She wanted to keep the communications open with him, but he lived two hours away. She didn’t know how many more times her boss would bow to the feds and let her go to Charlotte and she had no idea if there would ever be a reason for him to come to Asheville. Then it hit her. The grand opening of the center was a good opportunity for her to invite him back to Buncombe County. She wasn’t counting on his showing up, but for her own peace of mind she had to take the shot. What was the worst thing that could happen? Luna decided to pull up her big-girl pants and mailed him an invitation to the grand opening of the center. He hadn’t responded, which was rather disappointing. She told herself that maybe he didn’t get it. Or maybe he was on a case. Or maybe he just wasn’t interested. But a half hour before the event ended, he walked in with a bouquet of sunflowers. He had remembered. Luna was thoroughly impressed. During one of their earlier dinner conversations, everyone was talking about their favorite places on Earth. Luna mentioned Tuscany because of all the sunflowers. When she saw him enter her café, sunflowers in hand, she almost fainted.

When Gaines arrived at the gala, he and Cullen immediately clicked. Luna was beginning to feel like the “little sister” until she pulled Gaines into helping solve the mystery of a will that was lodged in one of Cullen’s salvaged pieces. As they pried into the origin of the will, they began to uncover a web of deceit. Between Luna’s “vibes” and Gaines’s resources, they were able to rectify a very bad situation. Since then, the three of them, together with Chi-Chi, had formed a comfortable bond.

* * *

Ellie cleared her throat. “Well?” Ellie pushed again. Luna started to blush. Thoughts of Gaines made her feel like a teenager.

“Wellll, I don’t know.” Luna fiddled with her coffee mug.

Chi-Chi put her hand on Ellie’s arm. “Do not believe the words that are coming out of her mouth.” Her voice had a lilting rhythm. No doubt, she could recite a passage from a poem by Edgar Allan Poe and make it sound like a nursery rhyme.

Luna blinked several times. “What are you talking about?” she replied, protesting just a little too much.

Chi-Chi then placed her other hand on Luna’s. “Luna, wn kan. You can be honest with us. We are your friends.” Chi-Chi knew very well how much of a crush Luna had on the marshal, but she wanted Luna to feel comfortable discussing it in front of Ellie. Ellie had become the matriarch of the group, and Luna and Chi-Chi welcomed her advice eagerly. Chi-Chi hoped Ellie could share some with her romantically reluctant friend.

“OK. OK.” Luna took a sip of her coffee. “We’ve had dinner a couple of times.”