“Hey, I need to get started on that Mustang. What did you want to talk to me about?”
There was a male voice in the background on the other end of the line and it sounded like he was asking him something… “What?” Rip asked, aiming the question at me, after a moment.
“The Mustang. I’m calling about the Mustang.”
There was definitely some more irritation in his tone. “What about it?”
I tapped my fingernails on the counter of the one and only desk in my room. “You told me you wanted to talk about the Mustang this morning.”
There was more noise in the background, voices talking over other voices, and finally, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
I bit the inside of my cheek. “So youdon’twant to talk about it?”
There were more voices in the background, but after a moment he came back on the line. “I’m busy, Luna. Don’t you have enough to do?” he snapped, making me pull the phone away from my face to look at it.
Good grief. Somebody was extra grumpy. This was exactly what I’d been anticipating from him after the night before. Sheesh.
“I guess not, boss,” I mumbled, still making a face at the phone before I brought it back to my ear. “I just wanted to make sure we were on the same page—”
He made one of those grunting sounds.
And then he hung up on me.
Dropping the headset into the cradle, I shook my head and picked up the dumb file again. He made it seem like I’d been calling him for no freaking reason.
The sooner I got started, the sooner I could get it over with.
Maybe I could actually leave on time and get home early enough to call my sisters and tell them about Grandma Genie and the funeral. But part of me hoped I could put that phone call off a little longer too.
* * *
I had just closedthe doors of the booth after putting on a second coat of color on the Mustang when the door to my room swung open. My hand went to the top of my protective suit so I could drag down the zipper when Rip’s big body appeared, covered from collarbones to toes in his coveralls and work boots, which all should have been fine and normal but…
He had this expression on his face I had only seen maybe a few times before.
The last time had been the day of the Silver Mink color episode, aka way too recently.
“Hey,” I said to him, hearing the caution in my own voice. I even stopped dragging the zipper down right around my belly button.
His tone matched the death glare he was giving me. “What color did you paint the fucking car?”
I completely stopped trying to pull my suit off and watched as he stopped maybe five feet away, his jaw as hard as it usually was. “I think it said something Mist, but I can’t remember exactly. I ordered it two weeks ago….” I almost narrowed my eyes, trying to think over why he was standing there, looking at me like I’d just lost his lucky wrench.
His jaw moved to the side then the other side and his Adam’s apple bobbed. That deep line formed between his eyebrows and something that was pretty close to hesitation made me totally quit moving and focus instead on the man standing a few feet away from me.
“Luna.”
Did it sound like he growled my name or was I imagining it?
Of course I wasn’t imagining it.
When his fisted hand came up to his forehead, I knew he was definitely pissed over something. I just didn’t know what. I’d done exactly what he had asked for, hadn’t I?
“What color did you paint the fucking car?” he repeated slowly.
I pressed my lips together for a moment before answering, carefully, watching him the entire time, “The color that was on the order.”
Rip tipped his head back, showing me the long line of thick, muscular neck and perfectly proportionate Adam’s apple as he blew out a breath so rough it was impossible for me not to hear it. “Didn’t I—” he started to say before cutting himself off with a harsh grunt.
