“Are you here to visit the Cutty Sark or one of the other museums?” Desmond asked, stepping over to join Javier, his voice gentle and his manner completely changing to something so much more like the man he was when they were at home that it started a warm pulsing in Javier’s chest.
“The museum,” the girl said, still sniffing. “Miss said we were to get lunch and meet near the toilets, but nobody is here.”
Javier’s heart went out to her. There was nothing scarier than a class trip into the city when you were young and small. He guessed at once that there had been some kind of miscommunication that had taken the girl to the wrong place.
“Well, sweetheart, why don’t we help you find your class again,” Javier said, standing and looking around. “They can’t have gone far.”
He shifted to stand protectively by her side, but was careful not to reach out for her or touch her. God only knew what might happen if someone got the wrong idea and cried bloody murder.
“What’s your name?” Desmond asked as they started walking toward the Cutty Sark and the multiple school groups that were gathered here and there nearby.
“Katie,” the girl sniffed.
“Well, I’m Desmond and this is Javier, and we’ll help you find your class in no time,” Desmond said, taking up a protective position on Katie’s other side but also not touching her.
“Thank you,” Katie said in a watery voice.
“What’s your teacher’s name?” Javier asked as he studied the school groups while they walked, searching for one with kids the right age whose uniforms matched Katie’s.
“Miss Walter,” Katie sniffed.
“I bet Miss Walter is nice,” Desmond kept up the conversation as well. The smile he’d put on for the little girl had Javier wishing he was wearing a school uniform and bows. Hiskindness and care for the child was a whole other side of him that Javier hadn’t yet seen.
He liked it.
A lot.
“She’s nice,” Katie said, gaining a bit more confidence as they walked. “She wears funny shoes.”
Javier tried to hide a grin as he glanced over Katie’s head at Desmond. Desmond shrugged as if he had no idea what that meant and smiled in return.
“Teachers are always better when they wear funny shoes or jumpers, don’t you think?” Javier asked, still looking at Desmond.
“I had a teacher in year five who always wore jumpers with things stuck to them,” Desmond said.
“Things?” Javier asked as they neared the edge of the school groups.
“Like starfish and seahorses if we were studying the ocean or rulers and protractors if we were studying maths.”
Katie giggled at that. She also reached for Desmond’s hand.
Taken by surprise, Desmond held her hand and smiled at her.
Javier’s heart did things that it would take a month of weekends to recover from, if he even wanted to recover. He looked so natural smiling at a little girl, even though he was dressed for the financial world.
It suddenly occurred to Javier that Desmond didn’t look at all natural in his power suit and sensible tie. He might actually have looked more like himself wearing a jumper with knitted starfish on it. He was too kind and too beautiful for the cutthroat world of business. How had he even stumbled into that world to begin with?
“Katie? Oh, gosh! There you are!”
Javier dragged his lovesick attention away from Desmond and glanced across at the harried young woman with bright pink shoes sporting oversized bows who raced toward them.
“I believe we found something you misplaced,” Desmond said formally, letting go of Katie’s hand so she could run to her teacher.
“Where have you been?” Miss Walter asked, embracing her pupil. “We’ve been looking everywhere for you.”
“You said the toilets,” Katie said, her voice muffled against her teacher’s shoulder.
“I meant the toilets at the museum,” Miss Walter laughed. She straightened and steered Katie back toward a large group causing mischief off to one side of the square. “Thank you,” she told Javier and Desmond before forgetting about them entirely.
