“You just seem eager to get me out of your house.”
Her eyes widened slightly, then she laughed. “I imagine it does seem like that, huh? Sorry, I’m just not used to having people over. I like to be out and about. Plus,” her expression turned mischievous, “what I’m really eager for, is to show you my baby.”
“You really are going to insist on driving today, aren’t you?” Now he was standing close to her, close enough to catch a whiff of her perfume. Coconut. “I suppose you’re going to insist on carrying those bags yourself, too.”
“I am, and I am. I mean, you can drive yourself if you want, but you’ll be eating my dust. And, I think all your hesitation will disappear in a minute anyway.”
Foom. She’d turned again and was opening her front door before he could answer or take the tote bags from her. He grinned, shook his head, and found himself following her again, the hypnotic swing of her hips pulling him along like the tide. They walked along a concrete path to the side of her house, then between fenced back yards to a parking lot with a line of garages. She walked up to the one right behind her house and punched in a code. The garage door rose and Alex’s eyes opened wide when he saw the classic cherry-red Mustang.
“Wow, she’s a beauty.”
Sylvie grinned. “Now you know why I wanted to drive. And why you’re gonna want to ride with me.” She gave the Mustang an affectionate pat. “She’s way sexier than that big black box you drive for Watchdog,” she teased.
“Hey now. Don’t go dissing a man’s wheels.”
Sylvie laughed and she had every right to; even he sounded ridiculous to his own ears. The Stang was gorgeous and Sylvie was correct; he was eager to see how she ran—even if he wasn’t the one driving.
“I’m not dissingyourwheels, just the tank they gave you. You told me last night what you drive, and she sounds pretty special.”
“Yeah, she is.”
“So I’ll let you drive next time, sound good?”
“Sounds good. But there’s nothing quite like driving a convertible along Highway 101 on a sunny day with the ocean breeze.”
Sylvie closed her eyes and smiled, looking utterly tantalizing as she pictured the scene he painted. “I can imagine.” She took in a deep breath, then opened her eyes. “Though, the mountains are pretty spectacular in Alison.”
He gave her a confused look and she clarified. “I named her Alison.” She patted the Mustang again, then popped the trunk and put the tote bags inside. “When I found her, she was a wreck. It hurt me just to look at her, to think she’d been so abused. And then that old Elvis Costello song “Alison” just popped into my head. That line about how the world is killing her. So, it stuck.”
Alex ran his hand along the cherry-red paint. “Where’d you take her for the restoration?”
Sylvie fixed him with her sexiest grin. “Who says I let someone else restore her?”
His eyebrow rose. “Impressive.”
“I had a lot of help from George. He’s quite the car buff too.”
“Sergeant Williams? Was this when you were a rookie cop?”
“Oh, no. Way before that.” Still smiling, she looked down, weighing her next words. “George and Cynthia took me in. I was a homeless kid.”
“Oh. I didn’t know.”
“I was lucky,” she said. “I wasn’t on the street long before George found me and fixed that situation.”
“Where?”
“Denver. I don’t care to say where I’m from originally. As far as I’m concerned, Lyons is my home.”
He was surprised at the defensiveness that had crept back into her voice. Alex got the impression that, even though he was the only one around, she was justifying herself to someone else.
“So, George taught you about cars,” he said, attempting to get her back onto a happier topic.
She didn’t hesitate to switch. Her head snapped back up and her smile brightened. “Yeah. Hey, hop in. I know you’re dying to see what she can do.”
“That I am.” Alex opened the passenger door and slid onto the black leather seat. The whole car smelled like new leather and he wondered if greasy-smelling fast food had ever crossed the threshold. Under the rich leather smell, he caught a whiff of her coconut perfume. Leather and beach. Not far off from what he knew in California. The decadent combination drove him a little wild and he shifted in his seat.
She grinned at him from the driver’s side. “Nice, huh? You like it?”
