The Bachelor and the Beauty Queen (6 page)

“Are y'all hungry?” Lexi asked the two Reyes brothers as she strolled past Stephen.

Kimber, who'd kept her eyes glued to her iPad during the entire rehearsal, glanced up and offered a half shrug of her shoulder. Lexi gave the girl a coy smile, then spoke to Nate, who stood up to close the gap between them. “We have some finger sandwiches if you're starving. Do you like cucumber or pimento cheese sandwiches?”

“Got some without the pimento?” asked Andrew, whizzing by with Philly in his arms. His heels clicked on the marble flooring of the kitchen. The bottles of jams, hot sauces and other condiments jingled as he yanked the refrigerator door open.

Rolling her eyes, Lexi shook her head. “Then you want a
cheese
sandwich, Andrew.” She turned her attention back to Nate and Kimber. “I'm sorry. Someone must have forgotten to take out the platter. You know what? I have a better idea. I have some shrimp and grits upstairs ready to be eaten. Kimber, would you mind coming with me to help?”

Without making eye contact, Kimber nodded her dark head. Such great bone structure. If only she showed the slightest interest in pageantry. Lexi headed toward the back of the store to the spiral steps leading upstairs, where she kept more dresses. Expanding the store would have allowed her to separate the inventory. Now she needed to rethink things.

“You know the way?” Lexi asked, stopping to tug down the plastic covering on a sold dress.

“Yes ma'am.” Kimber quietly sighed. She took two steps at a time.

The two-story building had once belonged to one of Southwood's first dressmakers. Lexi didn't break from tradition too much, hiring contractors to gut the majority of the downstairs area into a showroom floor with changing rooms and an office. The spiral steps led to an upstairs kitchenette and into the two-bedroom apartment. Lexi followed Kimber up to the second floor. Racks of more dresses, all wrapped in plastic, were lined up against the far wall, waiting to be picked up. A black-speckled marble bar with two high-back wooden bar stools separated the kitchen and dining area from the living room. Behind the bar on the black stove, a red pot simmered with what Lexi had planned on having for dinner with her assistants.

“I just need to add the shrimp,” Lexi told Kimber. “Do you cook?”

“No, ma'am,” Kimber answered, her head low and eyes on the floor, probably wishing the shaggy red throw carpet would swallow her alive.

Lexi shook her head and her smile softened with the understanding of regretting doing something stupid. Kimber sat with her elbows on the countertop and watched Lexi measure the amount of water she needed to feed everyone downstairs and set the pot to boil. “Do me a favor. Turn on the fan. It's the switch by the bathroom door.”

Without needing any direction, Kimber headed over to the white wall with the panel and flipped the switch. Lexi reached into the cabinet and took down her bag of grits. She smiled over her shoulder at Kimber. “Don't tell my mama you saw me using quick grits. She'll disown me.”

Kimber smiled weakly.

“When cooking shrimp, I don't want to risk getting any smell on those dresses.” Lexi inclined her head toward the back wall. “The dresses up here are very important to me,” said Lexi. She watched Kimber slide onto one of the bar stools, head still hung down.

Kimber burst into tears. “I'm sorry I took the dress, Miss Lexi!” When she glanced up, her tear-filled eyes pleaded with Lexi.

“Oh, honey, how did you even get it?”

“During Philly's last workshop,” Kimber started to explain. “I'm sorry. It was wrong of me to take advantage of you, Miss Lexi. You allowed me to use your private bathroom when I was on the phone, crying, with my boyfriend, and well, I got nosy and went through your racks of dresses. There were so many I didn't think you'd even notice.”

I didn't
, Lexi thought to herself.

“I was so desperate to make sure my boyfriend noticed me.”

Yet again, Lexi's mother's words rang in her ears, the ever-nagging
I told you so
when it came to Lexi's decision to create and wear dresses. As she came around the kitchen bar, Lexi remembered wanting to grow up and impress a boy—it didn't make the situation right, but she understood. She wrapped her arm around the girl and gave her a hug. Hugging her saddened Lexi. With no prospects for a romantic partner, the only love and advice she'd give out would be to her niece, Jolene, and other young girls like Kimber.

“You do realize you're too young for something like this?” Lexi stroked her shoulders. “I was too young for it, and you don't want to make the wrong impression.”

“Please don't tell my uncles I stole your dress!” Kimber blurted out in panic.

“I've already taken the heat, sweetie,” said Lexi, thinking about how much it had cost her. “No point in two of us being in trouble.”

On Friday night, while she had been in his arms dancing, Stephen claimed he planned on keeping an eye on things. She was already going to be punished. Why ruin Kimber's summer? Besides, what did Stephen plan on doing with a bakery? Did he bake? She pressed her lips together and thought of her mental score card. He might earn a few points if he did.

“For the record, I was older than sixteen when I wore the dress, over twenty-one. Whoever you were trying to impress can't be worth the trouble,” Lexi continued. “He's not the kind of boy you want to be around.”

“No, ma'am.” Kimber shook her curly head. “Uh, Marvin's not like one of those boys.”

Odd that she said Marvin. The relationship between the two struck Lexi as simply friendship. “Marvin, or whomever you're really trying to impress. Remember, it is always easy to be the bad girl,” she told Kimber with a wagging finger. “The average teenager strives for the bad-girl routine, but you strike me as above average.”

Hesitantly Kimber nodded her head. “Yes, ma'am.”

“Promise me you'll carry yourself above the rest. Okay?”

Abruptly Kimber threw her arms around Lexi's neck. “You're the best, Miss Lexi!”

“Wow, I typically get that kind of response when I give a gift.”

Startled by the intrusion, Lexi and Kimber jumped and turned around. Stephen filled the space with his massive frame as he leaned against the staircase with his hands in the pockets of his pants, head cocked to the side. Stephen's score card owned the number ten on presentation, she thought as she remembered to breathe.

“Girl talk is priceless,” Lexi quipped.

The corners of Stephen's mouth twitched as if he wanted to smile, but the smile lost to a frown. “I did not mean to interrupt, but Andrew suggested I might be of some service.”

Andrew needs to be fired or given a raise
.

“We came up here to finish up our meal,” Lexi explained, walking back around to the kitchen. She turned her back to get her bowl of deveined shrimp and butter and set it on the counter in front of Kimber. Still in the living room, Stephen ran his large hand over the cushy chair shaped like a red pump, diva-style shoe with a zebra-print heel. His eyebrow rose with amusement after spying the zebra throw rug under the fashion magazine–littered glass coffee table.

“May I help?” he asked, walking over to the bar next to his niece.

“I'm here to help,” Kimber clarified.

Lexi cast a glance over her shoulder in time to catch the surprised look on Stephen's face and Kimber's boastful grin before she turned around to reach for her frying pan. She enjoyed the girl coming to her defense. Maybe Stephen could relax now.

“Looks to me like you're sitting down while Miss Lexi is doing all the work.”

“Oh, no,” Lexi corrected. “We've been talking and waiting for the water to boil. But this is a two-butt kitchen—”

“A what?” Stephen chuckled.

“A two-butt kitchen, meaning I can't bend over to peek in the oven if you're washing dishes.”

“I see.” Stephen licked his lips. His head cocked to the side, and something else began boiling in the kitchen besides the water.

Lexi gulped and shook her head. “Drinks. I have a pitcher of tea on the balcony. Kimber, would you mind?”

“Not at all, Miss Lexi.” Kimber scrambled off the stool as her phone rang. “You're not going to believe where I am,” she squealed into the line.

The kitchen seemed to grow smaller when Stephen came around the bar and invaded her space. “What I can't believe is I've taken Kimber's phone every day since last week. How does she keep coming up with a different-colored one each time?”

“You got me.” She sighed. “Here, let me get you an apron.” Lexi tiptoed toward the pantry and grabbed one off the hook. She turned and Stephen was right behind her. “Sorry,” she mumbled. “I told you this is a two-butt kitchen.”

Stephen blocked her path. Just as when they'd danced, his eyes stayed fixated on her hair and then her lips. To create space, Lexi pressed her hands against his chest and wrapped the apron strings around his neck. “Turn around and I'll tie you.”

“You'll tie me up?”

Laughter of relief broke the strange tension between them. “In your dreams. Now here, I'll need you to continue stirring the grits while I cook the shrimp.”

Thankfully Stephen did as she asked, stopping every so often when she needed to add some cream, tomato paste, spices and lots of butter into the grits while her shrimp sautéed. They cooked together in silence, but she was reminded how they'd danced together. On the dance floor he took the lead, but in her kitchen she did. He stepped out of the way when she added something new to his pot and back into the empty space.

The spiced shrimp took no time to cook and in her haste to get out of the kitchen, Lexi reached for the handle of the pan to pour everything into a serving dish behind her. She'd underestimated the weight of the pan and her wrists weakened. Stephen anticipated her misstep and swooshed right behind her, wrapping her in his arms and his hands over hers.

“Here, let me help,” he whispered in her ear.

Lexi gulped and watched the shrimp fall into its bath of butter. She sprinkled parsley flakes over the edge of the pan, prolonging her time in Stephen's arms. How long had it been since a man held her? A little voice in her head reminded her that this was not being held. Stephen was helping her. The beating of her heart drowned out common sense. It took all her strength not to reach up and behind her to stroke the back of his head and neck. His lips were so close to her ears; if she turned, they might kiss. Beneath the fabric of his shirt she felt the hard muscles of his chest and abs. A bit lower and she felt the unmistakable swell of a hard erection beginning to grow. So she wasn't alone in this attraction?

The sliding glass door opening from the patio interrupted Lexi's wanton thoughts. Stephen took the empty pan and set it in the sink. “Miss Lexi,” Kimber called out, “this is not a pitcher. This is a bucket.” She hauled the container of brewed tea into the dinette area and turned around. “Cute apron, Uncle Stephen.”

Stephen glanced down and Lexi covered her mouth to keep from laughing. “Keep Calm and Sparkle On. Nice.”

“Sorry, I just reached for the first one.” Lexi extended her arm. “I'll give you another.”

Stephen grasped the counter behind him for support. “I'm good.”

Her eyes traveled to the lower half of the apron and decided he was right. The little voice in the back of her mind spoke out again, this time reminding her of what a long summer this was going to be.

Chapter 5

“W
hy did you bother with the condo if you're going to sleep here?”

At the sound of the cheerful, deep voice, Lexi glanced up from the dish in front of her and gave Andrew a wink before layering the last vanilla wafer on top of the instant banana-pudding mixture. She'd gotten up this morning, took the risk of flat-ironing her long tresses in this summer heat and dressed casually in a pair of denim jeans and a white Grits and Glam Gowns shirt. “I got caught up making a dress last night.”

“Perhaps a wedding dress inspired by my boo?”

Lexi responded with an eye roll. In truth, the inspiration had come from seeing Kimber standing against the balcony door with the vibrant colors of the afternoon sun behind her. After everyone left last night, Lexi grabbed the spools of red, orange and yellow, and began blindly putting together a dress. She hadn't been so excited to start on a dress in years. Andrew propped himself up at the bar stool and watched. “Why are you baking?”

“Is it considered baking when you never turned on the oven?”

“What would Mary Pendergrass say?” Andrew clutched his throat.

“Considering she's not speaking to me,” Lexi joked, “not a thing.”

With a heavy sigh, Andrew rested his chin in his hands and propped his elbows on the counter. “If my Southern Baptist preacher daddy can get over me giving up my chance to play in the NFL to design dresses, then your folks can get over this whatever thing.”

“This, whatever—” she sighed and held her fingers up in air quotes “—has been going on for years ever since I opted to attend a state college.”

“Aw,” Andrew cooed. “You poor baby. Tell me again how you were cut off from Mommy and Daddy's money, thus forcing you to model to make your own money?”

Lexi dusted crumbs off her hands, then wiped her brow with the back of her right hand as if she'd worked so hard in the kitchen. “If you're writing a book, it didn't happen quite like that.”

“Boo hoo.” Andrew rolled his eyes. “Poor little scandalous Southwood socialite.”

“Are you here so early to bust my chops?” Lexi smirked, placing her hand on her hip.

“No, I actually came to print out more flyers on the pageant in Savannah this weekend.”

“What?” A pageant took weeks to prepare for.

Andrew reached into his back pocket and extracted a folded-up piece of paper. “The Glitzy Southern Pageant is out of our district, but I thought the new crop of girls would be excited to watch.”

Lexi shook her head, going over to her pantry for a red box of clear wrap for her dish. She closed the door with her hip, all the while trying to recall who would run the pageant area in the southeast region of Georgia. “Who is the emcee?”

“Waverly Leverve.”

The name brightened up Lexi's smile. “No kidding. I used to train her.”

“I know,” said Andrew, “which is why I thought you might try to gather some troops up to bring down, you know, generate business, wear our logo and pass out business cards with our services. It is Memorial Day weekend.”

“We can try.”

“Try what?” asked a feminine voice at the opening of the staircase.

“Good morning, Chantal,” Lexi and Andrew chorused.

Strolling in with a brow raised, Chantal looked between them. “What's the occasion?” she asked, peering over the counter.

“I owe a favor.”

“You never said who this is for,” Andrew pointed out. “My boo?”

“His name is Stephen,” Lexi said quickly.

“Meow.” Andrew swiped his hand at her like a cat. “Claiming him already?”

The last time Lexi had claimed someone, unbeknownst to her, he was already married. The humiliating act at least allowed Lexi to refocus on her career. So the only thing she owed Ernest Laing was a thank-you. The heir to the Laing Diamonds had filled her head with lies and her heart with betrayal.

“Those were some pretty flowers he bought you,” said Chantal, dragging Lexi out of her stupor.

“They're Dancing Lady orchids,” Lexi informed them, “and he was being nice.”

“Interesting.” Andrew hummed.

“You're reading too much into this.” Lexi wiped her hands on the back of her jeans. “Like I said, he was being nice.”

Andrew reached across the bar of the kitchen and tapped the covered dish. “So you're returning the favor by being nice?”

“Of course,” Lexi said perkily. She refused to let him have one up on her. If Stephen wanted to pretend to be kind, after what he did with the lot next door, he had another think coming. What was the saying? Kill them with kindness? “I thought I'd drop this off before I headed into the shop.”

“I thought the lights weren't on in his place,” said Chantal.

“Oh?”

“Yeah,” said Andrew. “When I asked Philly if she was coming in for practice today, she told me no 'cause her uncle Nate had an appointment out of town.”

The two assistants bumped their shoulders together when Nate's name was spoken, and Lexi rolled her eyes and inwardly admitted the handsomeness of the Reyes men. She did wonder how Stephen would handle the pageant world if he was not prepared to bring Philly in for any practice. If he didn't freak out over the way some of the pageant moms treated their kids, he might over the way they'd devour him.

A lightbulb went off in Lexi's head. She wondered how he'd handle the pageant in Savannah. In a way, she feared for his sanity. And did Andrew say Nate went out of town today? Curiosity filled Lexi's veins.

“Perhaps I'll swing by their house this afternoon and drop this off.”

Andrew's eyes widened. His elbow nudged Chantal in the ribs. “They live out where your friend Rosalind used to be.”

“You know this how?”

“Kimber told us,” said Chantal.

“Well, I'll just shoot over there and drop this off.”

* * *

Today, Lexi felt nostalgic. She left her boutique and went east, which would take her by her childhood home—if she still had the right to call it that.

David and Mary Pendergrass enjoyed being pillars of the community without actually living there. A tree-lined canopy road led the way toward the neighborhood of plantation-style homes. Already aware of her speed, slowing down for deer, Lexi brought her Cadillac to a crawl as she passed high gates covered by the low-hanging limbs of peach trees. Ripe peaches dangled off, ready for picking. Lexi resisted and sat in the car.

From this distance, three large columns blocked her view into the oversize dark gray framed windows of the living room and the formal dining room. The balcony doors were open and the long white chiffon curtains billowed in the wind. The picturesque house had stolen her heart but also her childhood. This was her parents' home. She hadn't stepped foot inside since she came home from college. They'd made their displeasure known when she decided to go to a state school by cutting off her funds. They scowled when she dropped out of pageants to model. So when the scandal with Ernest had broken out, her parents looked right through her when she bumped into them in town. Now with Grits and Glam Gowns making headlines, she hoped they might find it in their hearts to be proud of her.

Thirty minutes later Lexi pulled her gold Cadillac into the driveway of the Reyes home. A small pink bike with training wheels lay on its side in front of the white garage. The girls lived in a split-level brick home with black shutters on all the white-framed windows. Black security bars covered the top-floor windows. The manicured bushes under the bay window bloomed with fragrant white gardenias.

The bottoms of Lexi's jeweled flip-flops flapped against the pebble-lined walkway to the front door. Frosted panels on either side of the door gave an obscured view of the chaos inside the home. Pink clothes were sprinkled along the beige-colored carpet on the stairs. Roller skates at the bottom of the steps were an accident waiting to happen. A high-pitched ding sounded off in the house as she rang the bell.

Lexi balanced the covered dish on her hip and leaned forward. Nate's SUV was nowhere in sight. For the life of her she could not recall what Stephen drove, but he probably parked in the garage. Ringing the bell again, Lexi turned around to observe the rest of the neighborhood. She tucked a stray blond hair behind her ear, conscious of how much anyone might know of her past.

Once again, Lexi rang the doorbell, her long manicured fingernail accidentally pressing the button twice. In a matter of seconds, heavy-sounding footsteps rushed to the door and in one swift swoop the door yanked open. Startled, Lexi took a step backward. As she balanced herself to keep from slipping off the step, she gasped at the sight of a shirtless Stephen Reyes. His solid torso, muscular chest and sculpted bare arms filled the door frame. A set of washboard abs dipped into a V shape, pointing toward the waistband of a pair of black-and-gray swim trunks. Her eyes fixated on the white ties holding the trunks up.

No doubt of the perfect score in her mental score card.

Unable to move, hell, unable to breathe, Lexi stood frozen for a few seconds before Stephen cleared his throat to speak first. “Lexi, what a pleasant surprise.”

“Hi, um—” she lifted her gaze “—is everything okay?”

“Why do you ask?”

As he spoke, Lexi concentrated on his face—more importantly the bright blue eye shadow caked on his lids. Fuchsia-pink blush stained his high cheekbones. For a moment she thought two caterpillars were crawling under his eyes until she realized someone had attempted to place faux lashes on him. Clear glitter blotted his top and bottom lip and twinkled in the afternoon sun. The only thing missing was a black bobbed wig, and he'd be as hideous as Cary Grant in
I Was a Male War Bride
.

“Are you checking up on me?” Stephen asked when she took too long to speak. He crossed his arms over his chest. “You wound me, Miss Pendergrass.”

“Are the girls okay?”

His brows furrowed together and his right eye twitched. “Why would you ask? Of course they're okay. They weren't feeling well—that's why they missed school,” he spat out, rolling his eyes. “Please don't tell me Nate sent you.”

“Nate? Uh, no?” She tried to find the logical reason why she'd driven over here, but the sight of his hard muscles literally made her lose her mind.

“I'm perfectly capable of taking care of my two nieces.”

The absurdity of his attitude rendered her helpless with laughter. Stephen raised a brow. Lexi cleared her throat and pressed her lips together to keep from giggling. “Were you asleep?”

“What?” He choked out a nervous laugh, brushing his hand across the back of his bald head. “Why would you ask?”

“Because your lipstick is a bit smeared, here.” With her free hand Lexi tapped her bottom lip.

Stephen's hand mocked hers and swiped with his fingertips and inspected the residue. Cursing, he pushed away from the door, leaving it open. His voice carried throughout the house as he called for Kimber and Philly. Not sure whether to come in or stay at the front door, Lexi nodded her head and glanced around. She took her chance and stepped into the foyer and closed the door behind her.

Unlike the Pendergrass household, the inside of the Reyes home reeked of love. Mary and David Pendergrass had never allowed toys outside of the toy room. They barely tolerated having her in the house. As soon as she hit the proper age, she was shipped off to boarding school. In contrast, wood-framed family photos lined the walls of the Reyes home. She spied a wedding photograph of Ken and Betty Reyes. Both of Ken's brothers flanked him, along with a couple of familiar faces of women from around town as bridesmaids. A cherrywood credenza by the door held a space for keys, stacks of mail and lots of colorful hair bows. At the Pendergrass house, the photos on the wall were Sotheby's certified, insured and usually purchased at an auction. Makeup and hair were done in the parlor upstairs by an artist.

“Miss Lexi!” Philly appeared at the top of the steps and took the banister down. Her lavender tutued behind came full speed ahead. The white-and-lavender-striped T-shirt she wore now bore a single dust streak down the front.

“Hi, Philly!” Lexi exclaimed, reaching down with one arm to give the five-year-old a hug. Her damp hair smelled of faint chlorine. “What are you up to?”

“I was practicing sparkly makeup with my dolls. Want to see?”

The makeup on Philly's eyelids matched Stephen's. “I'd love to, sweetie, but first I believe this needs to go into the refrigerator.” She displayed the covered dish. “Will you show me?”

“Sure!” Philly beamed, stretching her sticky hand upward to grab Lexi's and drag her into a spacious kitchen.

A heavy scent of Lysol mixed with chlorine hit her senses first. The royal blue island was covered with dirty dishes. Lexi's fingers itched to start cleaning. Instead of cleaning, Lexi placed the banana pudding on one of the empty shelves inside the Sub-Zero fridge. The bare shelves cried for attention. A cardboard box of pizza filled the bottom shelf, along with a few white Chinese-food containers on the door. How did the dishes get so dirty if there was no food in the house?

“Can I have some?” asked Philly, crawling between Lexi's arms and the door.

“Have you had lunch?” Lexi countered. She checked the time; it was after two.

Philly's hazel eyes blinked at the blue-speckled pot on the stove. Lexi leaned over and spied at the contents. Burned black flakes floated in soapy water. “Uncle Nate left last night after he and Uncle Stephen got into a fight.”

“A fight?” Lexi asked.

“Yes.” Philly nodded and pointed toward a mason jar on the center of the island bar with the words
swear jar
in black ink over masking tape. “The cursing kind.”

“Is everything okay?” Lexi didn't sense things were so bad. It wasn't as if Stephen sported a black eye or anything.