he’d carefully constructed a tailor-made route into the busy zoo to suit all of a traumatised child’s needs.
From the magical puppet theatre, to the tranquil method of transport, and now this, the trouble he’d gone to just so they could arrive at their destination relaxed brought a lump to her throat.
If only she and Simon had had male role models who took such care of others, they mightn’t have had the past heartaches they were both still trying to overcome.
They waited until all the other passengers had disembarked before they left their seats, with Quinn hesitant to leave the sweet memories of their journey here to rejoin the masses on the other side of the hill.
‘Your sisters are very lucky to have you,’ she said as Matt helped her ashore. If he treated his siblings as well as he did his patients and families they would never have been in doubt about being loved, and that was the most important aspect of growing up in any family.
His brow knitted together trying to fathom what to make of her compliment. She had no doubt he’d experienced the same general struggles as she’d had as a single parent, yet the very fact he didn’t expect thanks for getting through them spoke volumes. A person didn’t become a parent for awards and accolades but to create the best possible start in life for their children. Be it younger siblings or foster children. Simply by doing her best for Simon, Quinn was beginning to see she was already the best mother he’d ever had.
Simon squeezed her hand as they moved through to the main part of the zoo with people as far as the eye could see. She squeezed back, reassuring him she was here whenever he needed her. That was all she could do for as long as he was with her—love him and protect him as well as she could. Someday that might be enough for him.
As more children, and adults who should’ve known better, turned to stare at the little boy with the scars and burned skin, she held him closer. Matt took up residence on the other side so they created a protective barrier around him. Somehow they’d get through this together.
‘IS IT STILL the done thing to go to the zoo? Should I feel guilty about walking freely around here peering in at caged animals?’ As excited as she was to be here, she did have a social conscience and the child-versus-adult argument about it in her head was in danger of tainting the experience.
‘There are two very different schools of thought but the zoo today is much more than the sideshow attraction it used to be. It’s educational and provides a natural environment for the animals. Then there are the conservation projects which are funded through the admission fees…’
‘Okay. Okay. I’m sold. I can enjoy the view safe in the knowledge I’m not contributing to any ill treatment.’ She trusted Matt’s judgement. He’d done his homework and he wasn’t the sort of man to throw his weight behind a cause unless it was for the greater good. He was principled and not the type to bend the facts to suit his own agenda. Unlike her ex, who’d pretended he wanted a family so he could move in with her.
Quinn shooed away the negative thoughts from her past to replace them with the positive. Such as Matt, positively yummy in his casual clothes again this morning. As he turned to study the map, she was free to ogle his backside encased in black denim and the perfect V of his torso wrapped in dark grey cotton.
‘What are you smiling at, Quinn?’ Simon quizzed, drawing Matt’s attention back from the map.
Caught in the act of perving at Matt’s physical attributes, lies didn’t come easy to her. ‘I, er…I was just thinking nice thoughts.’
She spun on her heel and started walking again, ignoring the smirk on Matt’s face and the heat of her own.
‘What ones?’ Simon tugged her hand with the unfiltered curiosity only a child could get away with.
The puppets. The boat. Matt’s butt.
She could’ve said any of those things and they would’ve been true.
In the end she went with, ‘About how much fun I’m having with you both today.’
Curiosity satisfied, Simon moved on to his new topic of interest, staring at the pictures of ice creams depicted on an advertising board.
‘Can I have one?’
‘It’s a bit early for ice cream but we can get one later. All good boys and girls deserve a treat now and then, don’t you think, Quinn?’ Matt was so close his breath tickled the inside of her ear and did something to her that made her a very bad girl.
She so wanted him to be talking about more than a child or an ice cream.
Up until now she’d been the very model of restraint but she was wondering if she deserved a treat too? They did say a little of what you fancy was good for you and there was no denying what it was she fancied more than anything.
‘Absolutely. Life can get very dull if you don’t give in to temptation once in a while.’ She locked eyes with Matt so that all pretence they were still talking about dairy products vanished without trace.
Eye contact definitely constituted flirting when the heat flaring between them was hotter than the morning sun. They’d proved they could be adults, and whatever did or didn’t happen between them personally wouldn’t become an issue where Simon was concerned. There was no fostering law against her seeing someone either, except the one she’d created herself. By trying to protect her heart she might actually be denying herself the best thing that had walked into her life since Simon.
Despite the unexpected trials and tribulations which had made their journey more difficult than it should’ve been, she couldn’t imagine her existence without Simon in it. Or Matt, for that matter, and therein lay the danger. The damage had already been done, because she knew when the time came for these two to leave, all she’d have left would be a broken heart and some wonderful memories.
Today was all about making those memorable moments and as long as they avoided any empty promises they might actually get to make a few. Matt was a boost to her confidence when he did his best to convince her she could handle whatever fate threw at her. That was every bit as enticing as the soft lips which had caressed hers and the warm hands she could still imagine on her skin. He was right. She did deserve a treat.
Away from impressionable young eyes who might read more into an adult relationship than was true, she wanted one more taste of her dishy doc.
They made their way around the exhibits, each animal becoming Simon’s new favourite as he was introduced to their habitats, and eventually circled back to the area where they’d started. Their route had been dictated according to which animals Simon wanted to see rather than the logical, more traditional route everyone else was following. It had probably added a few extra miles to their journey but that could be to their advantage later when exhaustion caught up with him.
Quinn had to admit a pang of self-pity for her inner child when she was only getting to experience this herself at the age of thirty-two. Watching Simon’s face light up every time a penguin swam close or a monkey swung by, she ached for the little girl who’d been denied this joy with her own parents.
Every
