Curves Envy - Alphas Love Curves: BBW Billionaire Romance (6 page)

When I lift my eyes, the seat at the back of the restaurant is now empty.
Hmmm, Mr. McSexy left while Lia and I were laughing our asses off.
We make our way to the cash register to pay. Vanilla Beans is one of those rare eateries in New York where you pay at the cash register. It’s an original quirk that characterizes the tiny breakfast joint. Amelia and I are standing in line waiting our turn and we’re still giggling like schoolgirls reliving my story.

Suddenly a voice behind me speaks. “Most New Yorkers take themselves way too seriously to have as much fun as you ladies are having.”

When I turn around, my heart stops. The sexy stranger who has been gazing at me since I arrived is standing right behind me. He hasn’t left after all.

He’s so close, I realize now how imposing he is. Since I’m so short, anyone over five-ten is impressive to me, but this guy must easily be six-two. He’s extraordinarily handsome and if I had to take a stab at his age, I’d say he’s in his thirties. I’m so mesmerized, I’m staring at the beautiful hunk unable to answer him.

Shit. Say something.
“Uh, I hope we weren’t too loud,” I fumble. I’m swooning like an imbecile. The stranger is yummy.

“Not at all. I quite enjoyed watching you.” He flashes me a panty-melting smile and I hold on to the counter in front of me to steady myself. His hazel eyes—startling against his tanned face—trap my gaze, holding it frozen, and it’s as if no one else exists.
Good Lord. I’m sure the ground beneath my feet has dropped a foot.

“I hope we didn’t make spectacles out of ourselves.” Lia jumps in to fuel the conversation. I’m too tongue-tied to even manage to string two sentences together. I’m completely hypnotized by his drop-dead gorgeous looks. He laughs at her comment and runs his right hand through his brown hair. God, those blond streaks are so sexy on him. I usually love my men with very dark hair, but yeah, he could very easily convince me to change my ways.

“We were being silly and relieving one of my friend’s hilarious old dating stories.”

How can she throw me under the bus like this?
Lia’s comment instantly warms my cheeks and I lower my eyes, embarrassed by the situation. Although I’m fixated on the stranger’s stylish black suede laced shoes, I can feel his gaze on me. I try to look away, but it’s impossible for me to peel my eyes away from the defined thigh muscles pressing against his dark-wash jeans.

“At least you’re not making fun of your current boyfriend. That could be worrisome.”

I quickly lift my head, my eyes widening. The stranger’s lips slightly curl into a smile. My legs go limp.
Damn.

“Don’t worry about it, she’s very single.”

Seriously, Lia? She’s supposed to be my best friend.

The stranger hasn’t looked up at Lia once since the beginning of this conversation even though I’ve been standing there like a complete idiot while she’s been chatting him up… or should I say washing my dirty laundry in public.

The clerk behind the counter speaks, but I’m so lost in this guy, I can’t make out the words. When his eyes release from mine, I almost fall backward into Amelia’s arms. He smiles warmly. “Please allow me.” The stranger places his hand over mine and his touch nearly burns my skin. “It’s my treat. New Yorkers are renowned for being snobs and too caught up in themselves to remember to have any fun.”

The stranger pulls out a stack of money from his pocket, peels off a one-hundred-dollar bill and instructs the clerk to keep the change.
Wow. He’s quite generous.

“Ladies, enjoy the rest of your day.”

Before I even have time to open my mouth, the debonair hottie has already turned on his heel and he’s headed for the door. I turn to look at Lia and she’s as taken aback as I am.

I run after him. “Wait. You can’t pay for our meal and run away. How am I supposed to thank you?” I speak without thinking and once I realize the boldness of my question, I immediately regret every word. Pedestrians are staring at me.

He turns around, tucks his hands in his pockets and tilts his head to the side. “You just did. Your radiant smile will remain with me for the rest of the day.” He walks backwards for a few steps before speaking again. “By the way, I come here every Sunday at the same time.” He flashes me another panty-melting smile before turning his back to me and casually walking away.

“What the hell?” I mutter aloud.

“Damn. He’s so fine. He couldn’t keep his eyes off of you.” Lia is standing next to me and we’re both watching as the charming man who rocked my world with his words turns the corner and disappears.

“Yeah. He was sizzling hot, but he’s gone. I don’t know his name or anything else about him.”

“He said he came here every week at the same time. Maybe we should plan on doing the same,” she says, shrugging her shoulders and smiling at me.

For a brief moment I allow myself to believe a tall piece of eye-candy could be taken with me, but images of yesterday morning’s drama flash in front of my eyes and I shake my head. “I’m sure this is another one of those guys who likes flirting with any woman who looks his way. I bet you, like Vince, he has a pregnant wife and babies waiting for him at home.”

“Sweetie, don’t let the fake pilot ruin it for you. Not all men are scum.”

“It’s true, but I seem to attract my fair share of them.”

“I think you’re being unnecessarily hard on yourself.”

“Come on. Let’s not fool ourselves here. It’s highly unlikely a dashing guy like him would ever be interested in me when there are so many insanely gorgeous thin women living in Manhattan.”

Chapter 5

I’ve been consumed all week by the sexy stranger Lia and I met over brunch. I’ve tried my best to shake him off, but it’s been impossible to erase his seductive smile. Lia tends to get the attention from men when we hang out, but this suave hunk seemed to have his eyes glued on me and I’m not used to being the one guys look at.

Whatever. It’s not like I’ll ever see him again. There’s no way I’m setting foot at Vanilla Beans on a Sunday hoping to meet him again just to get my hopes crushed when I see him walk in with a beautiful model.

The week is packed with the humdrum of working for a prominent fashion magazine. Luckily, my new boss is out of town and like the rest of my colleagues, I decide to work from home. I get so much more done when I work remotely.

My full name is Candice Patricia Westerman. My mother named me after her favorite nineties TV star—Candice Bergen. My mom loved the show
Murphy Brown
so much she never missed an episode. She would rush home on Monday nights, heat up some food she had prepared over the weekend and plunk herself on our sofa oblivious to the world for thirty minutes. She was such a devoted fan she watched re-runs, had a collection of VHS tapes and later bought the DVD box sets. The sitcom was so prevalent in my life, I thought the house painter on the show—Eldin Bernecky—was my babysitter. You can say my mom sort of branded me early in life and it never occurred to me to be anything else but a newsperson—like Murphy Brown.

I know if my mother could see me now, she’d be so proud of me. Her and my dad were incredible parents my entire life.

I wonder if one day the pain will ever subside. Can you ever forget you’ve lost your parents?

“Meow.” My cat’s call wakes me up from my reverie and I push back the memories of my parents who were taken from me too soon in an attempt to continue my work.

“I can’t believe it’s already three o’clock,” I say, turning to my cat, when I notice the time on the upper right corner of my MacBook Air computer. “In a few hours I’m going to meet your aunt Trish for drinks. Too bad cats aren’t welcomed.” I caress my fluffy white cat.

A few years ago, my cousin Trish moved to LA with an up-and-coming actor she was enamored with on the pretext she was pursuing her own dreams. She left the Big Apple a few months after her mom, my aunt Caroline, moved to Augusta, Maine to run away from the painful reminder of losing her baby sister—my own mother. Unfortunately, Trish’s relationship was short-lived when her actor boyfriend decided to dump her to date the daughter of one of the biggest producers in Hollywood. My cousin was understandably crushed, but she decided to remain in la-la land. We’ve talked on the phone and texted here and there, but Trish hasn’t set foot in New York since my grandmother died eighteen months ago. I’m a bit apprehensive at seeing her again, but she’s family.

Get back to work, Candy.
I try to focus on the article I’m writing in the hopes of finishing it before I start getting ready, but my phone rings. I glance down on my desk to the left of my computer and see Devin’s number flashing. “Hey, Dev. How are you?”

“First let me ask before I get you in trouble, can you talk?”

“Yeah, I’m working from home since my bitchy boss is out of town.”

“Good to know. Now I can lay it on you. You casually ask me how am I? I should be asking you that question. Better yet, I should disown you as my friend for keeping such a big secret from me.”

Oh, no, what have I done now? Why is he so worked up?
“Don’t be such a drama queen. We haven’t spoken since Saturday night because you were working all week with the ladies of
The Chat
in Fort Lauderdale where they were shooting their spring special show. There’s no way in the world I could have done anything to upset you this much,” I joke.

“Listen, I got off the phone with Lia a few seconds ago and I had to wait until Thursday to find out you seduced a hot guy at brunch last Sunday. When were you going to tell me?”

“Dev, there’s not much to talk about. The last time I randomly met a handsome stranger, he turned out to be a cheat. I’m sure this guy was having fun and I’ll never see him again.”

“Lia said he has brunch every Sundays at Vanilla Beans. Why don’t we all go this weekend to try to catch him?”

“Give it a rest, Dev. Lia has been pestering me all week about this, but I don’t want to get my hopes high just to see them crashing in front of my eyes when I realize Mr. Handsome is not so great. Let’s face it, my dating record sucks.”

I won’t lie. I’ve tossed and turned in my bed every night this week reliving every moment of my magical Sunday afternoon, but when I wake up, I’m painfully aware of the fact hot men don’t go for big girls—not in New York City anyways.

“Candy, you’re so full of shit sometimes.”

Tell me how you really feel about me, Devin. Why bother calling me if it’s to get on my case?
“If you called to give me a pep talk or to scold me, don’t. I’m not interested in believing it’s possible for me.”

He sighs heavily on the other end of the phone before he goes silent. I know he’s still there. He’s most likely preparing his rebuttal.

“I’ve always thought you were selling yourself short. You made a courageous promise to your dying grandmother and you’ve lost a shitload of weight in the past year. Your eyes are to die for. You look like an American version of Adele. You’re the sweetest person I know and you’re sharp like a whip. Why can’t you believe there’s a guy out there who would die to find those qualities in a woman even if she’s not built like supermodel Doutzen Kroes?”

“It’s been my experience that hot guys want hot skinny women. I’m average-looking at best and I’m overweight.”

“You win. I’m not going to argue with you or else I’ll get upset. I love you so much and I wish you’d see what I see when I look at you, but we’ve gone down this road so many times.”

I can hear the exasperation in his voice and I appreciate what he’s trying to do, but I’ve had a love-hate relationship with my body for the past five years and it’s not about to change. Nevertheless, his reaction makes me feel guilty.

“I know you care about me and I love you for being such a good friend. Yes, I kept my promise to my grandmother and I’m now a healthier person, but I’m still a big girl by society’s standards. We’re not living in the fifties where being plump was the norm. Our new stick-figure standards of beauty influence how men see me and for the most part, it’s as someone who’s undesirable.”

“You kept saying Vince worshipped your body.”

“At this point, everything surrounding Vince is laced with lies and deception. I have no doubt he was feeding me his crap in order to make it easier for me to spread my legs open. His wife is a skinny bitch with a swollen belly, but all of a sudden he’s into big girls?”

The thought of how Vince played me for a fool makes me see red. There’s a part of me desperate to believe he meant what he said and sometimes I still do, but there’s also a part of me that feels nauseated by his actions.

“How’s work?” Devin abruptly changes the subject. I’m annoyed and relieved at the same time. I’m sure this will boil over quickly and just like me, he’ll quickly forget all about the dashing man who flirted with me on a perfect Sunday afternoon.

“It’s good. Although it’s been a pain since my former boss Christine decided to work from home and Jennifer Lau was appointed to the new position of editor-in-chief, I still enjoy what I do and I consider myself to be extremely lucky.”

“Good. I’m happy your bitchy boss isn’t making your life as much of a living hell as she did when she first started six months ago.”

“Thankfully she’s found new victims to harass.” 

I have a super-cool job at
Sassy
magazine. I love my co-workers and I love being the voice of plus-size women. I get to work with incredible designers, bloggers, photographers and artists all determined to help prove big is indeed beautiful. I still can’t believe Christine discovered my blog by chance and used my daily banter about my weight as leverage when it came time to appoint a new editor for the plus-size online portal and monthly section in the magazine.

I started my blog, which I rightly named
Voluptuous
, as a way of documenting my dramatic weight loss after my grandmother Barbara had passed away. It never occurred to me it would take off like it has. I’ve always wanted to work on my blog full-time, but a part of me lacks the confidence to believe I can stand on my own two feet.