AllFreeNovel
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“She’s fine,” Stephen spoke up. “Did we miss a session with you today?”
“No, uh...” Lexi licked her lips. “Nate canceled.”
“We missed school today,” Philly informed her. “We didn’t wake up in time.”
Lexi’s eyes glanced back in Stephen’s direction, catching him as he shook his head quickly and stood tight-lipped. “You guys weren’t feeling well?”
“He said I sounded
congested.” Philly annunciated every syllable of the word. As a pageant coach, Lexi had seen all kinds of maternal antics when they thought the judges weren’t watching. Philly’s hazel eyes looked over Lexi’s shoulders and read whatever Stephen coached her to say.
Lexi glared.
“Philly, go get your sister so we can go out for lunch,” Stephen ordered his niece.
Philly scrambled out of the kitchen. Her little footsteps echoed through the hall. They were alone. The closest they’d been to alone before was dancing together the other night. The uncomfortable silence falling between her and Stephen made her all too aware she needed to leave.
“I guess I’ll be leaving.” She stepped around the island to escape the small space, but Stephen met her at the corner. Even though he was barefoot, he towered over her.
“You’re not so tall without your heels,” he said, his eyes looming over the top of her head.
“You’re the first man to say such a thing.” Lexi gulped.
“Why do you wear such high heels?”
Lexi flashed a pageant smile. “The higher the heel, the closer to heaven.”
With that, Stephen chuckled. His pleasant laugh and smile softened the hard lines on his face. “Religious much?”
“I’ve been known to holler out the Lord’s name before.” Heat scorched her face at her blatant flirting.
Stephen’s eyebrows rose. He cleared his throat and stared at her mouth for a full minute, contemplating something. What? She didn’t know. For a split moment she thought he might kiss her. Did she want him to? Hell yeah.
“Why did you come today?” Stephen finally asked.
The rich deepness of his voice made her brain freeze. Air dried her throat. Lexi gulped, hoping to find her words. “My dessert is for you,” she fumbled, then shook her head as the words left her lips, “I brought you some dessert you...” God, please make this stop. “You guys. You and the girls.” Geez shut up, she told herself. Sweat began to bead at the nape of her neck. She’d straightened her hair for this?
“Dessert?” Stephen’s left brow rose with curiosity. His lips curled into a lopsided grin.
“A little banana pudding.” Lexi squared her shoulders with confidence. “I wanted to be neighborly.”
“Neighborly to the man who stole your store?”
A sharp pang stabbed at her heart, but Lexi squinted her eyes and pressed a wide, second-place finisher smile across her face. “I am going to assume you offered the Foxxes something more favorable than what I came up with.”
“I did.”
“Then I don’t consider what you did stealing, simply business.”
Stephen’s dark eyes roamed over her hair and her face, settling on her lips. She inhaled deeply, in hopes of disguising the set of chills threatening to expose her leashed desire.
“Such poise you have,” Stephen hummed, still staring. “Did you learn that in your pageantry days?”
Lexi folded her arms across her chest to create some distance between them. “As a matter of fact, I did. I didn’t always win.”
“Hard to believe.”
“It’s true,” Lexi said, and took a side step away from him. A sliver of bright light from outside flashed down the hallway when the door opened and quickly closed. “You don’t go far in life by being a sore loser. So why not be happy for the winner? Say, how long were you asleep?”
