The Bachelor and the Beauty Queen

“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.

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That afternoon, Stephen treated the four girls and his nieces to the boat ride on the Dolphin Tour while their mothers sat back at the local seafood bar and relaxed for a few hours. Afterward, Stephen sipped on Torres Rum, his family’s brand, while he paced the living room of the top floor of the four-bedroom suite. Lexi had tried to insist on getting her own room, but Stephen pointed out the ease in keeping everyone together if they stayed in one suite. He gave her the master suite, while he had his own right next door. The girls each had their own room.