Page 24 of Proof

“Okay. So I’m not that far off track, little sister.”

“Nope. I just didn’t have the guts to do it. Good thing Chris had more nerve than I did.” She giggled. “But . . .” She giggled again. “The first attempt came to an abrupt stop, because we smashed noses and couldn’t stop laughing.”

“It occured to me that you and I never discuss our romantic inclinations,” Cullen mused.

“Not since I told you the time when what’s-her-face was cheating on you.”

“Nora.” Cullen placed his mug on the table and filled half his glass. “Yeah. That was a stinger, alright.” He took another sip. “Isn’t it funny—odd, funny—that here we are, adults. Grownups. And we act like we’re still in the third grade.”

Luna chuckled. “Old habits die hard. But time you changed yours. Don’t be a chicken. Don’t have any regrets.”

Cullen smiled. “You’re pretty wise for a lunatic.”

Gorgio and two servers approached the table with their pizzas. “And a nice meatball for Signore Wylie. No sauce, and no gravy!” Gorgio placed the bowl on the sidewalk for Wylie. “Buon appetito!”

Wylie thanked him with a woof and a wag.

Chapter Six

Charlotte, North Carolina

Tuesday, Early Evening

Chris waited patiently in the reception area of Evan Houston’s law office. He glanced around the room. There were several people ahead of him, or perhaps a better way of putting it was that they were behind him in the long, agonizing journey of divorce. He flipped through a few of the magazines, but he was too distracted and nervous to focus on anything. He practically jumped out of his seat when he heard a woman screaming from the conference room.

“You’re a lying creep! I never slept with Scott, or anyone else for that matter! You’re the one who cheated on me!” A door swung open, and a woman in her mid-fifties stormed down the hall with a furious expression. She shouted back over her shoulder, “I’ll take you and your teenage girlfriend to the cleaners!”

A man’s voice could be heard coming from the room. “She’s twenty-two!”

She turned for one last quip. “Yes, one-third your age. How unoriginal.”

When she realized she had an audience, she straightened her skirt, tossed her Hermès scarf around her neck, and announced, “Get ready for the fight of your lives, folks. Divorce ain’t pretty.” Then she marched out of the office.

Chris stifled a smile. It was like watching his own preliminary separation meeting with Lucinda. Except she was the one who cheated, but she also felt the need to make a scene. She blamed Chris. It was his fault she found herself in the arms of another man. But thanks to Evan’s calm demeanor, he was able to still the waters and remind them they had a son to think about, and having an acrimonious relationship wasn’t going to help anyone. After all, getting a divorce was what they both really wanted.

It was over an hour before the reception area emptied out. Chris had purposely made his appointment for the end of the day so he and Evan could have dinner after and catch up. Even though Evan wasn’t going to charge Chris for his time, there were a lot of other people involved preparing documents, follow-up, fees, and a lot of administrative work at the courthouse.

Evan appeared at the end of the hallway. “Come on down!” He waved Chris into his office. “Sorry about the commotion,” he said as he motioned Chris to take a seat.

Chris snickered. “It reminded me of the first meeting we had. I guess Lucinda thought drama was necessary during divorce proceedings, but thanks to you, she turned down the noise.”

“I do my best, but sometimes I just want to hit all of them over the head with one of my law books.” Evan chortled. “That couple? I really can’t blame her. He’s involved with a woman thirty-eight years younger than he is.” He shook his head. “It’s so cliché.”

“I totally agree with you. Plus, I think men are dense when it comes to women. At one point or another, we manage to get involved with the wrong people. I mean seriously wrong. So many women want a man to rescue them, and men want to feel they’ve still got the juice.”

“I believe it’s called a midlife crisis.”

“Swell. I hope I can skip that part of adulthood,” Chris said wryly.

“You and me both. But we still have a couple of years to mess things up.” He laughed.

Evan opened his leather portfolio. “Alright, let’s get down to business. I recommended you start keeping track of Dr. Tooth’s involvement with Carter.”

“Yes, and I asked him if Bruce was helping him with his science project. Carter looked at me and said, ‘You’re not serious, are you?’ It took me aback, but that spoke volumes. He told me Bruce didn’t even know he had a science project.”

“Good. I mean, that’s good for your case. It’s a shame Carter does not have any support at home. Do you think Carter has any psychological issues with it?”

“Psychological issues?” Chris frowned and wrinkled his brow. “It never occurred to me. He never complains about Bruce, and he always seems fine when he’s with me.”

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