Natalie could sort of understand how life could be difficult if one were royal. Cade and Bethany had gotten engaged and Bethany had settled in Happily Inc. Natalie believed the two of them now both owned the ranch, but she wasn’t sure.
There were greetings and plenty of hugs as the friends got settled. Natalie was relieved to find out that there weren’t three salads. Instead Carol and Wynn had brought different kinds of cookies, while Pallas had made a chopped salad.
Natalie studied it doubtfully. “Is that kale?”
“It’s actually really good and it’s healthy.”
Silver handed them each drinks before leaning close to Natalie and whispering, “We can all see you’re thinking ‘but why’ on the salad.”
“I’m not,” Natalie protested, even though it might be true. She understood the value of vegetables, if only they weren’t so...vegetable-like.
In a matter of minutes, all the food was unwrapped and the five women were serving themselves before taking a place at the table. Natalie breathed in the scent of the BLT mac and cheese casserole (the L standing for leeks, which were technically a veggie but one Natalie actually liked) and made a mental note to get the recipe from Silver.
Natalie let the friendly conversation wash over her for a second as she enjoyed being with her friends. She would offer to take the next lunch. The gallery was closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. Atsuko, Natalie’s boss, allowed her to use the space for her girlfriend lunches as long as Natalie cleaned up afterward.
“That was some storm,” Carol said, passing the garlic bread around the table. “One of the days, most of the animals didn’t even want to go outside in all that rain.”
“That had to have been some barn cleanup.” Wynn wrinkled her nose. “Hunter did a report on the zebras for his science class and couldn’t get over how much they poop in a day.” She waved her piece of garlic bread. “I can provide details if anyone is interested.”
“No, thanks,” Silver said, glancing at Pallas, who looked a little pale. “You okay?”
“I’m fine. It’s the combination of lunch and poop that has me unsettled.” Pallas turned to Natalie. “Tell us about your adventure, young lady. I’ve heard all kinds of rumors.”
For a second Natalie had no idea what she was talking about. Then she remembered her trip up the mountain. She practically bounced in her seat.
“I’m getting a new car. New-to-me, anyway, and I’m superexcited.”
“Good for you,” Carol said. “Did you sell your old one or are you using it as a trade-in?”
“It’s totaled. It fell off the mountain.”
“What?”
“Are you okay?”
“What happened?”
Her friends all spoke at once. Then Pallas excused herself to use the restroom.
“I’m fine,” Natalie told them. “I wasn’t in it.” She smiled. “Right at the beginning of the storm, Mathias and Nick realized Ronan hadn’t been in for several days and he wasn’t answering his cell phone. He doesn’t have a landline, so someone had to go check on him.”
Silver’s eyes darkened. “They sent you up the mountain in your car in a storm? What is wrong with them?”
“Nick insisted I take his truck, but I was nervous about driving it. Anyway, I made it up to Ronan’s with no problem, but I parked it too close to the edge. A bunch of trees fell and they took my car with them.”
She sighed with happiness. “I’m going to be getting a check from my insurance company. That combined with what I’ve been able to save means I can afford a new car. I’m getting a red one.”
Wynn reached for the salad. “That’s practical.”
“Now you sound like Ronan.”
Pallas returned to her seat. “Speaking of Ronan, didn’t you want to talk about your little getaway with him?”
Conversation ceased as everyone turned to look at her. Natalie felt herself blushing.
“What?” Carol and Silver said together while Wynn simply looked disbelieving.
“I so can’t see you two together,” Wynn admitted. “He’s not your type.”
“I agree.” Carol looked concerned. “I’ll admit he’s really good-looking, in a brooding kind of way, but you’re so light and fun and sweet. I’d be worried he’d suck the life out of you.”
“Ronan would never do that. He’s charming and has a great sense of humor. I beat him when we flew paper airplanes and he only laughed. A lot of guys would have gotten mad.”
Silver picked up her drink. “Am I the only one wishing these had actual alcohol in them?”
“I hear you, sister,” Wynn murmured. “Natalie, honey, maybe you should start at the beginning because the paper airplane reference is pretty confusing.”
“Oh, right.” Natalie thought about her adventure. She would have to be careful so no one guessed about the kiss and his rejection.
“The trees that took my car over the mountain also made a mess of the roads. I had to stay with Ronan for a couple of days.” And three delicious nights, but there was no reason to be that specific.
“You stayed with Ronan?” Carol’s eyes widened. “In his house?”
“Uh-huh.”
Silver’s mouth turned up at the corners. “You are not at all what you seem, are you? So, pray tell, where did you sleep?”
“In the guest room. It’s really amazing. It’s upstairs by the turret. Oh, and the turret is this fantastic artist’s studio. Ronan let me work up there. He has all kinds of supplies, and when there isn’t a storm, the light’s amazing.”
“How disappointing,” Silver murmured.
“We had a good time. I like him and you should, too. He’s nice.”
Carol and Pallas exchanged a look.
“Nice?” Pallas asked. “Are you sure that’s the word? I know he’s not mean or sullen, but he doesn’t make an effort to hang out with Nick very much.”
“He avoids Mathias,” Carol added. “And they were twins.”
“It’s not his fault, okay? He’s dealing with a lot. All Nick and Mathias found out is that he’s only their half brother, but for Ronan, it was different. He has no idea who he is anymore. All he has is Ceallach, and would you want him to be your father?”
Natalie realized that she might have gone just a little too far with her defense of Ronan. All four of her friends were staring at her, their expression mirror images of concern and curiosity.
Uh-oh—that wasn’t good. She honestly had no idea how she felt about Ronan, but she was in no way ready to have what she might or might not be thinking discussed on the friendship open market. She needed a distraction and fast.
She frantically searched for a distraction-worthy topic and realized she had one right in her own phone.
“Being at his house worked really well, timing-wise,” she said quickly. “I got to play with my new app.” She pulled out her phone and waved it. “I downloaded it last week, but haven’t had a chance to explore the possibilities.”
“Your new app?” Wynn sounded doubtful. “What does it do?”
“Help you find a sperm donor. You know, for women who want to have a child on their own.”
Her distraction worked. Mouths dropped open, and Carol, who’d been drinking, began to choke.
“You want a sperm donor so you can have a kid on your own?” Silver asked, her voice incredulous. “Seriously?”
“Maybe. I’m not sure.” Natalie tucked her phone back in her bag. “I love kids and always wanted them, but I come from a long line of women who are unlucky in love. Does that mean I don’t get a family?”
“I get having your own baby,” Pallas said. “Of course you want to experience that, but, Natalie, what about falling in love first?”
“Besides, being a single parent isn’t easy.” Wynn picked up her fork. “It’s great, don’t get me wrong, but it’s work.
Hunter is the best thing to ever happen to me. If you’re serious, we should talk.”
“I don’t know what I’m going to do,” Natalie admitted. “I’d have to get my life together first. Financially and in other ways, but I do want to be a mother.”
“What does the app do?” Carol asked.
“It helps in finding the right donor. There are all these questions as well as links to reputable sperm banks. It’s kind of interesting.”
“So you’re looking for a donor, not a father,” Silver clarified. “You want the guy to walk away.”
“I guess.” Natalie spoke slowly. “I really haven’t gotten that far. Why?”
“Just asking in case I meet a qualified candidate.”
Natalie rolled her eyes. “Whatever you’re thinking, no. Did I say no? No.”
Everyone laughed.
“While we’re on the subject of breeding,” Carol said. “It’s official. We’re bringing in a male giraffe.”
The current herd was all female. Natalie pressed her hands together. “You’re going to have baby giraffes. I can’t begin to imagine that much cuteness! Is gestation long? Will they all get pregnant right away? Giraffe sex has to be kind of...”
“Awkward?” Wynn offered.
“Not to them,” Carol said. “Giraffe gestation is about thirteen to fifteen months. We won’t know for sure until she’s fairly far along, although there are tests we can do. But we don’t want to start breeding right away and we don’t want the females getting pregnant at once, so I’ll be putting them on birth control.”
“Is it a patch?” Silver asked with a grin.
“I wish. It goes in their food and I have to make sure they eat it all or we’ll have unexpected baby giraffes.”
Which was probably not a good idea, but Natalie had to admit it was a sweet one. She loved the idea of little Millies in the animal park.
Pallas reached in her purse and pulled out a piece of paper. “Natalie, I nearly forgot to give this to you. They announced it at the last business council meeting. The news won’t be going public for a couple of weeks.”
Natalie took the paper and scanned it. The main bridge over the Rio de los Suenos had recently been refurbished. The city council wanted to invite local artists to decorate the bridge as a tourist attraction.
“I love this,” Natalie said. “I’m so going to sign up for a section of the bridge.”
Maybe she could get one section and have Ronan help her. Or even better, she could get two sections and give one to Mathias, while she and Ronan did the other one. That way the brothers could hang out and do a project together because they needed to be close again.
“You should use your totaled car,” Silver told her. “Cut off the front or something.”
Natalie’s breath caught. “That is the best idea ever.”
“I’m more than a pretty face.”
“You are. We could use both the front and the back and call it ‘coming and going.’” She flipped over the paper and began to sketch out the concept.
“And we’ve lost her,” Carol said with a laugh.
“Two minutes,” Natalie muttered as she frantically drew exactly what she was seeing in her mind. “Three, tops.”
Silver chuckled. “We’ll give her three, then bring out the desserts. That will suck her back into our world.”
Her friends knew her well, Natalie thought happily. Her ex might have broken her heart when he’d left her, but finding this wonderful town and the people in it had been worth it all. And she knew Ronan was going to be as excited as she was about their joint project. He just had to be, didn’t he?
CHAPTER SEVEN
THE RESTLESSNESS THAT had dogged Ronan ever since Natalie went home refused to go away. It had been nearly a week and he was still not comfortable alone in his house, which was why he found himself back in town on Monday night.
In most towns, big or small, the time for going out and partying was the weekend, but not in Happily Inc. The income from all the destination weddings meant the town lived on a different schedule. Weekends were for weddings and therefore work. Monday was the big night out.
He didn’t bother going to any of his brothers’ houses. No one would be home. On Mondays they would be at The Boardroom—a pub-style establishment that celebrated all things board-game-related. Built-in bookshelves housed every board game ever invented. The tables were set up for easy play, and on Monday nights there were tournaments.
Ronan rarely bothered to go, but he’d been sucked in a few times. Tonight his restlessness had caused him to walk in shortly before six, only to discover the place crowded with couples and groups of friends.
Posters on easels announced the night’s game was Latice. There was also a plug for an upcoming outdoor charity challenge for teams of three to five participants.
Ronan looked around, trying to find someone he knew well enough to sit with. There was plenty of conversation and laughter—both designed to remind him how he was officially an outsider. He spotted Nick and Mathias sitting with their wives at a table for four and realized coming here had been a mistake. He didn’t know anyone well enough to just join them and—
His brother Mathias spotted him. The other man’s expression of surprise was nearly comical, until Ronan figured out he was trapped. Rather than retreating, he found himself responding to the wave and walking over.
“What are you doing here?” Mathias asked as Ronan stopped by their table. “You hate this kind of stuff.”
Carol slapped his arm. Mathias looked at her. “What? He does. Crowds, conversation. Everything he avoids.”
True now, Ronan thought, although it hadn’t always been. Years ago, he’d been exactly like everyone else.
Before he could figure out what to say, he heard someone call his name. The second he recognized the voice, he relaxed and knew everything was going to be okay.
Natalie paused by his side. “You came! I wasn’t sure if you would.”
“Did you invite me?” If she had, he didn’t remember.
She laughed. “No, but I thought about it, which is practically the same thing. Anyway, it doesn’t matter because you’re here and we’re playing Latice.”
“Is this like the paper airplanes?” he asked, knowing if it was, he would have to prepare to get his ass kicked.
She put her hands on his shoulders and leaned against him. “You can be on my team.”
“We’re not playing teams,” Pallas said with a chuckle. “Good luck, Ronan. Natalie’s a killer player. She always ends up with the wind tiles and totally knows how to score sunstones so she gets extra turns.”
Natalie beamed at him. “She’s right. I do have excellent Latice karma.”
He knew he had to say something, but all he could think was how much he wanted to kiss her. More than kiss her. He wanted to pull her close and touch her all over. He wanted to take her somewhere quiet and private and prove that he hadn’t been kidding before when he’d turned down her invitation because she’d been his guest.
He forced himself to remember where he was and sucked in a breath. “All right, Natalie. I’ll take you on. But first I think I’ll buy you a drink. You might be less deadly when you’re tipsy.”
“I don’t think it works that way, but sure.”
Natalie led him to a table that had two seats open. As they sat down, he thought he recognized the other couple. The woman ran some business in town and the guy was...
“Jasper Dembenski,” the man said, holding out his hand. “You’re one of the Mitchell brothers, right?”
“Ronan.” He almost said “Mathias’s twin” but caught himself in time. He wasn’t, they weren’t, and he still hadn’t figured out how to accept the truth.
The man’s name was familiar. Before Ronan could place it, the woman he was with spoke.
“I’m Wynn Beauchen
e.”
She was beautiful with high cheekbones, black curly hair and brown eyes. For a second Ronan wished he sketched more, or painted. Wynn would make an excellent subject.
He sat down. Natalie took the last seat and grinned at Wynn.
“It’s Latice night.”
Jasper glanced at her. “What does that mean?”
“Wait and see,” Wynn told him with a smug smile.
“I’m in trouble, aren’t I?” He glanced at Ronan. “Wynn loves it when I get beaten by a woman.”
“I confess, I do. Maybe it’s wrong, but I’m willing to live with the flaw.”
The games were passed out. Wynn and Natalie put the tiles face down and swirled them around until they were all mixed up.
“I believe I’m the youngest person at the table,” Natalie said with a grin as she started taking tiles.
Wynn groaned. “I’d forgotten that part. Yes, Natalie, you get to start.”
Natalie leaned close and lowered her voice. “Wynn gets crabby when she loses.”
“You know I can hear you,” Wynn said. “And that’s not true.”
“It’s a little true,” Jasper told her.
Wynn laughed. “All right. Maybe. I’ll try to be on my best behavior.”
One of the servers got on the loudspeakers and went over the rules. Ronan only half paid attention. He was more interested in how Natalie had shifted her chair a little closer to his.
Their server appeared with a beer for him and a glass of white wine for Natalie. A bell rang and play started.
The premise was deceptively simple—match tiles either by color or image. There was a strategic element Natalie had nailed. He knew that wind tiles allowed you to move a piece, and sunstones...well, he wasn’t sure what they did, but within fifteen minutes, Natalie had an ongoing collection and seemed to play three turns for every one of his.
Why Not Tonight Page 9
