Lexi went to the front of the car and took out her BlackBerry to snap a picture of the damage.
“What are you doing?” Vincent asked, suddenly right beside her.
“They wanted a picture so they could start getting things ready since we need this done fast.”
“Let’s get this show on the road!” Sean yelled from the convertible, tapping his hands on the steering wheel impatiently.
“This way.” Vincent slipped his hand onto the small of Lexi’s back as he led her to Sean’s enormous black Escalade that was parked down the street. He opened the passenger’s side door for her and offered her his hand as she climbed up into the truck.
Lexi sent the picture over to Hope at the garage with a note that they were leaving. Hope was excited to get her hands on the Ferrari, and of course was one hundred percent certain she could fix it.
“Where am I going?” Vincent asked as he started the SUV.
“The garage is called Crowbar. Do you know where it is?”
“No, but I see ads for that place all the time.”
Lexi bit her lip to hide her grin. “Get on the highway and get off at Jefferson.”
Vincent sped down the street with Sean hot on his heels. He was very quiet as he drove, the only sound being the occasional tapping of his fingers on the steering wheel. The awkward silence lasted until Lexi finally broke it with a few more directions, then they safely arrived at Crowbar.
“Lexi, baby, what’s shakin’?” a large burly man with colorful tattoos down both arms greeted her as she stepped out of the truck with Vincent.
“Not much. I brought you a little present, Marco.” She waved her hand toward the Ferrari. “Do you like it?”
“Except for the giant dent in it, hell yeah. You’re too good to me.”
Lexi rolled her eyes and jerked her thumb in Sean’s direction. “Get the keys from him.”
Sean reluctantly handed them over after reminding Marco to be careful. Then he stalked through the door of the shop with Lexi and Vincent right behind him. For some reason, Sean had a sudden surge of testosterone and went all macho man. Lexi knew exactly why.
“Let me handle it from here,” Sean said as he held up a silencing hand to Lexi and Vincent.
Inside the modest showroom, Hope stood behind the desk, studying a driver’s manual and looking as gorgeous as ever. Her long black hair draped over her shoulders, and stray pieces fell around her face. The white tank top she wore peeked out from under her unzipped overalls, contrasting with her deeply tanned skin. She tapped her painted nails on the desk while she concentrated on the book. Lexi’s mouth hung open as Sean strutted up to the desk like a proud peacock and leaned onto it with one elbow.
“Hello, gorgeous,” he purred. “I’m Sean. Sean Adler.”
Lexi stopped dead in her tracks when Hope’s head snapped up. Vincent noticed and paused beside her. “What’s wrong?”
When Hope’s eyes narrowed into slits, Lexi shook her head and laughed. She knew what was coming next, so she leaned over to Vincent and whispered, “Just watch this, Sean’s about to make a complete ass of himself.”
“That’s nothing new.” Vincent was not amused.
Instead of introducing herself, Hope tucked a piece of paper into the book she was reading and with a bored expression said, “Can I help you?”
She looked Sean up and down, taking in every feature from his striking yet sexy shaved head, to his dimples, to his lean, muscular build. No detail escaped her notice. There was a slight twinkle in her eyes as she glanced over at Lexi, but it immediately vanished when Sean spoke again.
“Yeah, I need to see the owner. He in?”
Dead man walking, Lexi thought to herself.
“No, he’s not in.”
Sean frowned. “Look, I need to talk to the guy in charge then. I just brought in that Ferrari and I need it fixed ASAP.”
“There is no guy in charge here today.”
“Okay, sweetie, listen. Can you just get me one of the guys who are going to work on the car? I need to ask him a few questions.”
The patronizing tone of his voice set off every warning alarm in Lexi’s head. “Oh, crap.”
Vincent’s gaze went from Lexi to the woman behind the counter, then back to Lexi. In that moment, he figured out who Hope was and chuckled. “He deserves it.”
“You did not just call me sweetie,” Hope snarled, glaring at Sean.
Sean glanced down at his watch. “Honey, I’m behind the eight ball here and running out of time. Is that guy Marco in charge, the one who met us out front? If I could just ask him—”
“My name is Hope, Hope Greyson, and if you call me ‘sweetie,’ ‘honey,’ ‘baby,’ or any other condescending term, you won’t be behind that eight ball anymore, pal, because it will be shoved directly up your ass!” She spun on her heel and opened the door to the garage. “Marco, get in here, someone wants to talk to you.”
Sean glanced over his shoulder at Lexi and Vincent and mouthed “What the hell?” at them. Lexi covered her mouth to hide her laugh, and Vincent simply shrugged.
“What you need?” Marco stuck his head in through the door.
“Ask Captain Dipshit.” Hope threw Sean a deadly glare.
“Listen man, I just had a question for someone who knew what the hell they were talking about, and this chick decided to go all psycho on me.”
Sean held up his hands in surrender.
Hope’s nostrils flared when Sean referred to her as “this chick.”
Marco glanced at Lexi, who giggled uncontrollably. “Dude, you must have a death wish.” Hope had both hands clenched into fists.
“No, I have a Ferrari out there with a dent that I need fixed fast. If not, my balls are gonna be roasted on a spit. No other shop in town would even touch it, so I just need to know that you can pull this off.” Sean nervously rubbed the back of his neck.
“Me? Hell no, I can’t do that repair. I’m the leather guy. I do interiors. You need the best body person in the business for that.”
“Well, is he here?”
“No, he isn’t.” Hope stepped within punching distance of Sean.
“Lexi, you better save your boy before he’s hanging on the wall over Hope’s head. Right next to that big buck she helped Al shoot a few years back.”
Lexi decided it was time to put Sean out of his misery. “Sean, I would like you to meet Hope Greyson, my best friend, owner of the Crowbar, and best body person on the West Coast.”