“Sorry,” she whispered, apologizing because she knew I always reprimanded her for sinking into her thoughts. For a normal person, it would be all right. But Bailey wasn’t normal. Letting her sink into her thoughts was dangerous.
“Talk to me,” I coaxed. “What’s going on in that pretty little head of yours?”
She frowned for a moment—like she was contemplating speaking her true thoughts aloud. Finally, she drew in a small breath, her eyes on her lap. “Seth isn’t leaving me, is he?”
I reached over and grabbed her hand in mine. Surprising me, for the first time ever, she linked our fingers together, squeezing tightly as if for once, I was the one holding her head above the water.
Normally, this was Seth’s job, but I felt honored that she trusted me to keep her afloat.
“Seth is never leaving you, Bailey. My little brother loves you. Nothing will take him from you.”
She looked over at me, pain residing in the depths of her eyes, ripping at my fucking soul. “You know that for sure?”
I nodded. “I promise,” I swore. “He’s choosing a college close to home because he wants to be with you.”
She nodded, seeming to accept my answer, though I wasn’t stupid. I knew she still had her doubts, but Seth was the only one who could reassure her. All I could do was keep her head above the water until he came home to be her life raft.
* * *
Bailey’s eyeslit up when I pulled into the parking lot at the zoo. She leaned forward in her seat, her bright eyes looking out the windshield. I grinned, unable to help myself.
“You brought me to thezoo?” she whispered in astonishment.
“Yep,” I told her as I slid into a park.
She quickly grabbed her phone from her lap, and I watched as she dialed Seth’s number. It took him a moment to answer, most likely because he had to separate from the group for a moment, but when his voice rumbled through the line, she squealed—actually fucking squealed, and it warmed my soul.
“He brought me to the zoo!”
I heard Seth laugh. “He did, huh?” he asked, though he and I had known about this for a couple of weeks now. We’d decided she would need a distraction while he was gone, and so, the zoo idea had been born.
“Yes,” she smiled at me. “I’ve wanted to come here for years, but no one ever had the time.”
“Glad he could make your day, baby girl. Enjoy your time, you hear me? I’ll see you this evening.”
That was a lie. We both knew he would be here sometime after lunch when his tour was over, but he wanted to surprise her.
“Okay,” she said, though she didn’t sound as sad about that prospect anymore. “I love you.”
“I love you, too, baby girl.”
After we got our tickets, I led her around the massive park. She was fucking adorable as she gushed over the animals, her eyes bright with happiness as she munched on cotton candy. And she’d actually asked for it instead of me having to prompt her to eat something, which was definitely another plus. Granted, it wasn’t what I wanted her to eat, but fuck, at this point, so long as she was eating, I’d keep my damn mouth shut.
She held my hand tightly in hers as we came upon a group. Without thinking about it, I pulled her in front of me, my hands gripping her waist as I led her through the group. When we separated, she looked up at me, licking her lips, her pretty, wide eyes locking on mine.
She stepped closer to me, her eyes darkening. I tightened my hands on her waist, leaning down to kiss her. She was giving off all the right signals, andfuck, I wanted to feel her soft lips on mine.
But then, Seth popped up and snagged her around the waist from behind, spinning her around in a circle. She squealed, laughter ringing through the air. I grinned, a bit disappointed that I’d missed out on my opportunity to make something happen between us, but I wasn’t upset—not when she was laughing like that.
Seth set her down and kissed her, his tongue diving between her lips as he dragged her closer to his body, his arms banding around her waist.
When they parted, he grinned at me. “Thanks for brightening her day, bro.”
I shrugged. “No problem.” I plucked some cotton candy from her cone. “She needs some real sustenance. This is the second one she’s had today.”
Seth laughed and wrapped an arm around her waist. Without even thinking about it, I grabbed her free hand in mine. She flushed, but she didn’t pull away from me.
Seth winked at me over her head. I scowled at him for making me miss out on my kiss, but he just grinned.