Why Not Tonight
Page 33

“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.