Page 30 of Escorting the Mogul

“Yep, she was French. Very strict,” I said. “But she used to make usmacarons, so she wasn’t all bad.”

“Huh.” A note of concern crept into her voice. “And your mom…?”

I shrugged. “She died when I was little.”

“I’m so sorry.” Jenny sounded like she might cry.

“It’s okay.” I squeezed her hand. “I don’t talk about her very often, so it makes me happy to think about her. Thank you for asking.”

“Aw, that’s real nice.” She sniffled.

“What about you?” I asked.

“I told you, I go to the aquarium all the time.” She squeezed my hand back. “The seals are always there for me. Even when the weather sucks.”

Dodging my real question, she didn’t say more. Jenny had opened the door by asking about my mom, but she didn’t seem as though she was going to walk through it. I had to respect that, even though I wanted to know more about her. But if she wasn’t going to offer, I didn’t want to pry.

I enjoyed our walk. Even though I was mildly hungover and should have been drained from having all the alcohol and sex possible in the past twenty-four hours, I felt invigorated. Handslinked together, Jenny and I both had a bounce in our step. People we passed on the sidewalk smiled at us. We smiled back. The sun shined down, and the only clouds in the sky were the cute little white puffy ones.

It was like something out of a rom-com, and I didn’t watch rom-coms.

Finally, we made it to the aquarium. “There they are!” Jenny pointed to a giant tank located near the entrance. Massive gray seals covered in black spots swam back and forth, gliding past each other in the clear blue water.

Little children shrieked with delight as they swam past. The exhibit was already crowded, with families milling around, pushing strollers, carrying backpacks, and all the other crap you needed when you had kids. One of the mothers called for her twins, and a space opened up—Jenny hustled me over.

“Look at them! Look at those eyebrows!” The seals had both bushy white whiskers and wiry eyebrows, which they seemed to raise as they swam their laps.

“Aren’t they cute?” Jenny cooed. “They remind me of dogs. Big, fat, swimming dogs.”

A particularly fat seal somersaulted in front of us, and I laughed. “He’s showing off for you.”

“That one’s named Tuba.” Jenny pointed at the chubby guy. “I had to ask one of the girls what his name was—he’s such a cutie.”

“Tuba? That’s funny.”

“Yeah, and that one’s Reggae and that’s Chewbacca…” She rattled off a few more names as the creatures whizzed by.

“You weren’t kidding. You really do come here a lot,” I said.

Jenny kept her hands on the glass, her eyes on the seals. She looked genuinely delighted. “They always cheer me up. And it’s cheaper than therapy.”

I watched as one of the seals floated near Jenny, seeming to wave its flipper. My heart melted a little. “That’s true,” I agreed.

“Yeah,” she said. “And these guys are always here for you. Rain or shine. Good days and bad days. They always make me smile no matter what. How lucky isthat?”

I turned and inspected Jenny. Her face was so open and happy as the seals torpedoed by, friends that she’d made from her side of the glass.

I’d thought it before, but now I knew for sure. I’d never met anyone like her.

“It’s lucky,” I agreed again. “Pretty freaking lucky.”

JENNY

Cole wasn’t as obsessedwith the seals as I was, but he still liked them. After about ten minutes, I was ready to go. “You still want to go shopping?” I asked.

“Do you?”

I shrugged. “Shopping bores me. But you don’t,” I admitted. “So if you like it, I betcha I can like it.”

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