Page 37 of Blame It on the Bikini
"I will," Kaia promised. "But you need to chill, Lexie. You're not going to solve this problem tonight."
She knew that, but she couldn't help moving her gaze to Grayson and Hunter, who were talking to Brad at the bar. They seemed to be getting along, drinking what looked like whiskey, and sharing conversation.
Grayson really was a handsome man. A yearning knot tightened in her gut as she imagined being in his arms again…
It was still surprising to her that she found Grayson so attractive, so desirable. She'd hated him at their first meeting and been annoyed with him for months when he never replied to her emails. She'd thought she'd have trouble even tolerating his stay at Ocean Shores, but now, she felt much differently.
"Lexie, are you in?" Kaia asked.
She gave her a blank look. "Uh, for what?"
"Another pitcher of margaritas."
"Sure. I'll go to the bar and get us one."
"And get me a nonalcoholic one," Serena put in.
"Okay," she said, happy to make her way to the bar. As she got up from the table, she purposefully did not look back to see the knowing smile on Kaia's face.
When she got to the bar, she said, "Hi, guys. Brad, we need another pitcher of margaritas, and a virgin one for your wife."
"Got it," Brad said.
She smiled at Hunter, then at Grayson. "It's nice to see you both here."
"Hunter suggested I check it out," Grayson replied. "He said you're having a girls' night."
"We try to get together here a few times a month to catch up. The guys usually give us an hour or so to do that before they show up. How's the Mustang coming along?" she asked. "I heard you and Frank were working on it today."
"It's going well. Hunter helped us with an issue we'd been stuck on, so that really changed things up."
"You and Frank were almost there," Hunter said.
"We were close, but we'd been close for an hour before you showed up," Grayson said. "At any rate, the car is in good shape, and Frank should be able to have it ready for the show next Saturday."
As Brad set down the pitcher of margaritas and a separate drink for Serena, Hunter said, "I'll take this to the table for you, Lexie."
"Okay, thanks." She looked back at Grayson. "Do you want to come and sit with us?"
"I'm going to finish this drink and go. I have an early call tomorrow with an associate in London."
"Of course. I'm glad you made it, though."
"Me, too." He finished his whiskey but didn't immediately move to leave. "So, how did the photographs come out?"
"Amazing," she said, finally feeling more comfortable with the turn in the conversation. "I can't wait to show them to you. I'm getting the digital prints tomorrow. I developed the film in my apartment, so maybe you can stop by and take a look sometime."
"Definitely. I'm very glad it worked out."
"It more than worked out. Seeing those photos made me realize how much I want to do more of the same, not the caves, but that kind of interesting location shoot that's thoughtful and provocative and takes the viewer of the picture somewhere else, someplace that they didn't even know existed."
"Well, I have to say the caves took me somewhere else."
"But you were there. I hope the photos will take people into that cave even if they're not physically there."
"I love the way your face lights up when you talk about photography," he murmured. "You really love it. Did you always? Were you carrying around cameras when you were a little girl?"
"No, but I loved photos, and I liked to steal my mom's phone and snap pictures when she wasn't looking. I didn't really get into it until after high school when I took a summer photography class. Then I was hooked."
