The Bachelor and the Beauty Queen by Carolyn Hector

money?”
    Lexi dusted crumbs off her hands, then wiped her brow with the back of her right hand as if she’d worked so hard in the kitchen. “If you’re writing a book, it didn’t happen quite like that.”
    â€œBoo hoo.” Andrew rolled his eyes. “Poor little scandalous Southwood socialite.”
    â€œAre you here so early to bust my chops?” Lexi smirked, placing her hand on her hip.
    â€œNo, I actually came to print out more flyers on the pageant in Savannah this weekend.”
    â€œWhat?” A pageant took weeks to prepare for.
    Andrew reached into his back pocket and extracted a folded-up piece of paper. “The Glitzy Southern Pageant is out of our district, but I thought the new crop of girls would be excited to watch.”
    Lexi shook her head, going over to her pantry for a red box of clear wrap for her dish. She closed the door with her hip, all the while trying to recall who would run the pageant area in the southeast region of Georgia. “Who is the emcee?”
    â€œWaverly Leverve.”
    The name brightened up Lexi’s smile. “No kidding. I used to train her.”
    â€œI know,” said Andrew, “which is why I thought you might try to gather some troops up to bring down, you know, generate business, wear our logo and pass out business cards with our services. It is Memorial Day weekend.”
    â€œWe can try.”
    â€œTry what?” asked a feminine voice at the opening of the staircase.
    â€œGood morning, Chantal,” Lexi and Andrew chorused.
    Strolling in with a brow raised, Chantal looked between them. “What’s the occasion?” she asked, peering over the counter.
    â€œI owe a favor.”
    â€œYou never said who this is for,” Andrew pointed out. “My boo?”
    â€œHis name is Stephen,” Lexi said quickly.
    â€œMeow.” Andrew swiped his hand at her like a cat. “Claiming him already?”
    The last time Lexi had claimed someone, unbeknownst to her, he was already married. The humiliating act at least allowed Lexi to refocus on her career. So the only thing she owed Ernest Laing was a thank-you. The heir to the Laing Diamonds had filled her head with lies and her heart with betrayal.
    â€œThose were some pretty flowers he bought you,” said Chantal, dragging Lexi out of her stupor.
    â€œThey’re Dancing Lady orchids,” Lexi informed them, “and he was being nice.”
    â€œInteresting.” Andrew hummed.
    â€œYou’re reading too much into this.” Lexi wiped her hands on the back of her jeans. “Like I said, he was being nice.”
    Andrew reached across the bar of the kitchen and tapped the covered dish. “So you’re returning the favor by being nice?”
    â€œOf course,” Lexi said perkily. She refused to let him have one up on her. If Stephen wanted to pretend to be kind, after what he did with the lot next door, he had another think coming. What was the saying? Kill them with kindness? “I thought I’d drop this off before I headed into the shop.”
    â€œI thought the lights weren’t on in his place,” said Chantal.
    â€œOh?”
    â€œYeah,” said Andrew. “When I asked Philly if she was coming in for practice today, she told me no ’cause her uncle Nate had an appointment out of town.”
    The two assistants bumped their shoulders together when Nate’s name was spoken, and Lexi rolled her eyes and inwardly admitted the handsomeness of the Reyes men. She did wonder how Stephen would handle the pageant world if he was not prepared to bring Philly in for any practice. If he didn’t freak out over the way some of the pageant moms treated their kids, he might over the way they’d devour him.
    A lightbulb went off in Lexi’s head. She wondered how he’d handle the pageant in Savannah. In a way, she feared for his sanity. And did Andrew say Nate went out of town today?