He smiled winningly at her, shook her hand and murmured something about being delighted. Stella couldn’t help but say, “I hope we’re not taking you away from your job, Mr. Gonzalez.”
“Carlos,” he corrected immediately, and then went on with a charming grin, “and I’m welcoming the opportunity to get away. My job’s just moving money around, nothing too interesting. I’m not a professional security specialist like Nate is, but I have the same Marine training and I’ve kept my hand in here and there over the years when he needed an extra body. I’ll keep you safe.”
“Thank you,” she murmured.
“Now.” He actually clapped his hands together in a let’s get going motion. “What’s on the agenda for today?”
What was on the agenda was bowing to her daughter’s whims, in fact.
Eva’s texting had borne fruit: Mavis had left Stella a message this morning, mentioning that she had a free hour after lunch if Stella wanted to stop by her office.
And Stella was off work today, so there was really no excuse.
“I’m so nervous,” she confessed to Nate, as they were in her room ‘getting ready to leave,’ which really translated to, ‘hiding in the hopes that everyone would just forget about it.’
“Why?” he asked, looking honestly curious. “Is Mavis that intimidating?”
“No—yes—ugh.” Stella sat down on the bed and ran her fingers through her hair. “No. She’s a very nice person, very polite. Never has a bad word to say about anybody. She’s just...”
“Just what?”
“Just an incredibly accomplished, intelligent, professional woman, that’s all.” Stella flopped backwards into the pillows. “She went to college. She runs her own business. And she’s—” She waved a hand. “You’ll get it when you see her.”
“I met her briefly, at Cal’s wedding,” Nate said thoughtfully. “I guess she has a lot of...poise.”
Stella sat up and pointed at him. “Yes. That’s it exactly. She’s so poised that whenever I’m around her, I feel like a bit of a mess.”
Nate caught her pointing finger, brought her hand to his mouth, and kissed the knuckles. “You are anything but a mess. You’re one of the strongest people I’ve ever met. And now you’re going to talk to someone about pursuing your incredible talent.”
Stella tried unsuccessfully to tamp down the burst of pleasure in her chest at his praise. “I don’t know if it’ll work at all,” she prevaricated. “I’ve tried to make some money from art before, and it’s never gotten off the grou
nd.”
Nate squeezed her hand, looking serious. “We haven’t talked about this yet,” he said, “and you should do whatever you think is best for you. But if you want to make this your full-time job—dedicate all your efforts to making progress as a professional artist—that would be fine with me. I could—well, you might not have to worry about Eva’s college.” He grinned ruefully. “Assuming I can convince her that accepting money from me is okay.”
Stella blinked, staring at him.
“It’s time for you to go!” Eva hollered from out in the hall, and they both jumped.
“Okay!” Stella called back, suddenly ready to get out, if it meant she didn’t have to give an answer to Nate right away.
Quit her job, that’s what he meant, she thought as they went out to her car together, collecting Carlos along the way.
Work full-time as an artist.
Stella hadn’t let herself really consider quitting her job, even though Nate had hinted around the idea that he had enough money to support both of them without any trouble. Because Stella wasn’t a layabout. She’d bounced around enough relationships to be very sensitive to the potential for freeloading off of any of her boyfriends—just because she found a man who could support her, she wasn’t going to just sit around and do nothing. She could work too.
But this wouldn’t be sitting around doing nothing.
They drove to Mavis’s place, Stella’s head still in the clouds.
When they got to her little office in town, an older, distinguished-looking man was just leaving. Stella blinked as Nate and Carlos both snapped to attention, postures straightening, and murmured, “Sir,” in unison.
The man—Colonel Wilson Hanes, Stella finally recognized him—stopped, a dawning surprise on his face. “Gentlemen,” he said. “What on earth are you both doing in town?”
Nate glanced over at her. “Well, sir...”
He explained the situation more neatly than Stella could have managed, very short and to the point—this is my mate Stella, she’s having some problems with a stalker, and Carlos is here as backup—