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“Just don’t do any running in a hailstorm.”
“No plans to. Or falling into a creek either. Night, Sister. See you bright and early in the morning.” Then Kayla retired to her bedroom. She couldn’t wait to get her invitation to the party and see the details.
“Night, Sis.”
The next morning as Nate was driving to the PI office, he was so glad Nicole had been in charge of the birthday party celebration for the Wolff siblings. He would never have thought of having a fifties party, and he was glad to help. Thankfully,she’d mentioned it early to him and he was able to reserve one of the three banquet rooms at the Timberline Ski Lodge through Lelandi, since he and his family had wanted to make this a surprise for the Wolff siblings. The rooms opened up into one large one for weddings and other events that required more than one room, but they’d only needed one room for this event. The Sleepy Hollow banquet room had a view of the outdoor swimming pool. The Wolff Park and Mountain View banquet rooms looked over the ski slopes, but one was booked, so he had picked Mountain View.
“Hey,” Nicole said in greeting when Nate arrived at the office.
“You’re early.” He was surprised to see his sister at the agency this early since she’d been having bouts of morning sickness for weeks.
“Yeah, I was feeling great this morning, and I’m excited about tomorrow night. Are you all packed up for your camping trip?” Nicole asked.
“I sure am.”
“Okay, I figure we’ll begin setting up the party tomorrow afternoon and be ready at five. Mom and Dad said they’d come over early to help us out, and they’ve got someone in the pack handling the stationery store for us until closing.”
“Sounds like a good deal. And costumes?”
“Being delivered to the lodge’s office at three.Also, Jake Silver is coming to take pictures of the event,” Nicole said, sounding excited to do this.
Nate was glad Jake would do that since he and the rest of the Silver adults were invited. As one of the pack leader’s brothers, Jake was second in charge and a professional photographer. His artwork was even featured in several Colorado galleries. He would do a great job.
“Are you getting together with Kayla today?” Nicole asked.
“No. After taking time off yesterday to help her with purchasing a car and the other issue with the man at the lodge and then the birthday party tomorrow, I’m trying to get some work done on these cases and plan to do it until late tonight.” He hoped not to leave too much undone before he left for the week with Kayla.
“I’ll be fine with the workload. The Green Valley wolf PIs will help out if I need it.” Nicole sighed. “I hope you plan to ask Kayla to be your mate soon.”
He looked up from the file.
“You’re perfect for each other, and waiting isn’t going to change things. I know you don’t want to go all alpha male on her because you think she’s so introverted, but you have been seeing her since you got here last year. She doesn’t date anyone else. And it’s not just because she’s shy.”
He had to admit he had felt that way to an extent, but he knew Kayla wasn’t a real pushover;when she wanted something, she got it. He smiled at his sister. “Kayla doesn’t jump into things, likesomewomen I know.” He had been surprised when Nicole hit it off so well with Blake and, in a whirlwind of romance, mated him. He was glad she had. They were a fun couple. “When it comes to romancing Kayla, she’s…cautious. I’ve asked her out a number of times, and she’s—”
“Turned you down?”
“Been too busy with work.”
“So what do you do? Take her a box of her favorite chocolate-covered almonds as a quick pick-me-up? Order a lunch and have it with her at her office? No. You dive into your own work like the devil is after you.”
“Nicole, if she’s busy, then I don’t want her to feel I’m pushing myself on her. She needs some space sometimes.”
“Okay, next time that happens, you do something special for her. You don’t have to have lunch with her, but take her a boxed lunch from the Victorian Tea Shop. She loves their soups and sandwiches, and the teas and special pies are to die for.”
Nate smiled. “All right. Next time she turns me down, I’ll do something special for her, and if it blows up in my face—”
“You try something else next time.”
He chuckled. He was going to say he would give her the space she needed, but maybe Nicole wasright. When it came to women’s feelings, she was much more attuned to them.
Though if things worked out for him when he asked Kayla to mate him, he would be doing all those things for her, and more, to perk up her day—just because he loved her.
Chapter 12
Because Kayla was going to be off for a week, she wanted to do her part and worked late that night. Then she ran with Roxie, Blake, and Nicole as wolves. Afterward, they went to their respective houses, barking their good nights to each other.
When Kayla and Roxie had shifted at their home, Kayla said, “I can’t wait to see what Nicole and the others have planned for us tomorrow for our birthdays, can you?”
