The Bachelor And The Beauty Queen

“I made a business transaction.”

“So soon?” Nate’s voice and brows went up.

“We’ve been here for six months,” Stephen reminded him. “I can’t work out of my bedroom forever.”

“At least this way you’ll get out of the house and start meeting people, meet you a nice woman.”

“Not interested in any women from this town,” he said. The image of Lexi flashed through his mind, causing him to envision her hips swaying to the salsa beat on the dance floor or in his bed.

They continued their trip around the fair. Stephen reluctantly purchased the young couple a pair of unlimited passes and gave them one hour to meet back at the tent for Philly’s pageant. Philly bossed her way around, holding both their hands so she could dangle and swing her legs. Stephen offered to get her another corn dog when Nate stepped in and vetoed him.

“She’ll be too sick to perform tonight.” Nate looked down and tweaked Philly’s nose. “And you’re going to be a rock star tonight, aren’t you?”

Philly smiled brightly. “I’m gonna rock!”

Stephen tried to keep his upper lip from curling. “Seriously, Nate, a toddler pageant?”

“What?”

“Is this why you guys had me watching those stupid reality shows?”

“Philly enjoyed the workshops last month.”

The picture of one pageant queen in particular popped into his mind. All this beauty talk forced her image in his mind. Southern belles were quiet and demure. She was loud, flamboyant and obnoxious to say the least. Stephen’s anger worked him up all over again. Irritated, he talked himself into being glad he’d bought the property next door.

“You’ve got an evil grin again,” Nate noted.

Stephen shook his head. “This time it is a woman.”

“So you agree this beauty pageant workshop is a good way to meet women?”

Maybe that was exactly what Stephen needed, a woman. It had been six months since he last went on a date.

Oblivious to the grown-up part of the conversation, Philly tugged on Stephen’s right hand. “If I do real good today, I get to compete in the next pageant where you used to live.”

“Where I lived?” Stephen kneeled down to her level.

She beamed at him, batting her long lashes. “Yep,” she answered proudly, “the winner today gets a big trophy and a trip.”

“And if Uncle Nate is lucky,” Nate chimed in, “Philly will share her prize with him.”

Stephen straightened to his full height and ignored the pain in his knees. What prize did Uncle Nate think he was going to get out of this?

“A dress!” Philly jumped excitedly. “I get a new dress and I get a personal coach until the big pageant.”

Off in the distance, Stephen’s eyes narrowed on a long gold Cadillac behind the pageant building. He’d seen the car earlier today and had wondered who owned the old-lady car. While Stephen craned his neck, Nate pumped Philly up with encouragment. He held her by the arms and she swung her around in the air. Philly’s legs accidentally kicked Stephen in the process just as he locked eyes with Lexi Pendergrass.

“I get to wear a dress from Grits and Glam Gowns!”

The words sank into Stephen’s brain. As she sang the name of the dress shop, Stephen swore he’d heard wrong. “What?”

“Grits and Glam Gowns,” Nate provided, “is my part of the prize. When Philly wins tonight, she’ll get more lessons from the one-and-only Lexi Pendergrass. Man, Stephen, you ought to meet her.”

His brother practically drooled. Stephen began to shake his head. “We’ve met.”

“When? You’ve barely left the house since we came down here.”

“She’s the one who sold Kimber the dress,” Stephen said quickly as Nate’s words slowed down. Taking in the revelation, Nate closed his mouth and bit his lip. “Did Kimber tell you that?”

Philly’s hand tugged his arms. “Yes, baby?”

“Uncle Stephen, look!” Her fingers pointed toward the doorway of the pageant building. Her voice gave a melodic tone to the word look. “There she is!”

Both of the brothers turned, Nate staring, as well. This time, he made no attempt to stop drooling. “Yep, the future Mrs. Reyes.”

The back molars in Stephen’s mouth ground down as their eyes met again. Philly dropped her uncle’s hands and went running the few feet in front of her, arms wide-open, and barreled into her arms—Lexi Pendergrass.

Chapter 3 (#ulink_c450333a-45bb-55bc-a916-b67d56ada750)

Something magical always took away Lexi’s bad mood when it came to the variety of treats offered at the county fair. She knew she’d have to work a little longer with her Zumba workout disc, but it was totally worth it. Sort of. A mouth filled with a bit of exotic fair food—a fried Oreo cookie—was not the way Lexi wanted to remeet Stephen Reyes. But as she swallowed down her treat, the horrific frozen smirk on his face lessened the humiliation of being caught stuffing her face.

“A pleasure seeing you again.” Lexi washed down her treat with a sip of tea through her long swirly straw before extending her hand, silently praying not to have any of the chocolate cookie on her teeth. The smug smile he’d showed off earlier in the day faltered when Mr. Nate introduced her to him as the judge of tonight’s pageant. Stephen’s hand wrapped around her icy one, cold from holding her drink, and sent a sizzle through to her skin.

“Yes, my brother mentioned you two already met?” Stephen dropped her hand and gave a quick nod.

Lexi’s attention turned toward his brother. She’d met Mr. Nate a few weeks ago when he brought his five-year-old niece to Grits and Glam Gowns for the Saturday-morning workshop. In fact, Nate had unknowingly spawned the idea of buying the café when her kitchenette did not have the space to accommodate his fan club.

So when Nate introduced Stephen as his brother, she wasn’t sure she could keep her perfected pageant smile from faltering. How was it possible the two of them were related?

Earlier, Lexi had given Stephen a ten in the evening-wear department, but if tonight was a casual look, he definitely earned another perfect score. She hated him for making a pair of denim jeans and a blue Atlanta Braves jersey look so good. Even his choice in shoes, a pair of tan Timberlands, was perfect. He oozed sex and confidence and she hated herself for noticing. So what? Not like she hadn’t seen a handsome man before.

Stephen cleared his throat and ran his large hand over his bearded face. “We’re hoping after tonight we’ll spend more time together,” said Nate.

The double innuendo was not lost on Lexi’s ears but she did not encourage with a flirtatious smile. She did not get involved with parents of clients. Not anymore, a bitter voice whispered in her ear.

“Not if I can help it,” Stephen injected over a cough into his balled-up fist.

Lexi cocked her head to the side. “Bless your heart, are your allergies getting to you?”

“We went to see the animals,” Philly Reyes said, tugging on the pocket of Lexi’s denim overalls.

She’d forgotten about the attire for the judges, the camaraderie it gave the panel, and now she bit her bottom lip. Dressing up as a farmhand wasn’t Lexi’s first choice, but she knew how to make it work, accessorizinng the attire with a pair of red cowboy boots. “Hi, sweetie,” Lexi cooed, and squatted down to get to Philly’s eye level.

“I am going to remember my cupcake hands.” Philly beamed, holding her hands out to her side and pretending to cup the invisible hem of an invisible cupcake dress. The five-year-old nailed the movement. A lot of other girls from the pageant workshop kept curling their fingers under as if holding a bar. Philly held her arms out to the side and left her hands limp at the wrists, as Lexi had taught her.

Proud, Lexi gave Philly a hug. Smart of whoever decided to dress the family in matching clothes. At an event like this, things became crowded. Already she’d seen a bouncy house filled with lost kids waiting for their parents to arrive. “I can’t wait to watch, Philly. Don’t forget to have fun, though.”

“You’ve met Philly,” Stephen’s deep voice said. He loomed over them with a smirk across his devastatingly handsome face. “Here comes our other niece, Kimber.”