The Beauty and the CEO

Zoe stepped down to the bottom bleacher. Will held his hand to help her transition to the ground. Her arms stretched in the air to wrap around his neck but Will took a step back and instead raised his hand for a high five. Her brows rose in question, and Will nodded at the teenagers.

“We have an audience,” he whispered into her ear, and she half turned to see where he motioned to.

Understanding, Zoe nodded her head and cleared her throat. Their hands met in a midair high five. “I’ll make sure to tell the board their CEO is a true team player.”

The idea of Zoe being on his team was intriguing. But Will had to stick to his guns and make a thorough examination of all the candidates. It wasn’t fair to the others that he got to spend this time with her. If he did decide to hire Zoe, there’d be rumbles from other people. The only thing he hoped was that Zoe would still want to see him after the final decision was made. If Zoe cared about the company, she would understand, right? Dare he risk sticking by his guts? Turning her down now either opened or closed the door for them to potentially date. She might try to brush it off, but there was something between them neither one of them could deny.

* * *

“Thanks for talking to us, Miss Zoe.”

Thank God for the perfect timing of Lexi’s niece. Kimber Reyes tapped Zoe on the shoulder, innocently interrupting a series of naughty thoughts going off in Zoe’s head. Zoe took a giant step backward and away from Will’s hot, sweaty body. She fanned herself with one hand and tossed him the shirt he’d allowed her to sit on with the other.

“Oh, Kimber, it was nothing,” Zoe said, ignoring Will’s penetrating curious glance.

“I’m going to go home and try it.”

“Try what?” Will asked.

As hard as Zoe tried to will Kimber to stay strong and not fall for the dazzling smile Will flashed, it didn’t work. With the game over, Zoe appreciated the modest attempt Will took to cover up his muscles. He tugged his shirt over his head. “Zoe was just teaching us a few techniques for our makeup by mixing glitter in with our gloss.”

“You’re stunningly beautiful,” Will said to Kimber, which only made the child giggle hysterically. “Good job, Zoe.”

Kimber shook her head. “No, not right now. For our pre-prom pictures we’re going to take tomorrow.”

“I’m so excited for you.” Kenzie came over and hugged Kimber’s shoulders. “You’re a shoo-in to win.” She tugged the side ponytail Kimber sported. “This head was made to wear the Southwood High Prom Queen crown.”

Forgetting she was in the company of Will, Zoe participated in the pre-celebration, holding Kenzie and Kimber’s hands to jump around and squeal. Their commotion brought over the other men from the Magnolia Palace. Everyone sobered when Stephen cleared his throat like the overprotective guardian he was. Zoe admired him and his brother Nate. They’d moved to Southwood soon after their other brother, Kimber’s father, passed away in a car accident along with her mother. Immediately, they’d acclimated to the small town and both men found longtime residents to fall in love with. Zoe craned her neck to see if she could spot Nate Reyes around here somewhere. No such luck.

“Whoever heard of prom pictures the day before prom?” Stephen scowled. “When I was growing up, we took pictures the day of.”

“And risk getting your dress messed up?” Kimber cringed and rolled her eyes. “No, thank you.”

The uncle and niece duo could go on for hours about their views of the world without intervention. “Where’s Lexi?” Zoe asked Stephen.

Stephen groaned and shook his head. “She’s on bed rest.”

“Bed rest?” Zoe gasped.

Kimber huffed. “She’s fine. It’s Tío Stephen who is forcing Lexi to stay home in bed.”

Relieved, Zoe sighed. “Did something happen to worry you?”

Patting his niece on the shoulder, Stephen shook his head. “She’s been so involved with this pageant she forgot to take her prenatal vitamin yesterday.”

“According to Lexi,” Kenzie offered, whispering not so softly behind her hand, “she got as far as the door before he freaked out.”