Why Not Tonight
Page 20

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.