once upon a romance 07 - finding mr right

by leclair, laurie

  “Moi? Never, Dex. For shame.”

  A trickle of unease raced through her as Dex departed. There was something he wasn’t telling her. Had it anything to do with his meeting with Charlie? He looked pained and concerned when he’d found her earlier. Then he brushed it off to show her around the store. Now, a hint of a shadow returned to his eyes.

  “Come, my dear,” Rico coaxed as he placed a hand on her shoulder. “You’re mine now.”

  She chuckled. “Should I be frightened?”

  “Be afraid. Be very afraid.”

  Chapter 10

  Her tour of the wedding boutique, the stock room, and the plans for the very large new wing ended back where she began. “How many dresses coming in, did you say?”

  “Francie emailed this morning. King sister part deux and the wedding dress buyer for the store. On an extended buying trip to get the inventory for the new wedding wing. A thou, at the least.” He fanned himself. “Oh, please let the new addition be finished on time.”

  “It will be. At least the storage room, right?” Mentally, she calculated the space needed for such a large shipment, having helped place items in the consignment shops back home. “Do you have the racks set up?”

  “We have Danny. He’s a dream when it comes to organizing!”

  “Get the racks put together and waiting. Sizes. Prices. However you assemble the merchandise on the floor, make certain your shipping department follows along the same lines. Once the dresses come in, you can easily categorize them and hang them.”

  “Oh la la! I likee how you thinkee. From there, we roll them onto the floor. Even if it’s last minute, it will be easy peasy to set up.” He clutched her hands in his. “I may steal you away from Dex.”

  That left a disturbing hollow sensation to sweep through her. Leave Dex? The painful feelings frightened her. She forced a smile. “I’ll help you both, how’s that?”

  “I’m going to take you up on that, honey!”

  The ache remained. How come she didn’t feel this sense of loss with leaving her Mr. Right in Austin a few days ago?

  ***

  Madison had difficulty concentrating. Dex, silent and brooding, worked tirelessly. He’d barely said two words to her in hours.

  He’d made noises. Hmm…uh huh…and mmm…peppered the silence.

  She, however, replayed their lunch, how open and revealing he’d been and then the opposite since leaving her with Rico.

  What had happened in his meeting with Charlie?

  How could she not think it was about her?

  Clearing her throat, she said, “Can I get you a drink or something?”

  “Huh?” He buried his head in his notes, scratching out another formula, it looked like. “Oh sure. There should be something in the fridge. Shane tries to keep me stocked up for times like these.”

  “He cares.”

  “My best friend,” he said absently. “He lived with us for a while.”

  “What happened? Didn’t he have parents?” It always made her curious about other people and how they’d grown up. What kind of childhood had they had? What were their parents like? What had she missed out on?

  “Messy divorce. My aunt and uncle put Shane in the middle for years. My folks took him in. He was like a son to them and a big brother to me, always looking out for me. You know, he had the looks, body, and whatever in high school. Popular. Me, I had science and not much of anything else.”

  “You had him.” She sensed that had meant everything. A pang throbbed behind her rib cage; she wished she’d had someone like that.

  “Yeah, I was lucky.” He pushed away from the table and rose from the stool. “About that drink.” He headed toward the house. “Snacks? Food? Am I starving you again?” He stopped and turned. “Coming?”

  “Oh, yes,” she said, shaking her head to try to ward off thoughts of Dex having only his cousin. “No one from high school?”

  “Well, there was this redheaded girl.” He grinned, stealing her breath away again. “As my uncle would say, she was a hot tomato.”

  Madison chuckled. A pang of jealousy shot through her. “Do tell.”

  “Let’s just say, we experimented. In the teacher’s closet. Three years and no one ever suspected.”

  “Three? Wow!” Words stuck in her throat. Entering the kitchen, she glanced at his mouth. What would it feel like to kiss him? “College?”

  “Brown eyed girl.” His voice trailed off as he went to the fridge. “Not as covert, I guess you could say. I wound up being the subject of one of her papers.”

  “Subject?” A sense of dread wormed its way into her chest.

  “She rated guys she slept with. Some were repeats. The ones she liked. Gathered more details or data. I was referred to as science boy, if I recall. ‘A remarkable surprise’, I think it said.” His words might be dismissive, but the hurt in his voice was all too real.

  She ached for him. “At least you got remarkable.”

  “Better than a dud like the jock got.”

  “Ouch!”

  “Yeah, it was a shocking revelation for the entire English class. She’d systemically worked her way through the guys.” He brought her a soda. “It was a real education.”

  Again, she read the censor in his eyes. Poor judgment. “You weren’t the only one, Dex. The other guys…”

  “Moved on.” The unspoken words, he hadn’t, pulsed in the air.

  What he told her about Charlie and then his ex-fiancée blasted through her thoughts. Repeat. Her heart hitched. God, don’t let her hurt him, too. He didn’t deserve it.

  ***

  A few minutes later, she gulped down the root beer. The fizzles went up her nose. She shivered. “Too fast.” She giggled, realizing she was nervous with him again. They were getting too close. This huge, beautiful kitchen with cherry wood cabinets and granite countertops seemed far removed from the white blank canvas two-car garage he worked in. “Lovely,” she murmured.

  “Mom didn’t get to spend much time in here after Shane and his company redid it. A surprise present from my Dad. It wasn’t even a special occasion. She loved to cook.” He glanced around the room. “Barely complained. But dad knew. He’d catch her oohing and ahhing over one of those house shows or folding down a corner of a page in a magazine where there was something she liked. So, he got Shane and me to take notice. We put our heads together and came up with this design. She loved it…”

  Tears smarted her eyes. “That’s so sweet.” Biting her bottom lip, she wondered if anyone would ever want to do something like that for her one day. “He sounds like a great guy, your dad.”

  “The best. Gruff on the outside to people who didn’t know him. But real tender on the inside. Huh, I remember he’d get choked up at those Hallmark movies. Mom would be the one handing him tissues.”

  Madison laughed and wiped a tear away. Looking up, she found Dex watching her. She lifted her shoulders. “I’m a sucker for those movies, too. Anything with a happily ever after.”

  His smile warmed her in places that she didn’t know needed warming and all the way to her toes. He knew it wasn’t just the movies that had gotten to her. “If you say so.”

  “What about you—”

  Holding up his hands, Dex moved to her, and then took a seat beside her at the large island. “No, Madison. What about you? I know your name. And you have a vintage business. You’ve kept the rest from me.”

  She fiddled with her glass and then the root beer bottle and its label. “There’s nothing much to say.” Gulping hard, she refused to look at him.

  Gently, he placed a hand under her chin and turned her face to him. Her eyes met his warm gaze. “I want to know.”

  His soft words wrapped their way into her heart. “I…my mother has Alzheimer’s. It’s grown worse in the last year.” Panic had set in when she’d discovered how terrible it had gotten. The woman who raised her had forgotten who she was. Madison sucked in a sharp, painful breath. “Church secretary and then one for a law firm. E
xecutive secretary. Someone once so smart and good with words…now, she can barely recall what day it is.” And who I am.

  “I’m sorry.” He truly was. Hurt flashed in his eyes at her loss.

  Madison looked away. He dropped his hand. No one she knew had known what she’d gone through, not like Dex did. And he felt it, too. Felt for her. “Thank you.” The words came out whisper soft. “My father. I never knew him.” She’d stopped herself from more lies, veering away from the one her mother told people, that he’d died young. “It was just Mom and me.”

  “No one else?”

  How could she tell him there was a fiancé back in Austin waiting for her, thinking she was here to find her dream wedding dress at the famed King’s Department Store? “Once.” Okay, twice, but she wasn’t telling. Not about being currently engaged.

  “What happened?”

  “I was young. Eighteen. He was a year older.” She chuckled as the memories tumbled through her mind. “We thought we had it all. You know, the saying, young and dumb, right? I already had the Vintage Vibe and did that out of my garage.” She glanced at him, shooting him a grin. He sucked in a sharp breath. “Something you and I have in common, Dex. Garage businesses.”

  “Hey, if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em.”

  That sound he made hadn’t gone unnoticed. Her body tingled at it, but she tried to carry on. She owed him at least that much of who she really was. “He didn’t like to work. The ocean was his thing. Beach bum, I guess you could say.” She sat up and waved her hand. “I thought it was so romantic. Camping out on the beach. Hanging out with his beach buddies.”

  “There you go again, showing that romance thing.”

  She nudged his arm. “Don’t remind me, all right?” Her sigh swept through the room. “My mom was cool with it.” She noticed how she slipping into the language. “No hassles. Just wanted me to be happy. She was older and I think afraid I’d turn my back on her if she disagreed.”

  “Smart lady.”

  Her smile grew. “Yeah, she was. So, I worked and brought in the money. He asked for some. I gave. I supported us both. My business grew. It took more and more time. I didn’t ask and he didn’t offer to help. I grew tired of doing it all on my own. It fizzled out. He didn’t even bat an eye when I packed up. I told him he wasn’t right for me. In fact, I call him Mr. Wrong. He shrugged. Never even helped to carry my bags out. That’s the last time I saw him.”

  “His loss.”

  Blinking, she came back to the moment. “That’s what Mom said.”

  “See, I knew I liked that woman.”

  Madison chuckled. “I think she would have liked you, too.” That was true. She’d always liked a gentleman. And Dex was certainly one of them.

  “No one else?”

  That question startled her; she’d almost answered without thinking. “How could I?” She dodged it. “I was with Bodie. Then I wasn’t. I went back home and Mom wasn’t doing so well. Doctors and appointments ensued. It took quite a while before we discovered how sick she really was. Treatment followed. It worked for a time. At least her illness didn’t progress as fast. But, she slipped away…” She trailed off; that painful time rushed back and nearly gobbled her whole.

  “Shhh!” he soothed. “You’re here. It’s over.” Gently, he gathered her in his arms. Dex brushed back her hair and kissed her temple.

  His tenderness was her undoing. Hot tears followed. “I tried.” Madison clung to him.

  “I know you did. She knew you did, too.”

  “Everything”—she gulped—“Fell apart. So fast. After that. Now she doesn’t even know me.”

  Dex’s warm, strong arms encircled her. Madison relaxed against him, realizing she could finally lean on someone stronger than she was. Someone who could take the pain, not away, but who could share it with her and not be frightened by her emotions.

  “I miss her, who she was, so much.” There, it was out. Just saying those simple words, admitting the truth, lifted a huge burden from her heart. One she had no idea she’d been carrying.

  “It’s so hard,” he agreed.

  Her sobs quieted. It seemed enough to speak about it. She rested her head on his shoulder, listening to his even breathing. Sinking into him, she allowed him to hold her tighter. Why hadn’t she let down her defenses with Jacob like this? “Dex.” She half said, half sighed his name. “It feels so good when you hold me,” she whispered.

  Moments passed before she realized his breathing had picked up pace. She pressed her hand against his chest, feeling his heart beat thunder under her palm.

  “Madison. I think you should move away now.”

  “Huh?” Slowly, she shifted. Highly aware of her own pulse slamming away in her neck, she pulled back slightly. Looking up into his darkening blue gaze, she gulped past the sudden lump in her throat. Desire stirred. In him. And in her.

  With his thumb, he brushed away her tears from her cheeks. “If you don’t go now, I can’t guarantee a damn thing.”

  A quiver racked her body. Her gaze dropped to his lips.

  He moaned and then leaned closer.

  It was as if time were suspended. Slowly, he inched toward her.

  “Stop me,” he begged, but continued to move toward her.

  “I don’t think I can. I don’t think I want to.”

  His moan rumbled through him as his lips touched hers. The kiss, soft and tentative at first, caused her to sigh. “Kiss me back,” he whispered, adding more pressure.

  Heat built, swirling inside her. “Dex,” she said, kissing back, hungry for more, hungrier for him. Her hands touched his chest, feeling the heavy, powerful thudding of his heart. Madison groaned.

  He swallowed it up, parting her lips with his tongue. She melted even more into him, allowing him more access. Deep. Wet. Slow.

  Her body sparked to life. Every part of her was alive. Every nerve tingled. Everything hummed.

  A coil of heat curled and licked through her. She reached up to touch him, capture his face between her hands like he was doing to her. Her fingertips grazed his jaw; the five o’clock shadow scraped and teased.

  That must have jolted him; he halted and eased away. With mere inches between them, he stared into her eyes. His were dark and dangerous. Passion flared. She shivered. Their heated breaths mingled between them and she wanted to kiss him again and again.

  “Madison, I’m not that kind of guy.”

  “Wh-at kind is that?”

  “No one-night stands. No roll in the hay. I don’t even know you, even though I feel as if I do.”

  His words were like a douse of icy water. She pushed him away and sat up straight. Her cheeks felt as if they were on fire. You’re engaged. To another man. How could she lose sight of that? “Me, too.” Brushing back her hair, she looked anywhere but at him. “That’s not who I am, either.” But, she’d been so close to being that person.

  “I got carried away. You’re lovely and sweet and I couldn’t resist.” He cleared his throat. “I should take you back to your hotel.”

  “I’ll call a taxi.” Could she just deal with her shame on her own?

  “No. I insist.” His words were clipped and final.

  Silence hung in the Mustang as Dex drove her back to her room. Sneaking a peek, she noted his tense profile and the grip on the steering wheel. Madison gulped. “Thank you. For listening tonight. You’re the first person I’ve ever shared that with.” Why hadn’t she’d done that with the man she was going to marry in a few short weeks? He doesn’t understand your pain, whispered through her mind.

  His single-minded devotion to his professional career reared up now. He was on track to enter political life in a few short years, blazing a trail a mile wide. Speculation grew in the papers whenever he’d attended a function for his father. Questions were inevitable. Would he enter the arena himself?

  He’d skillfully maneuvered them away from probing too deep, but, in private, he’d rejoice. Winning over the press to the idea early on would gain h
im momentum when he did run.

  Madison nearly choked on the guidance he’d offered her. On the outside, she’d agreed to pull back on her business. She loved it. But, after years of doing it and caring for her mom, it didn’t have the same spark it once did. So complying seemed an opportunity instead of an affront. However, the other things, little by little, were adding up. Who she could see, what she could say, carefully crafted meetings with each other heaped together wore on her.

  The one that bothered her the most stung more and more as she mulled it over. They hadn’t publicly announced their wedding yet. Jacob claimed it was all strategy. Exactly one month before the nuptials, his family would invite a trusted newspaper friend and political ally over and hand him the exclusive story moments before the big party where the senator and his wife would officially welcome her to their family.

  Until then, she had to adhere to the many rules of the political lifestyle. At all times, she had to be put together. That wasn’t a problem, since she always was. Manners were a given. Charity work was a must. Again, she already did those things, so no issues there.

  But it was the more personal ones that irritated her at times, now that she thought about it. She couldn’t be seen with any other man alone. Not even her business contacts she’d known for years. Friends were vetted, approved or denied. Forced friendships were pressed upon her.

  The right people in the right places.

  Glancing over at Dex, she realized he wouldn’t be acceptable to her future in-laws. His kindness wouldn’t matter, nor his genius. She jerked her gaze away when he turned to her.

  “Are you all right?”

  Yes. No. Maybe. She curled her hands into fists on her lap. “I’m fine.” Liar, liar, pants on fire.

  He chuckled. “You could have fooled me.”

  The breath whooshed out of her. He knew. “Memories stirred up.” That was the truth. But doubts hovered on their heels.

  Madison silently acknowledged the many fibs and half-truths she’d been a part of for months now. It had become second nature with Jacob and his colleagues. Now, it bled into more parts of her life while she was trying to uncover the past and her birth mother.