Page 29 of Alistair

“Really?” Her eyes went wide.

“Yep. Your private tour with me includes all the behind-the-scenes things that regular patrons don’t get access to. First, we’ll start with the safari, just you and me in a Jeep, then we’ll visit the bird sanctuary and aviary hospital, followed by a ride on the carousel again if you want, plus hanging out with the baby animals, and finishing up with the burger of the day. Then we can come back here and get ready for the wedding.”

“Oh my gosh, that sounds amazing!”

“We’re scheduled to do the tour at nine,” he said. “The VIP tours are starting at eleven today, and I didn’t want to have to rush.”

“I can’t wait.”

“Tell me honestly,” he said, arching a brow. “Are you more excited about the VIP tour or getting back to the petting zoo?”

She made a face and said, “I can’t help that I love the petting zoo.”

“Everyone does,” he said with a chuckle. “We should add it to the tour.”

“That would be so fun. I think it would be awesome to be part of the tours, to be able to teach people about the animals and share interesting details about them. I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of learning new things and sharing that knowledge.”

“I can tell why you wanted to become a teacher,” he said. “Maybe a job will open with the tours and you can be part of them.”

“That would be so cool. I can’t go too long without a sub job, though. I only have so much money in savings to carry me. If I don’t get work in the next couple of weeks, I’ll pick up some shifts at my parents’ plant nursery.”

He hummed and took a drink of coffee, but didn’t say anything.

There he went again. Looking like he was going to share something with her, but stopping himself.

Okay, stop being paranoid.

She shook off the thoughts about Alistair hiding something from her and asked him questions about the tours and the animals while they finished their coffee. After cleaning up, they walked across the park to the safari tour, where a young man was standing near one of the smaller blue-colored camo Jeeps.

“Hi, I’m Alfie,” he said to Maggie as he handed the keys to Alistair. “Everyone’s ready, so you can go at your own pace since you have loads of time. If you want to take photos, the camera is in the bag.”

“Thanks,” Alistair said.

“Who’s ready?” she asked as Alistair helped her into the Jeep.

“The people who feed and care for the animals,” he said. He got behind the wheel and turned it on. “The tours are on the weekends and that means everything has to be finished up earlier than other days, when there aren’t tours running so early. It wouldn’t matter to you and me if there were handlers in the paddocks, but Alfie was just letting me know that the work was all done.”

“They must have started really early,” she mused.

He shifted the Jeep into gear and pressed lightly on the gas. The Jeep lurched a little and she grabbed the dashboard to steady herself.

“Sorry, sweetheart,” he said with a chuckle. “It’s a touchy vehicle.”

They rolled forward to a tall gate, which opened slowly. Once they were through the gate, it shut behind them, which he said ensured that each VIP tour group had privacy for their time with each paddock and no one was rushed.

He stopped at the elephant paddock and parked. “Normally we would take a photo of the VIP at each paddock and then they’re given a free souvenir album afterward. Would you like me to take your picture?”

He helped her from the Jeep. She looked at the tall gate and the elephants beyond that were milling around in the paddock. “Could you be in the picture?”

“I can try to take one like that,” he said. “Let me see if I can figure something out.”

He pulled a black bag out of the back seat and set it on the hood, then removed a professional-looking camera, which he handed to her. He rummaged in the bag for a bit, and then took the camera from her. After he turned it on, he fiddled with it for a minute and then said, “Got it!”

He set the camera on the hood of the Jeep, then moved to the other side so he could look through the viewing screen. “There’s a timer function. I wanted to see if the hood was too low. Go stand by the gate and let me see.”

She walked to the gate and turned to face him, feeling awkward and kind of silly. When she smiled, he said, “That’s perfect.” There was a snapping sound, and she said, “Hey! You’re supposed to join me.”

He peered at her over the camera and said, “Test picture.”

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