Taming I Do (Blame It On I Do #3)

1. Delilah

DELILAH

I removed my rhinestone tiara as I ducked into the vintage trailer I’d been living in for the past few months.

As the reigning Miss Lovin’ Texas, my most pressing official duty was judging the state tourism board’s search for the most romantic small town in Texas.

Thirty days had been more than enough time to determine that the tiny town of East, which ironically happened to be located in the westernmost corner of the state, wasn’t going to win.

I’d already been to Hartwood, a charming little town located in the Hill Country and the clear favorite to take the title.

With only one more town to judge, I was looking forward to putting my time as Miss Lovin’ Texas behind me.

Living in the hot-pink branded trailer provided by the pageant’s main sponsor was getting old.

I just had to spend the next thirty days in Swynton—the final contender—before I could trade in the trailer for my condo and get back to pursuing something more meaningful than deciding which town would secure the title.

“Well that was a nightmare.” My manager, who also happened to be my mother, or “momager” in pageant terms, came in behind me and pulled the door shut.

“Two stops down, one to go.” I lifted my sash over my head and hung it in the tiny closet.

“Just think, a couple of months from now, and this will all be behind you.” My mother unfastened the eye hook at the back of my dress and slid the zipper down to where I could reach it. “Next time you might want to smile more and talk less.”

“Thanks for the feedback, Stella.” I had been banished from calling my mother anything but her given name. God forbid someone actually mistake my mom for anything but my older sister—a game I had grown tired of playing.

My fingers closed around the zipper pull, and I stepped into the tiny bedroom area to change into something a little more comfortable and a lot less sparkly.

Tonight’s final farewell appearance marked the end of my time in East. Tomorrow we’d start the trek to the southeast Texas town of Swynton, where I’d spend the next month evaluating their efforts to win the title.

I’d be glad when this gig was up. I not only could use some time away from Stella but also was ready to move onto bigger and better things.

Once I wrapped up my stay in Swynton, I’d just have one final appearance to make—the ceremony where the board would award the title to the most romantic small town in Texas.

At twenty-five, I was ready to retire from pageant life and use my connections to make a difference in the world.

Some of my competitors might not believe in the causes they promoted on their personal platforms, but I did.

And once my current reign came to a glittering end, I had plans to put my money where my mouth was and start doing something to support my cause of empowering young girls, instead of just talking about it all the time.

I carefully slipped the glittery gown onto a hanger, then pulled on my dressing robe. As I slid a headband in place to start my long makeup removal routine, my cell rang.

“Want me to pick up for you?” Stella asked. Even with the door between the bedroom and the living area closed, it sounded like my mother was standing right next to me.

“I’ll get it.” I moved through the trailer and reached for my phone. “Hello. Miss Lovin’ Texas speaking.”

“Good evening, Ms. Stone. It’s Marty Plum. We’ve had a change of plans as to your travel itinerary tomorrow.”

“Oh? What kind of change?” I had spoken to the contest chair only a few times since I started my term.

Stella leaned against the counter next to me. “What’s going on?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know yet,” I whispered.

Mr. Plum cleared his throat. “Seems Swynton has been disqualified from the competition.”

“Disqualified?” I shot a glance to Stella. “What did they do?”

“That’s right. They’ve been accused of bribing a member of the committee. We can’t have any kind of scandal touch the competition, so we’ve taken them out of the running.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.” I couldn’t care less about Swynton, Texas. Didn’t matter to me which town they sent me to, as long as I’d be done by the date my contract specified.

“What’s happening?” Stella asked.

I held up a finger. “Does that mean my judging obligations are complete? It’s just between Hartwood and East?”

“Not exactly.” Marty cleared his throat again. “The committee wants to let the runner-up town take Swynton’s place. It’s a fairly convenient swap since it’s right across the river. Instead of spending thirty days in Swynton, we’re going to have you spend the next month in Ido.”

“Ido? Where’s that?” I had never heard of the town and as a lifelong pageant participant, I’d traveled back and forth across the great state of Texas more times than the Pony Express had in its heyday.

Stella whipped her head back and forth, turning her giant earrings into weapons. “No. You’re not going there.”

“I’m sorry, Mr. Plum. Could you hold for just a moment?” I put my hand over the mouthpiece and studied my mother. “What’s in Ido?”

“It’s where I grew up. You’re not spending any amount of time in that place. I barely escaped alive, I’m not sending my only child back there. Traveling to Swynton was close enough. No, you can’t do it.”

“Ms. Stone, are you there?” Marty asked. “Is there a problem?”

“I’m still here.” I motioned for my mother to sit down at the small dinette. “Can you please send over the information? I need some time to talk to my manager about the change of plans.”

“Of course. E-mail okay?”

“That would be just fine. Thank you. I’ll give you a call in the morning.”

By the time I disconnected, Stella sat at the tiny table with her head in her hands. “They can’t just trade out a town like that.”

“What’s the big deal? Whether I go to Swynton or Ido or Timbuktu, one of my official duties is judging their contest. I can’t back out now.” Stella was the one who’d insisted I sign up for the Miss Lovin’ Texas pageant in the first place. Why the change of heart?

“I have such bad memories.”

I slid onto the bench seat across from my mom. “Whatever you ran from in Ido, Texas, is long gone. You don’t have to come with me, you can go back to—”

“Not go with you?” Stella lifted her head, her blue eyes taking on a haunted, wounded look. “You don’t want me to travel with you anymore?”

“That’s not what I said.” I couldn’t win, not where my mother was concerned.

If I wanted her to go with me, Stella would call me demanding.

If I didn’t want her to come, then I’d be insensitive.

I’d navigated the tricky interpersonal relationship with my mother my whole life.

“I want you to do what’s best for you, even though I have to follow through on the commitment I made when I won this title. ”

Stella placed a hand over her heart. “If I’d have known they’d be sending you to Ido, I never would have encouraged you to enter that pageant.”

Not wanting to argue, I nodded. “This will be good though. You can head back to Dallas and keep things moving on our new cosmetics line while I serve out the rest of my sentence.”

“Are you sure that’s what you want to do?” Stella’s frown switched into a hopeful smile. “We could still make a run for the big title. With your looks and my pageant know-how, we’re a good team.”

“We have made a good team, but weren’t you the one who said I should quit while I’m ahead?” Winning a national-level title was my mother’s dream, not mine. Even though we’d worked our tails off, winning local and regional competitions across the South, the big title had remained elusive.

“I know we agreed Miss Lovin’ Texas would be your last pageant, but don’t you want to try one more time?” Stella bit her lip, her forehead creased.

“You’re going to give yourself wrinkles if you keep frowning,” I pointed out, tossing my mother’s own wisdom right back in her lap.

Stella immediately relaxed her expression. “Are you sure your contract doesn’t say anything about what happens if they switch locations on you at the last minute?”

“Nope. I’m pretty much at their mercy until we get through the final ceremony when they name the winner.

” Stella would know that if she actually read the contracts.

But she tended to be more involved on the public side of things—picking out the dresses and offering unsolicited advice on makeup and hairstyle trends.

My mother might drive me crazy at times, but she never steered me wrong when it came to appearances.

She also had an amazing knack for business, hence the new line of cosmetics that she and I would be launching after my reign came to an end.

My mentor, Monique McDowell, the first Black woman to win multiple national titles, was also on board, and I couldn’t wait to get started.

Thankfully, Monique had stepped in early on in my pageant career and provided the guidance I’d been missing from my mother.

Stella might have big dreams, but she lacked personal experience.

I had lost count of how many times I’d heard the story of how my mother chose love over pageant wins.

How she’d sacrificed everything to get married and become a mother.

Stella never actually came right out and said it, but I had always gotten the sense that my mother thought I owed her a big win.

I’d felt that way since the first time I’d stepped on a stage.

“I don’t care what they say. It’s ridiculous. They can’t make you go to Ido.” Stella pressed her lips together.

“Actually, they can, and it looks like they are.” I held out my phone. “Mr. Plum’s new itinerary has me arriving on Friday in time for their kickoff celebration. That gives me three days to get there.”

“Oh, honey, how are you going to manage all by yourself?” Stella’s brow furrowed again.

I pointed at my forehead. “Keep that up and you’ll be taping your forehead while you sleep.” Stella had often threatened to make me sleep with clear tape holding my skin taut, saying it was a tried-and-true way to prevent fine lines and wrinkles.

“So, you’ll go to Ido and I’ll go back to Dallas?” Stella asked, her face devoid of any expression.

“I guess so. You said you had a lot of work to do on that line of cosmetics. What else were you looking into?” I couldn’t keep it all straight. My mother had more projects in the works than the Texas Department of Transportation, and that was saying a lot.

Stella brightened. “Monique and I are finalizing with that cosmetics company on your signature line. Plus, we’ve got those fashion faux pas fixers in the works. Don’t you worry, Texas won’t forget Delilah Stone, even if you’re no longer competing.”

Staying in the public eye was my mother’s dream, not mine.

But when Mama was happy, everyone else was happy so I was content to let my mother work on whatever projects she wanted to.

As long as it kept her busy and gave her something else besides me to focus her overwhelming attention on, it was a win-win.

“I’ll tell Mr. Plum to let Ido know they can expect me on Friday then.”

Stella nodded, her attention already shifting away from the contest. “Do you think you can drop me at the airport on the way? I’ll just take a flight back to Dallas. You’ll be fine, won’t you?”

“Absolutely.” I left my mother at the tiny built-in dinette and resumed my nighttime routine.

I loved my mother dearly but was eager for a break.

We’d been traveling together for the past two months, and anyone who’d ever spent any time around Stella Stone would have agreed that was about two months too long.

Suddenly, having to spend the next thirty days in Ido didn’t seem so bad.

I’d have a bit of respite from the breakneck schedule I’d been keeping for the past several years.

Without having to entertain my mother, I’d have plenty of time to think about what I wanted to do next, beyond the launch of all the products Stella and Monique had in the works.

For the first time in a long time, the knot in my chest loosened just a smidge. Having to spend a month in Ido, Texas, might just be the best thing that had ever happened to me.