Why Not Tonight (Happily Inc. #3)(45)

“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.