to do one last check with Odele. They’d just finished when a couple of SUVs pulled up in the parking lot. Renee went out to meet the dogs and their handlers. As she waited, she realized she’d forgotten to ask Odele about the various breeds they were having. The collars were adjustable but if they had a pair of Yorkies, the collars might not be small enough.
The back door of the first SUV opened and two incredibly beautiful, incredibly large dogs jumped to the ground.
Odele came up next to her. “Oh, good. They’re here.”
“Wh-what are they?”
“Irish wolfhounds.” She looked at Renee. “You know all the dogs are large, right?” She checked her list. “We have the Irish wolfhounds, mastiffs, Great Danes—”
The second SUV opened and a Saint Bernard jumped heavily to the ground. A second one followed.
“Oh, no.” Renee did her best to stay focused. If she started laughing, she might never stop. “A giant dog wedding. You really meant giant dogs.”
“I thought it would be appealing to viewers. We debated tiny dogs, but that’s a lot of close-up shots and we had the contacts for the big dogs, so here we are.”
“A giant dog wedding.”
The first giggle escaped. Then a second.
“Excuse me,” she managed before running back inside the grounds. She found her friends all talking together. Pallas spotted her first.
“What is it? What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” Renee said, trying not to give in to laughter. “It’s just...” She pointed.
Two handlers led in the Irish wolfhounds, followed by the Saint Bernards. Apparently, the Great Danes had arrived because they were next.
“Oh, no,” Pallas breathed.
“A giant dog wedding,” Wynn said before starting to laugh. “I am so glad I brought my video camera. This is going to be fantastic!”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
BY MIDAFTERNOON THE film crew was packing up for the drive back to Los Angeles. The wedding and reception had gone reasonably well. The Saint Bernards had found a shady spot to nap and refused to be moved. The mastiffs had eaten all the flowers, then had promptly thrown them up, while the Great Danes had wanted to play and the wolfhounds looked bewildered.
Verity had done readings on all the dogs, including the Saint Bernards, both of whom had told her they just wanted to be left alone to sleep. The dogs had loved their cake, the pooper-scooper guy had kept up with, ah, production and the outdoor area seemed none too worse for wear.
Renee found herself just as tired as she was after an all-day wedding. Maybe it was because she hadn’t known what to expect and maybe because she’d had so much to think about with her mother’s generous offer.
“Patches. Patches! Here, boy.”
Renee saw one of the handlers calling for the male Great Dane. He was close to Renee so she grabbed his leash.
He was beautiful—a black-and-white harlequin with long legs and an ever-wagging tail. Wearing flats, she was practically eye level with him, she thought humorously, leading him across the lawn.
“Did you have a good time?” she asked as he walked with her. “Did you have a good wedding?”
She reached out to pet him only to realize not only wasn’t there an answer, she hadn’t expected one. She’d simply reacted to being with a friendly dog. In fact, she hadn’t once thought she had to worry during the entire day. She’d done her job, wrangled dogs when necessary, made kissing noises so they would look alert for pictures and that was it.
There was no gift—there never had been. Not for her. She had wasted so much time worrying about something that was never going to happen. How ridiculous.
“Thanks,” the woman said, taking his leash. “He loves to explore. Okay, we’re heading home. This was great. I can’t wait to see the show.”
Renee watched her go before returning to the reception area. She and Pallas did a quick walk-through to make sure there was no forgotten camera equipment, leashes or dog toys. Wynn had already headed back to work.
Mathias was with Carol, waiting to take her back to their place. He had Devon with him, the baby tucked in his arms.
They were a happy family, Renee thought wistfully. Like Pallas, Nick and Ryan. She doubted it would be very long before Natalie and Silver were pregnant.
Two by two, she thought. Then three by three, as they became families. She’d wanted that once, had hoped it could happen. She’d wanted to be like everyone else. Now, when she had finally realized she was totally gift-free and therefore normal, it was too late.