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He looks down at me. “At least I don’t have to pretend to like people today.”
A laugh explodes out of me. The driver and guide look somewhat horrified, so I calm their worries. “He’s kidding…”
“I’m not,” he replies dryly.
The driver forces a chuckle while the guide looks uncomfortably at me. “We should get going then. The animals wait for no one.”
The driver hops in the front seat while the guide settles into the one hanging off the side of the vehicle. Declan gets on the special truck first. He extends his hand for me to grab, and I’m lifted onto the tall platform with ease. His hand tightens around mine, sending a current of energy up my arm.
He releases it like it burned him.
“So, what animals are you most excited to see today?” the guide asks.
“A leopard!” I clap my hands together.
The guide whistles before giving the driver a look.
“Is that okay?” I ask, concern etching its way into my voice.
He nods. “Of course. We do our best to find the leopards, but they’re cunning creatures.”
“Oh.” My smile falls a fraction.
“We’ll do everything we can to try to find them.”
I nod. “Of course. No pressure.”
The guide turns toward Declan. “And you, sir? What animal would you like to see?”
He gestures toward me. “Whatever she wants.”
“You don’t have a favorite animal?” I ask.
“Seeing as I’m not five, no.”
I try to coax an answer out of him. “Come on. I know it was a long time ago, but think back to your childhood. There had to be at least one animal you liked more than the rest.”
He shoots me a withering glare. “Elephants.”
“Elephants?”
His lips twitch. “What did you expect? A lion?”
“Honestly? Yes.”
“They’re overrated.”
“And elephants aren’t?”
His eyes shift toward the landscape. “My mom liked them.”
My chest tightens from his admission. The lost look in Declan’s eyes threatens my control over my tear ducts. Something about the way he speaks of his mother always seems to soften me toward him like magic.
I don’t think as I grab his balled-up fist and lace our fingers together. “She had good taste.”
A noise gets trapped in his throat before he places his other hand on top of mine, securing it to his thigh. My body vibrates like I touched a live wire.
I look over at the guide. “All right, you heard the man. Let’s go find him some elephants.”
