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He shoots her a look. “At that rate, we won’t make any money.”
“There are grown adults out there who have never been to Dreamland, Rowan. Now is not the time to be stingy.”
He looks over at Declan for help, but Declan is solely looking at me.
“I didn’t realize you had never been here before.”
I shrug. “You never asked.”
The hand on my thigh squeezes harder. I shift my gaze toward Declan, and the look on his face sends a shiver down my back.
“Would you like to check out the park?”
“For work?”
“No. For fun.”
The idea makes me laugh. “You hate this place.”
“I’m willing to pretend that I don’t for a day.”
“What about prepping for our walkthrough with Yakura?”
“The park will still be here tomorrow. We can talk business then.”
Heat spreads through my chest. I wrap my arms around his neck and give him a squeeze. “I’d love that.”
Declan speaks up to the rest of the group. “Plans have changed.”
Zahra squeals with delight, and like that, our day is completely altered because Declan declared it so.
All for me.
* * *
Zahra is the best tour guide ever. Turns out she has been a part of Dreamland since she was a child, so she knows everything about the place. With her knowledge and Rowan’s ability to help us skip any lines, there is nothing stopping us from exploring the whole park in a day. Well, nothing but me. I try my hardest to keep focused, but I am distracted every few feet by the different flower and plant displays. The array of colors captures my attention, and I can’t help stopping each time to check out the perfectly designed topiaries of different Dreamland characters.
Declan looms over me like a shadow, assessing my every move.
I turn toward him with heated cheeks. “What?”
“I should have known you would care more about the plants than the rides.”
“Because look at this! It’s art!” I throw an arm up at the sculpture of Iggy the Alien, Brady Kane’s iconic first character. The entire thing is made up of trimmed green leaves and a ball of wire.
“Art?” His voice has a hint of amusement despite his blank face.
Zahra bounces over to us. “You know, if you’re interested, we could take you to check out the horticulture department.”
My eyes widen. “Really?”
She smiles. “Sure. It would be no big deal.”
“Oh my God. I’d love that!”
“With the way you keep taking photos and gawking at their plants, they’ll probably feel like rock stars.”
“That’s because theyarerock stars.”
