Page 26 of Crocodile Tears
Clearing my throat, I attempted to push away the thoughts of enveloping her curves with my limbs.This isn’t about Dove, Icoached myself.You just really need to get laid. That’s all. A few more days of shooting and then you’ll be back in New York. Get it together.
With that wayward bout of lust resolved, I pressed on, trailing after Dove behind the scenes of the zoo. She paused to drop a kiss to Matilda’s head and a smile tugged my lips. It was nice seeing this softer side of her again. She’d always loved her animals but let so few people see this gentler person that I knew existed beneath her steely exterior.
“First week as director has been pretty eventful, hm?” I asked, needing to fill the silence between us.
“Mission statements, core values, logo design,” she stated, listing things off on her fingers.
“A bungled toucan release,” I added with a chuckle.
“That reminds me,” she said to herself, deflating a little. “I still need to radio Finch to keep an eye on Eddie after his near-death experience and write up an incident report.”
“I can help,” I offered. “What other things does the trust need?”
“A permanent director,” she lamented, and I wondered again if heaping this massive responsibility on her had been too much. She seemed to love it and loathe it in equal measure. “How long until you find a replacement?”
“We just announced it.” I stretched my arms side to side as we walked, wishing I had a snake or something to hold onto. “We will probably need a couple more weeks to line up candidates at least. Maybe after the gala?”
Her forehead creased. “The zoo gala?”
“I forgot about the zoo gala,” I replied with a nostalgic laugh. “Those were the best. Remember how we used to sneak into the catering and steal whole platters to eat up by the tiger lookout?”
“We blamed the missing hors d'oeuvres on the twins, but I think Mom knew it was us.” Dove smiled at the memory, andit felt like another tiny win for me. “They’ve become so popular we hold one every season now. The fall one is my favorite; we do a whole spooky pumpkin patch thing. It’s great. The springtime one is only in a few weeks. I’ve ordered an ungodly amount of tulips for it. Pastel everything. A whole host of swanky patrons are coming out for that weekend to party, so hopefully we are able to turn a good profit.” She seemed to realize she’d started getting swept away in bragging about her event planning endeavors. I could’ve listened to her go on, but she refocused. “So if you’re not talking about one of the zoo galas, then what?”
“We'll do a big fundraiser party in New York,” I explained. “To officially launch Lucky Role Conservation Trust. I have some friends who will be in the city and the guest list will be exclusive, and obviously you will need to be there as director.”
She came to a screeching halt again. “What?”
“We’re hoping to have big donors in attendance. It’s our charity?—”
“It’syourcharity!”
“Andyouare my charity’s current director, which means you need to be there.”
“Oh no, absolutely not.”
“Come on,” I goaded. “It’ll be fun. Walk the red carpet with me.” I wasn’t going to take this opportunity to tell her that red carpets were a gauntlet of the rudest and most demonic photographers in the world.
“There's going to be a red carpet for afundraiser?” Dove asked.
“There's always a red carpet when celebrities are invited to events.”
“There are going to be celebrities?” she balked. “I mean besides you.”
I really liked the idea that she’d forgotten I was a celebrity for a moment. I kept wishing Dove would treat me like Deacon, the friend she’d once known, and not Deacon Harrow, the brand.
“You'll be fine,” I assured her. “You'll be my date.”
“I willnotbe your date,” she gritted out, and I swore the blood vessels around her temples might burst along with her protestation. “Attending is one thing. Attending and getting my photo taken is another. And attending as yourdateis entirely out of the question.”
“Cody thinks it will look good if we go together,” I pleaded. “Show off our alliance.”
“No.”
I knew it was self-serving. It would make me look good and it wouldn’t benefit her in any way. If anything, it would open her up to more public scrutiny. But the idea of her stepping into my world, of her on my arm, of me not having to navigate the shark-infested waters alone was something I couldn’t pass up.
“Please?” I begged, clasping my hands together. “What do I have to do to make you say yes?” I reached out toward her but then dropped my hands when Matilda turned her triangular head toward me. “I can’t tell if your shoulders are perpetually bunched around your ears or if you just really need a massage.”
“Probably both.”
