Best of My Love (Fool's Gold, #20)

“Does it matter?” Shelby winked. “You’re already committed.”


Nick glared at her, then relaxed back in the seat. “Is this what you two do together? Take care of your feet?”

“Among other things.” She sounded serene as she spoke. “Sometimes Aidan braids my hair.”

“She’s kidding,” he said quickly.

“I’m not so sure,” his brother told him. “Man, now I really have to worry about you.”

“Don’t. I’m fine.”

“You’re not seeing the big picture.”

Aidan sat next to Shelby. She shifted so she could put her feet on his thigh. She handed him the base coat.

“Why are you here?” Aidan asked as he began to paint her toes.

“I wanted to tell you about my trip to Happily Inc.,” Nick told him.

Aidan glanced up. “Yeah? You saw Ronan and Mathias?”

“Uh-huh. They’re doing great. It’s an interesting town. East of Los Angeles, in the foothills. High desert, I guess it’s called. But there’s a hot spring and caves and mountains for skiing. It’s more stark than here.”

Aidan looked at him. “Do not, under any circumstances, start describing the colors of everything, I beg you.”

Nick laughed. “Would I do that?”

Shelby sighed. “You would so do that. Did you like it there?”

“I did. I wasn’t sure. It’s smaller than Fool’s Gold by a lot. The big industry is destination weddings. There are venues all over for them. Houses that look like castles or Southern plantations. You can have any kind of wedding you want, with Roman chariots or cowboys.”

“I like cowboys,” Shelby said.

Aidan turned to her. “You do?”

“Who doesn’t?”

“They smell.”

She laughed. “They don’t smell. They’re nice. Zane Nicholson is nice.”

“He’s married.”

“I’m not interested in him in that way. I’m just saying...” She sighed. “Go ahead, Nick. Cowboy weddings.”

He glanced between them, obviously confused. “You two okay?”

“We’re fine,” Aidan told him. “The town?”

“Right. Like I said, there are a lot of weddings. Back in the 1950s, the town was failing. Some guy who owned the bank knew that if the town went under, the bank would go with it because people couldn’t repay their loans. He came up with the idea of changing the town history.”

“You can’t change a town’s history.” Aidan took Shelby’s other foot and started putting base coat on the nails. “It is what it is.”

“Not for this guy. He came up with this story about how, during the California gold rush, a stagecoach full of brides heading for San Francisco broke down in town. Each of the brides fell in love so by the time the stagecoach was ready to leave, none of the women wanted to go.”

“Oh, that’s so nice,” Shelby said. “I want to go there.”

“See?” Nick pointed at her. “It works. The town changed its name. Hollywood types caught on. Remember, this was the 1950s, when celebrity weddings were a huge deal. From that, Happily Inc. grew to what it is today—a destination wedding town. There’s also a sleep center, where they help you sleep better. Something about a convergence of forces or mystic stuff like that. Anyway, I saw the gallery where Ronan and Mathias sell their work. The lady who runs it is really knowledgeable and she doesn’t take a lot of crap.” He thought for a second. “She kind of reminded me of Mayor Marsha.”

“I don’t know if that’s good or bad.”

“Me, either. The space where Mathias and Ronan work is awesome. Big and bright. There’s room for me, too. I looked around and found a few short-term carpentry jobs, so I won’t have a problem finding a job.”

Aidan reached for the nail polish. Shelby shifted so he could start painting her other foot. “You’re doing it, aren’t you?” she asked. “You’re moving?”

Nick nodded. “I rented an apartment. I’m going to give notice at the bar.”

Aidan concentrated on the task at hand. He didn’t want think about his brother leaving Fool’s Gold. His gut told him this was the right thing for Nick. That his brother needed to get away from Ceallach. But his heart, well, his heart was going to miss having a brother around.

“Hey,” Nick said. “I know what this means. You’re the last one here.”

“The last what?” Shelby asked.

“The last Mitchell brother in Fool’s Gold,” Aidan told her. “Del’s traveling the world with Maya and the other three are going to be in Happily Inc.”

She nodded slowly, then reached out her hand and put it on top of his. The touch was brief, but he got the message. She was there for him. She understood. Whatever else had happened between them, they were still friends.

“You gotta do what’s right for you,” Aidan told Nick. “You can’t stay here. We both know it. This is better.”

“You can come see me anytime you want.”

“Gee, thanks.”

Nick grimaced. “You know what I mean.” He brightened. “Did I mention there’s an animal preserve?”