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They made their way to the car and took their seats.
Rose leaned forward to keep from touching the leather. Her shirt was stuck to her back by sweat, and she didn’t want to compound the stickiness by pressing the fabric into her skin. She risked a glance at Stavros. His face had a sheen of perspiration across it. Even sweaty, he remained attractive.
Stavros flashed her a smile, and she turned her head to focus on the children.
Rose felt her cheeks warm from having been caught staring at him yet again. If only he wasn’t handsome and kind and charming and . . . She twisted her ring. Her heart was decidedly letting him in, through cracks in her well-built armor, and she didn’t mind a bit.
After a quick lunch at a local café that more than satisfied Rose’s appetite, they continued onto the aquarium.
“Wow!” Adonis let go of Rose’s hand and raced toward a tortoise enclosure. “That’s so cool!” He looked back at her. “Can I pet him?”
“Uh.”
“Of course.” A young woman in a staff T-shirt approached. “We encourage our human friends to interact with our animal friends.”
Rose, Stavros, and Nefeli joined Adonis.
The young woman added, “You’re welcome to take pictures too.”
“Can I ride him?” Adonis tapped on the tortoise’s carapace.
The young woman giggled. “I’m afraid not. He’s too small, and you’re too big.”
“I want a tortoise I can ride,” Adonis said.
“He’d have to be a really old tortoise and a different breed,” the young woman said. “This guy is blind.”
Adonis stroked the shell.
“That’s sad,” Nefeli said as she joined Adonis by the tortoise. “His shell is so smooth.” She ran her hand over the ridges connecting the plates.
“Most of our animal friends are rescues, and a few are abandoned pets,” the young woman explained. “We nurse them back to health and give them a home.” She turned her focus on the adults. “You’ll find a staff member near the creatures. Many of them may be handled. All you have to do is ask.”
“Thank you,” Rose said.
“I want to meet some more animals.” Adonis tugged on Rose’s hand.
As they visited the various exhibits, Rose felt Stavros’s eyes on her. She sensed when he was in proximity to her without even looking. Over time, she’d grown to have that same sense with her late husband. Her relationship with Stavros seemed to have an accelerated path. She tried to keep up with the new path this relationship was forging minute by minute. The process was both thrilling and exciting, besides being a little nerve-racking.
“He’s so big.” Nefeli pointed to an iguana munching on lettuce and carrots.
“That’s one of our longest residents,” said an older gentleman in a staff T-shirt. “He’s quite used to people being around, but we ask you not to touch him. Iguanas tend to bond with a specific person and can be aggressive toward anyone else. Their tails make a powerful whip.”
Rose put a hand on Nefeli’s shoulder to prevent her from getting closer to the iguana. “Shouldn’t he be kept away from people, then?” She felt Stavros’s body heat along her left side before he entered her peripheral vision.
“He’s been here since he was a baby. In all those years we’ve never had an incident.” The man smiled.
“How long do iguanas live?” Stavros asked.
“In captivity about a decade, because of malnutrition and poor husbandry. In the wild they can live up to twenty years. This boy is going on fifteen years. We give him excellent care.”
Rose snapped pictures of Stavros and the children with the iguana.
Snakes were next on their self-guided tour.
Stavros raised a brow. “Are youprosnake orantisnake? In my experience people are one or the other. There isn’t any middle ground.”
“I don’t have any problem with snakes,” Rose said. “They are common enough in French gardens to be no big deal.”