Luna and Fillmore left the room, and Chloe started entering Fillmore’s notes and cleaning up.
As tempting as it was to go out and join the others, she ran an impeccably tight ship, and didn’t want anything hanging over her head that would need to be done later. This was her business, and she was ultimately responsible for all of it – and she wanted it to be as good as possible.
Once she was done, she headed out into the reception area, where everyone was waiting for her.
“I feel like someone should be yelling ‘Surprise!’” she laughed.
It wasn’t a surprise party at all, of course – it was the official opening party for Girdwood Springs Animal Hospital, which she was very much aware of, having organized much of it. Or a re-opening party, she supposed.
And sure, it was technically a few months late, but it had seemed like the best option.
The time had gone by in a blur, the pressures of running a new business after having moved across the country and taken a tumble off a cliff, not to mention spending alotof time with Ethan, keeping her flat-out busy. It had felt best to give everyone some time to get settled in before throwing the party.
The other reason, of course, was that it gave Sylvie and her mate Gale the opportunity to attend, now that baby Lily was three months old.
Chloe hadn’t been able to stand the thought of intruding upon their time with their new baby, but she’d really wanted them to be able to come to the party as well. Sylvie had been so kind to her when she’d first arrived in town.
So in the end, it had been best to wait… and Chloe was glad that she’d had the chance to get settled in first. She was a part of the town, now, having been welcomed with open arms. It felt like home.
Itwashome.
Speaking of Sylvie and her family…
She looked around.
“Are Sylvie and Gale here yet?”
It seemed pretty obvious that they weren’t, given that there wasn’t a mass of people huddling around and cooing over the baby, but she wanted to be sure.
“Last I heard, they were still trying to get out of the house,” said Natasha, Kieran’s mate. “I’ve been getting updates fromSylvie for the past two hours. Every time they’re almost out the door, something happens.”
Eula laughed. “That’s babies for you. They’ll get here when they get here. Or possibly not at all.”
“Well, hopefully they’ll show up,” Chloe said with a smile. “Though I wouldn’t blame them if they just turned around and went back to sleep.”
She turned to where Ethan was sitting behind the reception desk, typing away.
“Are you going to join us any time soon, Mr. Workaholic?”
He looked up at her with his penetratingly blue eyes, his dark hair curling artfully, his shirt unbuttoned ever-so-tantalizingly at the collar, and she swallowed.
It would be unprofessional to jump him at our shared place of business, in front of all these nice people.
So why is he tempting me like this?!
She supposed that he couldn’t help it – he was just naturally jumpable.
He raised one perfect eyebrow. “So what were you doing in there for ten minutes, then, when you could’ve been joining the party?”
“That’s different!” she exclaimed. “That’s hygiene-related!”
“And this is financial hygiene,” he said smoothly. “You want the numbers to balance, right?”
“Fine,” she huffed. “But you’re all done now, aren’t you?”
She held out her hand to him, not giving him an option.
“I guess I am,” he said, grabbing her hand and standing up.
