The Bachelor and the Beauty Queen (8 page)

“All right, this game is about the right rhythm,” she said, offering him the spot in front of the button. “It helps if you sing a song in your head and get a beat. Each time the light hits between the beat, press the button.”

The intercom played the Charlie Daniels Band. Stephen shrugged and gave it a try, although with Lexi near him, he wasn't sure how to concentrate. She slipped a coin into the machine and he waited and pressed the button, missing the opportunity. Several tries and coins later, Lexi, subconsciously he was sure, wedged herself between his body and the button. She kept her hand over his. Each time they missed, she bent over and deposited another coin. Stephen understood how addicting the game became—or at least how addicting standing with Lexi was. By the end of the song, they won the round. Lexi jumped up and down and threw her arms around his shoulders.

“Oh, my God.” She jumped back. “I'm so sorry.” Her hands flew to her blushing face, covering her red lips.

Steam pooled from beneath his collar. His heart raced. Stephen shook his head and mentally shrugged off the sudden urge to go outside and smoke a cigarette. “I think our pizza is here.” He nodded in the direction of three waiters bringing several pizzas over to where they sat.

Lexi caught a young girl whizzing by and told her to tell the others the food had arrived. In the mix of the younger kids, Kimber helped pour sodas from the three different pitchers and handed everyone napkins. He'd never seen her so helpful before. Did hanging out with Lexi do this?

“I must thank you for letting us crash your party,” Stephen said with admiration.

“You don't have to thank me for Southern hospitality.” Lexi blushed. “But speaking of offering, I can show you how to drive so you don't look so pretentious with a driver.”

“You think I'm pretentious?” He couldn't recall the last time anyone dared speak to him in this way.

“Not many residents have a chauffeur.”

“I don't have a driver. I have Keenan. He's been working for me for a while now, since I up and moved away from my business. Would it please you if I fired him completely?”

A grin spread across her face, which she tried to hide by taking another sip of her beer. The corners of her eyes crinkled over the rim of her cup. Stephen licked his lips and shook his head. She was going to be the death of him one way or another.

“You're an admirable man.” Lexi nodded. “But I can still show you around town.”

Stephen knew exactly how to get around town. He chose not to take the quickest road—the same one that had claimed his brother and sister-in-law—but she did not need to know that. He pushed the image of the yellow tape blocking off the wreck out of his mind for something more pleasant.

The waiter arrived with an adult-sized pizza and two paper plates and served a slice to the two of them.

“You're from here, but you didn't attend school here?” Stephen asked when they were alone again.

“I am.” She nodded, blotting the oil off her pizza before eating. “But my folks shipped me off to Cypress Alley Boarding School for Girls in southern Louisiana.”

“Why there?”

“Because it's in the bayou, where boys can't get to you,” she said lightly.

“Sounds like a wonderful place,” Stephen mused, watching Kimber pour a drink for Marvin. “No boys, you say?” A sharp pain attacked his shin. “What'd you kick me for?”

“Don't you dare think about sending Kimber away.”

“Okay, okay.” Stephen chucked.

After playing a few more rounds of the Cyclone, Skee-Ball and whack-a-mole—Stephen drew the line at DanceDanceRevolution—Shenanigans started to close. As promised, Lexi gave her tickets to Philly and went with her and the other children to pick out their prizes. Parents arrived one by one to get their kids. Lexi walked over to the door to make sure each child got home with the correct parent. One kid was left behind. Lexi stayed and Stephen sent the girls home with Keenan while he waited an extra thirty minutes for the tardy adult to arrive. Once the mother picked up her daughter, Stephen walked Lexi to her car. He took her keys from her hands to open the door.

“Tonight was fun,” said Lexi. “I hope you enjoyed it.”

“I did.” Stephen nodded. “I think next time I may end up beating you at the Cyclone.”

“Sure,” Lexi replied with a dramatic eye roll, “as soon as you try DanceDanceRevolution.”

“And you said you don't like to dance,” Stephen teased.

“I dance best when the steps are on a screen for me to follow.”

“That's what I'm here for,” he said, leaning forward. On autopilot, Stephen's right hand reached for her left and tugged her close to him. “You just need to watch me and follow my lead.”

Under the pink sky, she blushed and cleared her throat. “So, um, I can drop you off if you like,” Lexi offered. She rested her hip against the side of the car. The early summer's heat cooled off with a breeze through the streets. Birds began settling in the dogwood trees lining the sidewalks.

Not ready to share his lack of desire to take the short route home, Stephen shook his head and smiled. He allowed his hand to drop to his side when she untangled hers from his fingers. What had possessed him to try and hold her hand? Feeling awkward, Stephen scratched the back of his head. “Keenan should be here any minute. You go ahead.”

“I don't want to leave you out here by yourself.”

“Afraid something will happen to me in the mean streets of Southwood?” Lexi chuckled and waved her arms about. The sun had already begun its descent over the city buildings. Stores were closing for the evening. Cars made their ways toward the suburbs. One car, in particular, a white American vehicle, approached, catching Lexi's attention.

Stephen watched Lexi's eyes and her faltering smile. The woman behind the wheel, a caramel-hued older woman with perfect gray hair, drove at a snail's pace with her eyes forward and lips pinched.

“Friend of yours?” asked Stephen, touching Lexi's elbow. A clench seized his heart when she faced him with tear-filled eyes.

“Thanks for waiting with me, Stephen.” Lexi smiled. Keenan had the utmost timing and pulled up the moment she'd turned to face him. Lexi reached for her door handle, and not wanting to stand in her way, Stephen stepped aside.

Somehow a wave of disappointment washed over him with the realization there'd be no kiss good-night. Is that what he expected? Wanted? The Cadillac's engine roared to life and she let down the driver's side window.

“Wait? What just happened? Who was the woman in the car?” he asked.

Lexi squared her shoulders and smiled. Her tone became almost robotic, practiced, even. “Well, Stephen,” she began with a toothy grin, “if you must know, that was my mother.”

* * *

The bells over the door of Grits and Glam Gowns jingled when Lexi entered her boutique the following morning, business as usual. She could hear someone hammering next door in Stephen's new store. Her four-inch heels clicked against the floor and her hips swayed in her knee-length brown pencil skirt. Already she slipped out of the matching jacket, leaving on her sleeveless brown-and-cream polka-dot blouse.

“You're in early,” Chantal said, looking up from the books at the register.

“Couldn't sleep,” Lexi said, breezing into her office, Chantal and her book on her tail.

“I don't like the sound in your voice.”

“I'm okay.” Lexi half smiled. “I saw my mom last night.”

Chantal's eyes lit up. “You did?”

“Yes, I was leaning against the car, talking to Stephen at the time.”

Chantal's eyes narrowed and lips curved downward in a scowl. “Why?”

“He showed up at Shenanigans.” Lexi shook her head and softened her smile, “Don't look like that. I suggested he bring the girls.”

“And how did it come for Mary to catch you and Stephen canoodling?”

“We weren't canoodling.” Lexi frowned, trying to wipe the memory out of her mind. She couldn't canoodle with anyone. The last thing she needed was her mother to see Lexi get sidetracked—again.

“So why did Stephen send over some more of those orchids you like? The dancing ones?” Excitement coursed through Lexi's veins. She looked around eagerly, but everything in the store was the same. “They're in your office,” Chantal said drily.

“What's on the schedule today?”

A vase filled with long yellow orchids sat in the center of Lexi's desk. She walked around to her chair and glanced at the note, a thank-you card for a lovely evening. Lexi pushed it back into the envelope and listened to Chantal rattle off the list of appointments she needed to get through today, including several debutante dress fittings for the end of the month. At noon, she had a consultation with a future bride and her parents, and then later when school released, she'd have a pageant workshop, which ended with an hour of private lessons with Philly. A smile touched her lips at the thought of seeing Stephen again. Did he still feel the need to be present for every session?

Chantal left Lexi to greet the deliveryman they'd both spied from the mirror in her office, leaving Lexi to the set of designs she wanted to show the future bride. Some were her own designs and some were from other designers. She'd be a fool to think Grits and Glam Gowns would survive without buying from other sellers. After about an hour of thumbing through dresses, she met with the Keaton family upstairs in the loft.

Emily Keaton grew up in Southwood and had attended Southwood High School with her now-fiancé, Sam Marshall. Lexi was familiar with the Marshalls, thanks to their affiliation with the country club her parents belonged to when she was a kid. Lexi and her two best friends, Rosalind and Shannon, used to spend their summers floating on the blue water of the Olympic-style pool. Sam and some of his friends had teased them for being stuck-up, which amused Lexi, considering he belonged to the same club. Emily seemed like a nice enough girl, determined even to shop locally, despite her mother's pout. Mrs. Keaton didn't care for Lexi, possibly because of her modeling history or because she was offended Emily had opted not to wear the hand-me-down family dress.

On her way downstairs the clamor of hammers grew louder than when she'd met with the Keatons. Curiosity got the best of her. Had Stephen already hired a crew? Odd, how her heart did not ache as much as she expected. She headed down the steps from the loft and spied Andrew helping a girl decide between a peach and a pink dress. Lexi slunk toward the front door, and as the bells exposed her position, she heard Andrew call out to her. Intent on finding out what Stephen was up to, she slipped outside.

The afternoon sun briefly blinded Lexi. She covered her eyes with her hand and walked a few paces. Had she been able to expand into the bakery, she had planned on keeping the door where it was, with a walkway through her kitchenette toward the boutique and a pageant room separate from the area for the patrons buying dresses. Lexi swallowed down her animosity and found her beauty-pageant smile as she pushed the door open. The vision waiting for her made her mouth drop.

It wasn't the torn-out bakery case or the ripped-up black-and-white floors or the disappearance of the tables and chairs. What dried her mouth was the sight of Stephen standing in front of a scaffold, sawing away at a piece of wood. A pencil dangled from his lips. He wore a pair of dark denim jeans, which sagged just enough to show off the waistband of his boxer briefs. She wasn't sure how long she stood in the doorway without him noticing, but she enjoyed the view while she could. Biceps rippled with each powerful stroke of the saw. Her fingers itched to run along each rung of his abdominal muscles, including the V shape disappearing into his pants.

“Like what you see?”

Lexi almost jumped out of her skin at the deep voice pressing against her earlobe. Stephen glanced up to wave with his free hand. Nate Reyes stepped out from behind Lexi. The sun caught his deep green eyes, and she swore they twinkled against the lighting.

“What?” Lexi stammered.

“The bakery doesn't look anything like it did before.” Nate beamed. “Does it?”

“Oh,” she said over her beating heart. “Right, I would have never guessed this place was a bakery. When did all of this get done?”

Nate placed his hand in the middle of her back and guided her farther inside. “I had some free time yesterday,” he said, giving his brother a look. “We're ahead of schedule.”

“My brother is a bit of a carpenter,” explained Stephen. He set his saw against the wall beside him and reached for his balled-up light blue crewneck T-shirt. “Were we making too much noise?”

Lexi blinked back her disappointment at his covered body. Nate brushed by Lexi. It was then she noticed he wore a pair of light blue jeans, and like his brother a moment ago, was shirtless. Nate Reyes was not the least bit modest and made no attempt to hide the massive tribal tattoo covering both shoulders. But when Stephen stepped in front of her, a set of butterflies fluttered in the pit of her belly.

“I came to say thank you for the flowers.”

Stephen stepped close, so close she shivered. He reached out with his hands and inspected her palms. “What? No banana pudding?”

“Funny.” Lexi pulled her hands away.

“What's this about banana pudding?” asked Nate.

“Don't worry about it,” Stephen called over his shoulder. He wrapped his arm protectively around Lexi's lower back. “Nate, we're going to lunch.”

The afternoon heat did not help the intense flame boiling inside Lexi. Once out on the street, she watched him glance around, contemplating which direction to go. She knew from the year she'd been at Grits and Glam Gowns that the deli across the street was filled with friends of her parents, which meant they'd report on her behavior to anyone in their circle. Lexi stepped out of Stephen's hold and began walking from her building toward the park.