Conversations filled the air while the flight was delayed about fifteen minutes. Natalie hoped no one would miss a connection because of him.

  She texted her friend: Crew had to escort a drunken wolf off the plane. Arriving about fifteen to twenty minutes late.

  You’re kidding. A wolf? In Amarillo? No problem. We’ll save you a seat. Love ya, Angie

  Now Natalie was ready for a drink!

  * * *

  Brock Greystoke was having a beer with his twin brother, Vaughn, at the rehearsal lunch for their cousin Aaron, when Angie announced, “My best friend, Natalie, is delayed, so I want everyone to give her a special warm welcome when she finally arrives.” Angie was a vivacious gray wolf and had fallen in love with Aaron and the Greystoke pack right away. Brock was glad for both his cousin and the pack.

  Brock knew Angie was really hoping that one of the bachelor males of Devlyn and Bella Greystoke’s pack would mate Natalie, and she would move there so Angie could continue to be close to her best friend.

  “You especially intend to give her a warm welcome, right, Brock?” Vaughn asked.

  “Don’t even mention it. After the mess I went through with Lettie, I’m staying clear of she-wolves for the time being.”

  “Hell, it’s been two years.”

  “Yeah, which isn’t long enough. And I’m certainly not going to lay claim to a she-wolf who will only be here for a couple of days. Besides, she’s not with a pack, and her parents have a nursery where she serves as their master gardener. She won’t want to move here and join a pack.” Not that Brock hadn’t liked Natalie’s appearance. Dark-haired and blue-eyed, Natalie was striking. Angie had made sure all the bachelor males had seen a picture of her friend, saying she wanted everyone to recognize her when she arrived. So why had she sent only the bachelors Natalie’s picture?

  “Been thinking about this a lot, I see.” Vaughn smiled, as though he knew Brock better.

  Brock couldn’t get over Lettie because of the crazy situation she’d gotten him into. As a PI, Brock had tried to locate and eliminate a lupus garou bank robber who had killed a woman and her child at a local bank. Learning Lettie was the robber’s sister—who had only gotten to know Brock because he was after her brother—had really irked Brock. Hurt too. He couldn’t believe she’d only had plans to convince him to let her brother disappear. Well, her brother did disappear, but he needed Brock’s assistance in disappearing permanently. They couldn’t allow a wolf to get away with murder and chance him getting caught and going to prison.

  Brock sat back in his chair, not the least bit interested in Angie’s friend. From what Angie had said about her, she sounded like fun, but she wasn’t local. “Natalie’s not looking to relocate or find a mate among our bachelors. She’s staying at a hotel far away from all of us. She doesn’t want anyone to pick her up at the airport. Her actions prove she doesn’t want to get involved with the pack. She’s only here to attend her best friend’s wedding,” he said.

  “Right, and that’s what Angie wants to change. She wants her friend to meet someone and ultimately join us. Hey, if I hadn’t met and mated Jillian, I might have been interested.” Vaughn waved at his mate, who was headed back from the restroom.

  “You weren’t looking to settle down either. I still can’t believe Jillian shot you for going after her brother, and you mated her.”

  “Our two situations were eerily similar, with you going after Lettie’s brother, though quite a bit different.” Vaughn slapped Brock on the back. “Life is really good, Brock. You just have to find the right woman. You know Jillian wasn’t with a pack either. She was off working on her own.”

  “The two of you work all over. It’s not like she’s dealing with wolf politics all the time,” Brock pointed out. “Besides, you work together, and her parents moved here so you’d all be close. I wouldn’t expect Natalie’s parents to pull up roots to join our pack. And I’m not talking about me, but about any of the bachelors who are eager to meet her. If Devlyn hadn’t read them the riot act and told them they had to let her do this her way, half of them would have been there vying for the chance to pick her up at the airport.”

  “Maybe she would have been amused. What do we know?” Vaughn chuckled.

  Jillian joined them and gave Brock a hug. “You really should join the United Shifter Force. After that wild trip to Belize with the jaguars, we wondered if you wouldn’t like to partner up with us. We could use your help. And I’m sure you’d love it.”

  “No, it’s not for me. I love being a PI. But see? The two of you are perfect for each other,” Brock said.

  “Has your brother been trying to convince you to make a play for Natalie?” Jillian took a seat and sipped from her glass of wine.

  “He has, and I won’t be trying to win her over.”

  “That’s what I told him too. She’s only going to be here today, for the wedding tomorrow, and then she’s leaving the day after. There’s no time to get to know her.” Jillian smiled at Brock. “Besides, she’s probably not your type.”

  Brock raised a brow. He knew Jillian was not-so-subtly challenging him to get to know Natalie better.

  “Why would you think I have a specific type of woman in mind?”

  Jillian just smiled. Brock wondered what his brother had been telling her about him and his dating ventures. And why she thought Ms. Natalie Silverton wouldn’t suit.

  * * *

  Natalie finally made it to Denver International Airport. She rushed to get her bag and pick up a rental car, hoping she’d only be about a half hour late, no later.

  She still couldn’t believe Angie had met her mate at the Denver airport when she was flying there to go skiing. She had ended up skiing with him at Breckenridge for the whole two weeks when he hadn’t planned to be there at all. Three months later, Angie was tying the knot and moving to his gray wolf pack’s territory near Granby, Colorado. Aaron Greystoke was the pack leader’s cousin, but he also owned a horse ranch. Angie Pullman loved horses, and Natalie wondered if that wasn’t the deciding factor in her friend falling in love with the wolf.

  Natalie immediately texted her friend: I’m in Denver, just got a car.

  Angie texted her back: There are a ton of guys in the pack who were willing to pick you up.

  Yeah, but you know me. I like to have my own car.

  Natalie didn’t like to have to rely on anyone but herself. Besides, she wasn’t here to date any wolves, and she knew that’s what Angie was up to. She enjoyed being an independent wolf, just like Angie. Though it appeared her friend had changed her mind about that. Natalie would miss all the fun she’d had with her back home.

  Thanks for coming. I can’t wait to see you.

  Me too, Angie. See you soon.

  Wolves mated for life, and they lived so long—aging so much slower than humans once they reached puberty—that it was important to find the wolf they couldn’t live without. Natalie just hoped Angie wasn’t making a mistake with her whirlwind romance.

  Using her GPS, Natalie drove from the airport toward Granby, but somewhere along the way, she took a wrong turn, then another. After fifteen minutes of rerouting directions on her GPS, she called Angie. “Hey, my GPS is going crazy. Can you guide me there?”

  “I’m sending a SEAL to the rescue. I’m in the middle of toasts. Here, talk to Brock.”

  “No, that’s okay, I’ll just—”

  “Tell me where you are,” a sexy, deep-baritone male voice said. “I’ll meet you there, and you can follow me here.”

  Ugh, if it didn’t mean so much to both of them for Natalie to be there, she would have just skipped it. She wondered if the SEAL was as sexy-looking as he sounded though.

  She blew out her breath in an annoyed way. “I’m at—” She looked around. “I don’t know where. I parked at a garden nursery called the Denver Garden Center.”

  “There are four of them.”

  Of course there were.

  His voice calm, as if he was used to helping women in distress, Brock asked, “What are the intersecting roads?”

  Oh, just great. “Wait just a minute.” She couldn’t see any intersecting roads! She looked at her GPS. “Um, I think I’m off North Boulevard.”

  “Okay, that’s the nearest one to the restaurant. I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.”

  “You can just give me directions.” Otherwise, she would be thirty minutes late instead of fifteen.

  “It’s your call, Natalie. I’m one of Aaron’s cousins, Brock Greystoke, by the way.”

  “Nice to meet you, Brock. Yeah, it will save us both time, so just give me the directions.” And hopefully, she could make it there without having to be escorted the rest of the way. She could hear all the noisy lunch guests having fun without her. She preferred working with plants more than partying with people. And she had a total love-hate relationship with the GPS. She loved it when it worked. She hated it when it got her lost.

  “All right, I’ll stay on the line and get you here that way,” Brock said.

  She could listen to his calm, soothing, masculine voice all day. She imagined hers sounded frazzled and annoyed. “Okay.”

  “Turn right onto North Boulevard. Stay in the right-hand lane. You’ll turn on the first exit to the right.”

  “Okay, leaving the nursery. I’m on North Boulevard, coming up to the first exit on the right.”

  “Good,” Brock said, and she was glad he didn’t sound as if he thought she was an idiot.

  “Okay, exited North Boulevard.”

  “Go down to the third signal and turn left on Elm Street.”

  “Oak Street. Ash Street. Elm Street.”

  Brock chuckled. Okay, she knew she sounded silly, but she really, really hated getting lost in a strange city, especially when she was already late! She was really nervous about meeting all these strange wolves. Despite working in her parents’ garden shop and being used to meeting customers—human customers—or presenting educational programs to humans, she wasn’t used to meeting a lot of wolves.

  “Keep going. You’re nearly there. Stay in the right lane, and at the third signal you’ll turn right. Dallas’s Steak House is three buildings down on your right.”

  “Thank you. I so appreciate it. I’m nearly there.” She should have just thanked him and signed off, but he wasn’t ending the call either, and she felt more at ease knowing if she missed the steak house somehow, Brock would redirect her and make sure she got there all right. “Okay, I see the steak house, and I’m pulling into the parking lot.”

  “You’re driving a blue Toyota?”

  “Uh, yeah.” She turned to look at the deck leading to the front door of the restaurant, where a large fountain was flowing into a basin.

  Wearing blue jeans, a dress shirt, cowboy boots, and a Stetson, Brock was standing next to the fountain, appearing bigger than life, but he looked as though he was into roping steers rather than scuba diving as a SEAL wolf. Dark hair, dark eyes, and a sensuous mouth, curved up in a slight smile, greeted her. His gaze was intense, all-consuming. She parked her car and joined him.

  “You must be Natalie, Angie’s best friend. Brock Greystoke, Aaron’s cousin.” Brock offered his hand to her and she shook it, but then worried hers was a little clammy from sweating out the drive there. She should have wiped her hand off on her skirt before she shook his hand.

  “All Angie’s talked about was one of us running to the airport and picking you up so you wouldn’t get lost. You know, instead of staying at the hotel, you could stay with any of the families in the town of Greystoke out in Wolf Valley. That way, you won’t have to make the long drive there in the morning for the wedding. I know how it is when you want to have your own getaway vehicle though. Oh, and welcome to Colorado. Angie said you’ve never been here before.”

  “Thanks, and no, I haven’t.” How could she tell the darkly handsome wolf she preferred staying at her own hotel because she didn’t want to put anyone out? They’d insist she wasn’t, but she just needed…her own space. She wondered how much Angie had told her new pack members about her.

  She sighed, and Brock opened the door to the restaurant for her. The noisy conversation inside was nearly deafening, partly because of their enhanced wolf hearing. That’s why she preferred her garden nursery to this.

  The aroma of hickory-cooked steaks did appeal though.

  “Are you ready for a good-sized steak after all the flying and rushing to get here?” Brock asked.

  “Yes. I hate being so late.”

  “Don’t worry about it. We just started at noon, and it’s only a quarter of one. Everyone is enjoying cocktails and appetizers first.”

  Natalie figured no one would realize she hadn’t been there earlier since no one even knew her and Angie would have been too busy enjoying herself. But Natalie hated arriving late to anything, as if she were the star of the occasion and needed a big entrance. Yet, she was vitally aware of the man walking beside her, his arm brushing hers as they moved closer together so that customers could get by them. When a waiter nearly ran into her, Brock adroitly slipped in behind her, pulling her out of the waiter’s way.

  Heat spread through her whole body, and Natalie tried to think of anything other than the way his body was pressed against hers in the sudden crush of customers as a large party was leaving the restaurant. “Angie told me you and your brother, Vaughn, are Navy SEALs. Are you just here on a visit?” she asked Brock.

  “No, we’re both out of the navy now, retired. You know how it is. We didn’t look like we were aging, so as soon as we could, we retired. Both of us had been private investigators. Vaughn hooked up with a jaguar policing force that’s called the United Shifter Force, and he has a mate now. They live out here, but their headquarters is in the Houston area. They travel there whenever they need to for a mission. I’m doing the PI business on my own now.”

  “You look like you wrangle steers too.”

  He smiled at her.

  She felt her face flush with heat. Maybe that was the wrong thing to say to him. She saw men wearing western wear in Amarillo too, so she was used to seeing it.

  “I help out on Aaron’s ranch when I can. I just like getting out and riding a bit. Do you ride?”

  “Uh, no, actually. A bicycle, yes. A horse, no. Angie’s the big horse nut. I guess that’s some of why she and Aaron hit it off.”

  “Yeah, it is. And the skiing. Do you ski?”

  “No. We don’t have any mountains around Amarillo. I guess the closest is New Mexico. To think Angie switched her plans to go to Colorado instead of New Mexico and met Aaron because of it! I guess it was meant to be.” Natalie was much more of a warm-weather person, though they did get snow in Amarillo. She really couldn’t imagine falling down a mountain on two skinny skis for fun. She figured once Brock learned she didn’t ride horses and she didn’t ski, he wouldn’t find her very interesting. Which was fine with her. She wasn’t looking to hook up with a wolf, even as sexy as he appeared to be.

  “Well, sometime when you come back to visit, you can ski with Angie and Aaron.”

  She noted Brock didn’t offer. He probably didn’t want to have to deal with a total newbie skier.

  They wound their way through the large building until they arrived at a banquet room where the private rehearsal lunch was being held. There were about thirty people in the room, and everyone looked in their direction as they entered.

  Angie quickly left her chair and gave Natalie a hug. All of a sudden, the pack members surrounded Natalie, giving her handshakes to welcome her. As stiff as she was around them, they must have realized she needed her space—so no one but Angie and Aaron gave her a hug in greeting.

  “I’m so glad you made it. I told you that you should have let someone pick you up at the airport. And you can’t stay at the hotel in Denver. You’re too far away from the fun.” Angie glanced down at Natalie’s hands and tsked. “You have green fingers. Not just a green thumb.”

  “I was working in the garden when we first opened, helping a customer with an order, when I realized it was time to catch the flight. Spring and early summer are such busy times for plant sales at the nursery.”

  “No problem at all. We’re going straight to the ranch after the lunch. The ranch house has eight bedrooms, and since most everyone lives here in the area, most of the rooms are empty. You know we’ll be having margaritas, and you don’t want to be driving all the way back into Denver. What if you got lost?”

  Natalie could never win an argument with her friend. Besides, if she was going to drink, she agreed about not driving back into Denver. “I’ll have to cancel my hotel reservation for tonight, but after the wedding, I can stay the night in Denver to catch my flight the next day.”

  “Why don’t you just stay at the ranch house, and then you can have breakfast with some of the pack members before you leave? For now, you can just follow Aaron and me to the ranch after the meal.” Angie sat Natalie next to her chair, while Aaron was sitting on the other side of Angie.

  “All right. But only because I know you. We’ll be partying all afternoon. I still can’t believe you’re getting married.”

  “You can come and visit us any time you want.” Angie smiled. “Now, let me tell you about all the bachelors in the pack.”

  Natalie chuckled. “You know I’m not interested. Period. I love Amarillo and the garden center. What would my parents do without me? I can’t plan on them wanting to relocate again either. So no. I’m just here to help you have fun.”

  “Well, I’ll tell you one person who really, really isn’t interested in finding a mate. That’s Brock. Which is why I asked him to help you out with the directions.”

  “Oh?”

  “Yeah. He broke up with a girlfriend a while back, and he hasn’t been interested in one since. She’s not with the pack. He met her under some rather unusual circumstances. Suffice it to say, he’s not looking for a special someone right now. I figured if I sent any of the other bachelor males to help you, their tongues would have been hanging to the floor and their tails wagging behind them, way too eager to win you over.”