I nodded.
“Twenty-three dollars.” Through the glass separating her indoor work area from outside, she motioned to a bag of peanuts. “Would you care to feed the elephants and support our ongoing efforts at conservation?”
“Oh, uh...” Mentally calculating my bank balance, I hesitated.
“They’re only five dollars each and the elephantslovethem.”
I had fifty bucks in my account until next Friday. If I bought the tickets, two bags of peanuts, and lunch, I’d be in danger of overdrawing the account.
“We’ll take two bags.” His words, spoken with a raspy, faint Eastern European accent, sent heat rushing straight to my lower belly.
“No, this is my treat.” I tried to catch his eye, but he kept his gaze on the cashier and plopped two twenty-dollar bills on the counter and slid them under the glass divider.
“Much appreciated.” The woman’s eyes twinkled as she rang up our purchases, then she handed over the passes and two bags of elephant food. “You two have a wonderful time.”
As we passed through the turnstile into the zoo, I stopped and turned to Cain. “Thank you, but you didn’t have to do that. It was my idea, and I should be the one to pay—”
“It was nothing.” He placed one of the bags in my palm, the clear plastic crinkling. “Besides, it wasn’t my money. I blinked it from someone else’s pocket.”
“Cain!” Blood rushed to my face. “You can’t go around stealing other people’s stuff. It’s—”
“Relax,” he said as he pulled open his bag, reached inside, then crushed the outer hull of a peanut. “It came from a mafia guy. He’ll never miss it.” He nodded his chin toward a tall, muscular bald man dressed in a slick suit walking alongside a family. The man’s gaze swept over the crowd as if expecting FBI agents to jump from the bushes.
If he’s a bodyguard for the mafia, then it’s probably a valid assumption.
“You...” I didn’t know what to say. “Just because he’s a bad guy still doesn’t give you the right to steal.”
He strolled to the first enclosure to the right, where a zoo sign gave information about the Pink Flamingo and its habitat.
I followed, not sure if I should be exasperated or tickled.
Cain finished chewing on a peanut and swallowed then propped his forearms on the black metal railing separating onlookers and birds.
“Wait.” I gripped his upper arm with one hand. “How’d you know he’s in the mafia?”
He leaned forward to peer at a flamingo, its one leg pulled up and hidden in its feathers, the other long limb supporting its entire weight.
“Cain...” Twisting my body to put my face in his sight, I arched an eyebrow. “Answer me. We agreed to come here so we can talk.”
He lifted a hand and cupped my cheek. “I can delve into a mind.” His stare roved my face, as if searching for something.
I frowned. “What is—”
“Mindreading.” He lifted a palm and cradled the other side of my face.
What the hell? Has he been digging around in my brain?I stiffened at the thought.
“And before you ask, no, I haven’t read your mind.” He tucked a piece of hair behind my ear. “I did try it the first time we met, but decided I didn’t want to risk damaging your brain.”
I studied his face, looking for any telltale signs of lies but it seemed open and honest. Hopeful, even.
“I shouldn’t have wiped your memories of our first encounter, but after meeting you, something in here”—he placed a hand over his chest—“changed, and I wanted to start over, even if it was based on a lie.”
Quiet resolve lurked in the set of his mouth, like invisible armor against the world, and I longed to help him burst through its hard—yet brittle—layers.
“It’s okay.” I leaned in and hugged him close, loving the way his toned body felt next to mine.
“Can you forgive me?” Usually, he hesitated at my contact, but this time, he squeezed me as if he also didn’t want to let go.
