“As you all know, I am Southwood’s only historian and I wanted to make this committee aware that this year, Southwood will celebrate 150 years as an established city.”
The crowed oohed and aahed at Kenzie’s declaration. Kenzie nodded. “I know. Impressive, right? I wanted to put a bug in y’all’s ears about keeping our birthday in your minds for this year’s Christmas parade.”
A hundred fifty years was a long time, Waverly thought to herself. Each time she earned a new tiara, she was crowned by the two previous winners. At some pageants, she’d even had the first Miss Whatever crown her. Once she stood onstage with at least five generations of beauty queens and the titanic screen behind her flashed images of their gowns behind her. And that had been just fifty years; she wondered what a hundred more years of pageant queens would look like. It meant everything to be a part of history. She wanted to help build the confidence of younger generations.
Anson stepped forward and took the microphone from Kenzie’s hands. “And speaking of our Christmas parade, we’ll have our very own Miss Southwood in attendance.”
Heat prickled Waverly’s cheeks when Anson motioned for her to stand. She did and gave everyone a pageant wave. “I wasn’t expecting an introduction.”
“Don’t be silly—everyone needs to know you,” Anson went on. “In case any of you missed the crowning on Sunday, Miss Waverly Leverve is our new Miss Southwood and will be our guest judge at all of our town events, like the fair’s big pie-eating contest at the pumpkin patch, and cut the ribbon at all the grand openings, as well as my right-hand lady for the Christmas parade. Now, are we ready to get on with business?”
Whether anyone was ready or not, Anson slammed his gavel back on the podium. Dominic leaned over to Waverly and whispered, “One guess what Mayor Ascot wants for Christmas. Or should I say who he wants.”
“Will you be quiet?” Waverly said between her teeth.
Dominic settled back in his chair. In a deep stretch, Dominic extended his muscular arms to either side of him and rested it on the back of Waverly’s metal chair.
“L-leading up to the, uh,” Anson said, verbally stumbling at the podium. He cast his eyes to the back row, exactly where Dominic’s arm rested. Out of the corner of her eye she swore she saw Dominic give Anson a thumbs-up. Seemingly in order to gather his thoughts, Anson reached for the pitcher of water and the glass on the table behind him.
“While Mayor Anson is pulling himself together—” Kenzie stepped up again “—have any of you had time to think about a theme for the parade?”
“Oh my God,” someone yelled in a joking tone. A few people giggled.
Kenzie brushed off the taunt with a shake of her curly hair. “Surely something has come to mind?”
Crickets. Waverly wished she were quick thinking on her feet, or at least confident enough to speak in front of everyone. She chewed on her bottom lip and summoned the courage to stand. Dominic crossed his arms over his chest and leaned to the side, amusement spread across his face. Kenzie beamed.
“Miss Southwood, do you have an idea?”
Considering Kenzie helped Waverly squeeze into a few dresses last week, there was no need for formality, but Waverly understood.
“Well—” Waverly inhaled “—when you mentioned how old Southwood will be, I thought about all of the pageants I’ve won over the years.”
“Modest, isn’t she?” the woman dressed in leopard said loud enough for Waverly to hear. The ladies with her giggled.
Wearing a bikini or a slinky one-piece, teetering on stilettos or answering questions drawn randomly out of a fishbowl didn’t faze her, but saying this scared her. The room was so small compared to the stage where the overhead lights blocked the prying eyes of the public. “Okay, well, I was thinking the floats could represent the decades past.”
“Brilliant.” Kenzie fist-pumped her.
“Absolutely.” Anson found his voice again. Once everyone realized the mayor had Waverly’s vote, they all cheered.
Dominic reached over and shook Waverly’s hand, never letting go. Tingles consumed her body. Waverly tried to tell herself taking his hand was platonic. “Great idea,” he whispered when she sat back down.
“And who did you bring with you tonight?” Kenzie asked Waverly, drawing attention to the two of them. “Who’s that seated next to you?”
Waverly pressed her lips together and shook her head at her friend’s faux amnesia. She knew exactly who Dominic was.
“She didn’t bring anyone,” Anson answered with a hint of panic in his voice.
“Hi, Kenzie,” Dominic said, lifting his chin in acknowledgment.
“Just the man we could use for the job,” said Kenzie.
“Excuse me?” Anson and Dominic chorused as other people asked what kind of job it was.
A breeze filled the room as everyone’s heads, from the front of the room to the back, bobbed. Waverly bit her lip and looked up at the lights. A group of the committee started whispering insinuations and jokes. Jesus, she thought to herself. The last thing she wanted was another scandal to jeopardize her dream. She just got this title. She could see the memes now: the Miss Georgia crown dangling in front of her like a carrot.
“Will you stop?” Waverly mouthed to Dominic.