Going Down Easy (Billionaire Bad Boys) by Carly Phillips Page A

before she could censor herself.
    “Could you just be happy for me for once instead of hounding me and questioning my judgment?” Kendall snapped.
    Lexie blew out a long breath. “You’re right. I just… I worry.”
    Was it smart for her sister to be going out on a date with a guy she’d just met? Was she in a place where she could pick out the good from the sleazy? Lexie curled her fingers into a fist but said nothing.
    Kendall tucked a leg beneath her. “Fine. His name is Jay, and he’s in the middle of complicated negotiations with his partners in some company. I can’t remember the name. Anyway, until they work things out, he has free time on his hands, so he was at the gym during the day.” Kendall met her gaze. “He said I have pretty eyes,” she whispered, a dorky smile on her face.
    No doubt about it, her sister was smitten. “You know I just want what’s best for you, right?”
    “I do and I love you for it. Trust me, Jay’s a nice guy.”
    Lexie hoped so. Before she could respond, a voice announced their stop. “This is us. Ready?” she asked, pushing herself to a standing position.
    “To visit the old homestead? Sure thing.” They shared a knowing gaze, neither one of them wanting to address the sad truth.
    Nobody knew what to expect from Addy Parker. Although their father knew they were coming, not even Wade knew what mood his wife would be in at any given time.
    *     *     *
    “My girls!” Wade Parker hugged Kendall and Lexie in turn and in no particular order.
    “It’s so good to be home,” Kendall said, letting Waffles out of his carrier. The dog immediately ran to Wade, jumping up and down for attention, which their father immediately gave. They’d already walked the dog after getting off the train, so Waffles was good to tag along with Kendall toward the kitchen.
    Lexie glanced toward the curved staircase in the center hall colonial leading up to the master bedroom suite. No sounds came from above, and she wondered if her mother was in a darkened room or downstairs somewhere. Her father’s silence on the subject didn’t bode well.
    She picked up her pace, joining her sister and dad as they reached the kitchen. The room had been remodeled since she’d grown up here, but more so her father could keep the house current and up to date than because her mother needed a place to cook. Tonight her father had dinner waiting. He’d brought in from a local restaurant that they’d favored growing up. Which meant her mother was definitely incapacitated.
    With a sigh, she pasted a smile on her face and talked with her father about his work as an investment banker, which eventually turned to him questioning Lexie about her new job.
    “So how’s the working world?” he asked as they sat around the table, eating chicken Marsala.
    Lexie smiled. “I’m enjoying it.”
    “Barnes isn’t making you crazy? I admit when Derek said he was the one who needed an assistant, I was worried. The boy’s got his quirks.”
    “Really, Dad? Glass houses and all that. Who are we to judge anyone else?” she asked, immediately jumping to Kade’s defense.
    “Whoa. I didn’t mean anything except facts. He’s difficult…”
    “Demanding with good reason.”
    “Obstinate—”
    “Stubborn.”
    “Peculiar.”
    “He has idiosyncrasies.” Like anxiety and ADHD he tried to keep hidden.
    From how he aligned the pens on his desk any time they got out of order to his fresh coffee, to the precise way his shirts were lined up in his closet—this she knew because she’d brought his dry cleaning to his apartment and had to hang them up. She’d taken the time to undo the plastic and put the clean shirts at exactly the same width apart like the others before leaving things just as she’d found them.
    “Quirks,” she added. Adorable quirks, Lexie thought.
    “Protective much?” Kendall asked, putting down her fork and staring at her sister. “Someone has a thing for her boss!”
    Her father’s