“You are coaching again?”
A familiar sound of Rose’s voice broke the camaraderie. The hairs on Lexi’s neck rose. Stephen’s hand clamped down on her shoulders and pulled her close. All three members of the Laing family strolled up behind Waverly. Vera’s young face pinched. Her skin was a flawless mocha, eyes regal and dark. She wore the world’s tightest pair of jeans. Lexi’s eyes darted toward the man standing behind her. Close to Stephen’s height, Ernest was dark skinned with a piercing glare. Dressed in a matching shirt like Rose’s, he wore a pair of faded blue jeans and black boots.
Not here, not now, her mind begged, her body quivering in fear and shame. While living in the Laing household with just Ernest and Vera, Lexi had fallen into a comfortable routine with the duo. She’d fallen for Ernest’s lies, hook, line and sinker. Rose had left her family but the ink on their divorce papers was not dry. Without thinking, Lexi’s face broke out into a smile. If Stephen’s hand weren’t still clamped on her shoulder, she would have met them halfway to hug the young girl.
“Vera!” It had been ten years since the last time Vera laid eyes on Lexi. Back then, she’d sat on the top step of her parent’s home, witnessing the drama. The pink lipstick plastered on Vera’s lips emphasized the way they curled as soon as she laid eyes on Lexi, who recoiled into Stephen’s side. “Vera, did you forget about me already?”
Eyes encased in thick, false lashes glared at Lexi as Vera shook her head. “I’m not the one who forgets things.” Her icy voice set Lexi shivering. “You recall how you walked out of my life and forgot all about me?”
“Hey—” Kimber broke the silence, clearing her throat “—beautiful gown today.”
Impressed with Kimber’s maturity, Lexi grinned proudly. Vera turned her nose up at Kimber. “You’re the one she’s coaching?” she snickered, and glanced over her shoulder for her mother’s approval.
“Actually,” Waverly spoke out, “she coached me. We’re in the same age bracket, right? Fourteen to seventeen for the Atlanta pageant?”
To Lexi’s delight, Vera and Rose both blanched. “Well, good luck to you guys in Atlanta.”
Lexi had learned over the years to cut off awkward situations. She nudged Stephen in the chest with her shoulder to indicate it was their time to depart.
Ernest’s dark eyes flashed between Stephen and Lexi. He extended his gold, Rolex-clad hand out for Stephen to shake. Like a gentleman, Stephen released his arm from around Lexi’s shoulder to accept the handshake. “Ernest Laing, Laing Diamonds.”
Inwardly Lexi groaned. The man still used the same line from ten years ago. When she was young and naive, the line had worked on her. Ernest knew exactly how to smooth talk Lexi into almost anything. Prior to working for him, she’d became acquainted with him on the set of a local modeling shoot. Ernest’s company loaned out jewelry. He’d helped cover her body in diamonds with her even more infamous dress. After she graduated from fashion school, Lexi ran into Ernest again and he’d made an offer she couldn’t refuse. She’d believed everythin
g he said about his life and his young daughter’s desire to become a beauty queen, and even the claim his marriage was over.
While shaking Stephen’s hand with one of his, Ernest reached into the breast pocket of his jacket and produced a business card. “Give me a call whenever you and the lil’ lady decide to settle down. I know exactly what she likes.” To make matters worse, Ernest gave Lexi a wink.
Skin crawling, she tried not to roll her eyes. Oblivious to the barb, the kids giggled at the idea. She waited for Stephen to correct him, but instead he released Ernest’s hand and draped his arm lovingly over Lexi’s shoulder.
“I’ll keep this in mind.” He pulled Lexi up to his side again; this time he planted a kiss on her forehead. “I’ve been trying to get the lil’ lady—” he mocked Ernest’s twang “—to settle down for quite some time.”
The mental score card dinged past one hundred.
No comparison between the men. Stephen was taller, stronger, more chivalrous and way more handsome out of the two. Lexi knew it. Rose knew it, hence the sneer across her face as she looked between them. The woman lived to embarrass Lexi. Lexi still believed the gossip leaked to the press was set up by Rose, who decided one day she wanted her husband back—a title Lexi had no idea Ernest owned.
“Yes, well be careful with this one. She has a nasty habit of—”
“We need to get going,” Stephen cut Ernest off. He kept his arm still secured around Lexi’s shoulder, but nodded his head toward the exit sign for the kids.
Lexi’s heart soared; her feet barely touched the ground. No one had ever come to her defense before. She’d had men fight over her, women be catty with her for her appearance, but no one had ever blatantly stood up for her as Stephen did.
Once they got outside, he didn’t drop his arm from her shoulders. She wanted to thank him properly, but the kids were in tow. Mr. Keenan had already pulled the Hummer up to the doors, with the caravan of mothers not far behind. With the sun already setting, they needed to get the kids home and in bed and ready for school tomorrow.
“Real cool of you back at the hotel,” Kimber said.
Lexi pretended to be asleep in the back of the stretch Hummer limousine. Philly rested her head in her lap. The keyboard of Kimber’s phone went off as she sent texts to her friends while she spoke to her uncle.
“What’s that?” she heard Stephen ask.
“The jerk back at the pageant,” said Kimber. “I wanted to hit him.”
Stephen chuckled softly. “Violence is never the best way to solve a problem.”
“Yeah, but I didn’t like the way any of those people spoke to Lexi.”
A silent pause. She guessed Stephen had nodded his head in agreement. A part of her wondered if the Laing incident reminded him of their first meeting. Lexi knew she’d prove his opinion of her wrong. After this evening, however, she worried again. If he ever learned the truth of her relationship with Ernest, he might never let it go.
“So you like Lexi?” Stephen asked his oldest niece.