"I thought it was boys that girls chased," Luke said, fixing Carla with enigmatic golden eyes.

"I gave up chasing boys right after I graduated from high school," Carla said flatly. "And stop trying to change the subject," she continued, turning to Cash, changing the subject herself. "You owe me fourteen bucks for the pizza."

"And eighty-six bucks for truck repairs?"

She smiled slightly and shook her head. "No, but I wouldn’t turn down a hug."

Cash engulfed Carla in a hug. Though she was five foot seven, the top of her head barely brushed Cash’s chin. He lifted her and swung her around. When he set her down again, she was almost on Luke’s feet. There was barely room for her to breathe. Luke was the same height as her brother, six foot three, and weighed within a pound or two of Cash’s one ninety-six. That was probably one of the reasons the two men got along so well – they were built on the same scale. Big.

Without warning, Luke’s long fingers tilted Car-la’s chin, forcing her to meet his eye.

"Are you really all grown-up now, sunshine?"

The old nickname and the searching intensity of Luke’s eyes took Carla’s breath away, making speech impossible.

"Hey, that reminds me," Cash said. "It’s been months since I’ve played killer poker."

"Not surprising," Luke retorted, releasing Carla with the speed of a man passing a hot potato on to its final destination. "It’s been months since you’ve found an out-of-state sucker who doesn’t know why Alexander McQueen is called ‘Cash.’"

"Lucky at cards, unlucky at love."

Luke snorted. "I’ll shuffle. Carla can deal. You open the champagne I brought."