Page 43 of Tangled in His Embrace

Chapter 11

Jax had given a lot of thought as to where to take Gabby. He’d known she’d want to have dinner with Taylor, so that was out of the question. Dessert was an option, but he wanted to do something a bit more festive.

They were almost there when Gabby figured out where they were going. “Are we going to the zoo?”

He glanced over at her and grinned as he maneuvered into the turning lane. “What? You don’t like the zoo?”

“No.” She shook her head. “I just wasn’t expecting us to be outside for long periods of time. I would have dressed warmer.”

Turning into the parking lot, Jax paid the guy in the little hut and started looking for a spot. “Don’t worry about that. I promise I’ll keep you nice and warm.”

She didn’t have any comeback to that, and he had to work hard not to laugh at the look of deep concentration on her face.

For a Wednesday night, there were quite a few people out. Then again, it was a beautiful evening. All the ice from the weekend had melted as milder temperatures moved in. There was still a chill in the air—it was December—but they would be able to spend an hour or so walking through the zoo without being in danger of frostbite.

He bought their tickets and they made their way inside. All the trees and bushes were draped in lights for the holidays. It was beautiful.

“I haven’t been here in years,” Gabby said as they began to walk along the path.

“Neither have I. We’ll have to bring Taylor one of these days.”

Gabby smiled, the first time since he’d picked her up. “She’d love all the lights.”

They stopped at the petting zoo and fed the goats. The brown one followed Gabby around. Every time she tried to feed another goat, the brown one would push the other one out of the way and snatch the food from Gabby’s hand. Jax tried to keep from laughing, but it was impossible. The entire thing was too funny.

Once they were finished with the petting zoo, they continued on, stopping at each of the exhibits to see the animals and take in the lights. Even the exhibits that were empty because the animals were inside were decked out in lights.

As they strolled, they chatted about the lights, the animals, and even the weather. It was all very civilized and he was pleased to see her relax and enjoy herself. They crossed over a bridge filled with huge fish. She knelt down to get a closer look, rubbing her hands together in an effort to warm them up.

“How about some hot chocolate?” Jax asked. “I did promise to keep you warm.”

She stood and shoved her hands back into her pockets. “That sounds great.”

They changed direction and headed toward the food court. Jax walked up to window and ordered two hot chocolates and a soft pretzel. After paying, he guided them over to a bench and they sat down to sip their drinks. He tore off a piece of the pretzel, popped it into his mouth, and offered her some. “Having fun?”

A slight blush colored her cheeks as she pinched off a bit of the warm bread for herself. “Yes.”

“Good.” He was unable to hide his grin.

They sat people-watching for several minutes, not speaking and finishing off the pretzel.

“I wanted to ask you something.”

He took a drink of his hot chocolate as he tried to ignore the way his pulse picked up. Was this just another way of saying ‘we need to talk’? That was never a good sign. “Shoot.”

Gabby rolled her cup in between her hands several times. “Where do you think we’d be right now if you hadn’t left three years ago?”

“That’s easy,” he said without any hesitation. “We’d be married and Taylor would probably have another brother or sister.”

She looked over at him, her eyebrows raised slightly. “You sound confident about that.”

“Well, I already had the ring. I was just trying to find the right time to ask you.”

“And the other part?”

He shrugged, unaffected by the direction the conversation had taken. “I figure nature would have taken its course with that one. It wasn’t as if we ever had trouble in the bedroom.”

The blush was back. This time it colored both her neck and cheeks. She glanced around, but no one was paying attention to them.

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