once upon a romance 07 - finding mr right

by leclair, laurie

  No one, not even his former fiancée, had caused this type of reaction.

  Swallowing hard, he jerked away, trying to break that invisible cord tethering them together. “My apologies.” His rough, strangled voice escaped.

  “Accepted,” she said curtly.

  Priscilla looked from Dex to Madison and back again. Her smile grew slowly.

  Dex scowled at her. “Priscilla. If you could please do as I ask, we can get this over and done with in as short a time as possible.”

  “If you say so, Dex.”

  He didn’t like her grin. But, if he played along, maybe he’d get the thumbs-up from her.

  “I’ll just hug you, Madison. That doesn’t seem as weird.” She flung her arms around Madison and hugged her. Madison froze, her arms glued to her sides. Slowly, she relaxed. In seconds, Priscilla pulled away and stepped back.

  Dex held his breath. By the emotions chasing across her face, he couldn’t be certain what she thought.

  “Something’s missing.”

  He cursed silently. “That’s what your husband said.”

  “Griff? He already did the smell test?”

  “He and Charlie did,” Madison jumped in to point out. “Very professional.”

  Priscilla shook her head. “Not that. It’s just if he approved already, Dex and you wouldn’t be here. Am I right?”

  His breath siphoned out of him. “Right you are, Prissy.”

  “So why come here?”

  “I had to try.” Dex shrugged, throwing up his hands. “Madison has the last drop on her. I thought this one would be the one.”

  “It’s closer than anything else so far,” Prissy assured him. “Don’t give up now! The premiere is a matter of days away. The bottle and box are designed, approved, and ready to hit production.”

  “I’m the one hiccup.”

  She patted him on the arm. “You’re a genius, Dex. You can do this for me. For King’s.”

  “I’ve never failed before. I can’t this time, either.” Just get over this one hurdle and onto trying out for the new position. Renewed vigor surged through him. Ideas flashed in his mind. “Madison, come back to my lab. I need your clothes, well, your dress…”

  “What?” She rubbed her arms and then hugged herself.

  “It’s perfectly aboveboard. Also, I need to inhale more of you…”

  Why did he have these sudden visions of taking in every beautiful inch of her? He went there. Now, would he ever be able to reel himself back in?

  Chapter 6

  Dexter may have come across as a little too desperate. But she did feel sorry for him. After all, he had a deadline to meet. And she seemed to be his only hope at the moment.

  There was something charming and adorable about his dedication to his work and to King’s.

  Her mission had fallen flat. Mrs. King-Baxter barely talked to her and soon after handing the little girl off, she murmured her pleasantries and went back to combing through piles of paint samples and fabric swatches. Madison’s chance at taking her aside never materialized.

  At the entrance of his garage lab, she hesitated. “Here? Your house?” A flutter of disquiet rippled through her. She just met him. What would her fiancé say if he found out? If his family discovered this?

  The fallout for them and her would be disastrous!

  Uptight wouldn’t be the correct word she’d use about them. Overly cautious seemed appropriate to describe her future-in-laws. The Texas state senator and his wife kept a tight control on their son’s and daughters’ actions and anyone they associated with. They gently, but firmly, put her through the third degree when they’d met her for the first time a few short months ago. She’d fibbed. Lied, was more like it.

  They had no idea she’d been adopted. No idea that the woman who slowly shriveled up from Alzheimer’s wasn’t her blood mother or that the woman never had a husband in real life. All made up. On paper it looked like a typical family—a later in life expectant wife losing her husband in such an unexpected health crisis, leaving all she knew behind in Dallas to start anew with her little girl in Austin.

  They’d bought it. Guilt riddled Madison as to how understanding they had been and still were, insisting on paying for the elaborate wedding.

  “It’s my main workplace,” Dex said, bringing her back to the moment. “I have a lab at King’s, but this suits me more. I can work all hours of the day and night and not be disturbed.” He unlocked the door, shoved it open, and flicked on the lights. “Ladies first.”

  Her lip twitched. The telltale sign of her first round with nerves reared its ugly head. “Oh, I don’t know if…” She bit back on a giggle. “Maybe I should go.”

  “No, you can’t. I mean. Please don’t. Look, give me an hour, two tops.”

  His earnest expression tugged at her heart. She nodded, unable to find words when bubbles of anxiety threatened to break loose.

  “You won’t regret it. I promise. I’m indebted to you.”

  That’s the last thing she wanted another person to feel. “I’ll help.”

  A few minutes later, still blinking from the bright overhead lights, the two long lab tables with microscopes and a long row of test tubes and an assortment of items from his trade, Madison slowly turned in a tight circle to encompass the entirely white, sterile room. “It’s strangely beautiful,” she said in awe.

  Turning back to him, she swore he blushed.

  “Thanks. It’s my favorite place in the whole world. I can be me here.”

  “The mad scientist?” Her words were gentle. “With no people to bother you.”

  “You get it.” He shook his head. “Not many people do. My cousin, Shane, does, though.”

  The reference to his family reminded Madison she had her own business to attend to. How she’d get the answers she needed, she didn’t have a clue. But, she must. For her own peace of mind and heart.

  A niggle of fear rushed up the back of her neck. She shivered. The outcome may jeopardize her new life. But how could she ever be a wife to Jacob or a mother to their future children if she didn’t ever attempt to find her own?

  Blocking it out, she pointed to the large doomed plastic and wood construction in the corner. “What’s that?”

  “Time Machine,” he said, his cheeks flushing. “My dad, my cousin, and I made that when I was a kid. We read the book together and decided to make one. We had hours of fun imagining where we traveled to and who we met.” He shrugged awkwardly. “Sometimes, I wish it really worked.”

  “Turn back time?” A flicker of hope blasted through her. If only she could go back in time and bottle up the hours she’d spent with her adoptive mother and hold those precious moments to her.

  “A kid’s dream…” But there was a wistfulness in his voice for the past.

  Emotion clogged her throat. “Where shall we start?” She asked in a strangled voice. The sooner she got this over with, the sooner she’d be on her way.

  “Dress.” He nodded to her outfit, his gaze lingering. “Ah…I have a new lab coat in the bathroom just inside the house.”

  She brushed a hand over the material. “You won’t ruin it any more than it already is, will you? I think I can still salvage some of it. The skirt part of it. It’s vintage. ”

  He shook his head too quickly. But she reluctantly turned to the door connecting this garage to the main home. It’s only a short time. It will be over soon. The promises she made to herself rang in her mind. No one will be the wiser, right?

  Her brief impression of the ultra-modern kitchen and cozy living room as she looked around corners was this was not a normal bachelor’s home. No, it belonged to a family; a woman’s touch showed itself with the throw pillows, blankets draped over the backs of chairs, the red housewares, and the big red mixing bowl tucked in the corner of the counter.

  Madison gulped. She learned the fiancée was an ex. But was he living with a woman?

  Rushing to the restroom, she hurriedly undid her dress and went to shrug it of
f. “Wait,” she said. “What if that woman walks in on us? It’s completely innocent, but still, that would take a lot of explaining to do. Plus, I need to stay away from any scandal.” She drew the dress back on and stormed out of the room and back into the garage. “Dex, we can’t—”

  At the same time, the door they’d come in through only a few minutes ago flung open and a man sailed in. “Yo, Dex.” He stopped short when he noticed she was there, half clutching her dress to her and with her bare shoulder exposed. “I’m Shane, Dex’s cousin. Care to tell me what you’re doing half-dressed in his house?”

  A small sound popped out, and then another, and soon Madison was giggling again. She hated this nervous habit. It made her look guilty as sin.

  “No, Shane. You’ve got it wrong.” Dex jumped up from his seat and glanced at her. His eyes widened and his eyebrows rose. “It’s business, purely business.”

  His blue eyes didn’t look businesslike at all to her. They were warm and melting her limbs. She shook and giggled some more.

  “Business? A prostitute, Dex? Did you even think this out?”

  “No, no!” Madison and Dex cried out in unison.

  “I’m not a hooker.” The absurdity of it forced her to sober up.

  “Why are you here then? Dex, you never bring women home, not like this. Are you still upset about, you know, Candace?” he asked in a lowered voice.

  “I’m over my ex, all right, Shane.”

  “I’ll go.” They had answered her questions about his single status. Why should she care, though? Madison slipped the sleeve on and covered her shoulder, and then buttoned up her dress.

  “No, allow me to go.” Shane offered. “Dex, you got it under control, right?” He got a quick nod. “You—don’t hurt him,” he said to Madison, the warning thick and heavy in his tone.

  “It’s not like that. I’m…” What was she? Why couldn’t she be where there were no more outrageous accusations? “I work for Dex.”

  Stunned silence blanketed the room. Dex, wide-eyed and openmouthed, stared at her.

  “His assistant. Temporary assistant. Just to help with this batch of perfume.”

  Dex slowly relaxed in tiny increments.

  “King’s hired you an assistant? I thought all that hiring was for the wedding department.”

  “Last-minute change of plans,” Dex chimed in, smiling now. “Yes, this will do nicely. It’s always been in the plans; but to find someone suitable was a tedious, unsuccessful process…until now.”

  She forced a smile, highly aware of the cousin measuring up the situation.

  “Well, I’m sure that may be part of the Sunday dinner invitation I was just asked to pass along to you. At Charlie’s. The whole gang of usual suspects will be in attendance. Dolly said to make sure Dex’s little friend got an invitation, too.”

  Swallowing hard did not dislodge that rock-size lump in her throat. So he’d come by to check her out, had he? And look what he’d found! “How sweet.”

  Shane frowned at her, clearly not buying their story or her, for that matter.

  “I’ll think about it and get back to you, Shane,” Dex said. “But for now we’ve got a perfume we’re trying to save.”

  Shane held up his hands, backing out. “No problem. I get it. Work to do and I’d only be in the way.”

  Her lips twitched as his narrowed eyes landed on her. Giggles erupted. She groaned inwardly. Why now? He’d think she was being dishonest. Well, she was, but he didn’t have to suspect the worst.

  ***

  “Shane, wait up,” Dex called, rushing to catch his cousin before he pulled out of the driveway. He tapped on the hood of the old gray truck and grabbed Shane’s attention.

  The brakes squealed in protest. He shifted to park and rolled down the window.

  Dex reached the side of the still running truck and grabbed ahold of the door. “It looks bad. Trust me. It’s not.”

  He blew out a long, slow breath. “It’s not you I don’t trust, cuz. Well, not entirely. You’re gullible. Naïve. Hell, Dex, you’re a nice guy and women use that against you.”

  “Hey, my blinders are off—”

  “Are they? I heard you gave Candy money.”

  “Her folks. Not her. They’re in a bind. Look, they were friends to my folks. I had the cash.” He shrugged, wondering why he had to justify helping someone out. “Geez, Shane, Mom and Dad left me the house, Dad’s car, and a boatload of money. It’s not like I can’t spare some.”

  “As long as it’s just some.” He sighed. “I’ll put them in contact with my finance guy. He may be able to work some of his magic.”

  “Sounds good. I know they’d appreciate all the help they can get.”

  “In over their heads already.” Shane eyed him. “Who is she? Where did you meet her? How long have you known her?”

  Madison. Again. How could Dex tell him? “She’s doing me a huge favor.”

  “First clue, you were jumpy when I found you two. Second, you stood up for her. Third, you’re not answering my questions.”

  “It’s not like we were doing anything.” Dex defended himself, only half aware of the beautiful sunny day. The sunshine felt good on his body, warming the sudden chill he’d gotten from his cousin. Dex wasn’t guilty of a damn thing. “I met her at King’s, if you must know. Ask Peg or Rico. They were there.”

  “As if they always make the best choices.” But his voice held a smile. He turned the key in the ignition, shutting down the engine. Silence beat in the still air. He nudged Dex back and opened the door. Once he got out, he closed it with a definite click and leaned against the metal door.

  Dex chuckled. “Okay, not the greatest examples of who to vouch for anyone or anything. Look, Shane, I spilled the last of the perfume on Madison. She’s helping me. I haven’t told you, but I want more responsibility at King’s.”

  “And you don’t have enough as it is?” He dragged a hand down his face.

  “The new director of product development job.” The words stuck in the back of his throat. “I want it. Bad. I’m the one who can do this.”

  Shane let out a long, low whistle. “That’s a mighty big leap.”

  His muscles tensed. “You don’t think I can do it?”

  “I didn’t say that.” But he hesitated. “You’re good at what you do. The best. Why more?”

  “Why not?” He bristled. “I’ve been in the trenches, Shane. I helped right this sinking ship with the Charmings perfume and all the other products I created after it. Yes, King’s is based on family—” his voice caught.

  His cousin eyed him. “You want to show them, don’t you? Prove that you’re a worthy member of the King’s family?”

  An arrow pierced his chest. It hit the mark. Dead on. “Is that so terrible?” He wanted to be a part of the big King’s Department Store family, not just the mad scientist stuck in his lab working on the next magic potion. “To want to belong to something bigger and better than yourself?”

  “You and me, we’re family. My folks…” Shane shrugged. “Them, too. When they’re not so self-absorbed. And Evelyn. We’re planning the wedding. She’s your family, too.”

  Could he make his cousin understand? “I know. But this is more. Loyalty to the family. Honor. Pride at who and what you’re a part of. I want to, no, I need to show them, I’m that guy.”

  “Prove your worth? Dex, I think they know how great you are.”

  “Do they? If they did, don’t you think they’d have offered me the job already? At least let me sit in on the discussion about creating this new position?”

  Shane blew out a breath. “They don’t see you. Not as one of the leaders of the store.”

  “I’m more than lotions and perfumes. I can do more.” He had so many ideas scribbled down in half a dozen notebooks he was dying to share.

  “Actions speak louder than words…”

  “Exactly.”

  He’d finally gotten it. Now, Dex had to back it up with everything he had in him. If only h
e could knock out this perfume and be done with it, he could launch his bid for the coveted slot.

  Nodding toward the house, Shane said, “Don’t let her trip you up, cuz.”

  Warning bells sounded in his ears. If Shane only knew how Madison had bombed in front of Charlie and Griff this morning he’d be even more concerned than he was at the moment. One big stumbling block needed to be overcome. Could Madison be the key to figuring this formula out or his downfall?

  ***

  With his head down and directing Madison to hand him this or that, Dex blocked out his intense conversation with his cousin and lost track of time. He took a beaker and mixed the last droplets of fragrance in. The base notes, middle notes, and the top notes were together. The combination seemed as close as he could gather from her dress.

  Unfortunately, he’d made a horrible mistake earlier in not keeping track of the quantities. In the hopes of saving precious moments, he’d begun the day with a batch of five standard base samples and failed to keep up with his racing mind. He jotted down a shorthand of notes, but soon realized he couldn’t decipher his own scribbles and in his excitement couldn’t recall what he’d added to each beaker.

  Separating the layers of fragrance on her dress, he reconstructed the unique scent.

  Dex gently stirred, and then inhaled. “I think this could be it. Madison, try it.”

  She stood near his elbow and leaned in close. Dex, coming back to the moment, followed her every move. His newly acquired assistant wore his white oversized lab coat, rolled up at the sleeves. With a quick glance, he took her in, thinking she appeared to be wearing nothing but his lab coat and high heels.

  Biting back on a groan, he cleared his throat. “What’s the verdict?” He held his breath, hoping she’d like it.

  “It’s close. Maybe it is.” She shook her head and then turned to look directly at him.

  Her light green eyes, warm and sincere, captured his stare. “What’s not right here?” Was he still discussing perfume? Dex’s heart thumped. He allowed his gaze to travel over her delicate features and briefly on her lips. Heat washed over him.