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E ither Chipper Brown knew everyone on the planet, or the guy was stalking him. Baylor leaned toward the second. This was the fifteenth wedding in a row with Chipper as a guest. As the MMA light heavyweight champion, the guy likely knew a ton of celebrities. But Baylor didn’t recall seeing him before a year ago and he hadn’t stopped popping up everywhere since.

Baylor had been the wedding planner for the stars for nearly five years. His career had skyrocketed after the first big party he put together and hadn’t stopped since. It was all thanks to his best friend Bandit. In high school, they had been inseparable. Then Bandit had gotten picked up by a professional soccer team, and being Bandit, he hadn’t left Baylor behind. Baylor had always had an eye for decor, and a knack for organizing while keeping people in line. When one of Bandit’s teammates had mentioned wanting to put together a huge party for his son’s first birthday, Bandit had shoved Baylor in his path. The next thing Baylor knew, life had taken a huge turn, and he had so many clients, he barely kept up. Sometimes, it was lonely. It was always exhausting. That didn’t mean he needed a man like Chipper.

Chipper was everything a person would expect from a champion. He was perfectly sculpted and moved like a lion. The guy also had the most beautiful light brown eyes Baylor had ever seen, framed by long, dark lashes. He was also cocky, grating, and obviously thought the entire world revolved around his dick. Baylor wasn’t unaware God had favorites. That didn’t mean he would fall to his knees.

Tonight, Baylor felt the last five years of not sitting still. The backs of his eyes ached. An invisible weight seemed to sit on his shoulders and chest. He prayed he wasn’t getting sick because he did not have time for that bullshit. As always, he bustled from one place to the next, ensuring his client’s wedding went smoothly and stress free… for them. Baylor had five hundred guests to keep in line. He had to take a break.

His gaze slid across the reception hall. Everyone danced and drank. Things were winding down. The happy couple had already left for the night and the stragglers would be kicked out by staff at the end of the night. Then a cleaning crew would take care of the rest. The rental company for the decorations would pick up everything in the morning from the venue. Baylor’s job was complete. His shoulders relaxed.

A pain bloomed behind his left eye. Baylor headed for the door. He needed the night air to clear his head. It was the perfect temperature in Southern California. Thankfully, since this was his favorite place to work, he did most weddings here. The majority of his clients lived in California and didn’t have time to deal with a huge wedding somewhere else. It was the athletes that kept him hopping all over the U.S. He didn’t mind. Baylor had gotten to see the country. There was nothing back home except Bandit, and he was usually too busy for Baylor these days.

Baylor sucked in a deep breath. His skin itched. Tonight, something felt lacking. There was an emptiness threatening to swallow him.

“Hello, beautiful.”

Baylor jumped at Chipper’s sudden appearance. Despite his surprise, he couldn’t stop his eyes from rolling. “Is there anyone you don’t think is beautiful?”

An unrepentant and sigh-worthy smile stretched Chipper’s lips. His expression quickly turned thoughtful. He scratched his chin. “Maybe mean people.”

“So you just lied to me a second ago, then?”

Chipper laughed. “You’re not mean. I think you’re just shy.”

Baylor scoffed. “I’m definitely not shy.”

“Well, you’re actually speaking to me tonight.”

“You’re a customer now,” Baylor shot back, refusing to let Chipper’s fat head grow. Chipper had hired him to throw a surprise birthday party for a friend. They hadn’t worked out all the details yet. Mostly because of Baylor dodging him. He couldn’t do that forever, though. Baylor couldn’t damage his reputation just because Chipper made him crazy.

“Since you brought it up.” Chipper’s expression screamed Baylor had fallen into his trap.

Baylor opened his mouth to make more excuses about why they hadn’t met to discuss things. His head spun so hard and fast, his arm shot out, seeking purchase. There was nothing there.

Then Chipper caught him. “Whoa. Are you okay? You’re looking kind of pale.”

Baylor cleared his throat and tried to straighten. “I just need to eat, I’m sure.”

Chipper’s concern didn’t ebb. His gaze moved over Baylor’s face. At least Baylor thought it did. Everything kept spinning. “Nah. That’s not it. You’re burning up.” Chipper touched Baylor’s forehead with the back of his hand. Baylor wanted to move from Chipper’s arms, but his body wouldn’t obey.

“You definitely have a fever. When was the last time you took a break?”

Baylor tried to think. Chills set in, making his teeth chatter. His knees weakened.

“Holy shit.” Chipper swept Baylor off his feet. “You need a fucking keeper.”

Baylor felt like reality slowly slipped away. He couldn’t even think clearly enough to argue.

“Someone should definitely fucking spank you and put you in timeout. You’ll fucking kill yourself with the schedule you keep.”

Baylor felt his body floating. The sky moved above him. Chipper stared straight ahead. He shuffled around, easily shifting Baylor’s body from arm to arm. Then Baylor heard the chirp of a car alarm.

“I’d ask you where you’re staying, but I won’t risk you dying. No doubt you’d do something stupid the minute I left you alone—like try to go back to work. I don’t understand why Bandit allows this.”

That last bit spurred him enough to force a few words out. “No one allows me anything.”

Chipper looked down. He looked a lot more worried than he had a minute ago. That couldn’t be good. “You sound weak as hell. Don’t worry, though. I’m an awesome nurse.”

A groan tore through Baylor’s mind as Chipper bent and buckled him into the passenger seat of a car. Even in his fading state, the car smelled expensive. The world became less and less in focus.

“What in the hell is wrong with me?” Baylor didn’t get to hear if Chipper answered. The world went black.

Was Chipper stalking Baylor? Yes. Had he ramped up his efforts in the last four-ish months? Also, yes. Was he embarrassed by his antics? That would be a yes too. Did he intend to stop? Probably not. The guy drove him insane. Chipper could have anyone in the world. He could pick up his phone right then, call absolutely anyone no matter their sex, and have them in his bed by the end of the night. Anyone. That wasn’t conceit. It was reality.

The thing about all that bullshit was no one wanted him for him. Everyone wanted the world champion. They didn’t care to know him for real. He doubted any of them knew anything about him beyond his stats or whatever. Baylor didn’t want him. That had never happened to him before. Admittedly, and as cliche as it was, that had been what truly caught his attention at first. Beyond Baylor’s looks, of course, because the guy was… damn. Dark hair, green eyes, and tiny body. He was an angry sprite. Chipper smiled. Yeah. That was what he liked. Baylor had gumption. He had a spark. The guy was a little mean, to be honest. Le sigh . He had Chipper fascinated. He also worked too damn much. Baylor was killing himself.

Chipper glanced Baylor’s way as he drove home. He was out cold. Chipper fought the urge to run his fingers through Baylor’s thick hair. It looked soft. He wasn’t trying to get creepy, though. The stalking was bad enough. Baylor had been burning up when Chipper checked earlier. He needed to get him home and check for sure. To him, by touch, it felt like he had a really high fever. Chipper needed to know if this should be a trip to the ER.

His house came into view, and he let out a sigh of relief. Worry beat at his brain. He had always been an overthinker, and this was enough to send him over the edge. Illness was his kryptonite. He was ready to dance around Baylor like an old mother hen. Chipper hated this shit. He pulled into his garage and parked his Audi next to his truck. Chipper jumped from the vehicle and circled it to Baylor’s side. He gently lifted him out and carried him inside. Baylor never budged. Chipper’s anxiety shot through the roof. Not only did he not want anything bad to happen to Baylor, but he would also have a hell of a time explaining why he—the guy who had been stalking him—had Baylor’s dead body in his house. That was a bad look.

He chose the spare room next door to his bedroom. There was a connecting door. Chipper could leave it open so he could keep an eye on him throughout the night. As he stepped into the room, Chipper froze. What if this was some sort of flu and Baylor choked on his own vomit or something in the night? Next door wasn’t good enough. Anything could happen. He switched directions and carried Baylor to his bed. Chipper could keep a closer watch over him here.

After getting Baylor settled, Chipper stared at him for a moment. Shoes! Chipper removed the guy's shoes but left his socks. Then he immediately changed his mind and took off his socks too. Chipper hated sleeping in his socks. The guy had nice feet. Chipper wasn’t like a foot guy or anything, but it was obvious Baylor found time to care for himself in some ways. He stepped back again. Baylor still wore his suit. Damn. It took some work, but he got the guy out of his jacket and tie. Then he realized he wouldn’t want to sleep in a long sleeve dress shirt. The pants were probably uncomfortable too, but Chipper wouldn’t go there. He would take off his belt, though. No one wanted to sleep in one of those. He could find Baylor some pajama pants. Chipper tossed out the idea. They were nowhere near the same size. Shit. Baylor had a cute body. Chipper tucked it beneath the covers before he turned into a full-on perv. He went in search of the thermometer.

It took Chipper a minute to find it. He never got sick. Seriously. Never. He had the immune system of a horse. Chipper headed back to the bedroom. At some point, Baylor had rolled onto his side and curled into a ball. He shivered, but was still asleep. Chipper scanned his forehead. The screen turned red and beeped loudly several times—like a blaring alarm. Chipper didn’t know the thing did that. He checked the numbers. Fuck. One hundred and three point four. That sounded bad. Chipper tossed the thermometer on the nightstand and rushed back to the bathroom. He found his bathroom bottle of Tylenol, as opposed to kitchen Tylenol and car Tylenol. Oh, and his living room one. Wait. That was ibuprofen. He might need that too. Chipper hesitated. Which one was better for fever? Fuck it. This one was closer. He raced back into the bedroom and grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge in his room. Chipper needed to keep ice packs close after his matches. Plus, he was boujee. He could afford to be.

After cracking open the bottle and shaking out a couple of pills, he sat on the edge of the bed. Chipper ran his fingers through Baylor’s hair. “Hey, gorgeous. I need you to take these pills. You have a really high fever.”

Baylor’s eyes peeked open a hair.

Chipper smiled. “Hi. There you are. Do you think you can sit up enough to take these?”

Baylor tried to sit up.

Chipper helped. He watched over him as Baylor swallowed the meds. It looked like they didn’t want to go down. He was a little worried over Baylor’s lack of fight. It wasn’t like him to have anything to do with Chipper. Much less be in Chipper’s bed. Baylor didn’t even ask where he was.

“What else do you need? I can get it delivered.”

“Everything hurts. Cold.”

Chipper decided, since Baylor was awake enough to consent, now was a good time to get him comfortable. “They’d be huge on you, but would you like to borrow something else to wear? Someone gave me these thick flannel pajamas for Christmas. I never wear them. I’m too hot natured.”

Baylor nodded. He looked ready to fall over.

“Come on.” Chipper got him settled under the covers. “Rest. I’ll grab them.” He rushed around the room, hunting. By the time he found the outfit, Baylor was out of it again. Chipper hated to wake him, but he didn’t know what else to do. “Hey. Here are those pajamas we talked about.” He handed them to Baylor.

Baylor halfheartedly held them against his body. “Can’t. Too tired.”

Chipper shifted from foot to foot. “I could do it, but I don’t want to make you feel uncomfortable. I’m pretty sure I already do that,” Chipper muttered under his breath.

“Don’t feel good enough to care.”

Chipper smiled. Damn. The guy really was sick. Chipper rearranged his features and went to work. He tried to keep things impersonal and made a point of averting his eyes at a certain point. By the time he finished, Baylor shook so hard, Chipper wondered if he should call an ambulance.

“Do I need to call someone?”

Baylor’s teeth chattered. “My assistant. I have appointments.”

“Um. The fuck you do. You’re not leaving this bed until you’re better. Are you trying to fucking kill yourself?”

“Have to reschedule.”

“For fuck’s sake.” He crawled into bed and pushed Baylor over so he could hold him. Chipper piled the covers on top of them. “Let’s get you warm and then I’ll take care of everything. I know your business is everything to you. Lord knows, I know it. But no one wants to meet with you while you’re like this. Nobody wants to catch this shit. Do you want that on you? Do you want clients telling everyone you gave them the bionic flu or whatever?”

Baylor’s teeth chattered. He buried his face against Chipper’s chest. “The code to my phone is easy. It’s nine one one zero zero one. My assistant’s name is Sacha. There’s one only contact on my phone under that name.”

“I should hope so. How many Sacha’s are in the world?”

Baylor might have been sick, but that didn’t stop him from pinching him.

Chipper laughed. “Don’t abuse me. I’ll come.”

Baylor chuckled. It was deep and sounded like it hurt. “We’re still not friends.”

Chipper couldn’t stop smiling. “God, no. Who could like you?”

Baylor shook with silent laughter.

Without thinking, Chipper pressed his lips against Baylor’s head. He didn’t pull away. “Go to sleep. I’ve got you.”

He did. Sick patient or not, it was nice to not be alone. There was no pressure to be on the whole time. He just got to enjoy the sound of someone else’s breathing. Too many people took that for granted.