The Bachelor and the Beauty Queen

“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.”