Tempting The Beauty Queen. Carolyn Hector

black leather chair scraped against the pale gray wall behind Kenzie. It had a deep groove from the numerous times she’d done the exact same thing. “My goodness, let me get these off your hands.” She reached for the garment bags and immediately the wave of guilt hit her. “I’m so wrong. Here you are, five months pregnant in the summertime. A woman in your condition shouldn’t have to stand and listen to me complain.”

      Lexi waved off Kenzie’s fret. “Trust me, I’d stand here and talk to you longer. I’ve been hunched over the sewing machine for the last few days getting ready for Bailey’s pageant debut in a few weeks.”

      The two of them headed off to the elevators just outside Kenzie’s door. Pressing the circular down button, Kenzie smiled fondly at the image of her seventeen-year-old niece winning Miss Southwood and keeping the Swayne beauty queen dynasty going. It meant a lot to Kenzie to know Lexi saw the beauty queen potential in Bailey. In the pageant world, Lexi was a goddess. Not only did a one-of-a-kind dress designed by Lexi bring good luck, but her guidance as a pageant coach always brought her girls in at least the top five of every competition.

      For Kenzie’s family, pageantry ran in their veins. So far six older relatives on Kenzie’s father’s side of the family were former beauty queens and four on the Hairston side, all before the age of eighteen. More had won Miss Southwood between the ages of nineteen and twenty-five, including Kenzie, but Bailey winning would be quite a feat for someone so young. Plus, there hadn’t been a Swayne queen since Kenzie.

      “I’m so excited.” Kenzie beamed. “I know the former Miss Southwood is supposed to hand over the tiara but I plan on crowning her myself.”

      “Because we both know she’ll win.”

      Kenzie gave her friend a high five and the elevator doors dinged and opened. As they waited, Lexi pressed on. “I can’t wait.”

      After the elevator doors closed, Kenzie crossed the long hallway of her office floor toward the big bay windows to make sure Lexi made it safely down the front steps. Pride filled her heart at the sight of the well-manicured, lush green lawn of the town center. Cobblestone sidewalks encased the stretch of space in front of City Hall. Scattered diagonal parking spaces filled either side of the roads. Surrounding the area were diverse businesses such as The Cupcakery, Grits and Glam Gowns, The Scoop Ice Cream Parlor, Osborne Books and others in attractive brick buildings with colorful awnings.

      Kenzie rolled her eyes at the only thing she considered an eyesore: the upscale Brutti Hotel, built last year. With its modern architecture and glassy windows, and height, it stuck out like a sore thumb amongst the quaint, old town setting. There was nothing historical about the forest area where the hotelier, Gianni Brutti, built the spot and it wasn’t even considered Southwood land but everything about the place irritated Kenzie. The upscale hotel did push tourism, which kept revenue in town, so she guessed she couldn’t be too mad. In the distance a church bell rang. She was reminded once again of her hectic month ahead. Stress over her single status was going to plague her. The second wedding would be worse only in the sense she would be forced to be around Alexander’s and the questions from his well-wishing kin, wondering why the two of them never married. There weren’t many things Kenzie disliked about her small town—the folks around here always remembered Kenzie and Alexander as a couple in high school but forgot about her heartbreak when she’d returned. His family, never knowing the full story, always felt the need to remind Kenzie that they were both still single.

      In the reflection of the glass Kenzie spotted a sparkling strand of hair mixed with her awkward reddish mess. As if the stress of her life couldn’t mount any higher, she’d spied a gray strand. Kenzie pressed her head against the cool glass to inspect. To make matters worse, she spotted the silver Ford F-150 truck driving down Main Street. The same tug on her upper lip returned, just as it had when Lexi almost said his name. Ramon Torres was in town.

      * * *

      There were a few things that could cause Ramon Torres to break the strict set of rules he lived by. After battling childhood obesity, Ramon had a no-sweets rule. But for the debut of the summer cupcake, the Wedded Bliss, sold at The Cupcakery in downtown Southwood, he made an exception. The cupcakes were so famously known and loved, Ramon took time away from his boutique hotel, Magnolia Palace, on the outskirts of town just to get one.

      The other ban he broke was his No Kenzie rule. Southwood’s historian had a knack for getting under Ramon’s skin and under his covers. At the moment of spotting the unruly curly red hair secured in a high ponytail on Kenzie Swayne’s head, Ramon Torres contemplated leaving The Cupcakery. Considering the debut of the dessert, he decided to stay.

      What he hadn’t planned on was the way his body responded to the sight of Kenzie’s backside in a pair of light-colored jeans. She teetered on a pair of red heels and he recalled how her long legs felt wrapped around his waist. He then ticked off the Yankees’ last world series starting lineup in his mind. If he planned on breaking a rule, let it at least be one, not two, in a single day.

      The dozen people separating them weren’t enough. He needed a battalion. Ramon shifted in his boots and tried to blend in with the group of high school–aged football players with letterman jackets. According to the time on his watch, school hadn’t let out yet. Skipping class with identifying clothing to get a cupcake wasn’t smart, but Ramon understood. A couple of bankers Ramon worked with on occasion waited patiently in line. Even the kids he’d seen hanging around in the park doing nothing but skateboarding and intimidating some of the locals stopped and stood in line for a cupcake. Ramon understood the things a person was willing to sacrifice for a cupcake. In his quest for one, he’d put himself in the path of the wrath of Kenzie.

      Last summer had given Ramon and Kenzie the spark they’d needed to enjoy some heated moments together. Their time had been brief, but most of all pleasurable, until Ramon realized what a distraction Kenzie had been. He’d moved to Southwood to get away from his controlling family. Generation after generation, the Torres men and women were successful. Ramon knew how to throw a party. The family always teased him about making a “good time” a profession. His oldest brother, Julio, became the mayor of their hometown. Another brother became a United States Marshal and Raul, just one year older than Ramon, owned a booming nightclub in Villa San Juan. Ramon’s own success gene did not kick in until he reached thirty and just as the gears started to grind, he met Kenzie Swayne. Kenzie put a whole new spin on sexy—and bossy at the same time. She’d been a dangerous distraction when he was supposed to get his life together and grow up. He couldn’t live on his parents’ property forever, so when the opportunity to buy the old, plantation-style home in Georgia came open, Ramon took it. Since he’d been so great at making sure his friends always had a good time, whether at a party or on vacation, Ramon turned that into a profession and opened the doors to the boutique hotel for families to come and enjoy the Southern town. Magnolia Palace was his baby, his investment and his chance to prove to his family he’d matured.

      They worked together on a favorite pastime of Southwood’s—the Miss Southwood Beauty Pageant—as a favor to his extended family. Lexi Pendergrass, a former beauty queen, had married Ramon’s cousin Stephen. Stephen and his brother Nate were closer to Ramon than his own brothers. With Lexi being kin, as they said in Southwood, Ramon helped her out when the theater downtown, the usual beauty pageant venue, flooded by hosting it at his hotel, Magnolia Palace. With hindsight being 20/20, Ramon now knew he had been in no place to start anything. Had he known hosting the competition would get him involved with Kenzie, Ramon would never have done it. Kenzie wanted a man who was ready to settle down and Ramon was getting on his own two feet.

      Ahead of him in line, Kenzie dropped something from her pocket when she retrieved her cell phone from her hip. The ample, heart-shaped view of her behind caused Ramon to forget about the No Kenzie rule. Every red-blooded male in line sighed and cocked their heads to the side to unabashedly appreciate the view. A collective sigh of admiration stretched through the store. Unaware, Kenzie straightened and juggled her oversize purse on her shoulder and committed the ultimate sin...she stepped aside. Whoever was on the other end must have been pretty damn important. Ramon’s jaw twitched with a twinge of something. He couldn’t put his finger on the feeling. He didn’t like the idea of someone so important in