The Bachelor and the Beauty Queen

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Lexi walked on cloud nine for the next few months. She literally had an energy in her step, one she never realized she was missing until now. Her calf muscles absorbed the weight of her stride and the red shoulder bag dangling from her arm bounced against her hip. Her red-and-white polka-dot mules skipped her past the Foxx’s café. This morning, Chantal had faxed over blueprints for an idea she had to build the store deeper instead of wider. She suggested Lexi build upward. The upstairs apartment would be turned into a private area for bridal consultations, and the expansion downstairs could hold pageant dresses and other formal gowns. They also went to a nearby hardware store and put in an offer in case Mr. Wheeler wanted to retire early.

As summer rolled on, her schedule remained busier than ever. Toddlers and teens flocked to her workshops every Saturday afternoon, and private sessions with Philly progressed so well, she had Philly help with the girls her age on Saturdays. The nights Lexi did not work with Philly, Stephen would pick her up for their dates after work—movies at the park, market days in the downtown square. The days Philly came to the shop, Stephen busied himself with some secretive project next door. Some days, their weekend excursions included the children.

Stephen let Keenan go as a driver and bought himself a family-friendly white sports utility vehicle. He still drove the long way around town, mysteriously avoiding shortcuts, but Lexi enjoyed the extra time they spent together.

They fell into a comfortable routine and Lexi loved every minute of it. For the Fourth of July, Stephen gathered everyone up and brought them to Villa San Juan to his family’s hotel, Torres Towers. Everyone sat on the beach facing the Gulf and watched the fireworks.

Occasionally Stephen took solo trips to help with the process of transferring his office in Atlanta. Those nights, he and Lexi talked on the phone till all hours, talking through their binge marathons of old Cary Grant movies on Netflix.

Life with Stephen was perfect. Too perfect. Somewhere across the street, she heard a bird call out so loudly she stopped in her tracks to look around. Lexi shielded her eyes with her hand from the sunny, cloudless sky. Set in a permanent state of happiness, she continued on toward the store. After eating out every night, the walk wouldn’t kill her. Hiking her purse back on her shoulder, she tore her gaze from the clouds and her eyes fell across the street. Kimber’s familiar pink-and-lavender backpack slung across her shoulders caught her eye. Suspicion rose in Lexi’s veins. Why did a kid need her backpack in the summertime? Kimber stood in front of a boy—not Marvin. Lexi’s eyes narrowed. This summer, she’d gotten to be friends with Marvin since he picked Kimber up to take her to a lot of the town’s social events for the teenagers of Southwood. This boy was a foot taller than Marvin and had a good fifty pounds on him. Nearby at a picnic table, Lexi spied the real Marvin seated in front of a pile of books.

Prepared to shout across the street at Kimber, Lexi raised her hands to cup her mouth to yell. Stephen was going to have a fit when he learned Kimber had broken his trust. Lexi still kept the secret about the dress because she thought Kimber had truly learned her lesson. But to Lexi now everything became clear as day.

She’d been using poor Marvin as a decoy while she secretly dated this man-child. Judging from the way the boy grabbed at Kimber’s behind and slobbered all over her face, the two were well acquainted with each other. What was she thinking, kissing this boy across the street from her shop? What if Stephen had been in town?

Lexi was so focused on the couple across the street and trying to reach for the cell phone inside her purse she didn’t hear the door to the bakery behind her open. A cold hand snaked around her mouth, preventing her from screaming, and dragged her inside. Panic struck every nerve in her body. Nothing bad ever

happened in Southwood, so of course the first broad-daylight kidnapping would happen to her. Regrets flogged her mind. She wished she’d worked things out with her parents. She wished she had the chance to say goodbye to the Reyeses. She wished she’d shown Stephen how she really felt. If only she had the chance.

Chapter 12

Wildly, her eyes looked left and right, hoping, praying someone had witnessed this abduction. Jammed against this man’s frame, she walked awkwardly backward into the bakery, where Lexi imagined being chopped into tiny pieces. Why did Stephen believe the myth of never having to lock doors in a small town?

Fear took over again once the doors to the bakery closed, trapping her inside... Her dark eyes glanced at the vaulted ceilings. On the occasions Lexi had indulged in the desserts at the bakery, she’d never studied the shop closely, but she realized things had changed. The lowered ceiling had been removed to reveal golden paint. The rafters were polished and sparkling. Thick plastic covered the marble flooring. She wondered if her dead body would be wrapped up in the plastic. The smell of fresh French bread returned, though, as well as the sweet and spicy scent of Stephen’s cologne. Quickly she jerked away and spun around.

“You scared the hell out of me!”

Stephen stood in the center of the room in a pair of black chinos, a white oxford shirt and black shoes, scratching the back of his head. “I thought you saw me through the window.”

“You’re supposed to be in Atlanta! I was—” Though she was still reeling from her initial fright and anger, she remembered Kimber. Now was not the time to tell him. She planned to talk with Kimber first and encourage her to come clean with her uncles. They trusted her. “What are you doing here?” She waved her arms around the new office area. The walls were covered with framed photographs of Stephen handing over the keys of dream homes to several families. Photographs above the secretary’s desk were shots of classic homes from famous movies alongside families standing in front of their own versions. Her heels clicked on the hardwood floors as Stephen led her to the back office space.

“When did all this happen? This work takes months!”

Before opening his office door, Stephen gave her a sneaky smile. Her stomach did a flip. “This is the power of Hollywood, querida.” Stephen snapped his fingers and the lights flickered, a white screen lowered against the walls darkening. The ceiling turned the room into an orangey-yellow foggy haze. “While you’ve been busy with Philly, I’ve been doing some work on my own.”

A familiar tune she currently could not put her finger on poured from the surround-sound speakers. “But what is all this?”

“I wanted to take you someplace you’ve never been before, and since you’re so worldly and insisted on forcing me to watch all those movies with you, I came up with my own idea.” Stephen extended his hand for her to take. “You don’t like to dance, but here’s something,” He swept her into his arms. A panorama screen of the dance scene put them in the center of An American in Paris. She gasped when Stephen mirrored Gene Kelly swinging Leslie Caron into his arms. Lexi clung to Stephen’s broad shoulders. Her hair floated through the air. Before she got dizzy, the walls flickered, changing from black to blue. They were surrounded by a body of water. Cool air whipped across her face from a perfectly placed and timed vent. Stephen stood behind her and held her arms out to either side like Jack and Rose in Titanic. His lips nibbled her neck. A chill of desire ran down her spine.

“I thought about all the locations I want to kiss you,” he said against her earlobe.

“Oh, Stephen, I think this is so sweet and all, but I can’t, I’ve got to go to...”

“Work?” His coy dimpled smile returned. “You mean the thing you have to do next door?” He led her around in a bit of a circle. The room changed and they stood on a bridge, cars flying before them; he’d recreated the scene between Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey in How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, leaning her against a bar as the actors did against a yellow cab. He cupped her face and his tongue traced the shape of her mouth. Lexi’s knees buckled.

The sky around them reddened, a field surrounded them, and they were in Gone with the Wind, another movie they’d watched together on the couch of his brother’s home. Lost in remembering the evening, she hadn’t noticed the temperature drop or the next change of scenery, but he recreated the last kiss scene in Love Jones.

“Work has been taken care of,” he whispered, “I am going to take care of you this afternoon. Want to tell me what made you so jumpy?”

Lexi stared at the hairs of his beard on his square chin. “I haven’t been completely honest with you, Stephen.”

“Sounds like we need to sit down.” He led her toward a long black velvet chaise longue against the wall where the French doors of the kitchen separated the counter space. She braced her back against the arm and he sat beside her, pulling her legs into his lap. “You were shaking like a leaf.”

“I don’t want to ruin this moment.” She bit her lip.

Stephen tugged at her ankle. “Talk. We’ve got all night.”