He paused by a display of flowers and thought of how Natalie was spending her evening—working hard so she could pay the rent. He picked up one of the glass blossoms. He could easily get ten thousand dollars for a single flower—how fair was that? How ridiculous?
He hesitated, thinking he could also drop it, shattering it into a million pieces, and what would it matter to anyone?
Natalie wouldn’t do that, he told himself. She would sell it or use it for something, but she would never destroy it. He could learn from that.
He turned slowly, taking in the collection of his work, and knew he couldn’t just let it sit here gathering dust. He had to do something with it. Something Natalie would respect.
He walked up and down again, this time taking pictures with his phone. When he’d chosen a dozen pieces, he sent Atsuko an email, telling her he wanted to talk. A dozen pieces for a dozen charities, he thought. They could auction them off or whatever. Use the money to make a difference.
Before he left the storeroom he returned to the display of flowers and picked out a black one in honor of Natalie’s wedding project. That one he would give to his girl.
* * *
NATALIE CAREFULLY FILED the receipts. She had to pay extra attention because she was a little tired from her date night with Ronan. As promised, there had been dinner, sex, the movie and then more sex. She hadn’t gotten much sleep, but was hardly in any condition to complain. Not when Ronan did those delicious things to her body.
She picked up an invoice for one of his pieces and opened the file cabinet drawer devoted to him and his work. While Atsuko kept her records digitally, she liked to have a paper backup. Natalie checked the item sold, then searched for the correct file. She found it up front and pulled it out to add the invoice. It was only when a second folder fell to the ground that she realized she’d grabbed two by mistake. The second one contained his personal information, including his address, tax ID info and his birthday.
Natalie quickly closed the folder—she didn’t want to pry—then opened it again and looked at his birth date. It couldn’t be right—she must have read the date wrong. Only she hadn’t. His birthday was next week! How could she not have known that?
She put the folder back in the file drawer and continued her work all the while trying to figure out how that information could have not been public knowledge. She knew when Nick’s and Mathias’s birthdays were. Not that anyone made a big fuss but she usually created a custom card and brought in a cupcake. Something she’d never done for Ronan because she hadn’t known the date.
When she finished her filing, she went back to the work studio. She happened to know that Ronan had a video conference call with a gallery owner in London that morning, something he would do from home, which meant she could talk to his brothers without him knowing.
She found Nick sketching at his desk while Mathias polished the edges of a new light fixture he’d made the previous day. They both looked up when she walked into the studio and said, “We have to talk.”
“Sure,” Nick said easily. “What’s up?”
“Ronan’s birthday. It’s next week. I never knew the date, so I haven’t ever made him a card or anything. We should do something.”
Nick and Mathias exchanged a look. Natalie tried to figure out what they were thinking, but there was too much brother communication for her to decipher.
“We know when his birthday is,” Nick told her. “As for doing something, Ronan’s not really a party guy.”
There was something about the way he spoke, she thought. Not the words as much as the tone. As if he was trying to warn her not to wade out too far into the emotional pool.
She knew that, until a few years ago, Mathias and Ronan had thought they were fraternal twins. To make that story work, they would have shared a birthday, only it wouldn’t have been their real birthday—at least not for Ronan.
“You usually celebrate together,” she breathed, staring at Mathias. “You and he probably planned the parties, or at least told your mom what you wanted. But that’s been lost, too, along with everything else, and you haven’t known what to do about it.”
Mathias set down the light pendant and settled on a stool. “Maybe.”
“Have you talked about your birthdays?” she asked.
“Talk?” Nick asked. “Right. You’ve met our other brother, haven’t you? Ronan’s not exactly a chatty guy.”
She pulled up a third stool, took a seat and looked at Mathias. “What happened when he found out about who he was? Did he leave right away? Did you come up with a plan together?”
“There was no plan,” Mathias told her. “He didn’t say anything for weeks. I mean, anything. He didn’t work, didn’t do much of anything. Then one day he came to me and said he was leaving. He’d found a town where he wanted to live. Happily Inc. We’d sold a lot of our work through the gallery here. It’s not a huge place, like a gallery in New York or Chicago, but Atsuko has connections.”
Natalie nodded. She was forever shipping pieces all over the world or collecting payments from international clients.
“Did he ask you to go with him?” she asked.
“No. He gave me the information. What I did with it was up to me. But he was my twin, no matter what our father said, so I came with him.” He hesitated. “At first it was okay. We rented a place together, and Atsuko gave us this studio so we could work. I thought we were going to go back to the way it had been.”
Only they hadn’t, she thought sadly. Ronan had started pulling away. She’d seen that when she’d started working here. How week after week he grew less and less communicative. How he wasn’t working, or if he was, he worked from home.
“If he leaves again, we’re going to lose him,” Nick said bluntly. “Mathias can’t go with him this time. He’s got Carol and everything else.”
Of course, she thought. Mathias loved his wife and Carol was tied to Happily Inc. Her work was here and it wasn’t as if the animal preserve could be packed up and moved.
“He’s not going anywhere,” she said quickly. “Why would he? His work is here, his family.”
Me. Only she couldn’t say that. She and Ronan weren’t involved—not seriously. They were having fun. Even if she wanted more, it wasn’t going to happen. She couldn’t give her heart to someone she couldn’t trust to treasure their connection as much as she did. He’d turned his back on his brothers and his mother. What if he decided to turn his back on her? On their children? She hated to admit it, but she and Ronan didn’t have a future. She would enjoy what they had now and be careful to keep herself from getting too emotionally involved with him.
That sensible plan in place, she returned her attention to the conversation at hand. “Whether or not he’s leaving isn’t the issue. What about his birthday? His actual birthday. Have you ever celebrated it?”
Nick and Mathias looked at each other.
“I don’t think so,” Nick began before Mathias interrupted him.
“No. He never wanted to acknowledge it.”
“Then that is going to change. We’re going to have a party.”
Mathias looked doubtful. “He’s not going to like that.”
“He’s going to say he’s not going to like it, but until he walks into the party, he won’t really know, will he? We can have all his friends there. We’ll have food and cake and silly presents. It will be great. You’ll see.”
Mathias didn’t look convinced.
She stood and walked over to him, then poked him in the arm. “You owe me. When you had your mom’s dog last year, I took care of her every single day. Every. Single. Day. You said that whatever I wanted from you was mine. Well, I want this.”
Mathias muttered something under his breath. “You’re right. We’ll have a party.”
She smiled. “I knew you’d see reason.” She turned to Nick. “You’re helping, too.”
“You think I don’t know that? Sure.”
“Excellent. We’ll celebrate Ronan’s birthday and strengthen the family bond so he doesn’t want to leave.”
The brothers exchanged another one of those infuriatingly secret looks.
“What?” she demanded. “You know something. What is it?”
Mathias nodded and Nick spoke.
“We’re way ahead of you, Natalie. On the brother front. Do you remember the poster at The Boardroom for the outdoor challenge?”
“I saw it. The activities are all outdoor, wilderness things. The proceeds go to a kids’ summer camp.”
“Nick signed us up,” Mathias said. “The Mitchell brothers. All five of us. Del and Aidan are flying in for it.”
She clapped her hands together. “That’s so great. You’ll have a blast. Does Ronan know?”
“Not exactly,” Mathias murmured. “He’s going to say no.”
She waved that away. “Tell him at the party. There will be a bunch of people around. It’s not like he can do anything in front of them.”
Nick chuckled. “I like your style.”
“Thank you. Now about the party...” She thought for a second. “We need a venue. His birthday is midweek, so we won’t be fighting with weddings. How about Weddings Out of the Box? I could organize everything so it wouldn’t be work for Pallas.”
Nick shook his head. “Not there. Let me call The Boardroom. They’ve got that big back room we could use.”
Before she could respond, Nick pulled out his phone and searched for the number. A few seconds later, he connected the call and put in the request.
“Done,” he said as he hung up. “We’re reserved. Now about the food.”
“I’ll go and arrange the menu,” she said. “Are we splitting the costs?”
“Nick and I will handle the money,” Mathias told her. “You pick whatever you want for food. We’ll do beer and wine.”
“You’re going to trust me without a budget?” she asked, a little surprised.
Mathias grinned. “Natalie, I’ve seen you squeeze a nickel fifteen times over. Yes, we trust you.”
“Mathias and I will put together a guest list,” Nick said.
“Perfect.” She thought about what else they would need. Ronan wouldn’t want centerpieces, so that wasn’t a problem. “What about a banner?”
“I’ll go talk to Wynn,” Mathias told her. “I have some ideas about what I want it to say.”
“Okay, so we’re all set.” She glanced at her watch. “It’s nearly lunch. I’ll wait until the rush is over to go order the food.” She smiled. “This is going to be fun.”
“If nothing else, it will be interesting.” Mathias looked at Nick. “Or a hell of a party.”
“You got that right.”
Natalie wasn’t sure if the brothers meant that in a good way or a scary way, but she wasn’t going to ask. She just wanted Ronan to know his birthday hadn’t been forgotten. Everything after that was a bonus.
* * *
NATALIE BURST INTO the studio. Ronan was at his desk, studying sketches for the next segment in his commission. He hadn’t yet started back to work from his lunch break, but was still surprised when she grabbed his hand and pulled him to his feet.
“Hurry! Hurry! It’s time. He’s here! We have to go now. I’m driving.” She laughed. “I’m driving my shiny new red car. Come on!”
“I have no idea where we’re going. And who is ‘he’?”
She tugged him out of the studio and toward her car. “The new male giraffe. He’s arriving. Carol said we could watch. We have to get there before him and we have to be really quiet. It’s going to be magical. I wish it were June instead of September. June 23 is World Giraffe Day, but still. Come on!”
Ronan wondered if he should bother pointing out that he didn’t actually care about said giraffe, but knew that would only disappoint Natalie. Plus he had to admit he was mildly curious about the great arrival. How exactly did one transport a giraffe?
He got into the passenger side of Natalie’s car and took a second to check out the paint job. The work was excellent and the color made her happy—everything had turned out. Natalie had a safe car and one that was the right color. He didn’t have to worry about her or feel guilty that her car had been swept over the side of his mountain. It was the definition of a win-win.
“Is this the first male giraffe?” he asked as she drove through town, then went south toward the animal preserve.
“Yes. When Millie got her herd last year, they were only girls. Male giraffes are generally solitary while female giraffes travel in a loose herd. With all the money she’s raised, Carol has been able to expand and to start breeding the giraffes.” Natalie glanced at him. “There are less than eighty-five hundred giraffes of Millie’s species in the wild, which is really sad.”
“It is.”
“The new male is genetically compatible with all the females except for one. In the beginning, all the girls will be on birth control. They’ll go off it one by one and he’ll do his thing.”
“Interesting life choice.”
She glanced at him. “Oh, please. You’re a guy. Are you saying you’d consider impregnating a herd tough duty?”
“Assuming I was a male giraffe? Probably not. But as a human male, I’ve never been into groups.”
She turned into the preserve. “Not up for it, so to speak?”
He chuckled. “I’m more into quality than quantity.”
“Good to know. Regardless, our new young man will have to wait for his chance at the girls. First he has to get settled.”
She parked in the small parking lot. There were already several cars there and Ronan saw a group of people standing by a chain-link fence. Apparently they weren’t the only ones coming to watch the new arrival.
He and Natalie walked over to join the group. The afternoon was warm, at least a hundred degrees. No doubt familiar temperatures for a giraffe. He recognized several people he knew from town. Nick and Pallas were already there, as was Mathias.
Nick raised his eyebrows. “Didn’t think this was your kind of thing.”
Ronan glanced at Natalie, then back at Nick. “I hear it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and not to be missed.”
Nick looked between them and seemed to put the pieces together. While Ronan hadn’t cared if people knew he and Natalie were seeing each other, she’d wanted to keep things quiet, so he hadn’t said anything. But in a town as small as Happily Inc, word was bound to get out. He knew his brothers wouldn’t say anything to anyone but him and he was pretty sure he was in for a ribbing.
Not a problem, he thought. Natalie was more than worth it.
An older woman he didn’t know walked over to him. “You’re Ronan Mitchell,” she said.
He didn’t think she’d asked a question, but nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Uh-huh. I’ve seen your work in Atsuko’s gallery. It’s very expensive.”
“It is.”
She had salt-and-pepper hair and piercing black eyes. “You think you’re worth that much?”
“Some days. Not others.”
Her expression didn’t shift for at least three seconds. Then she laughed and cuffed him on the arm. “I like that. We all have those days. I hear you’re going to be using a car to decorate the bridge. You and your brother and Natalie here. I think it’s a great idea. Real interesting. This town needs a little shaking up.”
With that, she walked back to her group of friends. Ronan turned to Natalie. “Do you know who she is?”
“I haven’t got a clue.”
A low rumbling noise interrupted them. They both turned and saw the custom truck moving toward them. The cab was normal size but the back was overly tall, with canvas sides and a frame top. As they watched, the truck came to a stop.
Carol and several assistants walked over to talk to the driver. He turned the truck and backed it toward the enclosures. As the rig got closer, Ronan could see the upper back was open and a giraffe watched as he was moved closer to his new home.
“He’s so handsome,” Natalie said, grabbing his hand and squeezing his fingers. “I wonder if he has a name or if we get to name him. That would be fun.”
She had a zest for life that impressed the hell out of him. Next to her, he was King Dour—something that had happened gradually.
Carol worked gates and portable fencing, creating a walkway for the giraffe. When everything was in place, she opened the rear door of the truck. The giraffe looked toward the enclosure, then at the people standing around, watching. He sniffed once or twice before cautiously stepping down the ramp. Once he reached solid ground, he walked more quickly and stepped right into his enclosure. Carol secured the gate behind him.
“He’ll stay on his own for a couple of weeks,” Natalie said. “Once he’s comfortable, the other giraffes will spend time in stalls close to him so they can all get used to each other. Eventually they’ll be able to roam around together.”
“And have sex.”
She rolled her eyes. “You are such a guy. Yes, they’ll have sex and eventually we’ll have baby giraffes. They’re so cute. Have you seen videos of baby giraffes? They’re totally adorable. So leggy and awkward.” She sighed, then dropped his hand. “All right. Back to work.”
He chuckled. “Way to break the mood.”
“Did you need to cuddle?” she asked, her voice teasing.
“I don’t know. It would have been nice, but never mind now.”
She leaned close. “I’ll make it up to you later. I promise.”
Which was about all the inspiration he needed.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
HAPPILY INC WAS a destination wedding town. Several venues offered wedding parties the opportunity to fulfill their wildest marital fantasies—at least when it came to actually getting married. Hotels had theme rooms, there were emergency tailors and florists, not to mention officiants on the go. The bride and groom could choose to be cowboys, royalty, pirates or become legally bound in a hot-air balloon.
Why Not Tonight Page 14
