Page 9 of Proof

“And?” She leaned forward, probably hoping she would get a clear response.

“And I was thinking of asking Chris to come out. Make it a guy’s night.”

Luna eyed him curiously. “Okay. And?”

“And nothing. I just wanted to run it past you first.” He wondered if Luna’s radar was up and she could tell he was lying. Lying about refurbishing cars, or his call to Gaines. Or both.

“Whatever. He’s your friend, too.” She let out an impatient sigh. “So what was so urgent?”

“That was it.” The color was leaving Cullen’s face.

Luna threw up her hands, spun on her heel, and marched out of the workshop. “Men! Idiots!”

Cullen quickly dialed Gaines’s number before Luna had a chance to get back to her phone.

“Yo. What’s up?” Chris answered. Cullen could hear a beep, indicating Chris had another call coming through. That would be Luna calling him back. “Hang on a sec.” Gaines hit the call waiting button. “Hey, doll face. Can I call you back this time? Your brother is on the other line.”

Luna gave her phone a strange look. That didn’t take him very long. Guys are so weird. “Sure. No prob.” Again, she ended the call.

Gaines returned to the other caller, Cullen. “Hey. Sorry about that. But it was your sister. One cannot ignore your sister.” He chuckled.

“You got that right.”

“What’s up?” Chris repeated.

Once again, Cullen was searching for another ruse. “What are you going to wear?” Cullen hit himself in the head with his phone several times. Now that was totally lame.

“You alright, bro?” Gaines could not recall any man ever asking him what he was going to wear. But he answered, “Pants, shirt, shoes, socks. The usual.” He scratched his head. “Why?”

“I didn’t know if you were going to wear a blazer or not.” Cullen was digging his mortification hole deeper.

“Why? Are you planning on buying me a boutonniere?” Gaines chuckled.

“As a matter of fact, I was thinking about it. What color do you prefer?” Cullen decided to go along with the joke instead of being defensive.

“How about a red rose?”

“Red rose it is,” Cullen replied. “No, seriously, I didn’t want to be over or underdressed.”

“It’s a car show. Anything goes. But, yes, I will be wearing a blazer, since we’re going to grab a bite to eat afterward. Is there anything else you would care to discuss?” Gaines was grinning.

“No. That about covers it,” Cullen answered, and then let out a huge sigh of relief.

“Alrighty then. I’ll see you a little after three on Saturday.” Gaines ended the call.

Cullen realized he still hadn’t covered the Luna part of the equation.

Gaines dialed Luna’s number again. Perhaps they wouldn’t be interrupted this time. He had some important information to share with her, but it required an in-person conversation. Meeting up with Cullen would be a good opportunity to make a brunch date with her.

Chapter Three

Stillwell Art Center

It took several minutes of phone chaos before Luna and Chris finally had a moment to chat.

“Lu, your brother invited me to a car show this weekend.”

“Yes, he told me he was going to. But boy was he acting weird about it.” Luna also thought to herself, That was kind of fast.