CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Indy slammed the apartment door behind her and yelled, “You summoned me?”
“What?”
She scowled at Draven when he stuck his head around the kitchen door. He could act confused all he wanted. “Lizz drove me home, as she said you ordered her to.”
“My sister is a busy body.” He stepped out of the kitchen and took her purse from her, dropped it on the side table, and crowded her up against the wall. “I know better than to summon you without at least coffee, a pentagram, and about five different types of chocolate.”
“Hah. Very funny.”
He brushed his nose against hers in the sweetest of Eskimo kisses. “That has been known to happen every now and again.” He ran his hand down her arm and interlinked his fingers with hers. “Will you come on a date with me?”
“She is a pain in the ass.”
“If you think I needed prompting from Lizz, then you are mistaken.” He stepped back and tugged her gently behind him, leading her into the kitchen. “I’ve made a picnic and have something I think you’ll enjoy planned.”
Her eyes widened when he opened the cover of the basket. “You made all this?”
“Yeah. Lemonade chicken sandwiches, chocolate covered strawberries, and I even made some of the peach tea you used to like.”
She couldn’t stay miffed with him when he’d gone through all this effort. When Lizz had insisted she had to go home to get ready for a date with Draven, she’d assumed he’d felt pressured into it. But this… this changed everything. “You are pulling out all the stops, huh?”
The doorbell rang, and he gave her a beautiful smile before turning away. “That will be the truck I had HQ send from the hire fleet we have access to.”
She leaned out of the kitchen to see him signing a clipboard and taking keys from the man standing there. She waited for the door to close before asking, “Where are we going?”
“It’s a surprise.” He glanced at his watch. “Change into comfy people clothes and wear shoes you don’t mind getting dirty.”
“Huh?”
“Chop, chop. Time’s a wasting.” He clapped his hands together and shooed her toward the bedroom. “I’ll gather everything, just bring you and we’re ready to roll.”
Excitement bubbled in her belly. A picnic? She didn’t remember the last time she’d had a picnic. MREs in the jungle didn’t count. Those were survival. A picnic was indulgence, in her book. She stripped off her slacks and blouse and stepped into a pair of jeans, then grabbed a tank and her favorite Vans. She considered changing them out for a different pair of shoes, but decided she could clean them later if needed. “Comfy clothes also means comfy shoes. Right?”
“Yeah.”
She felt the corners of her eyes crinkle as she hopped around on one foot to face him while putting on her second shoe. “Please tell me where we are going.”
“Nope. You’ll see in a little bit. I promise.”
“Can I have a hint?”
“You’ll love it.”
She followed him back to the kitchen. “That’s it? That’s all you are giving me?”
“Yup.” He grabbed the picnic basket and the keys. “Will you come on an adventure with me, baby?”
God, she loved when he growled that word… ‘baby.’ “Yes, yes, I will.”
“Your chariot awaits you downstairs.” He offered her his elbow and together they left the apartment, making sure the door was shut behind them.
It was ridiculous to be this excited about a picnic. A signpost caught her attention as they took an exit. “Are we going to the Cuyamaca Rancho State Park?”
“Nope.” He reached for her hand again and held it on his thigh as they drove toward Alpine.
She briefly thought about teasing him, stroking his leg or something else, but decided she didn’t need to. Being here in this moment in time was perfect just as it was. “I’m ridiculously excited,” she admitted.
“Me too.” He glanced at her briefly, smiled, then put his eyes back on the road. “Almost there.”
She craned her neck trying to see where the ‘there’ was. A small green and white sign was the only indication they were heading to a destination. He turned off the road onto a narrower one. Shortly after, he turned again, this time pausing for an electric gate to open.
“We’re here.”
“A petting zoo?”
Mind blown. He remembered.
She adored animals but had never been allowed to own one as a kid. Now as an adult, she lived in an apartment, and because her job had taken her away so much, she’d decided it wasn’t fair to own one. As a kid, her favorite days out had been when Mrs. Mac and Draven’s momma had taken them to a traveling petting zoo. “You remembered.”
“It’s not dumb, is it?”
He sounded so uncertain. How could he not know how awesome this was? “No.” She didn’t wait for him to open the door for her and jumped out of the rental. He could bitch about that later. Right now, she had better things to do. As he rounded the hood of the truck, she launched herself at him and hugged him tight before planting a kiss on his lips. “If there weren’t those kids over there by that car, I’d kiss you until you forget how to walk.”
He stumbled and almost dropped her as he put her back on her feet. “I almost dropped you anyway.”
Indy did a happy bounce, and she didn’t even care if it made her look like the toddler at the other car. “What animals do they have?”
“I don’t know for sure, but from what I can find online, they have everything from peacocks to buffalo and everything in between.” He laughed at her antics as she almost dragged him to the entrance. “Not a dumb idea. Phew.”
“I told you it wasn’t.” As he paid for their tickets, she peered through the gate and caught sight of a small white animal. Squinting to get a better look, her heart jumped when she finally figured out what it was. “It’s a coo, Drave, they have a mini highland coo.”
“That’s our Galloways, Miss,” the man behind the counter said. “We have two of them, Poncho and Star.” He beckoned her closer. “If you scratch under their chin, they will follow you around looking for more.” He reached for a package from a shelf under the till. “They also love these pellets.”
“We’ll take four of them.” Draven reached for his wallet.
“No, no,” the young man replied. “It’s not often someone knows a mini coo when they see one. It’s on me.”
“Thank you.” Indy caught Draven’s hand and dragged him through the door behind her. “Best date ever.”
“We haven’t even started yet. So, you…”
“Shh,” she scolded over her shoulder. “I’ve got you. We have a picnic, and you found a mini coo who looks just like Moooobella.”
“Moooobella is why I chose this place.” He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and walked with her toward the enclosure. “When I saw those beauties on the website, I hoped you’d get a kick out of it.”
“It’s perfect.” She couldn’t believe he remembered Moooobella, who’d lived on her bed until she got lost when she and Lizz had moved from their rental house into the apartment they’d bought together. She reached her hand through the gate and clucked softly with her tongue. One of the two Scottish Galloway mini coos came trotting over to investigate. “Oh, aren’t you pretty? Hi, little one,” she crooned to the beastie as the coo allowed her to scratch under its chin. “You’re so beautiful.” The second coo came to investigate, nudging the first to one side to get its fair share of scratches. “Can we move in and stay forever?” City girl she may be, and her life might be here in California now, but for Draven and a highland mini coo or two, she could be tempted to change that. She beamed up at him. “Thank you. I love this.”
“You’re welcome.” He scratched the ears of a donkey who came to investigate. “Don’t forget you have the treats for them, too.”
“Oh, I do.” She ripped open the top of the package and poured a handful of pellets onto the palm of her hand. “Don’t bite me, beautiful.”