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I know he felt the shiver that passed through me. They might be easier to hide, but my suddenly damp panties were all the evidence I needed to know how much I wanted Tyler, too. Evan led us to one stall where two women dressed in purple zoo shirts stood outside of the stall’s tall, thick steel bars. They were washing down an elephant named C’sar with long-handled brushes. I was amazed that when given a hand signal, the elephant lifted one of his feet through a small opening.

The guys stood back and smiled when I was invited me to help. After carefully being instructed on how to move the brush to gently remove the packed-on mud from their hide, I got my turn at it. As we worked, they explained some of the elements of their job to care for the enormous mammals. I laughed in delight when the elephant swung his trunk toward me as if searching for something. Evan handed me some sweet potato slices, and I held the treat toward the bars. Sure enough, the trunk gently removed them from my hand and swung them into the large mouth. I turned toward Tyler. “Did you see that?”

He winked at me. “I’m glad you’re having fun. Just one more male you’ve got eating out of the palm of your hand.”

I laughed, but inwardly I was bewildered by his comment. It implied I held all the power in our relationship however I chose to define us. Yet, I knew I was the one yielding to him in ways I hadn’t done in a long time, and it scared the hell out of me.

Sooner than I would have liked, it was time to send C’sar back to his friends outside. Our host walked us back to the exit, and we said our goodbyes. “Thank you so much, Evan. I’ll never forget this experience.”

The car was quiet once we were back on the road. I mulled over the events of the day. Somehow, Tyler had been able to return some normalcy back to our relationship, simultaneously demonstrating that we could have fun together on our own terms and not just when we were with our friends. But I still couldn’t put a definition to our relationship. We’d definitely moved past mere tolerance of each other, but I’m not sure our new boundaries resembled friendship. Friendship implied harmony and understanding; we were too complex for that definition. Friends with benefits? Yuck. That would never end well. I wished I knew what he was thinking. Needing to break up the silence, I thanked him for an amazing day.

“I was hoping you would like it,” Tyler smiled sheepishly. “This morning, I saw your little collection of elephants on your dresser. Then I noticed a picture of you as a little girl posing with an elephant. You had such a big grin on your face. I took a chance that you might still like the real thing and called Evan.”

I knew well the picture he described. It had been taken during a family vacation to California. One of my favorite memories was a trip to the San Diego Zoo, where we went to an elephant show, and I’d fallen in love with the enormous, gentle giants. I didn’t mind that he’d nosed around my apartment and seen the pictures I had on my bookshelves. He’d probably been looking for some clue to learn more about the psycho mess he’d slept with last night. Most of the guys I had known never noticed or paid attention to small details like that, even if we’d dated each other for weeks. And in one visit, Tyler had noticed something small entirely on his own. I twisted sideways in the leather seat to face him. “That was thoughtful, Tyler. You’re very observant. That’s why you’re a good doctor.”

He glanced at me. “I guess.”

“Don’t be so modest, Doc. You are good. I saw firsthand how you took care of Kayla, and I’ve seen you on occasion at work at the hospital.” He smiled vaguely but didn’t comment. “When did you decide to become a doctor, anyway?”

I didn’t miss how his knuckles tightened on the steering wheel or how his jaw clenched slightly. “When I was seventeen, about the same time my mom died.”

I felt chagrined. I’d known Tyler for almost a year, yet I hadn’t known something big like this. “I didn’t know about your mom. I’m sorry for bringing up a painful memory.”

He smiled wryly, shrugged, and went back to focusing on his driving.

I sat back in my seat, studying him discreetly out of the corner of my eye. This day had been full of revelations regarding the man next to me. There was much more to him than just a handsome face and playboy attitude. I couldn’t deny my attraction to him, even more so after last night. But I needed to ignore my growing feelings for Tyler. I still didn’t think he was a man to form long-term commitments. It was probably best to keep things casual between us.

Right, Jen. You made a detour past casual last night and took the road straight toward self-destruction.

The rest of the trip continued in silence, with only occasional comments regarding a song on the radio or about the view out the window. It wasn’t long before he turned down the street that ran in front of my apartment complex. To my surprise, he bypassed my building and drove a block further until he pulled into a row of stores.

“What—”

“Stores are open now.” He winked at me. “Earlier, you said you needed to go shopping.”

“Oh,” I said. “Right. I do.” I wasn’t lying, I told myself. I really did need a few things. I supposed I better remember to add coffee to my cart.

To his credit, he didn’t make any further comments other than to offer to carry the hand basket I grabbed on the way in. I’m sure to the average observer we looked very domesticated as I dropped grapes, apples, a loaf of bread, a quart of milk, and my coffee alibi into the carrier. At the checkout stand, he moved to the side to glance through a men’s magazine. I tried to make small talk with the clerk, but she barely managed one-word replies; too much of her concentration was spent admiring Tyler’s backside. She finally had to look away when I ‘accidently’ dropped the required coins on the metal ramp beside the cash register. Tyler glanced up at the sound, saw my scowl, and looked at me questioningly. I shifted my gaze to the clerk, whose cheeks by now were bright red. His eyes lit up in amusement as he appeared to take in the situation. He placed the magazine back in the rack and stood beside me, flashing a charming smile at the clerk. “Thank you for your help. I’ll carry those for her,” he said, causing the poor girl to stammer as she bid us to have a good day.

“Quite the charmer, aren’t you?” I asked as we neared the exit.

He lifted a quizzical eyebrow, but before he could comment, another voice rang out, “Tyler! Yoo-hoo, over here.”

We both whipped around toward the voice to see a stunning redheaded woman dressed in tight jeans and a gauzy shirt that showed every detail of her lacy bra beneath. She practically glided toward us, and I found myself envious of how she was able to walk so smoothly in her high-heeled sandals. It was all I could do to keep from looking over my casual clothes that I’d rushed to put on early this morning. Had that only been a few hours ago? So much had happened I’d almost forgotten the circumstances that began our day.

Stop it. You’re not trying to compete for his attention, so what does it matter that she looks like she could have stepped off the pages of a glamor magazine? But seriously, who dresses like that to come to the grocery store, unless she’s trying to bag someone?

I chuckled at my own lame grocery store joke, causing her to look at me before she dismissed me with a sniff. She stepped closer to Tyler so she could rest her hands on his chest. She ran them up to his shoulders and stretched her neck so she could kiss him. Only a last second move by Tyler caused her to hit his cheek instead of his lips.

“Ainsley,” he greeted with a nod of his head while he pulled her arms from around his neck. He didn’t even spare me a glance.Hmm. I couldn’t stop remembering our conversation this morning where I’d accused him of basically being a womanizer. Your Honor, I present Exhibit number six.

“Hey, handsome. I’ve missed you. I tried calling you all day yesterday, but you didn’t return my call,” she pouted. “I was hoping we could pick up where we left off last time. You did promise.” She glanced at me once again, and her petite nose wrinkled delicately. “I wasn’t aware you had company. Is she your sister?”

“I told you—”

“You know, I’m just going to walk on home so you two can talk.” I pulled the bag of groceries from Tyler’s hands and started to walk away.

“Jen—”