Chapter Ten

As she walked next to Evan through the park, listening to Rayanne animatedly talk about the birds, Lark couldn’t help but marvel at the strong feelings she had toward him. He was by far the sexiest guy she’d ever met. He had dark brown hair that was cut short and left a little long on top, and the best smile. And his eyes…swoon-worthy caramel. Even with all that sexy goodness, the fact that he’d actually come to their rescue, turning the disaster of a day into a winning one, was just icing on the cake. It would have been enough for him to take them on the tour, but now that he was arranging to get them into the aviary?

Well, Rayanne was in heaven. And Lark was feeling like that herself.

Every time she looked at him, her heart clenched and something within her encouraged her to stay close to him. It almost felt like love at first sight, but she wasn’t sure she really believed in that. Could someone fall in love, even an early love, at the first glance? If she did believe in it, then she was certain she was experiencing it. Normally, she wasn’t one for bold moves, but she’d flirted with him like it was second nature to her.

Clenching her free hand, she stopped herself from grabbing his. It was so tempting to just hold his hand, to have some kind of physical connection to him, however small.

At the entrance to the aviary, she recognized Auden from the park’s website videos.

“Auden!” Rayanne let go of Lark’s hand and raced to him. She stopped short in front of him and held up the stuffed eagle. “He looks just like the eagle you have! Where’s Jess? I want to say hi to her. Can I feed the eagle? Can I see the owls? What bird is hurt?”

Auden squatted to eye level and smiled. “Hey there. It’s nice to meet you. You’re Rayanne, right? My brother said you love birds, and judging by all your great questions and big smile, I think that’s the truth. So let’s see if I can answer them all... Jess is inside waiting to meet you, and you can totally say hi to her. You can help us feed the eagle and also see the owls. And the bird that’s hurt is a heron. He was found in a creek, tangled up in fishing line.”

Lark and Evan reached Rayanne. Auden smiled and straightened, extending his hand. “I’m Auden. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Lark. Nice to meet you too. I can’t thank you and Jess enough for this. Rayanne was so sad when we didn’t get to visit the aviary.”

“We hate closing it for any reason,” Auden said, “but keeping it open while we’re nursing a new, injured bird is just too distracting. Jess has been tending the heron since he was brought in last night. We didn’t get much sleep.” He turned and slipped the black velvet rope from the stand and gestured to the stone path that led into the aviary. The path markers were round stepping-stones that had bird footprints on them.

Auden led Evan, Lark, and Rayanne into the open section of the aviary where there was a small stage with several tall wooden perches and some bleachers. Lark remembered them from videos she’d seen of the talks Jess and Auden gave to park patrons, bringing out different birds and sharing information about them. They walked past the stage and into the actual aviary, which was enclosed with fine mesh screening. Large cages were filled with foliage and small trees, swings, and perches, as well as food and water dishes.

Rayanne pointed to the first cage. “That’s a macaw, Lark. His name is Percy. Isn’t he beautiful? He can’t fly, though. He broke his wing.”

“Holy cow,” Auden said with a chuckle. “She could work here.”

“She watches the aviary videos and live feed all the time, and she reads everything she can on them. There are so many bird feeders at her house that she’s single-handedly feeding the local squirrel population too.”

Auden laughed. “She sounds a lot like Jess.”

Rayanne hurried to follow Auden, leaving Lark and Evan behind as they walked slower. “I can’t thank you enough for this,” Lark said.

“It’s my pleasure. I wasn’t ready to say goodbye to you yet.”

“Me either.”

He stopped and turned to face her. “Do you have a boyfriend?”

She paused and looked up at him. He was a good foot taller than her, broad-shouldered and muscular in a way that made his golf shirt hug his arms and chest and made her curious to know what he looked like without it on.

“I don’t. Do you have a girlfriend?”

“Nope.” He smiled. “Now that that’s over with, are you free tonight? I’d love to take you out on a date.”

His smile was so infectious.

“I’d like that,” she said. “I have to take Rayanne home first, but I’ll be free after that.”

“I’m so glad you came to the park today,” he said. “I was having a lousy day, but it’s really looking up now that I have our date to look forward to.”

“Why were you having a lousy day?”

His mouth opened and then closed as he frowned. She was about to tell him that he didn’t have to explain himself to her if he didn’t want to; they’d just met after all and didn’t have to share all their secrets. But then he said, “A friend of mine is in trouble. She’s got some pretty serious family problems. Some friends are helping her out, and I can’t really do anything to help from here, but it’s been a crappy day waiting to hear if she’s going to be okay.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

“She’s not anything romantic to me,” he said. “I don’t want you to think that I’ve got some girl on the side and I’m asking you out anyway. We’re just friends.”

Lark smiled at his earnestness and sincerity. “I believe you.”

“Good. How about we catch up with your niece and my family?”

“Sounds perfect.”

 

* * *

 

“Do you really have to leave? Mom said we can have dinosaur chicken nuggets for dinner,” Rayanne said as Lark walked her up the sidewalk to her house.

“Sorry, kiddo, I’ve got plans. Remember?”

“Uh, I only remember how cool it was to meet the birds. That was so cool. Wasn’t it?”

Lark opened the front door and ushered the still excited Rayanne into her sister’s home. “It was very cool.”

“Mom! Mom, I met the eagle and I got to feed him!” Rayanne raced ahead of Lark, and she followed behind, carrying her niece’s backpack.

Lark found Dove in the kitchen with Rayanne talking a mile a minute. “Sounds like you had a great day.”

“I did, I did!” Rayanne said.

“You?” Dove asked, looking at Lark.

“She’s got a date!” Rayanne said.

Dove’s brows went up. “Oh? With who? That guy from your office?”

“What? No.” She shook her head. “I’m going out with the guy who took us on the safari tour and through the aviary. His name is Evan.”

“He’s even cuter than Auden,” Rayanne said.

Dove chuckled. “Oh, he is?”

“Sure. Very cute,” Rayanne said seriously.

“Well, I hope you have a nice date tonight. And thanks for watching the munchkin.” Dove gave Lark a hug. “What do I owe you for the eagle?”

“Nothing.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yep. But if you have any of the chocolate cake from the other night left, I wouldn’t say no to a piece.”

“Well, girl, I just happen to have some. Have a seat.”

Lark sat at the table while Dove placed slices of cake on plates, and the three sat and talked about the park, the tour, the aviary, and Lark’s upcoming date.

By the time she got home to her apartment, she had only an hour until Evan was going to pick her up, which was just enough time to shower and dry her hair and stress out about what to wear. He’d said dinner but didn’t say what restaurant. So what would she wear?

Her phone buzzed, and it was a text from Evan.

Can’t wait to see you. It feels like an eternity.

She giggled. He was so sweet. Same for me on both counts.

Great minds, I guess!

Very much. See you soon.

You bet.

She put her phone down and turned to her closet, deciding to go with a cute sundress she’d picked up from a thrift store when she went out looking for bargains with Dove. Her sister was the queen of thrift store shopping and knew just where to go for the best stuff. Lark had picked up the white sundress with a tiny daisy pattern for two dollars but hadn’t had a chance to wear it. It was too casual for work but too dressy for hanging around the house.

It was the perfect first date dress.

She took a picture of herself in the long mirror hanging from her closet door wearing two different shoes—a black sandal and a white sandal. She sent the picture to Dove with a text: Which shoe?

White definitely. You look great! Knock ‘em dead.

Thanks, will do!

Tossing the black sandal in the closet, she put on the other white one and went into the bathroom to finish up. She glanced at her watch and smiled, her stomach flipping. He was going to be at her place in less than twenty minutes. She’d been on lots of dates before, but this one seemed different. Maybe because Evan was different. She was really attracted to him, but it wasn’t just that he was sexy and made her constantly think of naked activities. She found him captivating in the best way—every time he talked to her, she was entranced.

Hadn’t she just thought that love at first sight wasn’t a thing? And here she was, half in love with him after spending the afternoon together.

There was a knock at the door, and she sucked in a quick breath, checked herself in the mirror, and let out a happy giggle. He was here!

She opened the door and smiled at Evan.

He was holding a bouquet of flowers for her. “You look amazing,” he said.

Taking the flowers, she stepped out into the corridor and hugged him. “Thank you. You do too. Come in.”

He followed her inside and shut the door. “I hope you like flowers.”

“They’re beautiful. I love them.”

She found a vase in a cabinet and put the flowers in it, filling it with water. She set it on the kitchen table. “I don’t think anyone’s given me flowers since my mom did for my sixteenth birthday.”

“I’m glad to hear I’m the first guy. I want to be memorable.”

“Oh, you totally are.”

“Ready, beautiful?”

She took his offered hand and smiled at the tingle that wove up her arm at the contact. “Definitely.”

When they reached the SUV, he held the door open and then shut her in. She leaned over and opened his door, giving it a little push.

“Thanks,” he said as he sat behind the wheel. “How do you feel about surf and turf?”

“Love it.”

“Great.” He gave her a devastating smile. “I was hoping you’d like it. I want tonight to be awesome. It’s our first date, after all.”

“It’s off to an excellent start.”

He smiled and backed out of the parking spot. “So tell me about working at the township office. Do you like it?”

“I do.”

“What do you like about it?”

“Talking to people and helping them. Do you like being a tour guide?”

“Yeah. For the same reason—well, talking to them. I don’t really help people, but I get to share some animal knowledge with them and help them to have a good time at the park.”

“You mentioned you’d been out of town for a while. I guess fate really wanted us to meet today.”

He reached for her hand and brought it to his lips. “The last couple days sucked for me. I can’t go into it right now, but suffice it to say that the last thing I wanted to do today was make small talk with people on the safari. But then I saw you, and I just knew I needed to spend time with you. You made my day better, my whole week really. Hell, today’s the best day I’ve had in the last year.”

“Do you believe in love at first sight?” She couldn’t believe she’d said the words out loud, but she wasn’t about to take them back.

He gave her hand a squeeze. “I didn’t until I met you.”