by Lynn Galli
She smiled, her eyes twinkling with emotion. “Never. I like the feel of you sleeping on me.”
I leaned up and kissed her. Sweet woman. My heart thudded at the idea that she really wouldn’t get tired of me sleeping on her. It was still way too early to voice the idea of this being forever, but it apparently wasn’t too early for me to be thinking it. We had known each other for months before we became involved, so in the course of things, our relationship wasn’t exactly new. But I could hold off for a while before words like commitment and moving in together came out.
Her fingers stroked through my hair as our mouths greeted each other for the morning. We’d spent almost every night together since our first, and we’d woken up the same way every time. She was always awake before I was, and she never woke me up. That alone could make me want to spend the rest of my life with her. I was a bit of a grouch when something other than my alarm clock woke me up. Once I was finally awake, we’d spend some time kissing, touching, cuddling, and if we weren’t rushing off to work, we’d enjoy a little sexy time.
Natalie caught me glancing at the clock when our kiss broke. She chuckled, sending all the right kind of shivers to my lower half. “Don’t start something you don’t have time to finish, gorgeous.”
“Soapy, slippery fun time,” I declared, vaulting out of bed and pulling on her hand to get her moving with me. We definitely had enough time to enjoy each other in the shower before we met up with friends for the day.
An hour later, I was feeling extremely satisfied as I always did whenever Natalie touched me. I was beginning to realize I’d be happy with any amount of time as long as I spent it with this lovely woman.
She was driving, Goblin was in her safety harness in the backseat, and I was trying not to hum with happiness for the whole trip. This would be a good day, something my friends and I did every year. This year, finally, I would be bringing someone. No longer would I be secretly envious of the other occupants on the trip because they could share the experience with someone. I had a someone of my own now.
We stopped off at the finish mark for our planned rafting trip. Tamiko, Owen, Glory, and Lena awaited us there. The rest of the party would be up the river at the drop in. Since Natalie and Molly were the only ones with trucks to transport the rafts, we’d leave Natalie’s here and head up to meet them in Lena’s car.
“Hi, girls,” Tamiko greeted us as we stepped out of the truck.
“I’ve been looking forward to this trip all summer,” Lena told us as we approached. She glanced down at our linked hands and smiled. I’d done the same thing when she and Glory had first gotten together. It just feels good when your friends are happy.
“We’re lucky Molly is willing to unofficially work on one of her days off,” Glory said, bending to pet Goblin and block Lena’s big dog from overwhelming her.
I nodded in agreement, but I knew that Molly didn’t mind taking us all on this whitewater rafting trip after the summer season closed. Of all the guide activities she did, she enjoyed rafting the most.
“Let me have this cutie pie,” Tamiko gestured for Goblin to come to her. “You guys go have fun. I’ll see you in a couple of hours.”
We were going to leave Goblin, Lena’s dogs, and Tessa’s dog with Tamiko at the finish line. She didn’t want to make the trip, but Owen was all for it. It probably helped that Natalie treated him like a friend not an old man or grandparent of a friend.
Lena rearranged her grandmother’s chair for probably the hundredth time, made sure the cooler was in reach, and that her book was settled on the armrest. Tamiko shooed her away and took a seat. The dogs all took their cue from her and found a cozy spot to snooze.
We got on our way up the river a few miles to meet up with the rest of the pack. I was looking forward to spending the day with Natalie and my friends. The exhilaration of the rapids would probably pale in comparison to the exhilaration I felt being around Natalie now, but it would still be a really fun day.
37 Vivian
One week. A whole week away from her when we’d been together almost every night for more than a month. I hadn’t wanted to go, but the client insisted. That wasn’t true. It was the client’s idiotic reality show producers that insisted.
Not for the first time, I started regretting taking on this client with Dwight. It was a down to the studs renovation, massive in scale. She’d dangled it in front of us, talking as if she were a standard client, predictably fussy, but nothing out of the ordinary. It wasn’t until we were sitting down to talk about a contract that she told us we’d have to sign a waiver for her television show. The reno and her reactions to it were going to be a continuing arc on her show next season. I balked immediately, but Dwight needed the fee. After a long discussion, we agreed that Dwight would be the main on camera designer.
That accounted for the week of lost time. It was supposed to be a day, but we had to present the plans, alter the plans, get the client’s okay, and the producers’ budget approval. All this when the client could only spare a half hour here and there on different days. Annoying to say the least and probably a harbinger of how the project would go. Still, it would be lucrative and steady work over the winter.
“You’re back,” Samantha exclaimed as I rushed through the doors of my design studio.
“We got the producers to fly us into Aspen instead of Denver.”
“Smart.” She handed me the call sheet for the week. “How’d it go?”
“Everyone signed off on the design. I was going to check when Natalie’s crew could start.”
Samantha gave me a teasing grin. “Yeah, sure.”
I plunked my purse down on my desk, turning to face her. “What?”
“You’re dying to see her. Just admit it.”
I laughed. Samantha knew me pretty well. “Okay, I am.”
“This whole being in love thing works good on you.”
I matched her grin. I couldn’t agree more. Nothing in my life had ever felt this right and this good. We’d only been together five weeks, but I felt more sure of my love for her than anything.
Looking down at my desk, I debated returning some of those calls or calling Natalie right away. I took a seat and realized something was off about my office. My eyes glanced around, not noticing anything different. It was quiet and orderly. Quiet, that’s it.
“Did Zach miraculously cure all his dogs?” I asked, not hearing the usual muffled barking coming through the shared wall to his recovery room. This building was the reason we’d pooled our resources to buy the property together. No other location had both commercial and residential zoning with a business building and two homes. The shared wall caused some distraction, though. I’d set up my drafting table in the front room as a workaround.
Samantha’s grin widened. Her tongue poked her cheek as she shook her head.
“What’s going on?”
“Weren’t you going to call Natalie?” She batted her eyes innocently.
“Sammi?”
“Oh, look, there’s her truck.” She pointed out the window.
I got up and went to check. Natalie’s truck was parked in one of Zach’s spots. My heart plunged, thinking Goblin might be hurt again. I dropped everything and hurried out the door over to Zach’s part of the building.
“Hey, Viv,” Shelly greeted as I came in.
I looked around the waiting room for Natalie. “Is Goblin here?” Shelly was better at remembering her patients’ names than the owners.
She frowned. A moment later her frown brightened. “Oh, Natalie’s in the back. She’s an absolute doll, Viv. Nice going there.”
Since she didn’t look concerned, I took a second to beam proudly at her. Yep, Nat was special, and I’d somehow landed her.
I stepped through the door to a recovery room that was no longer recognizable. I expected to find the large open room with stacks of dog and cat crates lining both walls and down the center haphazardly. Zach had to make do with the space when he’d first moved in because he
didn’t have the finances to do anything about it. It troubled him to have the animals all in one big open room. Now, it looked like he didn’t have to be troubled anymore.
The room was now divided in two. I peeked into the first and saw several cats and two rabbits in crates on newly constructed sturdy shelves. In one corner stood a large climbing tree for the cats to stretch their legs and a window where the washer and dryer used to be. The animals would have a view and fresh air now. The staff would be happy with that and the new easy to clean floors and paint job on the walls.
I stepped back into the hallway and headed toward the other half of the room. My heart thumped when I spotted Natalie. She was stacking the last of the empty crates onto her new shelving system. She let the crate drop as soon as she spotted me.
“Vivi! I missed you.” She climbed down the step stool and rushed over to me.
I folded her close, soaking in the feel of her against me again. “Missed you, too, Natalie. What have you done here?”
“Got Goblin free health care for life from the best vet in the world.”
I laughed, tilting back and capturing her lips in a smoldering kiss. I’d really missed this. I’d be letting Dwight deal with trips to L.A. for our client from now on.
One of the dogs barked, startling me away from her kiss. I realized the room wasn’t empty. Yet I hadn’t heard any sound from my side of this far wall even when I’d listened for it.
“Did you do something here?” I gestured to the wall.
“It bothered me that your office wasn’t soundproof.” She looked up, tightening her arms around me.
“So you rebuilt Zach’s recovery room?”
She shrugged and smiled. “You had electrical and plumbing on your side. Zach’s side didn’t have either. I talked him into letting me build a second wall to add sound dampening insulation and drywall. You shouldn’t hear anything anymore.”
“Natalie!” I just shook my head at this amazing woman. I knew she hadn’t charged Zach for all the work she’d put in. She probably hadn’t charged him for the materials either. Not if she was doing this for me.
“You’re creative, Vivi. You need complete quiet to create your magic.”
I swooped down for another kiss. “My sweet woman.”
She smiled broadly. “That’s me.”
“You did this for me.”
“I’d do anything for you.”
I believed that, completely. “Thank you, and I’m sure Zach has thanked you many times, but thank you for him too.”
She stroked her fingers down my cheek. “I really missed you.”
“I did, too.” I glanced around to look at her progress. The crate stacking was all that was left. “Shelly can finish that. I want to take you home and show you how much I missed you.”
Natalie’s smile might have been wider than mine. She reached for my hand, stepping us out of the recovery room to the waiting area. We were headed for the exit when a voice stopped Natalie.
I turned to see two tall guys sitting on the couch I’d picked out with Zach. It was big enough to hold four people, but these guys took up most of the room. One of the guys looked familiar, but I couldn’t place him.
“Hey, Trent, Ryan,” Natalie said.
Ryan, Cal’s son. That’s why he looked familiar. I’d worked with him once, and that was all it took to convince me that I never wanted him on another of my jobs again. Thinking back, it might have been the starting point for the decline in my relationship with Cal afterwards.
“What’s up, Nat?” Trent said, his eyes shifting from me to Natalie then back. He had a look of disbelief on his face.
“Things are good, T. How ‘bout with you?” Natalie appeared relaxed, but I could tell she was bothered by their presence.
“The stupid dog ate my office key. Had to bring him in,” Trent explained.
Stupid dog? That’s what he thought of his girlfriend’s dog. Gee, decent guy.
“Hope he feels better.” Natalie tugged on my hand to get us moving.
“Don’t have anything to say to me?” Ryan asked.
“I said hello,” Natalie said, gripping my hand tighter. It was clear there was no love lost between these two.
“You ruin my dad’s company and all you can say is hello?”
I stepped toward Ryan, like I was afraid he’d do something more than talk. Natalie held firm, glancing up at me before responding. “The success or failure of your dad’s company should have nothing to do with me.”
“You stole his people and badmouthed him,” Ryan said.
Trent frowned at his buddy and looked at Natalie. “Thought you just quit.”
“I did and never said anything about him after I left.”
“You’re taking all his jobs.”
I snorted. Ryan’s glare turned to me. “Your dad bid himself out of every job, Ryan.”
“What do you know?” he spat.
“She knows she’s welcome here and you aren’t, Ryan,” my brother said from behind us. “Hey, sis, welcome back.”
“Good to be back.”
“We’re going to need another hour with Binky, Trent. Why don’t you take your friend home and come back later.”
Trent raised his brow at Zach’s stern tone. “Let’s go, Ry.”
“Dad’s screwed because of you,” Ryan gave a parting shot at Natalie.
“I’m a competitor, nothing more.” Natalie looked sad for this jerk, which I loved about her. “Take care, Trent. Hope everything works out with the dog.”
They left with Ryan mumbling obscenities. Zach shook his head as he watched them go.
“Your clients suck, Zach,” I joked.
“Even jerks have pets.” He leaned in for a hug. “Did you see what Nat did for us?”
“I did. Looks amazing.”
“We want you both at dinner tonight so we can thank Natalie and hear about your trip.”
I glanced at Natalie. She shrugged and smiled like she didn’t mind spending time with my family instead of what we’d been planning. She really was sweet, and I couldn’t be more lucky. Forget the romances I’d read. They were no match for the real thing.
38 Natalie
Five o’clock on a Tuesday morning, the phone rang, waking me from a fitful sleep. I had a moment of distress over the concern that I couldn’t sleep well without Vivian beside me now. It made me not like the nights alone for two reasons instead of the obvious one. I should have called her last night after I’d put in a late night on Dwight’s job to make up for the changes that had cost us a lot of time. By the time I finished, it was too late to bother her.
A second ring made me remember why I’d awoken. I grabbed my cellphone from the charger and punched the speaker button.
“It’s Henry Eiben, Natalie. Sorry to call so early, but we just got word that the new house has been vandalized again. We were hoping you could swing by and assess the damage for us.”
Jolts of anger and fear pierced my stomach. “Did you let the police know that the cameras are still working so we might have gotten something this time?”
“Oh, he was still there. He’d run his truck through the garage door and was having a hard time getting out.”
“A drunk?”
“He was drunk, but, Natalie, it was Cal.”
Cal? What was going on? The exchange with Ryan a few weeks ago ran through my mind. Things had obviously gotten worse since then. “I’m sorry, Henry. I didn’t think he’d go off like this.”
“It’s not your fault. He must be really troubled. Right now, I just want to get the place fixed up as soon as you can spare your crew. I don’t want this delaying escrow.”
Neither did I. In this market, anything to delay escrow could blow a done deal. “I’ll head out there first thing. Depending on the damage, I’ll probably just ask David and Owen to help out so we don’t have to wait until the weekend.”
“Thanks, Nat. I’m calling our insurance lady next. She may meet you out there.”
“I
’ll give you a call when I’m done.” I clicked off and got out of bed.
Cal. This was so far beyond spiteful. I could see him making those calls to the inspection departments. I could even see how defacing the framing might be something he’d do because he knew it wouldn’t be a lot of work to fix. But vandalizing a completed home? That went several steps too far.
Out of the shower, I donned my usual work uniform, grabbing a fleece pullover in case we had to put in another late evening and the October chill took over. Goblin glanced up as I came down the stairs. Her tail thumped, but her eyes still looked sleepy.
“Got a bit of trouble, Gobs,” I told her, handing her a biscuit treat.
She looked at me in understanding and went about finishing her treat and going through the doggie door to do her business. She knew when we had to get to work quickly.
I felt a pit of dread in my stomach as I started for the door. Then I realized I didn’t have to do this alone. I now had someone in my life to rely on. It would be inconsiderate to wake her, but I knew she’d probably be more upset if I didn’t tell her what had happened.
“This had better be good, Zach,” she growled into the phone.
I felt a smile come over me. Even angry she was incredibly sexy. “Sorry, Viv, it’s me.”
“Natalie?” Her voice sounded marginally less angry, which was encouraging.
“Henry called. Cal ran his truck through the garage door out at the new house.”
“What?” She was completely alert now.
“Yeah, so I was going out to the house before I get over to Dwight’s.”
“Swing by and get me first, please.”
I let a chuckle slip. “You sure?”
“Yes, dammit. That asshole ruined our beautiful house. I’m not letting you see that alone. Come get me.”
I laughed out loud when she hung up without another word. She’d transferred her wakeup anger to Cal, and it was so hot. Or maybe it was just talking to her first thing in the morning. I loved that.
She was opening the door to her cabin as soon as I pulled up. She had a travel mug in her hand and was pulling on a fashionable jacket as she came down the path. I’d only given her a half hour to get ready, and she looked as lovely as if she’d had three hours.
