Page 7 of Taming I Do
The office door creaked open. Delilah Stone entered. She’d changed into dry clothes, but her hair still hung in damp curls, framing her heart-shaped face. I’d expected the beauty queen to be, well, beautiful. Butbeautifulwas too dull a word to do justice to the gorgeous woman who’d just entered the mayor’s office.
Lacey rounded the desk and moved toward the door. “Ms. Stone, welcome.”
I rose to my full height and drew in a breath. Then I forced what I hoped looked like a reassuring grin and turned it on Miss Lovin’ Texas herself.
She might have been drenched from head to toe a few minutes ago, but she handled herself with the composure of a queen. Her spine ramrod straight, her face scrubbed free of any trace of makeup, she entered the office like she owned the place.
“We’re thrilled to be hosting you as part of the Most Romantic Small Town in Texas competition.” Lacey glanced toward me and I braced myself for the inevitable introduction. “I’d like you to meet Jasper Taylor, our hospitality host. He’ll be your main point of contact while you’re here in town.”
I shot a look to Lacey, who lifted one shoulder in a slight shrug. Great. I didn’t want to undermine the mayor, even if she’dmade an incorrect assumption that I’d changed my mind about taking on the role. I’d let it go for now. But once Ms. Stone left the office, I’d have to set Lacey straight.
“It’s nice to meet you, Ms. Stone. I’m sorry about getting you all wet. Although I’ve gotta say, you look just as pretty soaked right through as you did when you won your title.” I had to give major props to the beauty queen. She didn’t flinch as she slid her hand against mine.
Delilah glanced over to Lacey. What the heck was wrong with me? Based on how I was handling my interaction with Delilah, she’d probably never believe I actually held a degree in business and had aced my professional communications courses. For some reason my tongue seemed to get all hog-tied when facing the woman with the smoky green eyes who held the fate of Ido in her soft, delicate hands.
She slipped her fingers out of my grip and followed Lacey toward the desk. “It’s my pleasure, Mr. Taylor.”
“Oh, you can call me Jasper.”
“It’s my pleasure then, Jasper.” The tight smile she gave me held more than a hint of frustration, making me think she’d rather slap me than have to rely on me for anything during her time in Ido. She probably thought Lacey was out of her mind for putting her trust in me. At least we were on the same page with regard to that.
“Jasper told me he was trying to get the square ready for our kickoff celebration tonight. It seems you happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. We hope you won’t hold that against us.”
“Of course not.” Delilah’s perfect pink lips split into a smile she directed at Lacey.
“Fantastic. Jasper, could you run through the schedule for tonight to make sure Ms. Stone knows what to expect?” Laceyclasped her hands in front of her and settled against the back of her chair.
“Sure.” I pulled a small spiral notebook out of my back pocket. When I’d offered to help, Lacey and I had come up with a timeline for the kickoff celebration. “We plan on starting with the high school band. They’ve got a new number they’ve been working on for the homecoming game. Then we’ll have Mayor Cherish say a few words to welcome you to town. Do you have something prepared that you’d like to say to the townspeople?”
“I’d love to thank everyone for their hospitality.” Delilah crossed her left leg over her right, putting her slim ankle and hot-pink high heel directly in my line of vision.
My gaze snaked up her leg from her heel to a shapely calf. I tilted my head to the side, trying to shake off the uncomfortable warmth that suddenly flushed across my chest.
“Jasper?” Lacey prompted.
“Right.” I dragged my attention away from Delilah’s leg and skimmed my chicken-scratched notes. “Then we have time for a meet and greet. Just a chance for the townspeople to get to know you and for you to know them. We’ll have cupcakes and cookies and maybe a little more music. Whole thing should only last about an hour. We figured you’d be tired after just getting to town, so we didn’t want to wear you out on your first night.”
“That sounds just fine.” Delilah graced me with a superficial smile. “Where would you like me to set up camp? I was told there would be a place for me to hook up my trailer to water and electricity?”
Lacey had put me in charge of that. Problem was, we didn’t have any public campgrounds in the general vicinity. Not unless we wanted to put her up out at the state park forty-five minutes away.
“I’ve got two options for you. Either you can park in the lot of one of our local establishments, or my family would be happy to host you out at Taylor Grove.”
“Taylor Grove?” Delilah asked. She turned her attention on me, her eyes sparking with just a hint of heat. “Didn’t you say your last name was Taylor?”
“Yes.” I fidgeted with the edge of the spiral notebook paper. “Unfortunately we don’t have a public campground within city limits. But Helmut, the proprietor of the Burger Bonanza, offered up a spot in his back parking lot. Said he’d be willing to run water and power out so you’d be set. Otherwise my family owns land just outside of town, and I expect you’d be quite comfortable there as well.”
Lacey must have sensed the need to intervene. “Either way, your comfort is our main concern.”
Delilah glanced back and forth between us. “I’d love to get a real feel for the town. Perhaps somewhere more centrally located would be best.”
“Absolutely.” My chest loosened. Having her hunker down in the Burger Bonanza lot would be more than fine with me. After my rocky first impression, there was no telling how bad I might botch things if she parked her trailer on my land.
“Is there anything else we need to go over today?” Delilah asked.
“No ma’am.” As I stood, I wiped my clammy palm across my jeans. “I can show you over to the Burger Bonanza and introduce you to the owner, Helmut Schmidt, if you’d like.”
“Thank you, I’d appreciate it.” Delilah got to her feet.
