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Chapter 21
Theonegoodthingabout fainting at an elite event in Orange County is that there’s bound to be at least one doctor in attendance. He’s probably a plastic surgeon, but at least he’s been through rigorous medical training.
I slowly blinked my eyes open. I was lying on the floor with someone holding me, and another person’s hand wrapped around my wrist, feeling my pulse.
“Ivy, thank God,” Scott’s voice whispered in my ear. He pressed his lips to my temple.
I tried to sit up, but a splitting pain pierced through my head.
“You’ll want to stay lying down,” a deep voice said. The voice belonged to the person whose hand was on my wrist. He was an older man with a gray mustache. “You’ll be fine. You just need to rest, eat, and drink something.” I recognized him from the True Trophy Wives show. He was the preferred plastic surgeon for the women. He smiled warmly at me with concern in his eyes. “When’s the last time you ate something, hon?”
I hesitated, noticing all the cameras pointed in the circle that had formed around me on the floor. I met the man’s eyes and shook my head slightly. He nodded and gestured to Scott to pick me up.
Scott scooped me up like I weighed nothing, which I probably did, considering how much weight I had lost recently. He pushed the cameras out of his way and hurried out of the ballroom while the doctor yelled at the camera crews to give us privacy.
Scott kept walking until he found a small alcove in the hotel hallway. He laid me down on the stiff sofa and knelt on the floor in front of me. Using the back of his hand, he brushed my cheek. His eyes glistened with unshed tears.
“Ivy,” he whispered. His eyes roamed over my face, like he wanted to make sure I was there and whole. He pressed his lips to mine, firm and quick. He pulled back and shook his head. “You’re not okay.”
I blinked a few times. Closing my eyes tight, a few tears fell down my cheeks. Finally, I whispered, “No. I’m not.”
With my eyes still shut, I felt his fingers stroke my hair. I opened my eyes, and the tenderness in his expression broke me. I curled myself into a ball and let him keep running his hands over my head and down my arms as my tears continued to fall. He didn’t tell me to stop crying or ask more questions, just let me unravel. The day finally took its toll on me. The exhaustion from working nonstop for over twelve hours, the shock at seeing Scott (twice), and all the emotions that surfaced from watching my parents finally surfaced and I couldn’t hold it back anymore.
We were interrupted by the doctor clearing his throat beside us. “I’m so sorry. Normally I wouldn’t interrupt, but she really needs to eat and drink something.”
I wiped my eyes, face hot with embarrassment, and Scott supported me as I sat up. He sat next to me on the couch and kept an arm around me. The doctor handed him a plate of some hors d’oeuvres and a glass of water, which I took and drank.
The doctor squatted down in front of us as I took a couple small bites. “Hon, what have you eaten today?” he asked.
My eyes darted over to Scott, then back down at my food. “Um, I had some trail mix.”
“And?” he asked.
“Coffee?” I shrugged.
Scott tightened his arm around me. “You’ve been working since early this morning, and you haven’t eaten anything?”
“I was too busy,” I answered, turning my head to him. “I had the showcase at the studio, too.”
“Let me guess, where you also had to take care of Blake’s teams and your own.”
I shrugged again.
The doctor cleared his throat. That must have been his default interruption, or he had some food stuck in there. “It seems to me you simply fainted due to a lack of food. Possibly shock as well. If you’re not feeling better soon, though, make sure you get to the hospital.”
I nodded meekly.
He waited a beat. “If you’ve really been working all day without eating, you may need to take a look at your schedule and see if you can make some adjustments.” He motioned toward my wrist. “You could use a little more meat on your bones.”
I laughed sarcastically. “Says the best plastic surgeon in Orange County.”
He smirked. “I just want you to be healthy.” He stood up, dusted off his pants, and headed back to the ballroom.
I rested my head on Scott’s shoulder and kept taking bites. Even the small bits of food made my stomach turn, and I told myself to slow down before I threw up everywhere. Just what I needed after this insane evening.
A small crowd rushed over to our hidden spot. My mom, dad, Katy, Amy, and Lucas. My heart sank, realizing that I would need to explain myself.
“You don’t have to have this conversation with everyone right now,” Scott whispered to me.
