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  She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “Clothes shopping,” she said after a moment.

  “Clothes shopping,” he replied, and they walked the rest of the distance to the store.

  Chapter Ten

  Kade held the door open for London as they went inside the store. London looked around. “So, what are we here for? Suit? Sports jacket? Button-down shirt and jeans?”

  “Definitely not a suit. Let’s say, sports jacket, button-down shirt, dark jeans. And hopefully, I’ll be able to go home tonight and won’t need more than this one set of clothes.”

  London riffled through the rack nearest the door and tossed three shirts at him. “Try these.”

  “Why are you helping me? I thought you wanted to see my shopping skills.”

  She shrugged. “We only have a few minutes, and we got a little distracted outside . . .”

  Heat flooded Kade’s face. “Gotcha.” He grabbed some jeans off a table and headed for the dressing room.

  Once there, he set the clothes down on the bench and leaned against the wall. What had just happened? He’d never expected any of that, and he definitely hadn’t expected to kiss her. And he absolutely hadn’t expected that one kiss to rock him to the very core.

  He pulled off his shirt and slipped into a new one. It worked—no need to try on the other two. The jeans were good too. Now he just needed a jacket, but he wasn’t sure he was ready to go back out there. How could he face her when he wanted to crawl under a rock because of all the mean things he’d done? And how could he face her when what he wanted even more was to take her in his arms again for part two of that kiss?

  “Sir, your young lady friend asked me to bring these jackets in for you to try.”

  Kade stuck his head out of the stall and took the jackets from the salesman. “Thank you,” he said. Maybe London was just trying to save him time, but she had answered his dilemma perfectly.

  The second jacket was a fit, and he decided he’d just wear the clothes out of the store. He slung what he’d been wearing over his arm and exited the stall, walking up to the cash register.

  “Mind if I wear them home?” he asked.

  “Not at all, but let’s snip off the price tags first.” The salesman walked around him with a small pair of scissors, then removed the security tag from the sleeve of the jacket. “We don’t want you setting off any alarms when you walk out of here.”

  “Yeah, I’d rather not.”

  Once the sensor had been tossed aside, the salesman rang up the items, and Kade swiped his card. He got a bag from the salesman to carry his other clothes, then he took London’s hand and they dashed out to find a taxi.

  Touching her hand proved problematic, though, because he didn’t want to let it go.

  They sat in uncomfortable silence as they drove back to the hotel, her hand in his, not looking at each other. He paid the driver, and the taxi drove away while they stood on the sidewalk, not making a move to go in.

  “It’s ten minutes to two,” London said at last.

  Kade reached out and fingered the dark curl that lay on her shoulder. “We need to talk some more.”

  “I know we do, but things get busy from here on out, and maybe we’d better wait until after the pageant.”

  He chuckled. “You know, I almost forgot about the pageant today.”

  “Me too. But you’d better go. I’ll see you tonight.”

  “Right.” He took one step away and then paused. “Promise me you’ll talk to me later.”

  “Of course I will.”

  He left her standing there as he turned and went inside, making his way across the lobby to the main meeting room. He was actually the first one there this time, and tucked his bag under his end of the table. When Elaine and the mayor walked in, he grinned. “What took you so long? Let’s get this thing done.”

  ***

  Back in her room, London texted Chelsea to see if she wanted to come over, then ordered room service. Chelsea replied that she’d already eaten, but she’d come over anyway, so London just got enough for herself. She had no idea when her mom would be back, and her mom didn’t care for room service anyway.

  As soon as Chelsea walked in the room, London told her everything—well, almost everything. She mentioned the kiss, but she didn’t say anything about how right it felt to be in Kade’s arms and how she’d never felt more alive than in that moment. She wasn’t even sure how she felt about that—she definitely wasn’t ready to talk about it.

  Chelsea looked stunned. “Wow. I mean, wow. He’s been in love with you all this time?”

  “I don’t know about all this time. He was in love with me in high school, and then he kissed me a little ago, but that could just be leftovers, you know? From how he felt before? And I’m sure he had relationships in college.” London flopped down on her bed. “I don’t know. Maybe he has been. Probably not.”

  “And how do you feel about him?” Chelsea asked.

  “I don’t know! I mean, I hated him in high school, but this week, I started to notice that he’s really hot, and he’s smart and funny—which I should have known because we had an AP English class together. I think I was so busy hating him that I didn’t realize how smart he was. And today, when he apologized, that confused me, and then he made me mad, and then he kissed me, and I don’t even know what to think about that.” London shook her head. “I need some Tylenol.”

  “Here.” Chelsea tossed London her purse, which she’d flung down as soon as she’d entered the room. “For what it’s worth, I think you should give him a chance.”

  London swallowed down two pills before she asked, “A chance to do what, though? Gain forgiveness and then what? I don’t even know what we’re talking about here.”

  “How about a chance to take it a day at a time?”

  Room service arrived just then, and as London took a bite of her sandwich, she realized that hunger was probably part of her headache. Breakfast seemed like a long time ago, and going through emotional things always made her hungrier. “I think I can do that,” she said after she swallowed. “Take it a day at a time.”

  Chelsea smiled. “You’ll be okay. I’ll go now and let you eat—I’m sure you want to rest before tonight.”

  “I really do. Thanks, Chelsea.”

  When Chelsea opened the door, Lacey was standing there. “Oh, hi, Chelsea,” she said. “I’m here to see London.”

  London tried not to roll her eyes. Her mouth was full of sandwich, so she waved for Lacey to come in, although she’d rather push her into the swimming pool.

  “You’ve certainly been a busy girl today,” Lacey said, coming in the room and sitting down on the edge of the bed. “I got a manicure, but you got a man.” She laughed at her own little joke.

  “What are you talking about, Lacey?” London asked after she swallowed.

  “Oh, nothing. But the next time you decide to get a little amorous on the sidewalk, you might want to choose someone a little less famous to get amorous with.” She held out her phone, showing London a snapshot someone had taken of them kissing. It looked like the photographer was across the street and had zoomed in.

  “Where did you get this?” she asked, a chill running down her back.

  “Instagram. But it’s already making the rounds on Facebook, and I have no doubt the gossip rags will be all over it in just a few minutes. That’s the beauty of the internet—news is instant.”

  “And you just happened to be on the lookout for news involving Kade Smith?”

  “Kade does make things more searchable, but it’s really you I’m gunning for.” Lacey flashed a smile. “I think it’s important to keep tabs on all one’s competitors, don’t you?”

  “I don’t think that includes stalking them online and then showing up in real life to gloat.”

  “Then you’re missing part of the fun.” Lacey stood up. “Gotta run—I’m having my hair done in ten minutes. I’ll see you later. I just hope you and Kade can keep your lips off each other long e
nough for us to have eliminations tonight.”

  “If we have to be surgically removed from each other, I’m sure we can set up a conference call from the hospital,” London retorted as Lacey walked out the door.

  London grabbed her own phone and unlocked it. She’d turned down the volume while she was out with Kade, and now she saw that she had a dozen texts and hundreds—yes, hundreds—of notifications. She couldn’t even look at those, so she clicked on her texts to see that most were from friends and one was from Amber. Smooching your bully in public? That’s one way to end the feud.

  As she was contemplating a snarky reply, another text came in, this one from Kade. You might want to avoid social media for a day or two.

  She snorted. A little late for that.

  A moment later, he replied, I’m sorry.

  I haven’t decided yet if I’m sorry or not, she texted back, then put her phone away. Let him think about that for a while. She needed to finish eating and getting ready for eliminations.

  Chapter Eleven

  Kade cleared his throat. “So, it’s safe to say that I’m not entirely impartial where London Russell is concerned.”

  Elaine tapped her fingernail on her phone. “You think?”

  “I asked Mrs. Fitzpatrick about this on Monday, and she said it wasn’t going to be an issue.”

  The mayor leaned forward on the judges’ table to look around Elaine. “You were involved with Miss Russell on Monday?”

  “No, I just mean that we knew each other. I didn’t really get involved with her until today, and I’m still not sure how involved I am.” This was really hard to explain.

  “You’re involved enough to kiss her in public, and that wasn’t just a friendly peck on the cheek,” Elaine pointed out.

  “Yeah, I know,” Kade mumbled. His face grew hot as he remembered that kiss, and then it grew hotter as he realized what this might mean for the pageant.

  The door of the judging room popped open just then, and Mrs. Fitzpatrick entered with Mrs. Johnson on her heels.

  “Judges, I’m sorry to say that we’ve had a bit of an upset,” Mrs. Fitzpatrick said. “Mrs. Johnson has brought to my attention a very unfortunate picture that is being circulated on the internet, and has asked that we remove Kade from our panel. I’m inclined to agree, but we have sponsorships on the line here, and Kade has brought in many of those sponsorships. It’s a difficult situation.”

  “You have to think beyond the money, Mrs. Fitzpatrick,” Mrs. Johnson said. “You have to think about what’s best for all the girls and not just my precious Lacey. If a judge has been influenced by a contestant, that judge should be removed—and maybe even that contestant.”

  Kade shook his head. “I will step down as a judge, but I protest any actions taken to remove London from the competition. She didn’t do anything wrong. I kissed her.”

  “But I don’t think she did anything to stop you,” Mrs. Johnson said with a smirk. “It looked pretty mutual to me.”

  It had been, and Kade hid a smile thinking about it. “I was just telling the other judges that I discussed my prior relationship with London with Mrs. Fitzpatrick on Monday, and I was left with a very clear impression that it wouldn’t be an issue.”

  “But that was your prior relationship, Mr. Smith, and things have gotten a little out of hand,” Mrs. Fitzpatrick rejoined. “How can we fix this situation for the benefit of all the girls?”

  “Well, I don’t know about you, darlin’, but now that Lacey’s mother has had her say and knows that we’re on it, I say we let her enjoy the rest of her afternoon while we hash this out,” Mayor Morgan said.

  Mrs. Fitzpatrick nodded. “Quite right. Mrs. Johnson, your concerns will be addressed, but by private committee. We’ll let you know what we decide.”

  Mrs. Johnson looked entirely put out. “But I have a right to know—”

  “And you will know, but there’s no reason for you to have your finger in this particular pie,” Mrs. Fitzpatrick said. She stood firm until Mrs. Johnson left the room, and then the mayor grabbed a chair from the stack leaning against the wall and brought it over to the judges’ table.

  “Let’s sit down and talk this over reasonably,” he said. “I agree that we’re in a bit of a pickle here, but there has to be a way to make everyone happy.”

  “I’ve learned that it’s nearly impossible to make everyone happy,” Elaine rejoined. “Someone is always just waiting for something to complain about.”

  “What about this?” Kade leaned forward so he could see everyone. Why they weren’t sitting at a round table, he didn’t know—it would sure make this easier. “Why don’t I resign as a judge, but stay on as a commentator? I’ll still share my opinion, but I won’t be giving actual scores. That way, I’m still representing the sponsors by being on television, but I won’t have an impact on the outcome.”

  Mrs. Fitzpatrick nodded. “I think that would work.”

  “That’s a nice head you have on your shoulders,” Mayor Morgan added.

  “I’m fine with that, but what about tonight’s elimination?” Elaine asked. “We just finished making our choices.”

  “Let me see the list,” Mrs. Fitzpatrick said.

  Mayor Morgan slid it across the table to her, and she scrutinized it. “Were these twelve girls chosen by all three of you?”

  “They were,” Elaine answered. “We were in complete agreement.”

  “And Mr. Smith here didn’t exert undo pressure on you to include London Russell in that number?”

  “She was the best one out of the lot,” Mayor Morgan said. “There was nothing to discuss—she’s the first one we chose. That we all three chose.”

  Mrs. Fitzpatrick nodded. “Very well. I think we can let these twelve names stand. As far as tomorrow’s live pageant goes, let’s do as Kade suggested and keep him on as a consultant, but we’ll find one more judge to step in and score. I have some people who owe me favors—we’ll see how much weight that carries.”

  Kade stood up and reached out to shake Mrs. Fitzpatrick’s hand. “Thank you for your patience with me,” he said. “I know I haven’t made your job any easier.”

  She sighed. “In truth, I can’t wait until this is over and I never have to see you again. But your suggestion for how to fix this was reasonable and well put, and it just might keep us out of hot water, which is always desirable.”

  He nodded. He couldn’t blame her for wanting to be rid of him.

  “It’s four o’clock now. I’d like to keep you three tucked away until the eliminations just so you aren’t getting bombarded by eager girls—or their eager mothers.” Her tone turned a little wry, and Kade smiled. “I’ll have dinner sent in, if you’ve no objection, and the restroom is down a short hall through those doors.”

  “That works,” Elaine replied, and the two men nodded in agreement.

  “Thank you. I appreciate your cooperation.” Mrs. Fitzpatrick paused. “When you announce the finalists, I suggest putting Miss Russell somewhere in the middle of the pack. Putting her first will raise eyebrows, and putting her last will make it look like you were purposely trying to avoid raising eyebrows.” Then she turned to Kade. “I’d like you and Miss Russell to avoid seeing each other until after the pageant.”

  “Understood,” he replied. He had known this was going to look bad, but he hadn’t realized that Mrs. Johnson would get so involved, and the whole thing was snowballing faster than he had the power to stop it. He just hoped that Mrs. Fitzpatrick was able to find an alternate judge before the live show, or things would get even worse.

  ***

  “Well, don’t you look adorable?”

  London turned from pushing the elevator button and smiled at Lacey, who was approaching her with four of her little minions. All five of them were dressed in floral tea-length dresses, and they all wore their hair in low ponytails. It was like they’d put the first girl in a copy machine and hit print four times.

  “Thank you.” London glanced down at her own s
olid white dress with sheer sleeves. “I didn’t get the memo about floral print.”

  “Oh, you’re just precious. Of course there wasn’t a memo.” Lacey laughed, and all the other girls did too. “And I think you look angelic. You won’t have a problem becoming a finalist at all.”

  London had really heard enough. “You know how much I dislike confrontation, but let’s cut to the chase, all right? You want me out, and you think this passive-aggressive sweetness is going to get to me. Well, it’s not, so why bother? You’re like a real-life scene out of Mean Girls, and it wasn’t a very good movie.”

  “Your elevator’s here,” Lacey said, her face growing hard, and London smiled.

  “Why, yes, it is. Thank you.” She got on, noticed that no one was following her, and hit the button for the first floor. Now it was a real pageant—things didn’t get good until you were surrounded by catty girls in a hallway.

  Chapter Twelve

  The girls had been asked to take seats that were arranged in a semi-circle in front of the judges’ table. Elaine sat in the middle, with Mayor Morgan on the left and Kade on the right. London chose a seat on the left, as far away from Kade as she could get. She noticed him pull out his phone, and a second later, she received a text. Good choice. I’m not supposed to talk to you until after the pageant.

  That didn’t surprise her at all. Bummer, she replied, then made a show of tucking her phone back in her pocket. Not a good idea to be texting each other right now, and she hoped he understood that.

  “Contestants, thank you all for being here so promptly,” Mrs. Fitzpatrick said. “We also welcome your parents, who have joined us for this announcement.” She nodded to the back of the room, where additional chairs were set up in straight lines. London glanced over her shoulder. Good—her mother had made it.