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I winked at her. “A ‘ten’ on all counts.”

“You know it!” she said as she winked back at me and relaxed in the seat.

I enjoyed watching Jen snuggle her cute little butt into the soft leather of my car seats. She rested her arm on the center console and propped her chin in her palm.

“So, Doc, where are we going?”

“It’s a surprise.”

She frowned. “I’m not a fan of surprises.”

I glanced at her for a few seconds before returning my eyes to the road. She had retreated into the seat with her arms crossed. “Not all surprises are bad.”

“Humph.”

I didn’t answer right away. I navigated the car to the highway, enjoying the feel of the powerful engine under my foot and hand as I shifted gears and accelerated. Traffic was light, so I could split my attention between driving and try to analyze what she meant. Jen always seemed like someone who loved life. So what could have happened that she remembered with such distaste? Or maybe the question was who? Was she referring to Jake? No question that had ended with quite a surprise. No, her walls were up before Jake. He just reinforced them—with steel and cement. If I was going to get Jen to let me in, I was going to have to work hard to get her to trust me. And that might mean letting my own walls slip. And behind those walls might be one surprise too many for her. But I had to try.

“Try to trust me, Jen. I think you’ll like this surprise. And I promise, if you don’t like it, I’ll make it up to you.”

She twisted to face me. She raised her eyebrow. “And how do you know that I won’t say I don’t like it just to place you in my debt?” she replied.

Ahh. Flirty Jen was back. I grinned back at her. “I guess I’ll just have to trust you, too.”

I could feel her eyes on me as I changed lanes.

“Fair enough, Doc.” She closed her eyes, a slight smile on her lips.

It was a good enough start for me.

The car grew silent. I looked over and saw her eyes were still closed, and her breathing had grown slow and steady. I smiled. God, she was adorable, feisty one moment and all soft and content the next. For just a moment, I felt guilty dragging her out today when maybe she needed to rest, but I quickly squelched it. Somehow I sensed leaving her to herself today would make her withdraw further. Instead, we were talking and spending time together. I just hoped she liked the day I had planned. I turned the radio up enough to hear, but not to wake her, and lost myself in the music for the next several miles.

“Closet musician, huh?” Her sleepy voice startled me. I hadn’t realized I had been tapping out the notes with my fingers on my steering wheel and humming along to a popular song. I looked over and saw Jen stretching like a cat in her seat. “Ah, Sleeping Beauty awakes!”

A flush that filled her cheeks. “Yeah. I’m sorry about that. I guess I was more tired than I realized.”

“No problem. It was a late night.” She froze.Shit!I had spoken without thinking. I raced to think of a way to relax her again. “Besides, you’re cute when you sleep. Especially when you get this little bit of drool running along here.” I ran a finger from the corner of her mouth down to her chin.Her skin was so soft. I always thought lines like ‘skin as soft as rose petals’ were so cliché, but in Jen’s case it was true.

She slapped a hand to her face, trapping my finger. I laughed, knowing she wouldn’t find my words to be true. “Very funny, Tyler,” she slapped my hand away.

I laughed and clucked her chin, relieved as I saw the hint of a grin curl her mouth.

“How long was I sleeping?”

“About forty-five minutes.”

“Forty-five minutes!” She sat up and double checked the clock. “Where the hell are you taking me?”

“Relax! We’re almost there.” Even as I spoke, I caught sight of a sign that read, ‘North Carolina Zoo’ and slowed down for the exit.

“The zoo? You’re taking me to the zoo?” she sucked in a quick breath.

I wasn’t sure how to take her comment. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea. “I thought it would be fun to do something carefree today. I think there are a couple spring babies they’ve recently introduced to the public.”

“And who doesn’t love baby animals, right?” She smiled. “It’s perfect, Tyler. Really.”

Within minutes, we were parked and headed to the entrance. When she reached for her wallet, I pushed her hand aside, declaring I’d been raised a gentleman. Past the entrance, we stopped in front of a pole with signs pointing in various directions, each guiding visitors to one of the various attractions. “Where would you like to start?”

“Africa!” she exclaimed, grabbing my hand. “I love lions and tigers and elephants!”