soft and languid, but then all emotion seeped from his eyes, and his expression was once again hard. “You need to be careful, Vienna.”
“Careful?”
“I’m a very selfish being. If you keep being so sweet, I’ll get used to it, and I might not want to lose it. Then we’ll both be in trouble.” With that, he walked away, leaving me standing in the middle of the foyer with my mouth open wide.
Yeah, he was definitely going to drive me to drink.
Chapter Twenty-One
Strolling into the den Saturday morning, Dane frowned when he caught sight of me slumped on the sofa. “You’re sulking again.”
I tossed him a miffed look. “Not feeling in the mood to be judged right now.”
He came to a stop in front of me. “What’s wrong?”
“I want to go to the zoo.”
“And, what, you’re eight-years-old?”
“Hey, it’s not just for kids. Adults go too, you know.”
“So what’s the problem?”
“There’s no one to go with me.” I folded my arms across my chest. “Simon is working, Ashley has plans with Tucker, Hanna’s spending the weekend with her sister in Long Island, and my foster parents are going to the mall with Heather and Junior.”
“Why are you so eager to go to the zoo?”
“There was an article online that said they’ve just brought in Pallas’ cats. I love them; I’ve never seen any in real life.”
“I don’t even know what they are.”
I brought up the article on my phone to show him the picture. “There. Aren’t they adorable?”
“Not even a little.”
I felt my lips thin. “You know what? I don’t need your negativity right now.” I pushed to my feet. “See you later.”
“Where are you going?”
“The zoo.”
“By yourself?”
I headed for the door. “Yep.”
A heavy sigh. “Give me ten minutes to get a few things sorted. I’ll come with you.”
“Funny.”
“I don’t joke, remember. Ten minutes.”
I came to a halt and turned to stare at him. “Wait, you’ll go to the zoo?”
A line formed between his brows as he crossed to me. “You think I have something against animals?”
“No. But you don’t do good ole regular fun. You do fancy restaurants and galas and wine tasting events.”
“Yes, and I suspect I’ll be bored out of my mind, but I don’t want you going alone.”
Was he honestly serious? He couldn’t be. “But you’re uber busy.”
“The company won’t crumble if I come away from work for a few hours.”
My back straightened. “Okay, now you’re starting to freak me out. You’re not sick, are you? Because I don’t make a good nurse.” He didn’t look ill, but the symptoms weren’t always visible.
He shot me a droll look. “Get your things together.”
“This is for real? You’ll go to the zoo with me?”
“I already said I would. Ten minutes,” he reminded me.
Walking toward the zoo entrance, I smoothed a wrinkle out of my long-sleeved tee. “I like that the light breeze is cool. The animals tend to hide inside the buildings or in shady spots when it’s too hot, so you don’t get to see as many then.”
Despite being a grown woman, I couldn’t help but feel excitement bubble in my stomach. I loved the zoo. Loved the sights and the smells and the sounds. Loved the relaxed atmosphere and that there were so many things to do, leaving you the option to do as little or as much as you liked. And having Dane with me, wearing jeans that hugged his fabulous ass and a tee that stretched tight around the muscles in his chest, made it even better.
He was not at all keyed up like me, of course. That he expected to find himself bored out of his mind only made his offer to come with me all the sweeter.
“Is this really necessary?” he asked, looking at the disposable cooler bag he was carrying. “Surely they sell food.”
“They do, but we’re better off taking our own lunch. The queues for the restaurants are often super long. Want me to carry the bag?”
The dark look he gave me was all offended alpha. Like I was trying to emasculate him or something.
I raised my hands, fighting a smile. “I was just asking.”
My offer to pay for the price of our admission was just as quickly rebuffed. Ignoring my protests, he paid for both our tickets.
Once we’d passed the security checkpoint and were walking toward the turnstiles, Dane threw me a sideways frown. “Why do you keep looking at me funny?”
“I’m still not convinced that you’re not sick,” I replied. “You sure you don’t have a fever or anything?”