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“Nah, I was going to, but I couldn’t do that to my friend. I cared about her, and I didn’t want her to get in trouble because of me.”
“That’s at least good to know.”
“I’m a good girl, Jackson.”
“Actually, I think you like to be naughty, Rebecca.”
“Being good all the time can be very overrated.”
Jackson pulled up outside a zoo, and she frowned. “A zoo? You’re taking me to a zoo?”
“I figured it would be fun, and I know they have a kickass picnic area. Deer roam freely, and I happen to like it here.”
They climbed out, and Jackson got their tickets. Folding her arms, she looked around at all the passing families. She had never been to a zoo. Her parents had always been too busy to bring her. Jackson came back to her. “Let’s go and check everything out, and then we can have lunch in a couple of hours.”
“I like that.” Linking her arm through his, they entered the main resort. “I’ve never been to a zoo.”
“Yeah, Bella let it slip that you hadn’t been. I wanted to do something special. Your parents never brought you here?” he asked.
“Well, my nanny hated animals, and she felt I could enjoy the mall a lot more than a bunch of stinking animals. Our days out usually consisted of different malls. It was okay, if you like that kind of thing, I guess.”
“I brought Bella here whenever she needed to forget about all of her troubles. I don’t know what it was, but it seemed to relax her here.”
“You’re a good father, Jackson.”
“Thank you. I’ve also been told I’m pretty good in the bedroom as well.”
She laughed, sighing, and pressing her head against his shoulder. This was perfect. Just being around him made her feel so happy.
Staring right in front of her, she saw a man holding a baby as he leaned down to kiss his woman, who was holding a little girl. They were the perfect family, and she saw the love on his face and on the woman’s face. What would it be like to be totally in love with one another that everything else failed to matter? She wouldn’t have to care about her parents or the restaurant.
Did she want to be a mother?
“Do you want kids?” she asked.
“I’ve got a very adult kid.”
“I know, silly. Did you want more kids?”
“I wanted loads of them, Rebecca. A whole house full of them. I wanted to be a family man, and instead I got a girl and a business.”
She heard the sadness in his voice. “Would you consider having more kids?”
“Rebecca?”
“No, you don’t have to answer right away. It’s … nothing. Forget I ever said anything. I’m just crazy. It’s all the marriage talk, and settling down that my parents were telling me last night. Ignore me.”
****
Jackson couldn’t just ignore her though. After they had gone to see the different species of animals, and Rebecca had pretty much crawled up his body over the spiders, he grabbed the picnic, and found a table by the lake.
He paused to watch her as she stared at the live deer drinking from the lake.
“They are beautiful,” she said. “So innocent and pure.”
No one approached the deer, and there was even a sign that asked for you to stay away. He set up their table instead, taking out the boxes of food that he had gotten from a deli Alaric had recommended.
Rebecca tucked some hair that had escaped her ponytail, and joined him.
