Total pages in book: 61
Estimated words: 56831 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 284(@200wpm)___ 227(@250wpm)___ 189(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 56831 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 284(@200wpm)___ 227(@250wpm)___ 189(@300wpm)
“Good. I’m glad you got some rest.”
He kissed my forehead before climbing out of bed. “I’m going in search of my toothbrush. Then I’ll see about ordering us some coffee.”
Marcus picked up his jeans on the way out of the bedroom, and I stared at his ass in those little black briefs until he was out of sight. I was grinning as I rolled out of bed and started my day.
We went to the zoo right after breakfast and ended up spending the entire day there. I loved the way Marcus completely dropped his tough guy façade and let himself act as dorky as I did. He’d never been to a zoo before, and he spent the entire visit in a state of wonder. He was great about indulging me, too. That included letting me spend all the time I wanted with the giraffes, which were my favorite animals.
About twenty minutes before the zoo closed, we finally headed toward the exit. But on the way out, Marcus spotted the gift shop and said, “I want to buy you a souvenir.” He then selected the biggest stuffed giraffe they had, which was about five feet tall. When he saw me looking at some T-shirts with giraffes on them, he said, “Pick out your favorite and I’ll get you that, too.”
“Are you sure? That stuffed animal is probably expensive.”
“I don’t care about the cost.” He sounded sincere when he told me, “I’d buy you everything in here if I thought it’d make you happy.”
When I picked out a blue shirt, he frowned—very slightly, but I still caught it, so I asked, “Don’t you like this one?”
“The shirt’s cute. It’s just that you selected the biggest one you could find. I don’t mean to sound critical, I swear. I’m just trying to understand why you wear your shirts four sizes too big.”
“Habit, I guess. I was really scrawny until I was about twenty, and I was so self-conscious about it that I hid my body in baggy clothes. I knew I had to get stronger for my job, so I started going to the gym and filled out some. But I guess I still see myself as that skinny, awkward kid.”
“I wish you could see yourself through my eyes,” he said, as he gently ran his hand down my arm. “To me, you’re absolute perfection, Romy. If you like the XXL shirt and feel comfortable in it, then that’s absolutely the one we’ll buy. But for the record, you’re gorgeous and sexy, and you have an extraordinarily beautiful body.”
I searched his eyes, because I almost wondered if he was kidding. None of those were words I’d ever apply to myself. He looked completely serious, though.
After a moment, I returned the big shirt to the rack and selected the same style in my size. He smiled at me and said, “I’m proud of you.”
“What makes you say that?”
“Because it takes a lot of courage to stop hiding.”
On the way to the register, he kept plucking more things from the shelves for me—candy, a baseball cap, some little tchotchkes. Then I spotted something and said, “I’ll meet you outside.” When he was busy checking out, I took a little item to another register. It didn’t look like much, especially given the huge haul he was buying me, but I hoped he’d appreciate the sentiment behind it.
When we met up at some benches in front of the gift shop, I put his present in his hand and said, “I wanted you to have something to remember today.”
He took a look at the pewter keychain, which was in the shape of two giraffes leaning into each other with their necks crossed. His eyes were bright with unshed tears when he met my gaze, and he said, “Thank you. I’ll never forget today, and I’ll cherish this.” It was such a little thing, so to see how much it touched him made my heart ache. He obviously wasn’t used to people doing nice things for him.
As was usually the case when he showed a lot of emotion, Marcus seemed embarrassed. He put the keychain in his pocket and picked up the shopping bags as he changed the subject with, “I don’t know about you, but I’m starving. When we get to the car, maybe you can use your phone to find us a restaurant.”
I hoisted the stuffed giraffe onto my shoulder and said, “Will do.”
We ended up going with a nearby sushi restaurant. After dinner I told him, as we walked back to the car hand-in-hand, “I had so much fun today.”
“Me, too.”
When we reached the Porsche, I turned to him and said, “We’d initially mentioned staying here for a couple of days, and I know you’re busy and all, but do you think we could maybe stay a little longer? I hate the thought of this coming to an end and heading back to Vegas so soon.”