Page 74 of Kiss Me Now
Man, I loved that smile.
Well, notloved. Not like that. But I’d really missed seeing it.
I made a decision that I decided not to second guess. “I’m going out for lunch,” I told Sherrie. “Will you be here later?”
“For a couple more hours, at least. Eat something good.”
“You want anything?”
“Caesar salad with chicken, thanks.”
The zoo wasn’t far, but I didn’t want to waste time by walking, so I drove over, parked, and walked in. Like all Smithsonian exhibits, the zoo was free, but I hesitated at the entrance, studying the map to guess where she might be. It had been almost a half hour since Brooke had posted from the panda exhibit. She could be anywhere in the zoo right now if she hadn’t left.
Apes. I couldn’t say why, but a gut feeling said she’d be there.
I took the shortest route, and sure enough, as soon as I walked through the arch into the Great Ape House, I spotted the blue shirt Brooke had been wearing in her post. She stood watching an enormous silverback female grooming a baby gorilla. I was sort of indifferent to animals, but even I smiled at the cuteness of the ugly little thing.
I got close enough to be heard over the other zoo visitors but not close enough to scare her. “I have a theory that the uglier a baby is, the cuter it is.”
Brooke jumped and turned. “Ian!”
“Hey.” I tried not to grin like an idiot, but the corners of my mouth weren’t cooperating. Dang, I had missed her.
“What are you doing here?” she demanded even as she came over to hug me.
Maybe she meant it to be a quick and friendly hello, but it lasted longer than the hugs I gave any of my friends. I couldn’t tell if it was her or me.
“I wanted to see some apes,” I said when she stepped back after a minute.
“How did you find me?”
“Did you forget what I do for a living?”
She stepped back and gave me a slight smile. “You followed my Instagram.”
“Was hoping for some sexy Willard content.”
Her smile got bigger. “Want to go see the pandas again? They mostly sleep but they’re still so cute.”
“Sure.”
She reached out like she was going to take my arm but then dropped her hands to her sides. “Let’s go. How’s life?”
“Boring,” I reported as we headed to the pandas. “All work, all the time.”
“Same.”
“Tell me about the house. How’s the makeover going?”
She kept me entertained with her list of grievances and triumphs as we walked over. The house became a character the way she talked about it, and it made me want to show up the next weekend to dig in and help her with the work.
“Thanks again for the swing,” she said as we lined up to see the pandas. “I’m waiting to put it up as a reward for finishing all the downstairs walls. Thinking about sitting in it in the evenings is getting me through some long hours of spackling and sanding.”
“It’s good you took a break.” I wanted her to say she’d driven out because she missed me. I knew she wouldn’t. But it didn’t change the wanting.
She shrugged. “I decided to celebrate Labor Day weekend by not laboring.”
“Fair enough.”
