The Bachelor and the Beauty Queen (10 page)

The fluttering stopped and crashed into her belly. Lexi plastered a smile. “I am fortunate to work with her. She is a great kid and can go far in the pageant.”

Stephen slipped his hands into the front of his jeans. “So this weekend?”

“Yes. Did I convince you this afternoon?”

“You convinced me on a lot of things.”

The door to the new office opened. Philly pointed out that they were still outside and Nate nudged her along down the street. They were probably headed toward the great little Italian place. Even with the variety of places Southwood had to offer, the girls still dragged their feet along the sidewalk. “Do you guys ever cook at home?”

“You saw what happened when we tried.”

“You burned it,” Lexi recalled.

“Blackened,” Stephen corrected. “Why do you ask?”

Lexi cast a glance over her shoulders toward the corner. “I thought I noticed a bit of reluctance from the girls when your brother mentioned picking up some food. How long have you been in town?”

“Almost six months.”

“Isn't it time you two stopped acting like a couple of bachelors raising two girls?”

Through his sexy beard, his lips parted for a moment to pout, then turned into a crooked smile. “Are you offering your services?”

“Sorry, I don't play house.” Lexi inhaled deeply, proud of herself for not falling for his charm. She took a step backward, away from him.

“You don't date parents, either.”

Lexi's brows rose. “You were listening.”

“I've heard everything you've said, Miss Pendergrass.” Stephen stepped closer. “I am trying to decide if I want to pay attention to that part.”

“What? Why?”

“Why?” Stephen asked. “Are you going to deny this attraction between us?”

Lexi squared her shoulders and tilted her chin and answered honestly. “Yes.”

Amused, Stephen chuckled and rubbed his beard. “Why?”

“Did you hear me when I said I don't date—”

Whatever she wanted to say was lost when Stephen descended upon her. His large hands snaked around her waist and drew her close and hard against his body. Her mouth opened in a feeble attempt to stop him, and she pressed the palms of her hands against his sculpted chest. Deep down inside, she knew she wanted this. She needed to feel his lips on hers, his tongue against hers. Stephen dragged his hands from her waist up the sides of her face, cupping her cheeks before delivering an earth-shattering kiss. Lexi's knees went weak. A bolt of desire from the taste of his mouth pulsated through her veins. He pulled away briefly, long enough for Lexi to savor the minty sweetness of his mouth. One hand dropped from her cheek and caressed the outside of her arm, curving to the inner delicate skin of the other side. His fingers splayed against her and trailed upward. Her mind beckoned his hands to touch her all over. Lexi leaned closer into his body. Partly obliging, Stephen cupped one breast. Beneath his thumb, her nipple hardened. An unintentional gasp escaped her lips. Stephen came in for another kiss, capturing her mouth. Deepening the kiss, his hands dragged from her body to her hair, tugging at the roots. When he pulled away for real, Lexi wrapped her arms around his neck to keep from falling.

“You need to remember one thing. I'm not any parent.”

* * *

The last thing Lexi remembered was Stephen's strong arms pulling her frame against his, seducing her mind, body and soul with his kiss. She didn't recall the drive home. Maybe a vague memory of the Reyeses walking around the corner and Stephen stepping aside.

The sound of her keys hitting the glass dish on the credenza by the door brought Lexi out of her daze. An echo hollered down the hallway. Just a few months after moving in, she still lived out of boxes. She'd yet to hang any photographs on the walls. Since her refrigerator at the boutique was filled with food, she ate there. She couldn't go back to the shop to pick up something to eat now. She wasn't sure she'd be able to pull into her parking space and not reminisce over Stephen's kiss. What on Earth possessed him?

I'm not any parent.

Stephen's parting words sent a shiver down her spine. True enough, he wasn't a parent, but Stephen was still Philly's guardian. What would be the point of a relationship? Weren't the girls' lives complicated enough as it was? In her heart, she already knew Kimber and Philly had developed a fast and close bond with her—Philly because of the extra coaching and Kimber due to the secrecy of the dress. Stephen had promised he'd drop the dress matter their first night at DuVernay's. So far, he'd stayed true to his promise. But a part of her cringed with fear he'd bring it up. She vowed to hold on to Kimber's secret as long as possible.

What would happen if they dated? What if they decided to end things? Stephen Reyes did not strike Lexi as the type of man to stay in a small town. Sure, he talked the talk by moving down here, even going through the motions of setting up shop with his new office space. But what about a year from now? What happened when he got bored with a small town like Southwood?

No matter how she tried to rationalize any form of relationship, it ended badly. Sticking to her guns, Lexi called in a take-out order from the local Asian restaurant and slipped into a comfy pair of cotton pajama shorts and a tank top. She'd just piled all her hair on her head and taken off her makeup when her house line rang. The shrill startled her at first. The delivery boy always called on her cell phone if there was a problem.

Lexi took the cordless phone off the hook in the kitchen and glanced at the caller ID. Her brows furrowed. “Hello?”

“May I speak to Lexi?”

“Speaking.” Lexi held the phone out for a better view of the number. The line was registered to Ken Reyes. “Stephen?”

“Did I catch you at a bad time?”

Lexi glanced down at the cartoon tiaras on her shorts and sighed. “No, not at all, just contemplating whether or not to go out tonight.”

“Oh,” Stephen responded in a hard-to-read voice. Was that disappointment? But he continued, “I just made sure the girls were in their rooms and came downstairs.”

“Okay,” she replied slowly.

“Turn your television to channel seven.”

Aimlessly, Lexi padded across the hardwood floors with her bare feet over to her L-shaped cream leather couch. The cushions sighed as she sat and curled her feet underneath her legs as the television came to life. “What's up?”

“We were talking about old movies today and I noticed there's a Cary Grant marathon tonight.
I Was a Male War Bride
is about to come on. Have you seen it?”

Yes, the other morning when you opened your front door
, Lexi thought to herself. “I have, but it's still a classic. Thanks for letting me know.”

“You're welcome. So where were you going to go tonight?” Stephen sounded as if he were stretching, relaxing into the phone call. Lexi wondered if he was holding a cordless phone or tethered to the wall.

“Out?” she answered with more of a question. “I'm sorry, but how did you even get this number?”

“Oh, can you believe I found a book containing everyone's phone number in town?”

“A phone book?” Lexi asked with a cracked smile.

“Is that what that was? Neat, right?”

Lexi wished they were on Skype for a moment for Stephen to watch her roll her eyes. On second thought, she told herself, he might freak out at the sight of her with no makeup on her face. She never thought she wore too much, but she did not leave her house without mascara. “Stop talking about my small town.”

“I'm not making fun of it.” Stephen laughed. “I'm enjoying the small-town life. Aren't you? Isn't that why you returned?”

“Well, yes.” Lexi gulped. His deep baritone cast some sort of spell over her, causing her to want to confess everything. “Like I said, I saw a market for a special line of dresses in the Four Points area.”

“No beauty-queen answers, please. You sound rehearsed.”

Irritation swelled with the deep inhale she took at his audacity. Lucky for Stephen, the doorbell rang in the nick of time. “Hang on a second.” Lexi set her phone on the coffee table and went back to the hallway, grabbing her wallet from her purse to pay the delivery kid. When she returned to Stephen on the phone, her heart skipped a beat. Since when did she sit around on the phone with a boy?
He's no boy
, a little voice reminded her.

“Sorry about the interruption,” Lexi said, taking her foam container out of the brown paper bag.

“It's okay. Did you order Chinese?”

Lexi's eyes glanced slowly to her left and then to her right. The long chiffon curtains were drawn and she was sure no one across the street would be able to see inside. “How did you know?”

“The bag.” He let out a chuckle. “I recognized the rustling of the thick paper bag Lu's uses.”

The stapled opening of the container pooled with steam from the hot vegetables and rice. “That's pretty pathetic.”

“I guess it is.” Stephen's chuckle turned into an infectious laugh. “I really need to do better with the girls.”

“Did you at least have a salad with your pizza tonight?”

As Lexi ate, Stephen shared his routine with the girls and how he prided himself on giving them culture by trying as many different restaurants with a delivery service. Lexi cringed at the idea of eating takeout all the time. Stephen grabbed himself some more pizza, and together they dined and watched the movie.

“I can't imagine doing that every single night.” Lexi sighed, scooping the last of her garlic sauce up with her sticky rice. “When my parents cut me off...”

“They what?” Stephen interjected.

Embarrassed to admit her parents' flaws, Lexi shook her head back and forth. “You know how it is. When a young adult reaches the point in their lives, they cut them off. Kick them out of the nest, you know?”

“Parents do that?”

“Most,” said Lexi.

“Tell that to some of my cousins.” Stephen chuckled again. “I think a few of them are going to live off the Torres name for the rest of their lives.”

“Wait.” It was Lexi who sat up straight. “The Torres family, as in the Torres family of Villa San Juan? Torres Rum? Torres Towers?”

Stephen downplayed his historic family name and town. “My mother is a Torres. My father, Esteban Reyes, refused to allow my brothers and me to be raised without appreciating the value of a dollar.”

“So you have been spending money on take-out food?” Lexi teased.

“Well, you saw what happened when my brother cooks,” Stephen said into the line.

“I thought you burned the food.”

“Blackened,”
he retorted. “The food was blackened and the girls did not like it.”

“I see.” Lexi's smile spread across her face. She focused on a picture on her mantel over her mock fireplace. In the silver-framed photograph, Lexi stood between her two best friends from boarding school and their husbands. At the time, she hadn't minded being the so-to-speak odd man out. Life without man trouble suited her just fine. “If you say so,” Lexi hummed, “but so you know, on the weekends we have market days. The farmers from around the Four Points area come in and sell their produce. And don't forget we have two competing grocery stores willing to take each other's coupons. Both stores offer free cooking classes.”

“Are you trying to sell me on staying in Southwood?”

Lexi sighed. “I'm trying to help a friend out. As delicious as the food is in Southwood, you're spending way too much on takeout. When my parents cut me off, I learned how to shop wisely.”

“Ramen noodles?”

“Sale items,” she countered. “I was trying to save money for college.”

“Wait, don't your parents own Pendergrass Banks?”

A heated blush spread across Lexi's cheeks. “Don't be misled by the name.
They
have money, not me.”

“I understand.”

“If you did, you wouldn't be taking the kids out to eat every day.” She toyed with him.

“Just because my family comes from money doesn't mean I didn't make my own,” Stephen clarified. “The girls haven't seen me or my brother work in several months. We're comfortable with our bank accounts, but we don't want Kimber or Philly to think everything in life will come easy. Why else do you think I need an office space?”

The question had Lexi stuttering for an answer. “Um.”

“Sorry,” he quickly said. “I didn't mean—”

“It's okay.” Lexi cut him off before she felt more humiliated. Here she was giving him lectures about coupon clipping, and of course he could afford to eat out all the time. “Let's not talk about it.”

By the end of the movie, Stephen and Lexi had done more talking and laughing than paying attention to the film. It was after midnight when it ended, and neither was tired. They spent another two hours talking their way through another classic.

“I took up your evening,” Stephen stated. She waited for an apology. It never came. After getting to understand Stephen better, she realized he did not apologize. He had yet to say sorry for accusing her of selling the dress, but he did offer to drop the matter—which Lexi greatly appreciated, seeing how she felt horrible for keeping Kimber's secret from him. Was she lying? After getting to know Stephen better, she highly doubted he'd do anything too extreme, besides placing iron bars over her bedroom windows. Who knew? Perhaps after Philly finished with pageantry this summer, she and Stephen might actually become friends.

Chapter 8

E
arly Saturday morning, a black stretch Hummer pulled through the garage of Lexi's condo building, just as a wave of second guessing began to wash in. Was attending a pageant the right thing to do now, or should they stay in town and practice? After Philly's private lesson Thursday night, Nate had offered to take all the other girls down in style. He had arranged everything and the eager mothers all seemed pleased with his idea.

Though Philly was Lexi's private coach, she also worked with a lot of other little girls whose mothers had all seen the fliers at the counter and wanted to enter their children. Lexi had no say over who should or shouldn't enter pageants. She provided the girls with awesome dresses and the skills of working the stage. The girls, Lexi had no problem with. Some of the parents needed to remember how to conduct themselves. Emotions ran high when people's kids were judged based on their beauty and style of dress.

Lexi wasn't too pleased this morning when Stephen called her on the phone to tell her he was on his way. She hadn't seen Stephen since the night he kissed her. They hadn't spoken since their movie marathon over the phone. With trying to go over all the rules on behavior for the young parents with daughters entering the Glitzy Southern Pageant, Lexi hadn't had time to stop over at Stephen's office space. The boards were still up in the windows and she never spotted Nate's SUV. If Stephen came into town with his driver, he did not stop by Grits and Glam to say hello. Lexi chalked up the distance over the past few days as being due to the business of their schedule. But a part of her wondered whether or not the overshare on the phone was too much for him. Something about getting to know Stephen unnerved her. His kiss lingered. If ever there was a category for kissing, he won, hands down.

After the mortifying way her last relationship ended, Lexi never thought she'd find another man as attractive as she did Stephen. But she needed to stamp any desire down. At least this weekend she'd be busy explaining the process of the pageantry world to the newbies. God, she needed help this weekend, she thought as the doors to the Hummer opened.

A man dressed in a black jogging outfit and white T-shirt stepped out of the driver's side and she wondered if he was the infamous Mr. Keenan that Philly spoke of. He came around to the passenger's side and opened the back door to the Hummer. She'd partied in cars like this a long time ago but her drivers were always dressed in suits.

“You live here?” Stephen asked, stepping out of the Hummer with his signature neatly trimmed beard. A flash of desire raced through her veins.

“Yes, what did you think?”

The sky roof opened and Kimber poked her head out. “He thought you lived at your store.”

“Seems like I do some days.” Lexi half laughed.

Stephen and the driver came around to help her with her overnight bag. She caught a whiff of Stephen's cologne and she prayed her knees didn't buckle. His neatly trimmed beard brushed against her cheek when he surprised her with a hello kiss, stilling her heart for a beat or two. Today he wore a pair of chinos and a white oxford shirt opened at the throat—completely delicious.

“Uncle Stephen lives at his office sometimes, too,” Kimber provided. “That's why we can't live with him at his house in Atlanta.”

Lexi cocked her head to the side to look up at Stephen. A spark ignited when his long fingers guided her by the elbow toward the waiting open door. “You still have a house there?”

“The market's tight.” Stephen's jaws tightened.

“Well, perhaps you'll be able to check on your house at the end of the summer for the Southern Style Glitz Pageant.”

Stephen's brows rose. “What are we going to today?”

“The Glitzy Southern Pageant.”

“What's the difference?”

Philly stepped out and threw her arms around Lexi's waist, nearly knocking her off her four-inch hot-pink heels. Thankfully, Stephen gripped her shoulders and held her upright. The air crackled between them. How was she going to make this three-hour trip?

“I'm going to
win
the pageant!” Philly exclaimed.

“That's right.” Lexi pulled away from Stephen's embrace to hug Philly. “Now let's get going so we can see how it's done.”

The spacious inside of the limousine sat eighteen people, so with only four of them they all had plenty of room. Kimber dropped hints here and there about how Marvin would have been able to come along. Her complaints went on in vain as the stretch Hummer picked up the other children entering the pageant. A caravan of mothers drove behind them. Lexi swore everyone but the driver held up a wineglass in salute at the Hummer.

Folding her hands in her lap, Lexi cleared her throat. “This was sweet of you to offer to pick up all the kids.”

“Sweet of Nate,” Stephen clarified with a hint of a grimace. “He arranged everything.”

“He's really not coming?”

“No, can you believe the bastard said he needed to head up to Atlanta this weekend?”

Lexi turned in her seat to feign a gasp. “No?”

“Yeah, I didn't believe him, either.”

After containing her gasp, Lexi needed to figure out how to suppress the giggle mounting from the pit of her belly.

“Judging from the dimples popping out of your cheeks,” Stephen said, “you believe I've been
Punk'd
.”

“What do you know about Ashton Kutcher?”

“I'm raising a teenager, so if the television in the living room isn't on Sprout, it's on reruns from some music channel.”

Lexi wrinkled her nose. “You are so hip.”

“We will be on the road another two hours before we arrive at the Brutti Manor,” Stephen said, his voice and smile taunting her. “Are you ready to tell me about your mother?”

“Brutti Manor?” she repeated. Legend had it two people remotely attracted to each other fell in love after staying at one of that family's residences. Lexi had always wanted to meet Gabrielle. But not at the expense of falling under the hotel's charm.

Lexi dreamed of having her evening gowns sold in Gabrielle Owens Brutti's store, Desideri. Back in the day when she needed money, Lexi would have killed for the opportunity to walk in a Desideri fashion show. Not only were the designs like those Lexi strived to achieve, the models were well paid and the money would have covered Lexi's tuition for at least four semesters.

A coy smile spread across Stephen's handsome face. “I've already made reservations at Owen's.”

“Sounds delicious,” she hummed.

“You've heard of them?” he said of the Brutti family's restaurant.

“Of course. I've actually been craving some of their
guanciale
carbonara.” She noted his raised brows. “You don't like hog jowls?”

“Not particularly. My paternal grandparents made them when we visited Puerto Rico.” He nodded. “I am surprised a woman like yourself eats them.”

“A woman like me?” She took her turn raising her brow.

Stephen offered a smile of apology. “Never mind.”

“Whatever.” Lexi relaxed into her seat. “For starters, I am pure GRITS.”

“Girl Raised in the South.” He pointed with his long finger toward his temple, clearly proud of himself. “I remembered.”

“Yes, and this means I like my grits buttered, my tea sweet and my pork chops smothered, and on occasion, I will eat chitlins over rice, depending on who makes them, and the same goes for potato salad. You know you can't eat just anybody's.”

“What's the other thing?” The dazzling smile sent a chill down her spine. Stephen Reyes would win best smile in a contest, hands down. She needed a distraction, but the girls were too busy watching the sisters on the car movie screen deal with a snowstorm.

“Hmm?”

“You said, ‘for starters.' What else were you going to say?”

Lexi's red lips formed into an O as she tried to muster her courage. “Did you say we're
staying
at the Brutti Manor?”

“Is that okay? Would you like to stay someplace else? The Brutti is the best.”

“The Manor is also pretty pricey.”

“You're worried about my finances?”

Lexi gave a tight-lipped grin. “Let's try to remember you tried to purchase the Cyclone game when I beat you Monday.”

His mouth opened and a deep laugh expelled itself. “You cheated.”

“I can't help if I know how to make the right move at the right time.” The double entendre came out accidentally. Stephen shot her a lopsided grin and a penetrating stare, catching what she'd said. Lexi's hand went to the neckline of her T-shirt in case he really did possess X-ray vision. She needed space away from him. “Anyway,” she huffed, “after your big purchase last week, I am sure I have nothing to worry about your finances, Mr. Reyes.”

“So we're back to proper names?” Stephen cleared his throat and hesitated, seemingly understanding what had triggered the awkward moment. “Lexi,” he said calmly. His baritone voice gave her chills. With the voice of a DJ and the body of a model, the man commanded the small space between them. “We're going to be spending a lot of time together this summer. But I'm one of the best Realtors you'll ever meet.”

“Don't insult me,” Lexi hissed under her breath. “I told you, you outbid me fair and square, and I've set my designs on something else.”

“Trying to get away from me so quick, huh? Well, at least I've got this weekend to change your mind.”

As the children began to start up the chorus of the “Wheels on the Bus,” Lexi glanced out the window and said a silent prayer.

* * *

Nice quiet drive to Savannah?
Stephen masked his chuckle with a covered cough. A few people in the chairs in front of him turned to glare for him having the audacity to make noise while their—he assumed—child painfully played the piano on the stage. Holding his phone in the air, Stephen tried to motion he was laughing at his message rather than their child on the stage. The woman in front of him snorted and rolled her eyes before turning her attention forward. He swiped his finger across the screen to end the text from his younger brother without bothering to respond. He planned on spending the car ride home figuring out ways to get back at Nate.

In the meantime, he planned on taking every opportunity to get to know Lexi better. Nate backing out at the last minute couldn't have come at a better time. Stephen could no longer deny the truth. The mystery around the woman intrigued him. He liked her tenacity at her job and the care she took with Philly and Kimber, and he needed to make sure she was the right kind of influence on them.

“You don't want to piss them off,” Lexi whispered, leaning in to him.

“Too late,” he whispered back. “Why not?”

Lexi nodded her head in the direction of the woman with the two-foot beehive hairdo. The leopard-print jogging outfit she wore stretched to the limit. “She is a bully, and a cyberbully, to boot.”

“A what?” he laughed. The woman turned around, snarling through her mauve lipstick–stained lips and front right tooth. “You're making this up.”

“She likes to talk about other people's kids on the internet. She arrives at competitions with an entourage and also sets up a conference room for her daughter to sign autographs.”

A slip of a finger on the piano sent a pain deep into Stephen's ears. “I suggest her mother spend more time on her child's piano lessons.”

The number thankfully ended and the entire row in front of them stood up and cheered—hooting and hollering, and Stephen swore someone used an air horn usually used at an Atlanta Falcons football game. Once the child stepped toward the edge of the stage and waved at the judges, she exited, and luckily, so did the family in front of them.

Lexi gripped Stephen's bicep. He resisted the urge to flex. “She winked! Did you see that?”

“No?”

“Philly, never wink at the judges, okay?”

Philly nodded and accepted the advice. “I don't know how anyway.” To prove her point she tried to wink one eye, but inadvertently blinked both. After Ken died, Stephen wasn't sure Philly would ever smile again. Now here she sat, beaming from ear to ear. He enjoyed watching her come out of her shell.

The rest of the afternoon dragged on. If he had a dollar for every “Work it” or “Sparkle, baby” screamed out loud, he'd be a much richer man. Girls in ages ranging from five to seventeen practiced their beauty walks, talents and smiles for their mothers. The judges sat at a long table draped with a black tablecloth. When they'd arrived at the Glitzy pageant, Lexi had introduced her former pupil, Waverly, to them. The seventeen-year-old, now a pageant judge, was impressive in the way she emceed the toddler portion of the event. He imagined what Philly would do at that age. Would she still be interested in pageants? Would Lexi still be in their lives?

A much-needed intermission allowed everyone the opportunity to stretch their legs, nap or grab a bite to eat. Lexi took Philly and Kimber along with the other girls from her group up front to meet Waverly. Other contestants and their mothers stopped Lexi and asked for her autograph. Intrigued, Stephen sat up farther in his seat and wondered if he should have kept reading about her pageant life. Lexi rivaled the beauty of the current Miss America.

What was Lexi's pageant life like? The whole time she made her way to the podium, she kept her smile toothy and wide. The slow turn of her wrist as she waved to a group of women calling her name reeked of homecoming and prom queen. Stephen planned on getting the rest of the story from her tonight over dinner.

The drive down here had barely whetted his appetite, mentally and physically. As any man would, Stephen admired the way Lexi leaned over to pass out the bright pink T-shirts for everyone attending. To make things fair, she had the name of all the girls entering this pageant on the back, but the bold white glittering letters across the front read Team Waverly, and her shop's logo was on the back. Lexi handed Stephen a black shirt much like the one she wore. She claimed she'd made it for Nate, but Stephen took it with pleasure. Stephen stretched his long legs out in front of him and folded his arms across his waist while he took in Lexi's beauty. He looked forward to spending the evening with her.