Mrs. Fitzpatrick took the scorecards from the three judges and looked them over. Then she glanced up. “We have ourselves a problem,” she said. “You’ve each chosen London Russell as the winner, but if she wins, we’ll get slapped with all kinds of accusations that the pageant was rigged,” she said. “It would be far better to name her the runner-up and to name someone else the winner.”
Kade clenched his jaw. He shouldn’t say anything at this point—his opinion shouldn’t matter in the judging room, after all. But boy, did he ever want to say something.
“We certainly don’t want to hurt the pageant, darlin’, but fair’s fair, and in our opinion, London won,” Mayor Russell said.
“But how do we explain it to the public and to the media?” Mrs. Fitzpatrick pressed a hand to her forehead. “We don’t have time to deliberate this.”
“How do we know that the public and the media will even care?” Elaine asked. “All we have is one angry mother who would do whatever it took to make sure her daughter won.”
Mrs. Wrigley shook her head. “I have no idea what’s been going on here, but I will say this. If London Russell doesn’t win, that’s going to cause an even bigger upheaval. She took every single round, and talent? Astonishing. The audience knows she won. The people at home know she won. If we crown someone else, that will be a problem.”
Mrs. Fitzpatrick looked torn, but then she nodded. “I see your point. All right, go ahead as planned.”
Kade let out a huge sigh of relief.
***
Everything was riding on this moment. London had done the best she could, and now it was all up to the judges. She’d given everything she could—was it enough?
“London Russell!”
She blinked. Had she really heard what she thought she’d just heard? She wasn’t sure, but then the former Miss Sweet Georgia Peach was giving her a sash, so it had to be real.
Tears streamed down London’s cheeks as she was crowned. She knew it was messing up her makeup, but she couldn’t help it. She was filled with so many emotions, she didn’t know how to contain them. She was relieved to be done with pageant life, and yet she would miss it. She was so grateful to have won, and yet, she wasn’t sure how she felt about the increased travel and the appearances she’d have to make. Most of all, she was thrilled to have earned the scholarship, and yet terrified that she’d be a rotten lawyer and no one would hire her.
After she gave a final wave and the television cameras were turned off, Chelsea, who had come in second, threw her arms around London and gave her a big squeeze. “I’m so proud of you!” she said. “You were amazing tonight, even if you did seem a little distracted.”
“Did I? I guess I was thinking about a lot of things.”
“Was Kade Smith one of those things?” Chelsea teased.
“Maybe just one,” London replied.
“Well, I’m glad to hear that.”
London whirled and saw Kade walking across the stage toward her. He seemed a little taller than he had the day before, and she glanced down to see that he was wearing cowboy boots. Hmm. That was pretty hot. “You’re glad to hear that you distracted me? Are you saying you wanted me to lose, Mr. Smith?”
“I’m saying it’s kind of cool that I have the power to make you blush as red as your dress.”
“You do not!” she protested even as she had to admit to herself that it was true.
“Sure I do.” He reached out and stroked the side of her face. “I know you’ve got pictures to take and all that right now, but will you meet me up on the roof at midnight?”
She loved the feel of his finger on her cheek. “The roof? At midnight? That sounds a little suspicious.”
“Rats. I was going for intriguing.”
She grinned. “That too. Okay, the roof at midnight it is.”
***
The press kept London busy for a long time, and when she was finally able to get away, it was almost time to meet Kade. Rather than risking being late, she decided to go straight to the roof without bothering to change out of her gown.
When she stepped out onto the roof, she was blown away by what she saw. Kade had set up a table and chairs, with candles, and the whole thing looked like Kate and Leopold. He stood there with a grin on his face, like he’d known exactly when to expect her.
“I’m early,” she said.
“I was earlier,” he replied.
He took her by the hand and led her over to the table. A delicious-looking dinner was spread out for them, and for a brief second, London wished that she had taken a minute to change because that dress really didn’t let her eat much. But that thought left as quickly as it had come when Kade took his seat, reached across the table, and picked up her hand.
“That impromptu speech tonight . . . London, I don’t think you could ever give me a better gift,” he said. “Did you mean it? You’ve forgiven me?”
“Yes, I have,” she said. “That doesn’t mean I’m okay with you dumping water all over me, or any of that other stuff, but I’m putting it in the past and I’m looking forward to the future.”
He smiled and stroked her knuckles with his thumb. “I can’t tell you how glad I am about that.”
His touch was making her arm tingle. “So, what do you have in mind for this future of ours?”
“Well, I thought we’d go on another date. Maybe even two.”
“Dates? Wow. Very impressive. And original.”
He squeezed her hand. “There might be dinner and dancing, or there might be a movie—we’ll just take it a day at a time.”
“I like that idea.”
“And there’s one thing I’m absolutely sure of,” he continued.
“Oh? What’s that?”
He stood up, came around the table, and took both her hands, helping her to her feet. “I’m going to kiss you again,” he said, studying her eyes.
“That’s good, because if you weren’t, I might have had to come over there and kiss you.” She loved watching the way his eyes sparkled when she teased him. Sliding her fingers through his hair, she tilted her head back and watched the fireworks go off in her head when he kissed her, sending shivers of delight all down her arms. Oh, yes—the future was going to be a lot of fun.
THE END
If you’d like to read more about Kade’s friend Dillon, click here for by Kirsten Osbourne.
If you’d like to read more about London’s sister, Amber, click here for also by Amelia C. Adams.