Chapter 35: Vogue.
"She's so pretty." Naya says as she holds Anna in her arms.
"I know, now why are you here?" I ask her.
"I came to visit you and the baby." She says rocking Anna back and forth.
"Sarah said you had something to tell me." I say, folding my arms.
"Vogue wants you on the cover of the December issue. Do you want to do it?" She asks me.
"Hell yeah." I say immediately. "Do you even have to ask me that?" I tell her.
"Oh, and they want Zachary and Anna too. They basically want your little family." She tells me.
"But the cover is about you, of course." She says, placing Anna in her bassinet.
"I'm very honored and also shocked that Vogue even knows I exist." I say, feeling overwhelmed.
"You're a celebrity, Val. It seems like you forget that sometimes." Naya says, chuckling.
"I'll check in with Zach. He's pretty busy these days. When do they want to shoot it?" I ask her.
"Next week." She replies.
"Okay, where" I ask again.
"They want to shoot the cover right here in your house." She tells me.
"Okay. I'll inform Zachary when he gets home." I tell her.
"Everyone at the office is really happy for you, Vee." Naya says, before she picks up her purse.
"I'm really touched by that. Tell them I miss them and I'll be back soon." I say, smiling at her.
"Okie dokie." She says before she starts walking to the door. I trail behind her, seeing her off.
"I'll see you soon." I tell her as I lean against the door.
As Naya gets in her car and drives away. Zachary's Ferrari pulls up in the driveway and I mentally do a happy dance. I run to the car and I wait for him to unlock the doors. He steps out of the car and stares down at me. His six foot four frame hovering over me.
"Hi." I say, blushing.
"You really missed me that much?" He asks me, pulling me into a warm hug.
He smells amazing.
"Yes. Naya just left though, so I wasn't too bored today." I tell him as he locks the car and leads me inside.
"Yeah, I saw her when I was driving in." He says as we walk into the house. I close the door behind me as we walk to the living room.
"There's my princess." Zachary says, unwrapping his hands from mine as he walks over to Anna's bassinet and picks her up. She coos in his arms and I smile at the two of them.
It still hasn't dawned on me that I am a mother. I still feel like I need someone to shake me and tell me that that's my child that Zachary is holding right now.
"Naya said Vogue wants me to be on their cover for next month." I tell him.
"Wow, that's great. Are you gonna do it?" He asks me and I nod.
"I'm honored, so of course I'll do it." I say walking close to him.
He plants a kiss on my lips and I feel a million butterflies in my stomach.
"They want you and Anna in it too." I tell him and his expression changes.
"I don't think I'm comfortable sharing our baby with the world yet." He says, laying Anna on his chest.
"But I can't turn down this opportunity. And it will be an experience that we will remember and probably show Anna when she's older." I say, trying to convince him.
"I hate it when you get smart with me." He says, smiling at me.
"Is that a yes?" I ask, waiting in anticipation.
"Yes. We can do the shoot." He says and I do a happy dance and he laughs at me.
"Keep dancing like that and we'll have another one of these very soon." He says and I stop dancing.
"You wanna have another kid with me? Like intentionally?" I ask him in a serious tone.
"Yeah. I want you to be the mother of my children, Vee. Not just Anna." He tells me.
"You're such a charmer." I tell him as I kiss him again.
***
"Beautiful." Tyler Mitchell, the photographer for the shoot says. He's a big deal here in New York. After he shot BeyonceÌ's Vogue cover he basically blew up. When I found out he was going to be the photographer on set, I immediately had a good feeling about this shoot.
I adjust Anna as she sits in the middle of my lap, her little head resting on my stomach. Zachary is sitting behind me and has his hands wrapped around me. The three of us are wearing white and it's just a cute family moment.
"Valarie, I need you to lean into him." Tyler says and I lean into Zachary.
"Awesome." He comments as he takes more pictures.
After we're done taking pictures outside, I head inside and I change into my next outfit. The stylist for the shoot helps me get out of the white corset dress and helps me put on a red dress that's covered with red crystals. She pairs the outfit with black pumps. She guides me towards the garden. When we get there I see Zachary checking his watch.
"You look great." I compliment.
He unbuttons the jacket of the black suit he has on and places his hand on his waist and strikes a pose.
Weirdo.
"Like what you see?" He says, biting his lower lip.
"Just stop." I tell him, giggling.
"Okay, I see you guys are all set. Let's get started." Tyler says, as the camera hangs around his neck.
"Zachary, can you grab a rose from behind you?" Tyler asks him and he does as he's told.
"Now act like you're proposing to her, but with the rose." Tyler directs.
Zachary gets on one knee and holds the rose up with his hands. Tyler tells me to look down at him and I do that. He takes a few shots and we stop posing. I stare at Tyler and I wonder why he's still taking pictures.
"Valarie?" I hear Zachary say and I turn my attention back to him. He's still on one knee, but there's a box in his hand.
What does he think he's doing?
"Zach, what is that?" I ask him, chuckling.
"A box." He quips.
"What's in the box?" I ask him.
"A ring." He says and I gasp.
"Stop." I tell him, feeling shy.
"Will you marry me, Vee?" He says as he cracks open the box and I see a pear shaped diamond ring.
"Zachary." I say, covering my mouth in shock. This man is really asking me to marry him, right in the middle of a Vogue shoot.
"I knew you were the one for me since I saw you in the halls in freshman year. Your striking blue hair and charisma made my feet shake. When you gave me the privilege of dating you in the ninth grade, I fucked up and took you for granted. And I have spent the years after that trying to convince you that I really have your best interest at heart. You are unbelievably beautiful and I can't believe you love me as much as you do. You saw something in me when I couldn't and defended me to your family and friends even when I didn't deserve your loyalty." He says and I am crying right now.
"You gave me your body even when I didn't deserve it, you gave me your heart when I didn't cherish it. But right now in this moment I am vulnerably asking that you make me your partner in crime for life and marry me. I am asking you, Valarie Nicole Stone, to be my wife. So, what do you think? Do I stand a chance?" He asks and I nod.
"Yes. I love you." I tell him as he slides the ring on my finger.
The crew on set clap as Zachary stands up and kisses me.
When Zachary pulls away Tyler walks up to me and congratulates me. Other people on set do the same and I feel so overwhelmed.
I can't believe I'm engaged. Like I was totally blindsided by this. I would have never dreamed that Zachary would propose today or ever. Yes, we talked about marrying each other, but I thought he was just joking.
Guess the ring on my finger is enough proof that he wasn't.