What she wanted was an answer about where he’d been but asking meant she cared. And Waverly told herself she no longer cared. Whatever Dominic considered popular in small Southwood did not compare to his when it came down to those billionaire associates of his. Okay, so fine, in his absence Waverly had thumbed through the last few issues of Forbes. Dominic rubbed elbows with royalty, folks who wore real diamonds in their tiaras, not Swarovski crystals.
“You may have confidence in me, and maybe even the town, but the Morality Committee doesn’t.” Waverly didn’t have to be a psychic to know what his next word was going to be.
“F—”
She held her finger up in the air and shook her head. Waverly glanced around the nighttime scene of Southwood. No one was on the streets now. “Need I emphasize the morality part?”
“I am not the one heading for the Miss Georgia Pageant. Why do I have to watch my language?”
“My title puts me around children. I can’t have anyone hanging around who is swearing like a sailor.” Waverly pressed her back against the car behind her, the metal cooled her heated thighs. “I don’t want to take any chances, Dominic, and lose my shot. I thought you understood. I have to win the runoff.”
“You’re a shoo-in. I’ve been following you on social media.”
Waverly gulped at the idea of Dominic caring enough. “Did you need anything else from me?”
His eyes went toward the scoop neck of her teal T-shirt. Waverly tugged at the hem to distract him from the swell of her breasts. Cool air rippled against her skin. Dominic cocked his head to the side and Waverly swore his eyes moved toward her hips.
With a huff, Waverly rolled her eyes. “I’m leaving.”
Dominic took one long step toward her, catching her by the wrist. Her pulse quickened. “I’m sorry,” he said softly. His thumb traced circles against her bones and veins. Waverly willed herself not to shiver. She avoided Dominic’s penetrating stare, glancing outside at the Salvation Army Santa ringing his silver bell. “But you did ask the question.”
“Seriously Dominic,” said Waverly. She didn’t move her hand and had no idea why she let him hang on to her except she liked the feel of him.
“I am trying to plan something nice.”
“Aren’t you a regular Kris Kringle?” Waverly said, her voice dripping with snark. “You just come to town doing favors for people?”
The fluorescent lights caught the few highlights of his hair. “I let the Christmas Advisory Council down. I want to make it up to them and I need your help.”
“Offer them a free oil change.”
“I have a lot more to offer than my grease monkey skills. I thought you knew that, Waverly.”
Waverly gave his attire a raised brow. “How am I supposed to know? It’s been a long time.”
“Really, Waverly? It’s been so long you’ve forgotten?”
“What I remember is your bright idea for me to enter Miss Southwood, against probably my only friend in town, and then you left.” Waverly went back to folding her arms across her chest.
“There was more between us. I think you know that. I don’t give a damn what your committee says or those stupid memes.”
A pang seized her heart. She didn’t want to discuss her humiliation. She realized now that trying to ask Dominic where he was made her fear his answer. He was embarrassed by her. Waverly didn’t think she’d live down her past. Someone with a lot of time on their hands spliced the early-summer footage of Waverly taking her tiara off her head from her resignation with the fall video of her charging Vera at the hospital and made it appear as if Waverly tackled herself. With Christmas around the corner, someone also thought it would be funny to superimpose Waverly’s face on a child’s body; she was sitting on Santa’s lap. Santa was asking what she wanted for Christmas and the imagination bubble drawn over Waverly’s head showed her dreaming of tiaras.
“Your memes will die down, Waverly.”
“Everything lasts forever on the internet,” Waverly huffed.
A spell of silence fell between them. The lights hummed. A cool draft crept through the opened garage door. At this hour, most cars were already home, parked in their driveways. The businesses across the street were closing, all except the ice-cream parlor and the pizza shop. Common sense told her she ought to leave.
“So, back to your business?” Waverly turned her attention to Dominic again. Dominic stepped close to Waverly. “I am here now.”
“And now you want the Christmas Council to forgive you?”
“I don’t give a damn if they forgive me or not,” Dominic barked. “I do care if you forgive me.”
It would behoove her to step backward but Waverly refused to show her fear...or desire. Dominic smelled wonderful, spicy yet sweet at the same time. Waverly cocked a questioning brow at him.
“I never left you,” Dominic clarified. His lips twitched for a moment before his eyes searched hers. “I couldn’t be here for a while, but I am now.”
Waverly licked her lips and squared her shoulders as he said, “I can’t get confirmation on speaking during the council meeting. I’m guessing Mayor Ascot is pissed at me and has been talking crap about me in my absence. If you stand by me during the council meeting, they’ll be more likely to say yes to my proposal.”
“And the proposal is?”
“The Christmas parade is coming. I’ve got several cars stemming from the twenties to the present, and I am going to take care of drivers for the floats so folks won’t miss any part of the parade.”
“You’re chauffeuring the parade to get everyone to like you? Or are you so hard up for customers?”
Dominic shook his head. His large hand reached out and brushed a lock of hair off her shoulder. “Haven’t you heard by now? My company has turned record-breaking profits six years in a row.”
“No.”
“What a shame,” he said, still with his hand on her shoulder. “I’m not here to increase my wealth. I am trying to fit in with the community. I’m trying to make things up with you.”
Dominic rubbed the back of his head. The sleeves of his shirt rolled up on his biceps, revealing the decorative tattoos. Waverly inhaled deeply, not realizing she’d missed seeing them these last few months. She tried to remind herself that she was approaching her thirties now and was too old for crushes on the bad boys.
Waverly moved closer to the opening of the garage and prayed for the winter weather to settle in. The heat radiating from her body made her dizzy. She swore her attraction to bad boys came from the first time she was suspended from a pageant. Bad boys did this to her and Dominic was the ultimate.
Waverly felt her brow furrow. “Dominic, I can’t give you what you want.”
Dominic’s hands went up in the air. “Do you think every man you come across wants you in his bed?”
Instead of answering, Waverly bit her bottom lip and pondered his question. If she answered honestly, she’d be considered conceited. Then again, she was already labeled that, thanks to the bastard, Blu. No matter what Blu said to her, Waverly was supposed to keep her composure and remain professional. She did neither. “Are you saying you want nothing sexual from me?”
Dominic licked his lips and cocked his head to the side again, this time making it apparent he was checking out her behind. “Don’t ask me to lie, Waverly.”
“Seriously?” Waverly placed her hands on her hips.
“Waverly, we didn’t meet in a boardroom. We met at a bakery and we blatantly flirted with each other. We even kissed on our first date before your morality clause came into question.” Dominic walked toward her, slow and deliberate steps.
“And then you helped with a pageant and then you disappeared.”
“C’mon.” Dominic groaned. “You’re killing me here.”
“Whatever, and that wa
sn’t a date.” Waverly backed up this time, ignoring her rapid heartbeat. “You shut out everyone in Southwood, including me.” She stood with one foot inside the garage and the other outside. Dominic stopped right in front of her. He placed one hand above her head. The space next to his ear twitched as his jaw moved. Her heart skipped a beat.
“You’re mad because you thought I left without saying goodbye?”
“I’m irritated. I thought we were at least friends.” To create space between them, Waverly folded her arms. Her elbows pressed against his hard chest and still the friction fueled her desire. Dominic’s disappearance had helped Waverly remain focused on earning her tiara back. “It’s cool—while you were gone, I was able to get a lot of things done without any distraction.”
“This kind of distraction?” Dominic dipped his head low and brushed his lips against hers.
It wasn’t like Waverly had never been kissed. Or kissed by Dominic. If she thought the first time their lips touched her insides were set on fire, this one melted her system. Waverly dropped her hands to her sides. Hypnotized, she leaned into him, urging him to pursue her further. Dominic obliged. Their lips parted and tongues introduced themselves with a seductive, moan-evoking dance. Waverly pressed her hands against his chest. The beat of his heart pounded and echoed against her palms. Dominic’s free hand scooped up Waverly’s rear. He drew her against his hard body and even harder erection. Desire pumped through her veins. In the distance, laughter from a group of kids leaving from the park interrupted anything further. She hadn’t realized she’d been lifted off her feet until Dominic set her back down on her sandals and her inner thigh scraped against his work jumpsuit from where she’d cocked her leg around his waist. When? How? Geez.
“Something like that?” Dominic asked.
Chapter 7
Without getting a final answer from Waverly last night, Dominic sat at the Christmas Advisory Council meeting Tuesday evening, wearing a blue suit his sister picked out for him. On second thought, it was more like her pet pig had picked out the suit when Alisha and Hamilton drove out to his ranch this morning. Hamilton oinked and snorted at the suit Alisha chose, which apparently met the pig’s approval.
Alisha offered to come to the town meeting with him, but Dominic was almost thirty-one and did not need his younger sister to accompany him. He made his bed and he was going to have to face the music. Hopefully it’d be holiday music.
“Mr. Crowne.”
Dominic looked up from the business plan in a leather folder in front of him. A sweet-faced older woman with crinkles and wrinkles at the corners of her dark eyes spoke his name with a smile.
“Miss Annie.” Dominic greeted the woman as he rose from his seat. He extended his hand but she leaned in for a hug, wrapping his arms under his suit jacket. The top of her bluish hair reeked of hair spray, the same kind he imagined his grandmother used to use—the burn-a-hole-in-the-ozone kind.
“Welcome back, Mr. Crowne.”
“Please, call me Dominic.”
“I’m so glad you returned to town,” said Miss Annie. “My grandson is going to return since you’ve reopened your garage. I wasn’t sure he’d amount to much, but you inspired him to return to school for his engineering degree. Thank God he won’t have to spend the rest of his life with grease under his nails.”
Dominic grinned beyond his cringe. He’d hired her grandson, Billy, as a mechanic—a damn fine one, but still someone who grabbled under the hood and came home nightly with dirty nails.
“Billy’s a hard worker. I’m glad to have him. And I apologize for any work Billy missed in my absence.”
“Are you on the agenda for today?” Miss Annie asked. “I don’t recall seeing your name.”
“I believe there was a change sent out via email yesterday morning.” Dominic went to find the green sheet handed to him at the entrance. He pulled it from underneath the minutes from last month’s meeting. In his absence, Dominic had kept up with the agenda from the biweekly meetings.
Miss Annie scoffed and waved her hand. “I don’t check that whole email thing. My grandson’s tried to teach me but I’ll never learn.” She clasped her hands over Dominic’s. “It’s so good seeing you here. I can’t wait to hear whatever you have to say.”
“Hopefully everyone else will.” Dominic patted her hand and flashed a smile. She said a few more flattering words and squeezed his biceps once more before joining her group of friends.
Dominic sat back down and opened his folder. His financial advisor thought he was crazy, but having one of his frat brothers managing your money helped. Craig Cozier, a financial wizard, knew what drove Dominic’s Christmas spirit. Taking care of John and his estate gave Dominic an insight into living with the Ghosts of Christmas Past and Future. Dominic never wanted to be like his father, even more so now. John had gone to the grave with few to no friends and no family. Alisha and the twins had come but they had no interest in mending their relationships. The only woman he claimed he ever loved, Dominic’s mother, hadn’t bothered coming to the funeral. Dominic and his siblings didn’t blame her. John never remarried and only lived to collect old-fashioned automobiles that sat in his field, collecting dust. Dominic’s life wasn’t too different from his father’s. It was time for a change.
“Waverly,” someone said in the room.
All eyes turned toward the holiday-decorated doors of the council room. People clapped at her presence and crowded around the beauty queen. A bare white pine Christmas tree stood next to a six-foot table filled with a cornucopia and fall-colored pinecones from last week’s Thanksgiving meal. The best feature in the room, however, took Dominic’s breath away.
Waverly Leverve stood straight and tall in a gray skirt, which stopped at her knees, and a tight-fitting, deep red short-sleeved sweater and a pair of matching heels. A tiara was perched on her brown tresses. Dominic’s heart stopped. In the Ghost of Christmas Future’s visit, he’d pictured Waverly in her condo, crying herself to sleep, and it had been his fault. He’d helped her earn the crown on top of her head now and then disappeared from her life. He promised himself he would never let that happen again. Insight into John’s life had taught him well.
Like a graceful gazelle, Waverly glided across the dark gray carpet of the room. She stopped at each long table filled with Christmas committee members. Occasionally she’d flip her hair off her shoulders to laugh lightly at what someone said. Dominic admired the way she was attentive to everyone in the room. He’d never possessed the ability. Dominic liked being told what people needed and being left alone to the task at hand. This was not going to be the case here in Southwood. He needed to incorporate himself into the town. If he’d learned anything from his father’s death, it was not to die alone.
“Hi,” Waverly said, finally coming toward his table.
Dominic shifted in his seat in anticipation of finally having her to himself. He rose to his feet, not sure how to greet her. Last night they’d kissed. If you wanted to call it a kiss, he thought. It was more of a telling promise of how great they could be together. Hell, watching Waverly disappear through the front door of her condo was torture. As soon as she disappeared, he shut down the garage and took a cold shower in the back locker room.
Waverly extended her hand toward him for a shake. Automatically she also leaned in to kiss his cheek. How inappropriate it would be to greet her the way he wanted...by throwing everything off the table and kissing away all her lipstick.
“Waverly.” Dominic swallowed down the excitement. What was he? Fourteen again? “Does your presence here mean you’ve agreed to help me out?”
“Hey, are you aware you’re not on the agenda, Dominic?” Waverly said in a hushed voice. Her tortoiseshell-colored eyes darted around the room.
“I submitted a request to Mayor Ascot last night.” Dominic reached in his pocket for his phone. He swiped the front and
pulled up his email. No one had responded, but he did receive notification his message had gone through. “Are you going to answer my question?”
Waverly chuckled lightly and shifted her belongings. Dominic took her briefs off her hands and set them on the table. “You need to stop calling him that.”
“Maybe.”
“After careful consideration,” Waverly said, “I’ve come to the conclusion your idea is sweet. Sure, I’ll do whatever you want.”
As a man, he was turned on by the words. He must have made a face or raised his brows because Waverly flattened her pouty lips and shook her head. “Behave yourself.”
Dominic held his hand in the air and spread his fingers. “Scout’s honor.”
“I believe that’s the sign for a science fiction show.”
Dominic dropped his hands to pull out a chair for her. “Please, sit.”
Allowing him to seat her, Waverly tucked a stray hair behind her ear and opened the top folder she’d brought in. “It’s a good thing I am here.”
“Tell me about it,” Dominic mumbled. He took a seat beside her, inhaling the crisp apple scent from her hair. Somehow the image of the two of them sitting on a red-and-white-checkered picnic blanket filled his mind.
“I have a five-minute spot I can share with you.”
“Five?” Dominic asked. “What are you presenting to the council?”
“I’m reminding everyone about the Advent calendars I’m doing for the girls at Grits and Glam Studios. When I realized Southwood has so many wonderful shops, I thought calendars with coupons for free pageant lessons would be a great way to drum up business. The talent team is always seeking new blood for toddler pageants.”
“I understand you started working on the talent team.” Dominic didn’t mean to sound surprised. He was rather glad. Waverly had the voice of an angel.
“As a favor to Lexi, while she’s home taking care of the baby, and then once I win the runoff I’m going to stop so I can concentrate on training.”
A Tiara Under the Tree Page 10