The Boss Upstairs - Roya Carmen Page 0,92

in full awe. The sight of his sweet face almost makes me cry. If only Donovan could have known him, could have seen all his best qualities reflected in him; curiosity, kindness, and humor.

I’m teary eyed when I turn my gaze back to the aquarium just in time to see a stingray swim by. I’m not sure why exactly, but those things have always scared me to death.

The day is still young when we head to the Amazon exhibition. I’m not particularly excited about this part because I don’t like snakes very much, but I know Ethan will probably be fascinated by them.

It’s nice and warm in here. Weston still has Ethan in his arms, seemingly unaffected. I’d be dead on the floor by now. The man must work out every day. Seriously though, there’s nothing sexier than a gorgeous man holding a cute toddler. I’ve seen the stares he’s attracted. All these ladies are probably under the assumption that I’m his wife, and I kind of love that.

Mine, mine, mine, ladies.

I wince at the sight of the anaconda, but Ethan loves it. He pokes at the window, and Weston pulls his finger back and quietly tells him the big snake doesn’t like noise. It’s hard to believe that this thing could smother me and then eat me. The thought makes me tremble.

Everything in this exhibit is scary. The pirañas really freak me out, but maybe that has a little something to do with the piraña movie I saw a few years ago. I shouldn’t have watched it. It is now a phobia for life.

Next are some very scary looking spiders, and Ethan doesn’t like these at all. He fusses and Weston is quick to pull him away. He brings him to the stingrays, and I study them as I watch them swim. They look harmless enough, but they still unsettle me. Maybe it’s their weird little faces, or the fact that I know they can sting. I keep thinking about the Crocodile Hunter. I believe he was killed by a stingray.

We make our way to the Wild Reef exhibition, and Weston tells us we will love it. “There are lots of sharks,” he tells Ethan.

And he’s certainly not telling any stories. There are tons of different species of sharks. “That one’s a black-tip reef shark,” he tells us as the shark swims by us. “That’s a zebra shark,” he says to Ethan, “the one with the spots. Pretty cool, right?”

“Cool,” Ethan repeats and squeals again.

I’m mesmerized by the school of colorful striped fish, and all the species intermingled. I wonder if this is what it’s really like in a real coral reef, or if this is just a hyped version, put together for our benefit. I’m relaxed, enjoying the view, when out of nowhere, this grotesque leopard snake-like fish sneaks out from under the coral. “Yikes!”

Weston laughs. “That’s the honeycomb moray eel.”

“Kind of ugly.”

He smiles and shakes his head. Ethan is captivated by it.

“See that fish over there?” Weston points in the distance. “That’s the white spotted guitarfish. It’s kind of a mix between a shark and a stingray. Fascinating, isn’t it?”

“Yes, very fascinating indeed.”

He cocks a brow. “Are you being smart again?”

I laugh. “Kind of.”

He presses his mouth against my ear. “I think I should give you a spanking later. For being such a little brat.”

I smile. Yes, please.

“No seriously, I’m loving this. It’s like a party for my eyes.”

He raises a brow. “Are you being snarky again, Grasshopper?”

I laugh. “Maybe a little.” I lean into him and whisper, “I want to be naughty and get spanked again.”

He bites his lip and twitches.

“The best is still coming,” Weston tells me as we leave the Coral Reef exhibition. “Ethan will love it.”

“What is it?” I ask, curious.

“You’ll see.”

I’m very eager to see.

Until we get there.

“Hell, no.”

Weston shrugs. “What?”

“No way I’m touching a stingray.”

“It’s fun,” he says, as if there’s nothing to worry about. “Just try it.”

“No,” I say, resolute.

“Ethan will like it,” he insists.

“I don’t want him to touch them either.”

Weston shakes his head. “You’re being ridiculous, Gretchen.”

He takes my hand and leads me to the shallow stingray touch pool. Dozens of them are swimming around, just waiting to sting me.

My pulse races.

“First of all, these are the most docile of stingrays there are. They were especially chosen.”

“Oh, yeah. They’re friendly, are they? If I told you a Grizzly bear was very docile and super nice, would you still want to pet him?”

He laughs. “The tail spines are ground