Page 71 of Blame It on the Bikini
"Thanks. I better go. I have my day job to get to."
"What is it today?" he asked.
"I'm doing headshots for a corporation downtown. It will not be anywhere near as creative as this. But there will still be the challenge to make everyone look good, so I'm going to focus on how every job makes me better, no matter what it is."
"That's a good attitude."
"Dare I ask about your deal, Grayson?"
"It's still teetering on the edge of collapse, but I won't know anything more until Monday. So, I'm going to help Frank get this baby ready to roll."
"I'll let you get back to it."
He watched her walk into the building, and when he turned back to Frank, he saw a knowing gleam in the man's eyes.
"That girl is something special," Frank said.
"I can't disagree," he murmured, thinking about how her creative passion inspired him, how her laugh made something in his chest feel lighter. How talking to her made him feel alive. How making love to her had taken every sense to a new height. How impossible it was going to be to say goodbye to her when this was all over.
Chapter Seventeen
Lexie positioned herself near the end of the parade route, her camera ready as the procession of classic cars made their way down Ocean Boulevard. The noon sun was brilliant overhead, and she could hear the rumble of engines long before she could see the cars themselves. She was joined by Josie and Margaret, who were very close to Frank, as well as Kaia, who'd grumbled that she had nothing better to do, and her brother, Ben, who was apparently also a fan of old cars.
"There!" Josie pointed excitedly as Frank's restored Mustang came into view. "The car looks so good!"
"I never would have imagined that piece of old junk that I saw a month ago could look that good," Margaret agreed.
Lexie raised her camera and snapped several shots as the Mustang rolled past. Frank was grinning behind the wheel, clearly in his element. Grayson sat in the passenger seat looking handsome and relaxed, happy to be cruising Ocean Boulevard in a Mustang with a man old enough to be his father.
As the car passed their group, his gaze met hers, and she felt the familiar flutter in her chest that she'd been trying to ignore all week.
"That car is a work of art," Ben said. "I helped Frank source some of the original parts months ago, but I wasn't sure he could pull this off."
"I didn't know you were also a vintage car enthusiast, Ben," she said.
"My brother and I had to put our first car together with parts we found at a junkyard." Ben's expression grew wistful. "Some of my best memories."
"And some of my worst memories," Kaia cut in. "You two would never let me help, and every time Dad came home and saw what you'd done, he'd brag about you for hours. It was so annoying."
Ben laughed. "You didn't want to help. You had no interest in that car."
"True. But I didn't like the attention you got from Dad." Kaia turned to her. "Ben and my brother were always my father's favorites."
"Not so," Ben said. "Dad had a soft spot for you, and you could weasel your way out of punishment with just a smile." He pointed to an old Thunderbird now crossing in front of them. "Look at that beauty."
Both she and Kaia dutifully obeyed, but now that the Mustang was turning into the field that had been transformed into a parking lot for the show, she had lost interest in the parade. "Let's check out the cars up close."
"Good idea," Ben said.
Josie and Margaret followed behind them as they walked two blocks to the field where rows of vehicles were lined up, their hoods popped open to display pristine engines. Food trucks lined the perimeter—a taco stand, a gourmet grilled cheese booth, and an ice cream truck with hand-painted signs advertising homemade waffle cones. A DJ played hits from the seventies and eighties, and families spread blankets on the grass while kids ran between the cars and the food trucks with wide-eyed enthusiasm.
They caught up with Grayson and Frank, who were talking to a group of five or six men. Frank was in his element, answering questions about the restoration process. Grayson seemed content to chat with the other men gathered around the car.
As Josie and Margaret headed off to get drinks, she shot photos while Kaia looked at her phone and Ben wandered down the line of cars.
"This is boring," Kaia said a moment later.
"I think it's fun to see all these old cars restored."
