I was holding her hand and she nearly got away from me as she tried to dash forward.
“Hey, hold on now,” I said with a chuckle, tugging her back. “You’ve got to stay with us, all right? No running off, Meg.”
She stopped and looked up at me with wide eyes, clearly eager to get going but struggling to behave.
“Okay, Uncle Cyrus,” she replied. “But can we hurry and go look? Please?”
“Yes, of course,” I chuckled. “Let’s go.”
I shot a glance to Miss Bruns, who was watching us with a small grin. Swallowing, I tore my gaze from her and focused on Megan. We walked down the pathway together, which was lined with multiple enclosures housing various species of monkeys. Megan could hardly contain herself as we moved from group to group. She giggled and pointed at a pair of capuchins chasing each other through the trees.
“Look!” she squealed. “Sadie! Uncle Cyrus!”
“I see, sweetie,” Miss Bruns said with a nod, squatting down next to Megan. “Do you think they’re playing tag?”
“Monkeys can’t play tag,” Megan said and giggled.
“Sure they can!” Miss Bruns countered with a grin. “Monkeys like to play just as much as you do.”
“Really?” Megan appeared thrilled by that. “Would they play with me?”
Miss Bruns shook her head with a little laugh. “No, honey. You don’t want to play with monkeys. They wouldn’t know to be careful with you. They’re wild animals, remember, and they might accidentally hurt you. We can watch them all we want, but we don’t want to get too close.”
Megan peered up at Miss Bruns and nodded. “Okay, Sadie. But we can watch them for a while, right?”
Miss Bruns chuckled. “Yes, we can watch them for a while…so long as it’s all right with your uncle.”
Megan turned her wide-eyed gaze up to me, and I was lost before she even said a word.
“Can we watch the monkeys for a while, Uncle Cyrus?”
She spoke in such a sweet voice, my heart melted in an instant.
“Yes, of course,” I told her with a nod. “We have plenty of time before we need to get home.”
Her face lit up in a bright, blinding smile, and she clapped her hands in glee. I couldn’t help my own smile of delight, and when I looked up at Miss Bruns, she was grinning as well. In that moment, it felt like the three of us all belonged there, together. Almost like we were a family or something.
A random, sentimental thought that caught me off guard, but I decided not to fight it. At least not at that point in time. I let myself simply enjoy the feeling while it lasted…because I was certain something would happen that would rip that feeling away again.
Chapter 19
SADIE
It was hours later when we finally returned home. After a long day of running around and exploring, Megan was exhausted. She fell asleep on the ride home, and when we arrived, I picked her up out of the car and carried her into the house.
“Should we just put her to bed?” I asked Miss Bruns when I reached the bottom of the house’s main staircase.
Nodding, she softly answered, “Yes, I think that’s a good idea. Since we had some food before we left the zoo, she doesn’t need dinner.”
“Okay,” I whispered, gently adjusting Megan in my arms. “I’m pretty sure she’s out for the night.”
Miss Bruns grinned, and we made our way up the stairs to Megan’s bedroom. Before I laid her on her bed, Miss Bruns removed her shoes and pulled the covers back. I carefully placed Megan down on the mattress, and Miss Bruns tucked her in. When we were done, we stood side-by-side and gazed down at the little girl.
She looked so peaceful as she slept. I was happy that she seemed to have gotten over the worst of her shock at her father’s sudden reappearance.
“We should go,” Miss Bruns murmured. “We don’t want to accidentally wake her up.”
Nodding, I turned from Megan and followed Miss Bruns out of the room and into the hallway. Closing the bedroom door behind me, I looked at Miss Bruns, who was standing next to me with a soft expression on her face.
“I’m glad you came today,” she said. “It ended up being a really nice time.”
I raised my brows in surprise. “Oh? I mean, yeah, it was. I actually had fun.”
She let out a soft laugh. “Good to know. Megan loved having you with us, that’s for sure.”
“What about you?” I asked, the question slipping from my lips before I realized what I was saying.
Miss Bruns stared up at me for a moment, clearly caught off guard.
“Me?” she murmured.
Swallowing, I nodded. “Yeah, you. Did you like having me around today?”
What was I doing? Why was I asking her this question? I couldn’t blame her for her clear shock as she gazed up at me.
“I…I don’t know why that matters,” she stammered. “You don’t usually care what I think.”
I swallowed. She was right. I usually didn’t care, but for some reason at that moment, I did. I became painfully aware of how close she was standing to me. So close, I could lift my hand and touch her. Her lips were parted slightly, as though in invitation. They looked so plump and lush that I wondered what they tasted like.
Suddenly, my hand lifted as though of its own accord, and I cupped her face. She went completely still. I couldn’t even tell if she was breathing.
Stroking my thumb along her cheek, I whispered, “Damn it.”
Lowering my head, I captured her lips with mine in a searing kiss. She gasped, and I swept my tongue into her mouth to tangle with hers. I expected her to shove me away and call me a bastard, but instead, she moaned and seemed to melt into me.
Her lips moved beneath mine and her fingers curled into my shirt. She clung to me, and I wrapped my arms around her to pull her tight against me. Her body was so soft against mine, and I wanted to explore every inch of her.
I slowly slid my hands down her waist to take hold of her hips and pulled her tighter against me. I was getting hard, and there was no way for her to miss it.
With a gasp, she yanked her head back, breaking the kiss, and stared up at me with wide, shocked eyes.
As if I was being jerked out of a haze, I suddenly comprehended what exactly we were doing, and I was stunned. What just happened? Why’d I do that?
“I…I should go to bed myself,” she stammered. “It’s been a long day. I’m tired.”
Not sure what else to do, I nodded. “Yeah, right. Goodnight.”
“Goodnight,” she muttered, her gaze avoiding mine as she turned and hurried down the hall toward her room.
I watched her go, the feel of her soft lips burned into my mind. I was confused and had no explanation for what had just happened between us. I didn’t even like the woman…why was I letting my attraction to her take such a hold of me? Why had the urge to kiss her overwhelmed me as it had?
And why did I want to do it again?