchair right here…but are you sure you don’t need my help, sir?” the doctor asked and Axel nodded.

  “It’s alright Isaiah. You can leave.”

  “You’re the boss,” the doctor said nodding. He smiled at Trina before he walked away leaving the two in the room.

  Trina had so many questions at that moment and the more she tried figuring out how she was going to ask them, the more confused she felt.

  “You’re the boss?” she asked and he nodded.

  “I should have probably led with that, huh?” he asked.

  “Well, yeah!”

  “I’m sorry about that,” he said. “I didn’t mean to lay all these on you all at once”

  “I thought you were an instructor,” she said and he nodded.

  “And I wanted to spend time with you so I didn’t mind,” he said smiling.

  “So this is…what?” she asked as she looked around the room.

  “My office,” he said and she shook her head. She had a corner office at HHM and she had always thought she had a brilliant space but Axel’s office made her feel like she had a dollhouse for an office.

  “Wow,” she said in a soft voice. “So you must be a pretty damn good manager to get an office like this.”

  Axel smiled and ran his fingers through his hair.

  “Well, in the spirit of honesty I must admit that I am not a manager,” he said and she shrugged waiting to
hear what he had to say. There was a long moment of silence as she looked at him waiting to hear him. It was in these few silent minutes that she realized just what the silence meant. “Wait, are you like….an owner or something?”

  “The owner,” he said smiling.

  “And the clothing line?” she asked and he nodded again. “You are just full of surprises, aren’t you?”

  “Like I said, I didn’t want to lay all this on you because when I first saw you, I was just drawn to you,” he said. “Matter of fact I was planning on asking you out to dinner up on the mountain before…you know.”

  “Ask me to dinner?” she asked and he nodded.

  She felt a chill run down her spine as she looked at him. She had thought about him in more than friendly terms but this was different. Definitely different. Her heart skipped a beat as she looked at him wondering what she was supposed to say.

  “We better take you up to your suite now,” he said as he helped her to her feet. He was standing so close to her, she could feel his breath on her cheek.

  “I’m not sitting in that chair,” she said in a soft voice and he shook his head.

  “You will sit in that chair, Trina. Or I will carry you.”

  His voice was firm and she was feeling like she was being reprimanded or something. She could not help but wonder if this was what people felt when she questioned them in court. He held her for a second and then swooped her off her feet. She instinctively put an arm around his neck as he carried her to the chair before he began wheeling her out of his office, down the hall and into a private elevator.

  “I asked room service to bring up some food so you can keep your strength up,” he said when the elevator doors closed.

  “Thanks,” she said.

  “And at the risk of sounding like a complete stalker and stand offish man, I will tell you that I will not leave your side,” he said as the elevator began moving.

  Chapter 5

  The last time Trina had felt what she felt about a man, it had been Josh McCoy. A lawyer like her who seemed to think that he was God’s gift to women. And before that, she had been with Lucas Keen, a hedge fund guy and that was when she decided that she was better off with a food cart guy than a man who worked in a Fortune 500.

  It was like those men were almost always looking for a woman to make their egos feel better. Perhaps that was why most men in Fortune 500 companies ended up with models and celebrities. Those were the only people who were able to handle their massive egos. And now she was afraid she was in the same place again. Because if anything, Axel was anything but the usual guy next door. He was tall. He was muscular. He had perfect hair, perfect teeth and the perfect smile. Heck, he was the epitome of perfection. And for some reason this perfect picture of what every woman dreamed of a man to be, this man was interested in her. In plain old her.

  Plain old Trina Crews. The boring plus size black woman and he was this hot guy.

  Hell, to her, she was looking at freaking David Beckham.

  And as she lay there looking around her new quarters, she could not help but feel like there was so much more to Axel than he was letting on. But her mind was clouded. Because at that moment, she could only think with her body. How he made her feel. How his look made her feel all warm inside.

  “Can I get you anything?” he asked after they had indulged in the beautiful spread room service had delivered to her room.

  “I’m still stuffed from all that food…and the fruit...” she shrugged. “How do you even get tropical fruit up here?” she asked and he laughed.

  “That’s a secure trade secret,” he said smiling. “So? What can I get you?” he asked again and Trina’s lips parted ever so slightly like she wanted to speak. But every time she tried speaking, she could only sigh silently. It had been happening all evening. Actually, it had been happening ever since he first spoke to her in the hotel lobby.

  Axel looked at her and smiled. “How about some hot tea?” he asked and she nodded.

  “That sounds good,” she said and he nodded.

  “Any preference?” he asked and she shook her head.

  “I think any kind of tea is just fine,” she said.

  “Rooibos?” he asked and she looked into his eyes before nodding again.

  “Sure.”

  Axel walked off and Trina leaned back as she watched him put the kettle on. As she leaned back, she closed her eyes and took a long deep breath. And though she was there with Axel, she could not help but think back to her past relationships.

  She had been in Victoria’s shoes a little more than once actually.

  With Josh, it became clear after a few months that he had only been with her because he was trying to get dirt on a HHM client. And that hurt. A whole lot because by the time she found out, she was already emotionally invested. She cared for him. So much more than she would have ever wanted to which was probably why she could not believe anyone who pointed out his infidelity. But all this was lost the day she decided to surprise him at his loft, he found him on top of another woman. A woman she had seen him with before. A woman he had identified as his cousin. But even with the truth right in front of her in black and white, she still didn’t want to believe what she was seeing. Josh had tried explaining, telling her that it was all an accident but she didn’t understand how that would have been an accident.

  “So this is an accident?” she had asked as she looked at Josh who was struggling to put on his clothes.

  “Baby, I promise you. It is not what it looks like,” he had tried explaining.

  “Really? Because it looks like you are balls deep inside your cousin,” Trina had said as she looked at him. “What the hell Josh?”

  She shook her head and began walking out of the bedroom. But Josh caught up with her before she could get to the door.

  “Trina,” he said as he held her arm. “Wait.”

  “Let go of me,” she said as she pulled her arm from his grip.

  “Let me explain,” he said but she really couldn’t give him the time of day to say whatever it was that he had to say. It was so obvious that it was over. After all, why would he settle for a plus size woman of color while he had a perfectly curvy size zero in his bed? She stood there looking into his eyes, waiting for whatever ridiculous excuse he was looking to come up with but she just couldn’t wait another second without simply punching him. She shook her head.

  “We are done, Josh,” she said. “Besides, I know that you were just with me because you were getting dirt on my client and now that the case is over and I won, there is absolutely nothing else tying you to me.”

  “Trina…” he started again but she was already out the door, walking as fast as she could towards the stairs.

  And things were almost the same with Lucas too. Everything just ended abruptly. And almost for the same reason as Josh. But in Lucas’ case, things were even worse. He had wanted her for something else. Their relationship or whatever the hell it was to him had absolutely nothing to do with her feelings or wanting to move forward with her in life. That was probably why she never wanted to give her heart to anyone any time soon. But it was too late for her. Her heart and brain seemed to be working separately.

  She was still lost in thoughts when Axel walked back to where she was.

  “I used honey instead of sugar. I hope that’s okay,” he said and she nodded.

  “It’s perfect,” she said. “Besides, having sugar in rooibos is just a waste really.”

  He smiled and she shrugged.

  “But those are just my views,” she said.

  “Views that I fully support of course.” He sat down next to her as she took her first sip.

  “Thanks for this…the tea, the room, taking care of me but I really think it’s all too much,” she said as she looked at him.

  “I don’t mind,” Axel pointed out and Trina shook her head.

  “Why?” she suddenly asked, a question that obviously caught him off guard.

  “What?” he asked.
>
  “Why don’t you mind? Why are you doing this? All this?”

  “Can’t a guy just help out a girl because he wants to?” he asked and she shook her head.

  “Not a girl like me.”

  “And what does that mean? ‘A girl like you’?”

  “A girl like me. A black plus size woman while you have choices…I mean, I have seen how women look at you out there,” she explained.

  “And I would much rather look at the girl right in front of me,” he said in a soft voice. “Because she is the kind of woman that gets to me.”

  “Me?” she asked and he shrugged.

  “Yeah. Why not you?”

  “I can’t think of anything else that I would rather do or anyone else I would rather be with,” he said. Her heart skipped a beat when he said that. He did not need a sign to know that his words were literally playing the strings of her heart. She could feel herself getting lost in his gaze as he looked at her and for some reason, she suddenly could not feel her limbs anymore. She gasped when she felt the tea spill onto her lap.

  “Shit,” she said in what she thought was a quiet voice but it was loud enough for him to hear her.

  “I’m sorry about that…I’ll get you a napkin or towel…or something,” Axel said as he stood up, leaving her sitting there feeling a little stupid. She was trying as much as she could so that the tea in her t-shirt would not spill to the couch but the fact that she was wearing cotton was not really helping her cause. If anything, it was seeping right through. And as much as she was trying, she could not help the spillage to the couch.

  “I’m sorry…it just…” she began explaining but Axel was smiling.

  “Don’t worry about that,” he said, holding the towel to her tummy so that it could soak up all the tea. “After so many accidents, I invested in La-Z-Boy,” he said and she raised an eyebrow.

  “That statement makes no sense whatsoever,” she said. “Why the hell would you hire a lazy boy?”

  “Not a lazy boy. La-Z-Boy furniture,” he said before he reached for his own cup of tea and to her surprise, poured it on the couch next to her.

  “What the hell are you doing?” she asked out loudly but he was smiling. She looked at the spot he had poured the tea on and it somehow seemed to be floating on the fabric.