Page 30 of A Promise For Tomorrow

“Ya want me to ask how much they cost?”

Playfully, I slap his hand away. “No. They shouldn’t be someone’s pet…but I wouldn’t mind heading out there to take a look.”

“Come on, princess. I’ll come with you.”

As we walk towards the patio, I spot Lainey in the kitchen prepping kid-friendly finger foods. My stomach growls just looking at the mini cheeseburger sliders, Dino nuggets, mac and cheese cups, and the cute little grilled cheese dunkers with a side of tomato soup. They even have pizza in the shape of crocodiles.

My kinda food.

Liam must have heard my stomach growl.

“Hungry?” he asks amused.

“Yes. I can just grab something later.” I’m not trying to bring attention to myself. Lainey is working, she doesn’t need my hunger, along with Liam trying to feed it, ruining her concentration.

Or breaking her heart.

“I’ll be two seconds. What do you want? Lainey won’t mind. She feeds me before everyone else all the time.”

He goes to leave and I grab him by the forearm, lightly digging my nails in. “Don’t. Lainey may have given you the space you need for all of us to figure things out, but that doesn’t mean she’s okay with it. She’s probably hurting, Liam. I would be. I’ll wait until the waiters come around with the food.”

His demeanor changes as he takes in what I just said. “You’re right. I wasn’t trying to hurt her. I just wanted to feed you.” Shame replaces his cheerful features.

My thumb rubs away the crescent marks I unintentionally left on his arm.

“I know. Sorry for hurting you. I didn’t mean to dig my nails in like that.” NowI’mthe one feeling shame.

We continue to walk out through the glass sliding doors. “Oh, sweetheart. You can dig those nails into me anytime you want.” He wiggles his eyebrows forcing a laugh out of me.

Idiot. I just told him not to flaunt us in front of Lainey and here he is making innuendos.

“Please never stop calling me out for being an arse. Where everyone just accepts it from me, you call me out on it. Not only that, but you correct me in a way that’s not condescending. So, thank you.”

“No problem. Oh maa God, he’s sooooo freakin’ cute!” I squeal my excitement, skipping over towards the stage. A few children and their parents are surrounding the adorable baby kangaroo.

Liam follows me, leaning against the bar where they have chocolate milk, lemonade, and soda fountains. He grabs himself a lemonade, sticking his cup up in silent question. I decline, shaking my head, far too preoccupied with the baby animals to worry about a drink.

The director comes up to me and offers me the joey. My eyes actually fill with tears of joy at the fact that I am currently holding a baby kangaroo. The soft fur of his coat tickles my fingertips as I run them over his ears and down his back. Liam comes up and snaps a picture of me.

His fingers click away on his phone. “I’m sending this to you. You may want to make it ya dating profile pic. It screams animal lover.” He rolls his eyes for good measure.

I adore this side of Liam. The playful, sarcastic man I fell for.

“You’re an asshole,” I laugh before checking myself. I’m surrounded by kids. They don’t need me cursing.

“Alright, everyone. Our next special guest has two claws and a stinger. They are part of the arachnid family. Can anyone guess what it is? The kids are seemingly stumped. I raise my hand shakily.

“A scorpion?” I practically squeak.

“That’s right.” The animal caretaker removes the blackish-blue scorpion from the tank. “This is an Emperor Scorpion. Right from the rainforests of West Africa, they are one of the largest scorpions in the world. These arachnids are usually docile and not very aggressive. The males tend to be even less aggressive than the females. I have a special pair of gloves for one lucky parent. Would anyone like to hold him?”

“She would.” Diego strides down the stairs leading to the tent, pointing right at me.

“No,” I whisper, horrified. I grind my teeth and glare at him.What is he thinking?!

He takes a step between Liam and I. I shoot Liam a desperate look, silently begging him to back me—but he doesn’t.

“It might be a good thing, love. To get over your fear,” he concedes, rubbing his fingers over his chin.

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