Page 23 of Purr For Me
Chapter Six
Lexie looked at herself in the locker-room mirror at work and debated about wearing lip gloss. She wanted to look nice, but not too nice, lest she give Kade the wrong idea. Thiswasn’ta date. No, this was just dinner with a… What did she call Kade? She didn’t like the idea of continually calling him her brother-in-law—soon to be ex-brother-in-law, she hoped—but could she consider him a friend? She supposed so.
Lexie decided on deep rose lipstick instead of the lip gloss and rummaged around in a small compartment in her backpack for it. It would look pretty, but not sexy. She applied it and a little mascara and looked at herself again. Her dark blue jeans and powder-blue buttoned-down shirt weren’t fancy, but she felt sexy anyway.
Sexy. Why did she want to feel sexy?
“That’ll do,” she mumbled to herself and put her things away.
As Lexie slung her bag over her shoulder and headed out front to wait for Kade, she hoped he wasn’t late. She’d already endured some ribbing from Tom about their outing, and she didn’t want to hear any more. Entering the office, Lexie was relieved to find it empty, indicating that Tom and Marcus had already left for the day.
The clanking sounds of tools and the steady drumbeat of music meant that at least one mechanic was still working. She avoided the shop and went to stand outside the office door. It was a mild evening, with little humidity and no sign of rain. Lexie wished she was heading home instead of going with Kade. It would be a nice night to sit out on her miniscule patio and sip some wine while she watched the sun go down.
It wasn’t long before Kade drove into the parking lot in his sleek, look-at-me silver Mercedes GT and stopped in front of her. He surprised her by getting out and coming around to the passenger side.
“Hi, Lexie. You look nice,” he said, opening the door.
Lexie blinked a few times. She couldn’t remember if Jason had ever opened a door for her. Realizing she was staring at Kade, she gave herself a mental shake and smiled. “Hi. Thanks. So do you.”
She meant it. His jeans rode low on his trim hips and his short-sleeved blue t-shirt showcased his muscular chest and arms.
His smile made her pulse rise a little. “Thanks. Ready?”
“Yeah.”
Kade held the door while she got in and shut it for her. His gentlemanly behavior, which seemed at odds with his tough-guy appearance, flattered her. He slid into the driver’s seat and the fine hairs on Lexie’s arms stood up over his sudden nearness. The car interior seemed to shrink until Kade filled her vision.
He shut his door and the sound jarred her out of the sudden spell he’d unknowingly cast over her. To hide her confusion, Lexie reached for the seat belt and buckled it. When she looked up, her gaze collided with Kade’s, and he smiled.
“All set?”
“All set,” she confirmed.
He put the car in gear and pulled out of the parking lot.
Lexie couldn’t help admiring the calm, confident way Kade drove as they headed toward the downtown area of LA. He remained cool even when someone cut him off or tailgated him. Jason had a horrible case of road rage. As a racing driver, Jason thought he owned the road. Riding with him had always set Lexie’s teeth on edge, and his almost constant yelling often gave her a headache. It was a relief to drive with someone like Kade.
As they traveled down the streets, the quality of the neighborhoods deteriorated, which made Lexie a little nervous.
“Where are we going?” she asked. “I don’t know of any nice restaurants down here.”
“Me neither. We’re not going to a restaurant.”
Lexie watched men on the street with a little trepidation. They’d started arguing, and there was a lot of emphatic gesturing going on. “Then where are you taking me? A food truck or something?”
“No. I’m taking you for the best spaghetti dinner you’ll ever have,” Kade said.
Looking around at the dilapidated, graffiti-riddled buildings, Lexie couldn’t figure out where Kade meant. Some sections of the downtown area had seen rebirth since the early 2000s, but there were still areas, especially close to Skid Row, that had improved little. The neighborhood they were driving through didn’t hold much promise.
Soon, Kade slowed down and took a right turn into a parking lot next to a long, squat building. Many of its dingy-brown bricks were cracked, and it needed repainting. Looking it over, Lexie noticed that while the building was rundown, the windows were clean, as was the parking lot. There was no litter, and while the thin strips of grass outlining the far edges of the lot were brown and dried up, they were neatly trimmed. Someone took pride in the place’s appearance.
Kade pulled into a spot between a big, mint-green Chevy truck and a silver Lincoln Town Car and killed the engine.
“Are you going to tell me where we are now, man of mystery?” Lexie asked.
Kade laughed. “We’re at the Little Street Underground Mission.”
Lexie shook her head. “The what?”
