Page 74 of Playing for Possession
“It’s our last day together. We should do something memorable.”
Our last day together. My heart dropped. “You mean our last day in Menorca?”
He frowned. “Yes, I meant that.”
An uneasy feeling washed over me. Soon we’d be on the flight back. What was it going to be like? I looked up to see Kieran watching me.
“It’s going to be OK,” he said, as though reading my mind. “My mum is desperate to meet you, by the way. She’s been asking about you.”
“I’d like that. You’ll have to meet my dad. He’s going to love you. Have you ever spoken to him? He’s always loved Calverdale, even before he became a shareholder.”
He took off his baseball cap and fanned his face with it. “Your dad, right. I’ve seen him around.”
A guide greeted us and took us to a large mesh enclosure full of exotic birds. He talked us through feeding one of the large parrots. We admired a green-and-red parrot just like the one on the billboard, on a high perch. Gently, Kieran stroked the bird’s vibrant head with the back of his finger.
“My dad is doing this thing, actually. He’s having a living funeral.”
Kieran’s eyebrow lifted. “A what?”
“I know. Dad never likes to do things by halves. It’s a gathering really. He had a health scare, and it’s made him even more morbid than usual. Everyone is going to be there. He’s invited lots of people from the club. I wondered if...”
This was a lot to ask. My whole family would be there. But this was my chance to show off my new Premier League boyfriend.My cousins were going to flip out. Although, was he my boyfriend? He’d said he wanted to be exclusive. It was weird that I’d gone on this trip single and I’d be coming home with my first real boyfriend. If Kieran was going to be in my life, then he had to meet my family.
“I wondered if you’d come.”
He took my hand. “If you want me to, I’ll come.”
“You don’t mind?”
“No.”
What a relief. “And that way you can meet everyone. It’s not too much, is it?”
“Shit.” Kieran snapped his hand away from the parrot. “Little fucker bit me.”
He shook his finger in the air and gripped it close. I couldn’t help my chuckle.
He raised a brow. “Oh, you think that’s funny?”
His annoyance only made me laugh harder. I threaded my arm through Kieran’s and led him to the next enclosure. We walked a trail with lemurs on either side holding their hands open to soak up the sun, as though meditating. A flash of black and white flared in my peripheral vision and a lemur landed heavily on Kieran’s back. He bent forward, his eyes narrowed.
“Get this thing off me.”
A laugh erupted from me at his stern expression. “Why are these animals all obsessed with you?” I pulled out my phone. “Hang on, I need a photo.”
“I’m serious, get this thing off me before it does a shit. This is a Givenchy T-shirt.”
He wasn’t serious. His eyes were sparkling with humor. I’d never seen him more playful. Any second now and he might actually laugh.
Giggles racked my body so much that it was hard to hold still to take the photo. “Say cheese.”
He rolled his eyes. “Where are the keepers? I’ve been assaulted by a parrot and now a lemur. I didn’t rent out an entire zoo to be harassed by the wildlife.”
My stomach creased with laughter. “Stop. You’re cracking me up. You’re like a reverse Doctor Dolittle. Doctor Do-too-much. You’ve riled this place up.”
With an incredible leap, the lemur bounded away into the trees within the enclosure.
He shook his head. “I love animals like family... with all my heart, but best from a safe distance.”
