“I got you,” he says, gently prying her fingers from his eyes.
“It’s so high,” she declares, a slight quiver in her voice.
“Do you want me to give you a piggyback instead?” I ask.
“You won’t drop me, will you, Olly?” she asks, her voice so,sovulnerable, and yet…full of quiet, reverent hope. Tears spring to my eyes unbidden.
He lets out a soft chuckle, but his voice cracks when he says, “Of course not, Molly-Mae. I got you.”
She relaxes, and before I know it, her chin is resting on the top of his head as we continue walking. I snap a few shots of them together—neither of them noticing—while they study the Meerkats. They have the biggest grins, and I’m not sure which of them is enjoying this more.
After another half hour, Molly starts with a few bouts of yawning, and I know it’s time to call it a day.
“Okay, it’s time to get going,” I say. Home, dinner, bath, bed. They give me matching pouts, and I can’t help but laugh. “Hey, don’t look at me like that,” I say, crossing my arms.
“Fine, but I want to stop by the gift shop on the way out,” Olly says, taking my hand in his.
“Molly, do you want to pick out a sweet for tomorrow?” I ask when he sets her on her feet. She nods, eagerly pulling me over to the stand with different kinds of sweets.
“I’ll meet you outside,” Olly says, and I nod over my shoulder.
Molly eyes the assortment in front of her. It doesn’t take her long to pick a giant lollypop, and we make our way to the tills to pay.
I can’t see Olly when we get outside, so we wait by the exit. When his palm touches my lower back, I relax. “There you both are,” he says, kissing my temple.
“Thought we’d lost you,” I say.
“Molly, I got you something—close your eyes.” She doesn’t miss a beat, squeezing her eyes closed. “Olly,” I reprimand.
“Oh, hush yourself, woman,” he says, teasing, causing Molly to let out a nervous giggle. He pulls a flamingo that’s wearing a tutu from behind his back, and I cover my mouth. “Okay, open,” he says.
Her eyes widen when she spots the fluffy pinkness in front of her. She slowly raises her hand. “It’s all yours, Princess,” he says.
Pulling it into her chest, she looks up at him with a tender expression that melts my heart, and without me even having to prompt her, she says, “Thank you.” Molly gently strokes the flamingo’s fur, in complete awe of her gift.
I put my arm around his waist and squeeze his hip. He kisses the top of my head. I hold out my hand for Molly, but she reaches for his instead.
Chapter Forty-Three
OLLY
Today I'll be meeting Rachel's parents at the annual Help for Heroes charity day. She doesn't talk about them much—well at all, if I'm honest.
"We only have to stay awhile, and then we can get out of here," she says, pushing her shoulders back and taking a deep breath before we exit the car.
I join her outside, push her up against the door with my body.
"It will be fine, and you look beautiful," I say, inching closer to her delectable lips, which I am dying to kiss, but I don't want to ruin her lip gloss.
"Thank you. But no doubt my mother will say something about my appearance."
I slide my hands down to her hips and give them a gentle squeeze. "Believe me, there is nothing wrong with how you look." I move my lips to her throat and flick my tongue out, licking a tiny path to her ear lobe before sucking it into my mouth. She gasps, and her hands grab my waist, pulling me flush into her body. My erection strains against the material of my trousers.
"I don't want to go in now—I'd rather you took me somewhere and did naughty things to me with your tongue," she purrs, exposing her throat, and I can't hold back my groan.
I pull away from her, cupping her face in my hands, her eyes searching my face. "I promise I can do that for you later." I keep staring at her lips.
"Are you going to at least kiss me?" she asks.
