once upon a romance 06 - tangled at first sight Page 2

  “Thank you all for coming today. Although most of you didn’t have a choice, did you?” Charlie looked at her family. “Dolly threatened and Eddie rounded you up.” Everyone chuckled.

  “Griff,” she nodded to the man she’d hired to run the store and now her brother-in-law, “and I have some exciting news to share with all of you. But, first, we want to welcome our guests. Rico, you’re part of the family, and, even if you weren’t, there’d be no need to introduce you since you’re one of a kind and everyone loves you.”

  “Of course I am,” he agreed, much to everyone’s delight. He fluffed his hair. “I make an impression.”

  “Indeed you do,” Griff, sitting nearby, said.

  Rico stuck his tongue out at Griff. “Smarty pants.”

  “That’s our Rico,” Charlie offered. “Now, back to business. I’d like you to meet our rising bright star, Paige Sumner. Paige, stand up so everyone can see you.”

  She froze. She slid down in her chair. Didn’t work. All eyes focused on her. She forced a polite smile and waved off Charlie. No thanks.

  “Take your bow,” Jay said, coaxing her.

  “Thanks, I’m good,” she said for everyone’s ears. To Jay, she said, “Mind your beeswax, will ya?”

  Before she could get anything else out, Dolly was by her side and tugging her chair back. “No getting outta this one, Paigey. Go on up there.” The woman half pulled and half dragged her out of her chair and up beside Charlie.

  Her boss touched her arm. “Everyone, this is Paige Sumner, our newest wedding dress designer. She’s incredibly talented.”

  “Hear, hear!” Francine King Goode, the wedding dress buyer for King’s and Charlie’s stepsister, cheered. “Exquisite designs!”

  “Gorg!” Rico, King’s wedding coordinator, chimed in, clapping louder than the rest. “Swoon worthy!”

  Charlie nodded to her sister and Rico, and then continued. “You have seen her artistic work in the princess room here at the café. Well, she’s now working on the mural for the knight room opening soon.”

  Paige wanted to simply die, quick and fast. Her cheeks burned and she could barely look at the people clapping. She let her gaze skim the thirty plus family members and sunk inwardly a little more.

  She wanted out of the spotlight, not into it. Once was more than enough. And for all the wrong reasons.

  Bravely, she glanced at Jay. His grin made her breath catch. She caught the slight nod he gave her and the tension in her eased a bit.

  “We—Griff, Francie, Rico, and myself—have decided Paige should get her own wedding line dress label at King’s…”

  A thousand bees buzzed in her ears. She missed the rest of the speech; her mind crashed. No, I must be hearing it wrong. No can do! Safe. Boring. Hidden away. That’s what she longed for.

  “Okie dokie, got the contracts all done,” Peg, the executive assistant to Griff, said, tapping on her clipboard.

  “Paige? Honey, you’ve gone white on me.” Charlie put her arm around Paige and hugged her to her side. “I know. It’s a surprise. But, really, you’re tops. Take some time to let it sink in.” To the family, Charlie said, “We’ll give Paige here some breathing room. Right, honey? The King family can take a bit to get used to.”

  On shaky legs and to more applause, Paige made it back to her chair. Jay stood and helped her sit down. “Impressive, Ms. Sumner.”

  Her tight smile made her face ache. “What, the red face or the white one?” I’m talented like that.

  His chuckle warmed the cold places in her and she began to feel again. Not a good sign when it was Mr. Rock Hard Sexy doing it to you.

  “Marcus, would you like to tell us your news before I go any further?” Charlie asked.

  “Sure thing.” He kissed his wife and baby girl before moving to Charlie’s side. He nodded to Jay and said, “We have two more guests. King’s own, Danny, who started in the stockroom a few weeks ago. He’s amazing at organizing things and, if he’s willing, I can use him to help organize Stu and my restaurant storerooms.”

  “I’m your guy,” Danny said, grinning from ear-to-ear.

  Jay pat his brother on the shoulder. “Great job, buddy.”

  “My new side business.” Danny rubbed his hands together.

  Paige chuckled.

  “Now, the guy sitting next to him is his brother, Jay Whitfield. Jay, if you don’t already know, is a former Dallas Cowboys tight end—”

  “Oh, shut the front door,” Rico exclaimed. “Tight end?! I call dibs!”

  Paige stilled and then slowly turned to the man sitting at her side. She blinked once and then again as she stared at him. Why hadn’t she realized it before now? He was known for his quick moves and fast legs. The great Jay Whitfield! Her father would flip if he knew she’d met him, never mind sat beside him.

  “Surprise!”

  “You…the Jay—” She gulped hard. Something inside her crashed and burned. He was incredible on the field. His college and pro records could fill a book. His name alone would stop traffic, never mind his gorgeous face, warm brown eyes, and wavy shoulder length hair. He made men—look at Rico now—and women swoon. Kids looked up to him. His charity work was legendary. He was just as at ease off the football field as he was on. And people adored him.

  He made the papers slightly less now that he’d retired due to several concussions. But he’d been rumored to be working on some exciting new things to be announced soon. It was only a matter of time before he hit the Dallas headlines again.

  “You look mad for some reason,” he whispered to her.

  “Congratulations on being a god,” she muttered, turning away from him. For some reason it hurt. He hadn’t said a thing. And why should he; he was a stranger to her. But, she should have known he was special, should have sensed he was famous and in the limelight…

  Where the heck was her radar when she needed it the most?

  ***

  He couldn’t figure her out. One minute, they’re joking and the next, she’s looking at him as if he’d grown a horn in the middle of his head.

  “Jay?” Marcus asked.

  His brother jabbed him in the side with an elbow. “They want to know if you’re gay.”

  Jerking his head back to focus on Marcus, he said, “What?”

  “Rico wants to know what side you play on.”

  Looking across the many tables packed with the King family, he caught the man’s wide eyes and big, hopeful smile. Jay shook his head. “Sorry, bud, not my type.”

  He pressed the back of his hand to his forehead. “Why? Just tell me why all the good ones are straight?”

  Jay chuckled and the others joined him. Even Paige let out a puff. Was it a laugh or a snort? Why should he even care?

  “Your true love is out there, Rico.” Under his breath, Marcus said, “Somewhere. Hopefully he’ll show up soon and help us all out.”

  “I heard that,” Rico said. “And I used to like you, too.”

  Marcus grinned. “No hard feelings, Rico. It’s just you need to get—”

  “Hey, not in front of the children,” Dolly chimed in.

  “A man.” Marcus finished and shook his head. “What did you think I was going to say, Dolly?”

  The older woman blushed. “Mr. G., you don’t fool me. I know what you were thinking.”

  He winked at her and the pink turned to red. There was a lot of ribbing from the other family members.

  Jay smiled. The close-knit family made him realize he was making the right move for his brothers and himself. This wasn’t so much a world-renowned department store as it was a family business that happened to be very, very successful.

  Marcus held up his hands to quiet them. “Okay, folks, back to more news. Jay, Stu, and I are in serious talks, which is code for it’s a go, to open a sports bar and grill in the city.”

  “What?”

  “I’ll be damned…”

  “Yes…”

  Cheers went up and congratulations went around. All bu
t Paige reacted. Well, she did, but not in a good way.

  “Is it the bar and grill or just me you don’t like?” Jay asked. Why should it matter to him?

  Finally, she turned to him. “It’ll be a smash hit.” She shrugged. “If that’s the sort of thing you like.”

  He recalled her reaction to being called up beside Charlotte King—her cringing at the request, her reluctance to take a bow. “Don’t you like success?”

  “Love it,” she said tightly. “For other people.” She shoved back her chair.

  Jay stopped her. “He’s not finished. You have to stay for the rest of it.” No wonder Dolly had to warn him she was a flight risk.

  “Not only that, but there’s more,” Charlie said. She nodded in his direction. “Jay has agreed to an exclusive deal with King’s Department Store. He will have his own line with us. So we’ll have two new lines we’ll be promoting in the next few months: Jay’s brand and products and Paige’s wedding dress line.”

  “No, she just didn’t say that, did she?” Paige muttered, jerking her head to look at him.

  “Yep.” Jay smiled with satisfaction at her stunned expression. “You and me, Paige.”

  ***

  Paige’s heart plunged to her belly. No. No can do. It was bad enough with the thought of her line, but him, too? The King’s campaigns were legendary. Smart. Hip. And pure genius.

  Now with Jay added to the mix, there was no getting out of being noticed, especially if they promoted them back to back or side by side. Whatever! She couldn’t go there.

  “There’s more,” Charlie continued. “Alex, Griff, Shane, do you want to join me?”

  Gulping hard, Paige couldn’t imagine why Charlie called her husband, Alex, the head honcho at King’s, and Paige’s roommate’s new fiancé to join her. Oh, what next? Is they sky falling yet?

  Glancing over at her roommate on the other side of the room, Paige got the shrugging shoulders look of defeat. Evelyn knew something, but wasn’t telling. Some roommate Ev was! She was glad she was moving out soon. Well, not really, but seriously, what else could go wrong?

  Charlie took a deep breath. He husband, Alexander Royale, of the Royale Enterprises, squeezed his wife’s hand. “Griff reworked King’s five-year and ten-year business plans. We have far exceeded any of our expectations since I’ve become owner. So we’re moving up our plans and getting to work on…Rico, drum roll, please.”

  He tapped the table.

  “King’s just bought the vacant building next door.” She nodded to the other end of the café, on the opposite side of where King’s stood. “Royale Enterprises agreed to help with the exterior design and Shane Weston here of the Weston Construction has signed on for the interior construction…”

  “And Priscilla is doing the interior design,” Francie chimed in, hugging her sister sitting next to her. “And I’ll be in the mix…a little.” She held up her finger and forefinger an inch apart.

  “Of what, honey?” Dolly asked, gripping her husband, Edward’s, hand so hard it looked like all the blood had been clamped off his hand. “You know, Eddie, don’t you?”

  “Yep.” He grinned widely.

  The grandparents murmured, looking around. Alex’s grandfather smiled, most likely in on the deal since he founded Royale Enterprises eons ago.

  “I’ll just tell you.” Charlie threw up her hands. “King’s is expanding. We’re going to have the new building totally devoted to wedding gowns. Our own Charmings Wedding Boutique in its own building!”

  Gasps of delight sprinkled the air. Paige’s breath caught and held. How wonderful! How exciting!

  Then realization hit hard. More fuss. More attention. More press. Her own line would be in the spotlight.

  At one time, long ago, she’d have loved it. Now, it didn’t fit into her new normal.

  Her heart squeezed in her chest.

  It was just too bad she’d never be a part of it.

  Chapter 3

  Jay Whitfield toured the new King’s building. Demolition was slated for next week.

  He shook his head, wondering how they’d do it all. There were decades of ugly paint plastered to the walls, the rooms were small and claustrophobic, wires hung from the punched-out ceiling, and dust swirled in the air.

  Rubbing his hand on his unshaven jaw, he said, “Man, Marcus, you sure this is going to work?” He hoped they’d find a building soon, but, if it was in this much disrepair it would take months to fix it into the sports bar they’d envisioned.

  “No problem, buddy.” His cell phone rang. “Hey, I’ve got to get this one. Marcus Goode here…” He walked away to continue the conversation.

  Time was of the essence. Jay had his two younger brothers applying for graduate schools. Law school and medical school weren’t cheap nowadays. He wanted a steady income to take care of them. Most of his NFL earnings were wrapped up too tight. No one, especially Jay, thought he’d be literally and figuratively knocked out of the game this soon.

  Six years was just too early to end a career. But, he had his brothers to think about. He was supposed to take care of them, not the other way around. So he did what he had to do and retired.

  Now he wandered the dim, tiny rooms. Somehow, he felt sorry for the forgotten time capsules. How could people work in these offices? Cramped so tight? Bottled up?

  He shivered. How was he going to make a life for his brothers and himself? He’d invested wisely, but he hadn’t accounted for this unexpected turn of events.

  Offers to speak in other cities flooded in. How could he leave his brothers on their own for many days and nights? So he nixed the speaking engagements to only a few and only ones close by.

  Product endorsements requests filled his emails and clogged his voicemail. He didn’t want to promote just anything.

  Then he’d run into his buddies Marcus and Stu from years before. Catching up on old times, they’d dreamed up the sports bar idea. His name and their restaurant experience combined seemed the perfect merger. Plus, it was in the city that had made them all who they were. Perfect!

  His brother, Danny, couldn’t speak highly enough of his new job and King’s Department Store. When Jay realized Marcus was married to one of the sisters, he dug into the history more. He liked the new generation taking over and what they were doing.

  The next logical step was to ask Marcus for an introduction. That was only a week ago. Now, he was on his way to sign the contracts with Charlie. His lawyer would meet him in less than an hour.

  He had time to kill, so Marcus yanked him to see the new building. But it wasn’t new. It was old and decrepit. And needed a lot of TLC.

  “Yo, Jay!”

  “Over here,” he called out to Marcus. He met him in the narrow hallway.

  “That was my realtor. He’s got a couple of properties he’s scoping out for the sports bar.”

  Jay led the way out of the aisle and into a bigger room. The windows were grimy, but there was a little more light coming through. “Tell me it’s not this bad.”

  “Not so far. But we have to be open to anything in our prime location.”

  Smiling, he said, “Yeah, you and Stu drummed that into my head. Location. Location…”

  “Location,” Paige finished.

  Jay twisted around. He’d recognize that voice anywhere. He gulped hard. “Paige,” he barely got her name out. “Nice to see you.” Petite. Sexy. His heart beat faster. And I’m not even doing the hundred-yard dash, but it feels like it.

  She folded her arms. “Can’t say the same. Hey, Marcus. I didn’t realize you both were here.”

  Marcus brushed a hand through his hair, looking from Jay to Paige and back to Jay again. “Something I should know?”

  “Nothing,” Paige said. “Nada.”

  The air thickened. Yeah, right! If you felt nothing then you’d be able to look me in the eye right now. “Don’t ask me.” Jay shrugged. “She’s Danny’s break buddy” She did return his denim shirt via Danny days ago. Every time he went to was
h it, he couldn’t bring himself to erase the combined scents of lemonade and her. “But she can’t stand the sight of me.”

  He swore she turned pink and then white. There she goes again.

  Her braid hung over her shoulder and nearly reached her knees. She ran her fingers over it, and then, when she realized he was staring, she stuffed her hands in the back pockets of her skinny jeans. “You have a complex.”

  “Me? I’m good. It’s you. The success thing and all.”

  She snorted.

  “Here’s my guy,” Francie said, rushing into the room and being swept up into Marcus’s arms. “God, I missed you.”

  “Me, too.” He brushed her hair off her cheek and kissed her.

  Paige cleared her throat. The couple kept kissing. Wow! Jay looked away.

  “I don’t know about you, but I’m outta here,” Paige declared.

  “I’ll join you,” Jay said, following her. “Sometimes your disappearing act makes sense.”

  “I don’t disappear.” She ducked her head as she walked under a low hanging cobweb. “I dodge—”

  “Uncomfortable situations,” he finished. Like now. She was trying to rush ahead of him.

  “Now that’s just…” she sputtered, coming up short when she faced another wall. Turning to her right, she moved away and down the hall.

  “It’s true, Paige Sumner. Admit it.” She moved quickly. Maybe she should sign up for the team. They could use a star running back. Oh, yeah, she hated that kind of thing.

  “Fat chance.” She stopped in front of a tall window. Picking up a nearby rag, she swiped at the dirt on the window, making a circle to see out of. “Nice view.”

  Jay came up behind her. “Mmm…” Was he talking about the skyline or her? Paige was wearing skintight jeans, a bright blue top that ended just below her hips, and matching sandals. Sexy. She didn’t try hard at all. A little mascara and lip gloss, but nothing else as far as he could tell. It came natural. And she smelled like a mixture of roses and oranges. He moaned softly.