A Tiara Under the Tree

by Carolyn Hector

  “Here.” Dominic offered her a bottle of water. The frost on the plastic looked promising to cool her off. As Waverly grabbed it, Dominic reached for her other hand and pulled her finger to his mouth. It was on the tip of her tongue to stop him, but the warmth and the suction... Waverly gasped for air. It was a quick gesture. She was sure no one saw, it but left a feeling she’d never forget.

  “You’re incorrigible,” said Waverly, finally finding her breath. “You know what I’m up against.”

  “The Morality Committee,” Dominic said. He draped his arm around her shoulders, and with his other hand he scanned the crowd with a pointed finger. “I don’t see any of them in sight.”

  She would have paid attention to all the children with their hands covered in red, white and green icing but Dominic’s distracting palm made its way down to her backside.

  “You look flushed,” he pointed out and pushed the bottle of water in her direction. “You ought to take a drink.”

  “And you need to stop touching me in such ways.” Waverly sidestepped Dominic’s touch. “There are children here.”

  Dominic chuckled. “I’m going to need you to clutch your pearls and repeat that.”

  Waverly rolled her eyes at his teasing. She had a set of pearls to model for him while wearing nothing else. She couldn’t wait to show him later in her condo—their secret rendezvous. Her place had become their meeting point since making their relationship official two weeks ago but still quiet and away from prying eyes. With Alisha living in the building, no one questioned Dominic’s car staying overnight. A chill ran down her spine with the thought. “Just you wait.”

  “I can’t,” he said and picked up the sheet of paper with the list of all the cookies. “You’re not going to be able to taste-test all of these.”

  Patting her belly, Waverly shook her head. “Thank God, no, I’m judging the decorations,” she belted out. “I’m signed on for the gingerbread homes.”

  “I saw the fifth-grade class has a pretty cool condominium going up right about now.”

  Waverly peered over Dominic’s shoulder. In the process, Dominic tugged the hem of her red sweater. The backs of his fingers brushed against her flesh. “You’re just being biased. Philly Reyes is in that group.”

  “Is she?” Dominic made no effort to look over his shoulder.

  The two of them were interrupted by the universal symbol of someone announcing their presence: a throat clearing. In this case it was Anson. His black eyes narrowed down where Dominic’s hand rested—at the button of her skintight jeans. Waverly attempted to step backward but Dominic held a grip on her waistband.

  “Is this really happening?”

  “Anson,” Waverly began. She hated the look of betrayal on Anson’s face but she’d never lied to him.

  Anson held his hand in the air to stop her from saying another word. “It’s cool.” He even gave Dominic a nod. “You told me you didn’t have time, so I moved on, as well.” He stepped aside and made room for his guest. Vera.

  Waverly’s upper lip curled at the sight of her nemesis. The official runoff had all the contestants working different events around South Georgia. Waverly was grateful she didn’t have to see Vera’s face often, but she was intrigued to see her here today. This cookie contest was strictly a Southwood event. Vera linked her fingers through Anson’s and gave Waverly an answer. Whether or not they were an official couple, Waverly wasn’t sure—but she didn’t care.

  “Your little cookie event is so cute,” Vera cooed. “It must be so easy to handle in one spot.” She linked her arm now around Anson’s elbow. A pained expression crossed the mayor’s face. “We did something like this in Atlanta, but of course, with Atlanta being so much bigger, it was hard to keep up.”

  Red spots flamed on Anson’s cheeks. “Southwood is just fine, Vera.”

  “Of course it is,” Vera said, not even looking at her date. “Isn’t this a shocker?” she asked, wagging her finger between Waverly and Dominic.

  Dominic draped his arm over Waverly’s shoulder. “Don’t start with the accusations, lady.”

  “I don’t believe I like your tone,” Anson said, foolishly stepping forward. The mayor tried to stand toe to toe with Dominic but his intentional intimidation was lacking. Dominic overshadowed the man and showed him by dropping his arm from Waverly’s shoulder and squaring up.

  “Good to know,” Dominic said, staring Anson down.

  “Oh, good grief.” Waverly sighed. “We are on school grounds with dozens of children here. Are the two of you honestly going to get into a pissing match right now?”

  “Now, later, whenever,” said Dominic. “This man needs to learn some manners.”

  Anson scoffed, turned his head toward Vera and laughed. “The man with grease under his nails is going to teach me manners?”

  The next thing Waverly recalled happening was Dominic’s hand snaking out quickly to the collar and ascot around Anson’s throat. Anson tried to cry out, but with Dominic’s hand around his neck there wasn’t any chance.

  Waverly gasped. “Dominic.” She tried gripping Dominic’s arm, but he was too strong and in the zone. Waverly panicked, not wanting the children to see. At least she was able to push the men out the exit door. The door slammed behind them,

  Thankfully two gentlemen passing by helped in breaking up the altercation. At least, she thought they were gentlemen. The newcomers grabbed Anson by the arms and threw him up against the brick wall and roughed him up. It was on the tip of Waverly’s tongue to scream but she didn’t want to alert the children. Vera came outside and started swatting the two men with her clutch.

  “Hey, hold up,” said one of them.

  “Dario? Darren?” Dominic said, rubbing his fists together.

  “Alisha told us where to find you,” one of them said.

  Clearly the three of them knew each other. Everyone forgot about Anson, which was a good thing for the mayor, who slinked away with Vera in tow. “Waverly, I want you to meet my little brothers, Dario and Darren Crowne.”

  The first named nodded his head and took one long slide step in front of Waverly to reach for her hand. Like Dominic, Dario was big and broad but with fewer tattoos. Darren, who stepped forward next to shake Waverly’s hand, favored Dominic the most with light eyes. The members of the Crowne family all bore a resemblance to one another.

  * * *

  Both men flirted with her, taking too long with their kisses to the back of her hands...something Dominic didn’t appreciate. “Back off,” Dominic growled and snaked his arm around Waverly’s waist.

  Torn between the laughter at the way the brothers got under Dominic’s skin and anger at the Neanderthal act Dominic just put on with Anson, Waverly pulled his hand from her side. “You’re in trouble with me.”

  “What?” Dominic asked. He gaped at her. “You’re not honestly bothered by my putting Ascot in his place.”

  “Anson.” Waverly folded her arms across her chest.

  “Who is Anson or Ascot?” asked Darren. “The dude?”

  “The dude is the mayor,” Waverly explained.

  Dario threw his hands in the air in surrender. “Whoa, are you trying to get us kicked out of the town before we have a chance to paint it red?”

  “He’s a thorn in my side, always hitting on my lady.” Dominic made one more attempt to reach for Waverly. This time she softened her stance and allowed him to tug her close. “That’s my girl. I’m sorry if I caused a scene.”

  “I think I pushed you guys out before the children noticed.”

  Dominic hit his forehead with the palm of his hand. “Damn it. I can’t believe I lost control like that. I’m sorry, Waverly.”

  Dario hit Darren in the arm with the back of his hand. “Did our big brother just apologize?”

  “I do believe he did,” Darr
en said with a sudden Southern twang in his voice. “Perhaps he’s gone soft since Dad died.”

  For the first time since she and Dominic met, Waverly heard something about Dominic’s father. She’d assumed he left or died when he was younger and he didn’t want to talk about it. Either way, Waverly wasn’t prepared for what Dario added. “You’ve changed, old man.” Dario punched Dominic hard in the arm and Waverly felt the vibration.

  “Wait, what?” Waverly did a double take.

  Dominic’s jawline twitched. “Waverly, I...”

  “Your father died?” She stepped in front of Dominic and placed her hands on her hips.

  “Sure,” Darren graciously provided, “the old man hung on for three months, but he finally kicked the bucket. Gave us a thankful Thanksgiving.”

  At a loss for words, Waverly stood in front of Dominic, shaking her head.

  “Babe, let me explain.”

  Her heart ached and her eyes prickled with tears. “You’ve been holding that in all this time? Why didn’t you say anything?” Instead of the anger she felt a moment ago, Waverly felt sorry for Dominic. He’d been so strong, her rock. He probably was the same for Alisha and their brothers. No one ever stopped to ask him how he was doing. Waverly stood on tiptoe and wrapped her arms around Dominic’s shoulders. He leaned over and nuzzled her neck. “I’m so sorry,” Waverly said before pressing a kiss to the side of Dominic’s face. She didn’t let go of him until a feminine voice echoed down the breezeway.

  “Well, what on earth have I walked in on?”

  Waverly stepped aside and groaned inwardly. “Ma, what are you doing here?”

  Jillian Leverve, in her fifties, didn’t look a day older than forty. She never had a strand of her brown hair out of place. Today her mother stood at the end of the corridor, pulling her red leather gloves off her hands one finger at a time. By the time she reached Waverly and Dominic, Waverly was sure her mother would smack Dominic with her glove and challenge him to a duel. Instead, Jillian’s eyes cut down Dominic’s attire and assessed him immediately.

  “Jesus, Waverly, another bad boy?”

  Dominic pressed his hand to the small of Waverly’s back and a kiss against her ear. “One of these days you’re going to tell me about all these bad boys,” he whispered and then turned on the charm toward her mother. “Mrs. Leverve, pleasure to meet you. Dominic Crowne.”

  Jillian stared at Dominic’s outstretched hand. Waverly willed her mother to take it. Finally Jillian accepted the welcoming gesture. “You’re not at all what I expected after reading the article in Forbes, Mr. Crowne. It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance. My husband is a fan.”

  Waverly wanted to breathe a sigh of relief but couldn’t. This meant her father would approve, since he rarely was in favor of Waverly’s involvement in the pageant world. So her father approved and that was okay, Waverly guessed. What was worse, her mother hating your boyfriend or actually admiring him? Where was the mother she knew who hated every boyfriend of hers if he came from the wrong side of the tracks? Where was her mother who didn’t think anyone, no matter their financial status, was good enough for her daughter?

  “It’s always nice to meet a fan,” said Dominic.

  Jillian pulled her hand away and wiped her palm on her hips. “Well, I said my husband is a fan, not me.”

  Ah, Waverly sighed, there was her mother.

  * * *

  By the following weekend Waverly had finally talked her mother into staying at the Magnolia Palace. Despite being separated from her for the last six months, Waverly still needed the extra distance. According to Jillian, the condo was not fit for a queen. There were not enough personal decorations on the walls, no shrine dedicated to Waverly’s pageant journey on the wall. What made things worse was that, with her mother staying at her apartment, Dominic couldn’t come over as usual.

  “She’s driving me nuts,” Waverly complained. She turned the ringer off on her cell phone, then nestled into the crook of Dominic’s waiting arms. “I get that this condo isn’t ‘mine,’” she said, using air quotes, “but she doesn’t have to trash everything.”

  “She cares,” Dominic assured her.

  Thankfully Dominic understood, or at least he didn’t say anything about the digs Jillian had made toward him during the week. After the cookie contest, Dominic took his brothers, Waverly and her mother out to eat at Valencia’s, the restaurant around the corner from Grits and Glam Studios. Jillian acted aloof to the 1969 Rolls-Royce Phantom VI. So what if it was the car of many royal families? Jillian found something wrong. She didn’t like Valencia because it was too crowded, despite it recently surpassing Duvernay’s in popularity. And even with Dominic dressed in two-thousand-dollar suits, Jillian questioned his tattoos.

  “She just cares about me having what she considers the best of everything,” Waverly argued, then lifted her head on the pillow. Dominic’s after-five shadow bristled against her forehead.

  “I have the best right here.” Dominic secured his arm under her neck and tilted her toward him for a kiss.

  Waverly’s heart swelled. She lifted her head. “You’re too sweet. I love you, you know that, right?”

  Dominic shifted and faced her. The words just flew out of her mouth without her thinking. But she did love him. Now she had to wait for him to tell her, “No, thanks.” In the span of seconds, Waverly’s mind wandered. Did she speak too soon? A lump lodged in her throat. Her insides screamed and fingers shook. Blood pounded between her ears. For a moment tears welled in her eyes with nervous anticipation. She wanted to kick herself.

  “I love you, too, Waverly,” Dominic answered after ten seconds of torture. Her body weakened with relief. “I don’t like the fact I gotta wait so long to do some inappropriate things to you in public...”

  Waverly pinched his arm.

  “Ouch.” Dominic laughed. “Why did I get pinched for just trying to tell you I’m glad you came to your senses and realized how you felt about me?”

  “Gee,” Waverly gushed with a huff, “how did I get so lucky?”

  “According to Stan Harvey, I’m the lucky one.”

  “The Harveys were here?” She sat up further, pulling herself up on her elbow. “I missed them?”

  Dominic turned to face her. Her heart melted. The lamp on the dresser on his side of the bed was still lit, haloing his body. “They stopped by for the Pearl Harbor convocation at Southwood High.”

  “I can’t believe I missed them.” Her heart ached. Had they not gone out to the Harveys’ last week, Waverly might not have acknowledged her feelings for Dominic. “Damn it.”

  “Hey now,” Dominic said, tipping her chin with his index finger, “such language for a beauty queen. What would the Morality Committee say?”

  Heart fluttering, Waverly nipped his finger. “I don’t see them around here anywhere.”

  “So they can’t see me do this?” Dominic dipped his fingers below the peach-colored sheet and pulled a nipple into his mouth. The warmth of his tongue set her on fire.

  Waverly kicked the covers off them and in a swift move straddled Dominic’s waist. He looked up at her with half-closed eyes. His hands rested on her hips. Waverly positioned herself just right, just enough to tease him with the apex of her thighs. Dominic’s large hands covered her breasts. He rolled her nipples between his fingers and moisture pooled between her legs. Waverly balanced herself by holding on to his beautifully sculpted abdomen. She enjoyed watching his ripped chest, covered in tattoos, shiver.

  “Woman.” Dominic groaned. “You’re killing me here.”

  “I’m trying to savor this moment,” said Waverly. She leaned forward and slid herself onto his hard erection. Dominic lifted his head and captured her lips. Waverly deepened her kiss. Her breasts brushed against his chest. “I could stay like this all night long.” She caressed his whiskered chee
k and traced his top lip with her tongue before pulling his bottom lip into her mouth. Dominic’s body tensed and he allowed her to kiss him like that for a moment. Finally, as if he couldn’t take it, he grabbed her behind and flipped her onto the bed.

  “We’ll try to stay like that later. Not right now.” Dominic wrapped her legs around his waist and drove in. “Right now I need this.”

  * * *

  “Tell me more about your beauty queen,” said Dario, helping himself to a beer at Dominic’s ranch. “She’s hot. Her mom’s a piece of work, though.”

  Later that evening, the Crowne family was rummaging through Dominic’s storage to retrieve all the Christmas supplies they needed for the Douglas fir they were going to decorate this evening. Waverly said she was coming, which only made Dominic anticipate the evening even further. He would have his family and Waverly in the same room. He wondered if Jillian would arrive with her.

  “Don’t get any ideas,” Dominic said flatly. He followed his brother into the kitchen and grabbed the last beer left in the fridge without taking out the cardboard container. The twins were seven years younger than him and, to this day, it was hard to see them legally drinking. Even harder to see drink was Alisha, who waltzed into the kitchen and stopped the refrigerator door from closing. She grunted at the sight of the empty six-pack container and reached for Dominic’s.

  “Youngest buys the beer,” said Dominic.

  “Whatever,” Alisha said with an eye roll.

  “We’ve been here a week and worked nonstop on fifteen cars for your parade.” Dario set his beer on the counter and leaned against the stove. “So, seriously, what’s going on with you?”