The party went on in the living room. After a few beats of silence between Maggie and Caden, Kenzie cleared her throat and extended her hand to his. “Mr. Archibald, pleasure to meet you again.”
Caden returned the hearty greeting with a dazzling smile. “Please, call me Caden,” he said taking hold of her hand. “Mr. Archibald is my father.”
Scoffing, Maggie broke their handshake. “She’s just respecting her elders.”
For a moment Maggie thought she saw a frown cross Caden’s handsome face. Problems in the family? The last Maggie heard, the Archibalds were a close-knit family. As a matter of fact, when one got in trouble, they all did. Caden’s brother and cousin were in pageant hot water for their disparaging comments at last year’s Miss Southern Style Glitz pageant. It turned out Maggie’s experience with their unofficial “judging” of contestants wasn’t the first time they’d engaged in such behavior. Maggie sniffed and shrugged her shoulders. This was nothing new for the competition. It was just time Miss Kit found out, though Maggie hated the idea of the sweet woman’s feelings being hurt.
Kenzie groaned. “Excuse my sister. Ever since she quit social media, she’s been a bit cranky.”
“Whatever,” Maggie huffed. “I’ve taken a break from the world before.”
“But not this long,” Caden supplied.
“I am really going to need you to look up the word stalker,” Maggie said with a shake of her head.
Caden held his hands in surrender. “Mom’s all about social media these days.”
“How did she take it when you told her I couldn’t make the meeting?” Maggie asked.
Kenzie’s head bobbed back and forth between them. “What meeting?”
Instead of answering, Maggie ignored her. “Her feelings weren’t too hurt, were they?”
“I never got around to telling her,” said Caden.
“How is she doing?”
“She’s using a wheelchair now,” Caden explained.
Maggie turned to her sister and explained. “She has MS. You remember her, don’t you?”
Before Kenzie could answer, Erin popped back into the kitchen to get the ball rolling on the shower.
Maggie shrugged her shoulders and faced Caden. “Well, thank you for your unsolicited help with the cupcakes.”
“My pleasure.” They both walked back toward the front door. “I hope we can see each other later. Maybe coffee?”
The front door opened. Sun shined in, and the sweet smell of
Erin’s gardenias filled the air between them. Seeing Caden later sounded like a bad idea. One thing would lead to another, and as much as she was intrigued by the overwhelming desire to roll around naked in the sheets with this man, it was best not to. She wasn’t the same wild and carefree girl she had been the first time they hooked up.
“Probably not, Caden,” she said. “This is my aunt’s bridal shower, and we’re going out later. So I won’t have time to meet with you.”
Music started in the living room. From what Maggie gathered, the ladies were making a bridal dress out of toilet paper. And she was turning down Caden’s offer...why?
“Are you sure?”
No, she thought to herself. Caden reminded her of the things she’d lost in the past—mainly the Southern Style Glitz Beauty Pageant. “Maybe some other time.”
Chapter 3
The one thing Caden could count on in a small town was never getting lost. Instead of joining the rest of the workout addicts in his hotel’s gym the next morning, Caden tied his cross trainers, donned a pair of black basketball shorts and a black hoodie, and headed over to Erin’s clinic to work out with his clients.
Kamareon Ortiz, a soon-to-be-retired baseball player, needed to go over his contracts with Caden while he rehabbed. Two more of Caden’s clients, a set of international soccer players from Germany, needed to work out a few kinks at the rehab center, and he had all the confidence in the world with the therapists.
Some might think the Hairston Sports Authority was competition for the A&O Agency, but for Caden it wasn’t, at least not with Erin’s clinic, separate from the firm. Erin loaned her skills to the sports agency, unlike her sister and two other female cousins who made up Hairston Sports Authority but were consultant therapists for the clientele. Caden competed with her cousins to represent athletes. Erin was the best physical therapist he knew. She provided a private location just outside the city limits of Southwood with enough room for a track, a gym and every piece of physical therapy equipment possible. Most importantly, Erin offered privacy. Caden admired the way the Hairston ladies formed an all-in-one group, and he was more grateful on behalf of his clients for Erin moving out of Orlando. Her no-poaching-clients rule was also appreciated.
Caden also found it interesting for Erin and Maggie to be related. Erin prided herself on privacy; meanwhile, her cousin Maggie was the face of social media. Or she had been. Caden had done his homework last night and followed Maggie’s internet imprint. She went from being seen everywhere, via internet or making waves with her hologram trick she started at his mother’s pageant, to completely limiting herself to a video blog a week, if that, and no more selfies of herself or her food. Why? What changed?