Big & Beautiful 12: Stocky & Sumptuous

“Is anyone here?” Hunter called down the hall, moving closer to us.

“We’re in here,” Drew yelled back.

Hunter came into the break room with a wide grin on his face. He took in the four of us sitting around the table and extended a hand to Carrie. “Hi. I’m Hunter Campbell. Your husband is working on a project for me. He does amazing work.”

Carrie nodded and beamed at Drew. “He does. He remodeled our house. You’ve definitely come to the right place.”

“I think so, too. And this must be Joel.”

It was shitty of me to feel slighted. He hadn’t even acknowledged me. Of course, I didn’t want anything to do with him, but still. I cleaned up lunch while Hunter talked to Carrie and Joel. With her bag packed and the paper plates we used in the trash, I was ready to go back to my desk.

“Hello, Vicki,” he finally said, stepping into my way.

“Nice to see you again, Hunter,” I replied, praying my tongue stayed in my mouth. I couldn’t deny that my name sounded sexy coming from his lips.

“Will you be here after my meeting with Drew?”

I nodded. “I don’t know any reason I wouldn’t be. Do you need something from me?”

His grin widened into one that was more dangerous and sexy than any man had a right to be. “I do. We’ll speak after my meeting.”

He turned and nodded at Drew. I could see Drew watching me, but I avoided his gaze. I figured he didn’t have an issue with workplace romance since he ended up marrying the last woman to have my job, but I hadn’t ever spoken to him about it.

Wait, what was I thinking? There was no romance, or anything else, between Hunter and me. He was as wrong for me as a guy could get. And I was on a mission to find Mr. Right, not Mr. Right Now. Hunter had instant gratification written all over his sexy smile.

The men left the room and Carrie spun on me. “He’s hot. Are you sleeping with him?”

“Of course not! Why would you think that?”

“I don’t know. Maybe because he was undressing you with his eyes and you were ready to spread your legs.”

I rolled my eyes at her. “Please, he’s not my type.”

“What, hot?”

I snickered. “No, a workaholic. My sister is bad enough. And so were half the men I’ve dated. I need someone who’s going to put me ahead of other things in his life. Not someone who’s going to think it’s okay to ignore me when work calls.”

Carrie nodded. “Yeah, I get that. When they started XD, it was crazy, but I was here. I saw him every day so it made him being a bit of a workaholic better. Of course, Mandy got pregnant right before they opened so Xander took off for doctor’s appointments and then when Elise was born. Drew worked even more hours than he’d originally expected, but it all ended up okay.”

“Yeah, but you guys knew that was temporary. You knew there was an end somewhere.”

“True,” Carrie agreed. “Too bad you can’t sleep with him to get pregnant and then never see him again.”

I snorted. “Our kids would definitely be cute.”

Carrie grinned then hugged me. I helped her carry her stuff out to the car and said goodbye then settled back at my desk. I tried to focus on work, but every so often I’d hear Hunter’s voice and get distracted again.

It really would have been nice if I could have slept with him, gotten him out of my system like men did, and moved on to someone who really would fit my plans.

I sighed and slid in earbuds so I could listen to music and not Hunter. It was low enough that I could hear the phone, but loud enough that I couldn’t hear his voice.

Twenty minutes later, I looked up and saw him approaching me. I tugged out my earbuds, more than a little curious about what he wanted from me. He leaned against the edge of my desk and peered down at me, his dark blue eyes lit with mischief.

I wanted so badly to let myself want him, but he would only derail my plans.

“I want to take you out.”

“Excuse me?”

“Friday night, what do you say?” he asked, winking at me.

“Yeah, um, no,” I answered, knowing it would irritate him, but not really caring. I barely knew him, and what I did know, I knew he was not the right guy for me. Oh, no. Three-piece suit. Pressed and polished. The sexy hair that was designed to look like he’d just rolled out of bed after a hot night. Artfully sculpted beard that was so perfect it could have been tattooed on by an artist. And those eyes, those eyes made fantasies come alive with the midnight pools directed right at you.

Of course, they weren’t very happy when I turned him down.

“Why not?”

I shrugged. “You’re not my type.”

He laughed, actually laughed. “Really?” His eyes took a lazy slide down my body and back up, outlining every curve beneath my navy dress, pausing at the white button-down that was cut off beneath my breasts by navy. “I don’t think I believe you.”

I shrugged again. “It doesn’t really matter if you believe me. I’ve had way too many men put me second behind their jobs. Men who look exactly like you. Professional. Put together. Workaholics. I’m not in the market for another one.”

With every word, his jaw ticked. I silently dared him to argue. I knew he wouldn’t, because he couldn’t, but there was a tiny part of me, the masochist, that wanted a guy who looked like him to try just a little harder. To prove me wrong.

“You don’t know anything about me, Vicki. But you’ll learn.”

I watched him walk away with my heart pounding in my chest. The man was potent. Too bad none of my dates made me feel the way he did.

* * *

I dropped onto a chair that was way too comfortable Saturday afternoon and sighed. Four glasses of champagne were on the table in front of me. I reached for one, feeling slightly like a lush for going for the drinks first, then decided I didn’t care.

“I can’t believe she wouldn’t let any of us see the dress,” Abby grumbled. “What do you think it looks like?”

Tara shrugged. “Knowing Olivia, it’s perfect.”

“I heard that,” Olivia called from the dressing room. “And thank you!”

The three of us laughed. I was sworn to secrecy by Olivia, but I had seen her dress. We went shopping together one afternoon shortly after she and Ethan got engaged. She didn’t want everyone else to feel left out, but she wanted a second opinion besides Becca’s.

“I bet she chose one of those form-fitting ones. That would look great on her curves.”

“Do you think she let Ethan see it?”

“Why would I do that?” Olivia asked from behind the door. “I want this marriage to last.”

I snickered. Ethan would rather eat fire than let Olivia go. There was no doubt in my mind their marriage was going to last.

“Are you guys ready to see it?” Olivia asked, the door clicking unlocked.

Tara and Abby sat forward in their seats. I set my champagne down and stood to help. I knew my role as maid of honor, and was still in shock that she’d chosen me.

Olivia stepped out of the dressing room, and I fell into place behind her. The consultant, Donna, lifted one side of the train as I lifted the other. We followed Olivia to the pedestal and delicately laid the train down once she was in place.

“Wow,” Abby and Tara said together.

I stepped back and took Olivia in. She’d tied her hair back with a jeweled clip so it was out of her face, but still draped over her shoulders. The cream lace bodice offset the dark color of her hair, but covered her fully, something that was a big concern for Olivia. The wide straps that started at her high waistline narrowed as they rose over her shoulders, concealing her bra straps in a delicate way that could fool you into thinking she wasn’t wearing one. Especially with the deep plunge of the top, which revealed the bra she had on. Lace met satin and circled her waist just below her breasts, giving her an hourglass look. The bottom of the dress was layer upon layer of tulle that floated to the ground. Olivia liked that it hid her belly.

I just thought she was captivating.

“Ethan is going to go nuts when he sees this,” Tara said.

Olivia grinned at me in the mirror. “That’s the point.”

“Are you wearing a bra?” Abby asked.

Olivia nodded and pointed to the white fabric that blended in well, but not well enough. “Couldn’t go without if I wanted. I need to find something that is lower, but haven’t had any luck with something white. Worst case I’ll wear strapless, but I don’t want to.”

“I love the clip in your hair. It matches perfectly,” I said.

“You’ve already seen the dress, haven’t you?” Abby demanded.

I shrugged.

“Don’t attack Vicki,” Olivia chastised. “I swore her to secrecy. I didn’t want to go shopping alone, and I knew if she was willing to tell me off once, she’d be willing to tell me if I looked horrible in a dress.”

“Except you looked amazing in all of them. I really hated her that day,” I said to Abby and Tara with a wink.

“Love you, too.” Olivia grinned.

“Everyone talks about how hard it was to find a wedding dress that fit well and they liked. You had trouble narrowing them down. Seriously though, you really did look amazing in all of them, but this was definitely my favorite.”

“I think the dresses you guys are wearing will look great with it,” she said, looking at all of us in the mirror. Her hands ran down the tulle, smoothing the fabric as the seamstress pinned the hem since Olivia finally found heels. “I can’t believe the wedding is in less than six weeks.”

“What else do you need to do?”

Olivia shook her head. “I don’t know. Ethan is going a little crazy. He actually talked about taking the guys to Vegas for a weekend. When I complained, he thought it was because we aren’t going.”

“He’s sweet,” I said. “He worships you. It’s nice to see him so excited about getting married. Most men are just along for the ride.”

“Yeah, he’s definitely steering the ship.”

We laughed. “Enjoy it. It’s less stress for you.”

“True,” Olivia agreed. “I like that part.”

“Are we still set for your lingerie shower? You’re okay with closing for the night, Abby?”

Abby nodded. “I’m closed anyway. And my place is a little bigger than Charlie’s so it works out well.”

“How many people are we inviting?” I asked Olivia.

“I think we have twenty, right?”

“Sounds right,” Abby said. “You have all the invitations?”

I nodded. “Yep, ready to send them out next week. We’ll talk menu after that. And you said no strippers, right?”

Olivia snorted. “If you really want to risk the wrath of my future husband, you can take that chance all on your own.”

I shook my head. “Most of the guests are married or involved. It’s always nice to look at a hot guy, but it doesn’t make sense to hire a stripper. Plus, aren’t we too old for that?”

Olivia, Abby, and Tara laughed. “It feels like it, doesn’t it? When did that happen?”

“I think for me it was when I had kids,” Olivia said.

“For me it was when pictures of my naked ass showed up online. Kind of lost the appeal,” Tara said with a wrinkle of her nose.

“Damn. We’re so boring. We’ll have fun though.”

The seamstress finished pinning Olivia’s dress then had her walk around for a minute to make sure it was okay. She said it felt good, then was given permission to change.

“Have you guys tried on your dresses lately?” Tara asked.

Abby nodded. “I tried it on last night. I was getting paranoid that it wasn’t going to fit.”

“Did it?”

“Yes, thankfully. What about you, Tara?”

“Mine still fits, too. Noah is really looking forward to the wedding,” she said with a saucy grin.

“Please don’t tell me you and Noah have been having sex in the dress you’re wearing for my wedding,” Olivia said, joining us in her street clothes again.

Tara shook her head. “Nope. We take it off first.”

Abby and I laughed, Olivia groaned. “I don’t need to hear about this. I should have put you guys in paper sacks!”

We laughed even harder. “Knowing Noah and Tara, that wouldn’t have helped.”

Tara nodded. “We have to take advantage of whatever time we get these days. Sawyer has been home more and more lately. It’s nice getting to know him, and not hating him, but it’s weird. Noah is kind of worried about him.”

“Really?” I asked.

“Yeah. He’s never spent this much time in one place. He’s always on the move again after a few weeks. Noah is thrilled his brother is around, but he’s worried that he lost his job or something. Has he said anything to you?” Tara asked me.

I shook my head. “No, but I haven’t talked to him lately.”

Her shoulders dropped. “Okay. I told Noah I’d ask you.”

“I’ll call him tonight.”

“Thanks. Are you done with your dates?”

“No. I have one tonight. I’ll call Sawyer before I go.”

She nodded. “I kind of hoped you guys would hit it off. As something more than friends at least.”

“Me, too,” Olivia agreed. “Ethan is a big fan of Sawyer. We thought you two would be great together.”

“He’s awesome, but we’re definitely better as friends. He feels like all the other guys. Like a bunch of brothers I always thought I wanted until they scared away all my dates.”

“Have they done that?” Abby asked, alarmed.

I laughed. “No. But I could see it happening.”

“Definitely.”

“Are we going to lunch?” Olivia asked.

“Yes. We’re treating you.”

“No, I want to treat. We’re out here for my wedding.”

“Exactly. And the bride doesn’t pay. Our treat,” Tara argued.

“But—”

“No buts. We’re paying. Now, where do you want to go?”