I laughed and caved right away.
A woman took Christian's phone and aimed it at us as he wrapped an arm around my shoulder. Annie sat in the middle on both of our shoulders until the picture was taken.
The woman walked over and handed it to Christian. "You guys are such a cute little family. It's nice to see that these days."
I didn’t know where to look or what to say.
Christian had no such problems. "Thank you," he told her smoothly.
The woman smiled and walked off to join her friends and we all peered at the picture. I could kind of understand why she thought we were a family. We looked amazing. The way we were all smiling at the camera, so carefree, and happy.
Annie tugged my hair lightly. "You look pretty."
"So do you," I replied instantly. "Look at that cute dimple."
"What dimple?" she asked cheekily.
I poked her cheek. "That thing on your face that makes your smile sparkle."
When I turned I found Christian staring at his screen. "Christian?"
He glanced up at me and shoved his phone into his pocket. “Yeah. Okay, let’s go to the next exhibit.” He took Annie's free hand and we headed on to go look at penguins and get lunch.
Then every time I glanced at Christian, he was staring at me. What the hell was going on?
I wanted to tell him that he was making me die from internal heat, but instead, I soldiered on. No matter how much I tried to ignore it, however, I could feel his eyes on me. I would pay good money to see what was going on inside of that head of his. I couldn’t understand why he kept blowing hot and cold.
By the time we'd finished up saying hello to all the animals, the sun was going down.
Annie looked half out of it and she dozed off inside of the car. I pulled a blanket up over her lap and made sure she was comfortable before I turned back around and sighed happily. "That was so much fun. I haven't been to the zoo in ages."
"We went last year, but it was a completely different experience…" Christian paused. "Thanks for going with us. I know how much that meant to her. And it's nice to have a second set of feet to chase her down."
"She is pretty fast. Why do all kids have such hyper drive?"
"It's built in at birth," Christian said with a grin.
We drove in silence for a while and I became very aware that his arm was very close to mine as it rested next to the console. I swear I could feel the heat radiating off of his body and I wanted him to inch over and touch me. My fingers tingled near his, but eventually he brushed over my hand as if it was nothing. I glanced at him, but he kept his eyes trained on the road.
By the time we made it to the house, Annie was awake and ready to go again. She zoomed into the house as Christian and I unpacked the goodies she'd brought back with her. As we got through the door, our bodies accidentally brushed together and I had to bite my lip from making a fool of myself.
"Stay for dinner?" Christian asked as he set the bags down in the entryway.
He was so close I could smell his cologne, his shampoo, the scent of his sun kissed skin itself.
"That's, if you want to," he added. "I know you've been around here a lot. You could probably use some time to yourself."
I shook my head and tucked away a stray hair that had come loose. "I don’t know.”
Christian leaned closer to me. "I have something to ask you after dinner. A little proposal. If you stick around."
I stared at his lips and couldn't rip my eyes away.
“Hey,” those lips said.
When I looked up, his green eyes captured me and held me in place.
I nodded my head. "I'll stay. Your food is kind of addictive."
"Good," he said huskily. "I'll talk to you about it after dinner." Christian broke the spell when he tore his gaze away and headed off to the kitchen.
I watched him until he disappeared. I wanted to rock that man's world.
Did you really just think that?
I ran a hand over my face. I have to find a solution to this reaction I have every time I am around him and I need to find it fast.
Chapter Seventeen
Hannah
Dinner was a mix of heaven and what the hell.
I tried to ignore the tingling that raced up and down my spine, but that was impossible to do with Christian so near me. We ate, laughed and talked as if everything was normal, but every once in a while, his eyes caught mine and everything changed. The very air around us became molten with unspoken lust.