With the toe of his work boot, Colin nudged a disembodied leg sticking out from underneath the side of a car. "Hey, Dad?"

There was an answering grunt, followed by the clank of metal against metal. "Yeah."

"Maura's here."

Another grunt. "Who?"

"The two-thousand and one Honda," he added. "Came in yesterday. Remember?"

"Oh! New starter."

Colin glanced at Maura, flashing a smile. "Yep. That's the one."

Using the heels of his boots as leverage, the man rolled himself free of the undercarriage. His eyes widened when he saw Maura standing there. "You mean she's here. Literally. Well, I'm glad I didn't say something to embarrass you. My fingers aren't as nimble as they used to be and she's˗˗" he said, gesturing with his thumb to the car behind him, "—being a real bitch."

"Dad," Colin said, the tips of his ears turning pink. Maura stifled a laugh.

Colin's dad lumbered to his feet with an exaggerated groan. He was an older version of Colin himself, though slightly taller, with the same sand-colored hair, pleasant smile, and light-brown eyes that wrinkled with crow's feet when he smiled. He wiped his hands vigorously on a rag but gave up when the stubborn grease wouldn't come off. "Uh, don't want to get you dirty," he said with an apologetic shrug, letting his hand fall to his side. "Nice to finally meet you, though."

Maura didn't miss the word finally. "Nice to meet you, too."

"So, you and Colin go to school together."

"Yes. We've known each other awhile," Maura replied.

"I don't know why this knucklehead," Colin's father said, reaching out to ruffle Colin's hair, "waited so long to bring you around."

Maura's cheeks bloomed with heat. Judging by the mortified look on Colin's face, he was just as humiliated. Colin cleared his throat. "She's here to pick up her car, Dad."

"Riiiigght," his father drawled, his grin suggesting there might be more to the story. But then he was all business. "Give me a minute to finish up here and we'll get you squared away. Colin, take Maura to the lobby and offer her something to drink."

"Your dad is nice," Maura whispered as they walked away.

Colin rolled his eyes. "Sure. When he's not trying to embarrass me."

A woman sitting behind the desk in the reception area looked up when they entered from the work bay, her face immediately brightening. "You must be Maura!" she said, casting a meaningful glance at Colin. Maura could only surmise the woman was his mother. Exactly what had he been telling his parents about her anyway?

"Hi," Maura said, offering a smile in return. She looked to Colin for a proper introduction, but he seemed to be looking everywhere but at her.

"Oh!" the woman said, rising from her chair and holding out her hand. "I'm Colin's mom. He said you'd be coming by today." Maura shook the woman's hand, not used to the parental attention. "Help yourself to something to drink. We've got a mini-fridge stocked with water, juice, and soda. We've got hot tea and coffee on the counter, and there are cookies and other sweets."

"Thank you," Maura said, feeling slightly overwhelmed.

The phone rang then, and Colin's mom waved them off before resuming her seat and taking the call. Maura helped herself to a bottle of water and a chocolate-chip cookie, and she and Colin sat down to wait for his father.

"Are you close to your parents?"

Colin shrugged. "We get along. Why?"

"No reason." The tips of his ears blushed scarlet again. She thought it was ridiculously cute.

"You weren't in school today," he pointed out.

She grinned. "You noticed."

He shrugged again. "Well . . ."

"I was skipping."

Colin laughed. "You were skipping?"

"You sound surprised," she said.

"Shocked, actually."

Maura polished off the last of her cookie and wiped the crumbs from her lap. "You know the English project Mrs. Raines assigned?"

Colin made a face. He was in the same class, though a different period. "Don't remind me. I haven't even started it yet."

"You seriously stress me out sometimes," Maura teased, shaking her head. "Anyway, Luke and I are partners."

"Luke. The guy who gave you a ride yesterday, right?"

Maura nodded. "We went to the park and worked on our story, and then we spent the rest of the day downtown."

"Oh," Colin replied.

"It's not like that," Maura said. "He's totally not my type."

"Oh!" Colin said again, in an entirely different tone. She looked down at her lap and smiled.

The shop door swung open just then, setting the small bell hanging above in motion, and Colin's dad entered. "Your car's in the lot, all ready to go. I replaced the starter like I said. Topped your fluids and charged you for parts only to save you a few bucks."

Maura stood. "Really? Wow. Thank you!"

Colin cleared his throat. "I believe I replaced the starter."

"Yeah, yeah," his dad answered with a wave of his hand. To Maura he added, "He's learning the ropes, so he gets paid in experience. It saves the customer money, anyway. Colin even detailed your car at no additional cost."

"Dad. You weren't supposed to tell her that."

"Why not?"

Colin gritted his teeth. "Because."

Maura thought her knees would buckle with gratitude, and she had to resist the urge to throw her arms around Colin and his dad. "Seriously, thank you so much!"

"No problem. I've got to get back to work," Colin's dad said as he handed the keys to Maura. "Don't be a stranger, okay?"

After paying the bill, Colin's mother said, "Why don't you take your break and go check on Brutus. Take Maura with you." She gave him an obvious wink.

Colin's mouth tightened, but he turned to Maura. "Do you have a few minutes?" he asked hopefully. "You can meet my dog."

She checked the time on her cell. She had a few hours before she had to be at work. "Yeah. Sure."

"Great! Follow me."

Colin led Maura from the shop to the neighboring house. "You live here?" she asked as she trailed after him up the wide-plank steps.

He glanced over his shoulder. "Convenient, right?" As soon as he opened the front door, a puppy came bounding over to them, ecstatically sniffing their feet and legs. It reminded her of the dog she and Luke had met earlier that day, which made her think of Luke.

"Brutus, let's go outside!" The puppy cocked his head and then took off for the back door. "He's still being housetrained," Colin explained. "Someone has to let him out every hour. That's my job when I get home from school."

"He's so cute!" Maura gushed.

"I think my mom is preparing for when I go off to college, even though I'll still be in town. Just living in the dorms. Do you have a dog?"

"No," she said. "My mom and I are gone a lot. She says it wouldn't be fair to have one. Maybe someday."

After Brutus did his business, they took turns throwing a ball for him in the fenced yard.

"So, uh . . . I need to ask you a question," Colin said some moments later. Tired of their game, Brutus had stalked off with his toy to a distant corner and plopped down to chew it.

"Yeah?"

"I know it's short notice, like really short notice, but . . . I was hoping you'd go to prom with me."

Maura grinned. "I'm sorry. I didn't hear a question in there."

Colin groaned. "C'mon, Maura. Do you know how long I practiced saying that in front of the mirror last night? My mom overheard, which was mortifying. That's why my parents were acting weird. They knew I was going to ask you to prom."

"They weren't acting weird," Maura said. "They were being sweet."

Colin turned to face her then, his gangly arms dangling over his knees. He kept clasping and unclasping his hands, as though he didn't know what to do with them. "So?"

Maura raised her brows. "So, what?"

Colin grinned and shook his head. "Maura Matthews, would you do me the honor of going to prom with me?"

"I don't know," she said. "It's next weekend. You didn't exactly leave me much time to get a dress," she added, even though she had earmarked a dress weeks ago in anticipation of going with Leanne. All she had to do now was buy it.

"You're killing me, Maura."

"Then let me put you out of your misery," she said with a laugh. "Yes, Colin McCallum. I will go to prom with you."

Colin sighed, swiping his hand across his brow. "Whew! I was afraid someone else had already asked you."

"You were?" she said.

"You sound surprised," he said, mimicking her words from before.

She caught on to his game and her smile widened. "Shocked, actually."

He bumped her shoulder with his. "Well, you shouldn't be."

*****

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