The ring on her left finger scraped against his ear. Maggie broke the kiss. “I’m sorry,” she said, stepping backward. What was supposed to be a jewel for props, a diamond to go along their charade, brought them back to their reality.
Caden covered her hand with his to turn the ring around. “If you wore it right, we wouldn’t have this problem,” he chuckled. Lightning struck, and thunder rolled right after it. Maggie curled her fingers together after Caden readjusted the ring. “Still want to make a run for it?” he asked her.
A little soberer now, Maggie shook her head. “Let’s give it a few minutes.”
“No argument here,” said Caden. “I like this company.”
“Caden,” Maggie said with warning in her voice.
“What?” Caden feigned being shocked. “We’re under a small awning, drawn together by the rain. We’ve shared a bottle of wine and you, my dear, are absolutely stunning soaking wet. I can’t apologize for the mood set between us.”
“Caden,” she repeated.
“A God-made mood set between us,” he reminded her.
“I don’t want things to get complicated between us,” Maggie explained, stepping back from him. She held her hand out in the rain to scoop up water and let it go. “I have a lot going on in my life.”
Caden studied her face. He didn’t want her to have to talk about her family’s financial woes any more. All he wanted to do was hold her. He needed to be connected to her physically.
“I’m not going anywhere, Maggie,” said Caden. “We’re not going anywhere right now. So if just standing next to you is what you need, so be it.”
“What if I want you to kiss me again.” Maggie met his eyes. A knot moved down her slender throat. “I mean just for tonight. Would you be able to handle that?”
“I can’t make any promises to be able to stop after tonight.” He lowered his head once again.
Chapter 11
The “just for tonight” mantra did not last. Maggie and Caden’s affair fueled all summer long. They were joined at the hip for every activity for the rest of the season.
After a successful showing at Auntie Bren’s wedding, Maggie agreed to go with Caden to his fraternity brother’s nuptials in Savannah. Some of Caden’s family members attended the wedding at the Corry House outside under the summer sky. It wasn’t hard being Caden’s guest. Considering the fact this was the first wedding he’d attended for his friends, they were given a bit of the royal treatment. Maggie understood why the men had been happy to see him. So not wanting to take over the scenery, Maggie blended in with the rest of the guests and fortunately was able to catch up with her roommate from the SSGBP, Rochelle, and promised to keep in touch.
After the wedding, the rest of the summer flew by. The last two weeks of June, Maggie and Caden traveled together visiting neighboring pageants. They dined on fair food, held hands and were easily entertained by the adorable first-timer pageant girls. Caden worked on his business as well, flying them out to California for a Warriors client, a hockey player from Tampa and a former soccer player living in Brazil. Caden wanted Maggie by his side, and she didn’t complain one bit. The thank-you notes Maggie left the parents who invited them for meals apparently won points for Caden. Other clients wanted to sign with A&O Sports Agency. Kofi joked about putting Maggie on the payroll. Despite the weekly check-ins from Richard about not putting all her eggs in one basket, Maggie had her eyes on the prize. She loved working on the pageant project.
When Auntie Bren had originally suggested Maggie take this opportunity seriously, she hadn’t realized how much fun she’d have. By mid-July when Caden had a string of business meetings upstate, she stayed behind and drove his beloved Aston Martin around south Georgia. Maggie enjoyed visiting the various nearby beauty pageants. The pageant she’d entered years ago had been a different world from what Maggie had learned of beauty competitions over the last few weeks. She’d met designers from all over the world, but now Maggie enjoyed talking to seamstresses who painstakingly pinned tulle to skirts, gluing every rhinestone and pearl themselves in order to make thousands of cupcake dresses. Inspired, Maggie even did a mobile vlog featuring a designer for those who wanted to attempt to make their own dresses.
Every so often, usually brought on with Richard’s call, she thought about her trust fund deadline, but this was more important. More important than her job back at The Cupcakery, too, even though she knew Vonna was holding it open for her if things didn’t work out. The troupes of toddlers in their beauty pageants looked forward to performing for the crowds. They didn’t even care about a crown; they just wanted to be seen and be on television. On one of her trips back to Southwood, Maggie snagged a commitment from MET’s producer, Amelia Reyes. MET garnered full coverage of the all-day event.
Visiting the SSGBP headquarters in Columbia Square, in Savannah, was a treat for after lunch downtown. The historic redbrick classic revival building had been renovated with a back entrance for Kit and her wheelchair, but the twin staircase leading to the front door remained the same. She got the chance to meet everyone behind the curtain.
As the days melted into later July, the weather grew hotter, as did Maggie’s relationship with Caden. While he went away for business, she stayed in his bed keeping the sheets warm. He never stayed away long, and when they reunited the summer sun wasn’t the only thing igniting the heat. Maggie couldn’t get enough of Caden.
There were a few people in Savannah who’d had enough of the two lovebirds, though. To Caden’s cousins’ dismay, Maggie and Caden were viewed as the powerhouse team to beat. The tack board at the SSGBP headquarters began to fill up with their schedule for the event. Maggie and Caden’s ideas dominated the itinerary with few from other teams getting traction with Kit. Celebrity judges, guests and entertainers were confirmed. They made hotel arrangements for the guests to come down and stay at the Brutti Hotel after Caden called in a few favors with his friend Gianni Brutti, owner of the luxury hospitality line. Caden got the Southwood GRITS for STEM girls and their teacher, British Ravens, Kenzie and Maggie’s friend, involved in helping.
Ten different senior centers were ecstatic about being included in the pageant. The eight weeks leading up to the main competition gave them the chance to host their own pageants in their centers. Each winner would go on to win a Miss Senior Southern Style beauty pageant. Maggie and Caden traveled to watch a few of the contests and enjoyed their own takes on consolation prizes they’d devised for each event. There was the Best Blue award, for the best shade of blue hair, Best Runway with and without a walker, and Maggie’s favorite, Best Smile—dentures or not.
Maggie and Caden weren’t the only ones with their eyes on the president seat. Some others’ ideas got the okay from Kit, as well. Just last week Jason and Chase found the band from their mother’s original pageant, or at least who was left of the band. Heath and Spike brought a group of ten young ladies to the pageant weekend who were all in competition for a full college scholarship. Caden’s cousin Bruno got his mother, Em, to approve a men’s contest. At some point this weekend, the world was going to witness men competing in a swimsuit and talent pageant.
Everything was perfect. Keyword—was.
Thursday night, one more day before the main pageant was supposed to take place, the local bakery was struck by lightning. Their kitchen flooded, and there’d be no way to make the cake for the big event. Maggie panicked. She needed everything to be perfect. Surprisingly her first instinct wasn’t to jump onto social media and scan her followers to ask for help. But her second instinct was. That’s when a nagging voice reminded her of her trust fund deal. She’d been doing so well with staying off social media. She couldn’t rely on it now. Not when she was so close.
Dressed in a blue terry-cloth lounge-around romper, Maggie paced the floor of Caden’s kitchen in in Savannah, where she’d spent most of her summer. Caden sat at the table and tried to calm her down.
“Just hop online and ask one of your party people to help out,” he suggested.
“I can’t,” Maggie responded with a tight-lipped frown.
Caden’s eyes narrowed on her. “Maggie, I applaud you for keeping things old-school, but it is okay to use new technology.”
“No, it’s not okay, Caden.” Blood pounded in her ears. She needed air to focus.
“Well, fine, I will make the call.”
Since it was her idea to go for the cake from the original bakery, Maggie felt responsible for it. “No, I’ll take care of it myself.”
“You’re going to make the cake?” Caden asked in disbelief.
Maggie crossed her arms over her chest.
“How soon I forget,” Caden recalled with a chuckle. “You’ve made a thousand cupcakes before. My kitchen is gourmet, but it’s not industrial strength.”
“I can go up to Southwood,” Maggie suggested.
“We’ll go together.” Caden loafed around in a pair of gray sweats. “Remember when we worked together at The Cupcakery?”
The idea sounded nice, but someone needed to stay next to headquarters. The paintings Maggie had snagged for exhibit were due for arrival, and the only person Maggie trusted to sign for them was Caden. Jason had already tried to erase their name off the catering order. Fortunately, Ebony caught him in the act. Tension began to settle between her shoulders.
“I need to call Vonna to see if she can help. I’ll drive up and bring everything back down in my Jeep.”
“With the check-engine light still on?”
Maggie rested one hand on the counter and her other on her hip. “When was I supposed to have time, Caden?”
The concern in his voice came from a good place, but right now she didn’t need to hear it. A lot of things had slipped from her personal to-do list.
“Relax,” he replied casually. “We can get through this.”
Everything she’d worked hard for was about to come crashing down around her, and Caden just smiled with his easygoing grin. She hated and loved that about him.
At the thought of the L word, a pang flashed in her heart. All this time she thought she was making strides toward becoming the new president of SSGBP. Instead she was falling in love with Caden. This love thing caught her off guard. Irritation washed over Maggie. She narrowed her eyes on him and his bare chest, all shimmering from a morning workout. This is what he did. Distracted her.
“Why are you on edge all of a sudden?” Caden asked. He picked up a peach from the fruit bowl and tossed it in the air. “I’ll call in Ebony and my mom’s cook, Helen.”
Of course he’d be able to call up friends for help. Maggie didn’t have that luxury. Her minutes were eaten up on her cell phone. She couldn’t reach out to her friends via social media and get them to pitch in and help at the last minute. “It’s not that simple, Caden.”
Caden set the peach down and crossed the floor to take hold of her shoulders. She hated herself for craving his touch. Everything had been so perfect, but this cake thing was a fiasco. “Maggie,” he began, stroking his hands up and down her arms. “What is really going on? The pageant is in three days. There’s time. I’ve talked to Aunt Em. I heard from Uncle Samuel, and he has been impressed with the promoting we’ve done online and the tickets we sold. I even suggested all proceeds should go to charity.”
“Wait, what? When did you do that?” Maggie looked into his eyes and asked.
“I stopped by the office on the way from Kofi’s.”
The fact that Caden could waltz into the headquarters of SSGBP unnerved Maggie. The closer they got to the big day, the more she realized this was an Archibald event, a fact that she often managed to push aside because of her deep involvement in the project and her rock-solid belief she was the right person for the job. With his uncle Samuel giving Caden inside information, she didn’t stand a chance. And what was up with the charity thing? It was brilliant, but Caden had never shared it with her.
“We’ve got this in the bag.”
His family, she thought. They had it in the bag. When they’d visit headquarters, everyone greeted Caden like a crown prince. Right now it dawned on her that she’d made a mistake. Everyone knew Caden. They had faith in him. Not her. This team they’d formed supported him and his goals, not hers. No matter how much Maggie thought Kit liked her, his mother would bypass her to choose Caden in a split second when it came time to decide on a successor. What had Maggie been thinking?
“No,” Maggie countered. She lifted her arms to break his touch. “You have this in the bag. I need to get out of here.”
“Wait.” Caden stood in her way. “Something isn’t right—we need to figure this out.”
“Caden,” Maggie said with pleading dripping from her voice. “I need to get to some of the grocery stores and pick up ingredients for these cupcakes. I’ll stop at every store on the way so I don’t deplete Vonna’s stash.”
“You’re seriously going to leave? A cake is not that big of a deal.”
“You just said so yourself. I’ve done it before,” Maggie called out as she grabbed her purse and headed out the front door just before a single tear of frustration rolled down her cheek. She closed the door just as she heard Ebony’s voice coming through the back.
A ration of tears threatened to fall. She’d been so blindly stupid. Not working for The Cupcakery over the last two months left Maggie with not a lot of choices, despite Vonna’s patience and kind heart. The best idea she could think of was working back at the bakery nonstop to come up with a gazillion cupcakes. This meant she’d miss welcoming the guests at the hotel. But this needed to be done. Maggie hurried to Caden’s car. Her mind was so wrapped up on the types of cupcakes she needed to make. If she did her special hummingbird cake, she would have to contact Richard for some pecans. If she contacted him, he would ask what was going on, and Maggie did not want to hear what he had to say.
“Well, look at what we have here.”
Maggie stopped walking and looked up from a pair of black leather dress shoes, to black slacks, and a maroon shirt with a printed tie to match. Jason Archibald. River air flowed deep into Maggie’s lungs at the sight of him. Leaning against the passenger door of Caden’s car was Chase. Frick and Frack.
“Please move,” Maggie said firmly. She gripped the straps of her designer purse, a gift from Caden last weekend.
Chase pushed away from the car. “We missed you at Mama’s low country boil.”
Caden had mentioned his mother was throwing one. But without Caden, she didn’t feel comfortable. “I’ll extend my apologies when I see her this weekend.”
“Your friend was there,” said Chase.
“My friend?”
“The pretty beauty queen roommate of yours,” Jason provided. “Remember her from the wedding earlier this month?”
“Rochelle?”
“That’s her.” Chase approached the two of them.
It wasn’t like Maggie felt afraid, but she still cast a glance over her shoulder. She did not like being alone, in public or not, with these two.
“Rochelle is trying to get a job,” offered up Chase. “We figured with all the work we’re giving MET, we’d help her out.”
“Aren’t you guys sweet.” Maggie maneuvered around them and stepped off the curb.
“You know what is even sweeter?” asked Chase. “The first story she’s going to do.”
Clearly they wanted her to ask. “What’s the story, boys?”
“Would you like to tell her?” Chase asked his brother.
Jason bowed. “Why thank you, my good brother. The first story Rochelle’s got is about a budding beauty queen with a saucy mouth and a penchant for making holograms. And the second story is how she wasn’t expecting that this budding beauty queen’s former roommate had any additional ambitions in life other than just nailing the
hot guy in the Stanford sweatshirt. I’m paraphrasing here. I’m a Southern gentleman. It would be wrong of me to repeat the exact words she said this roommate of hers used.”
“It’s okay, brother dear,” Chase said mockingly. “We have Rochelle’s taped recordings.”
Embarrassing heat crept up Maggie’s neck. Her fingers touched her neck and fingered the strand of pearls there—another gift from Caden.
“Nice necklace.” Chase pointed at her. “Nice trophy.”
Jason’s began to laugh. “Oh, wow, so maybe my predictions were right. You did grow up to be someone’s trophy wife.”
Rolling her eyes, Maggie slid behind the wheel of the car and sped off, leaving the two brothers cackling. “Maybe next time you should check your Twitter account,” one of them yelled.
Well, isn’t that the icing on the cake, she thought.
* * *
Caden didn’t get a chance to follow Maggie, because EJ and Ebony walked through the doors. What caught him off guard, besides the matching light blue tourist shirts stating they’d visited Savannah’s Tybee Island, was the two of them holding hands. He was aware of EJ’s slow-moving pace on making things official with the chef. It was about time.
“Whoa,” he joked as they sat down at the kitchen table on the same side like an old married couple would.
“Boy, don’t you ever wear clothes?” EJ frowned at the sight of him.
In retaliation, Caden flexed his biceps and posed like a bodybuilder. “I know you’re jealous.” EJ raised his free hand to answer his brother with a flip of his middle finger, but Ebony anticipated the gesture and pushed his hand down. Laughing, Caden moved over to the fridge and grabbed a few bottles of water from the door. “When did this become official?”
Southern Seduction ; Pleasure in His Arms Page 15