Chapter 99

99 Building Relationships

“Let’s go,” Adrian said as he reached down and held my hand in his.

It was strange but I haven’t gotten used to holding his hand. Although we were just holding hands, I found myself blushing a little. My eyes widened in surprise as I turned to meet his gaze when Adrian intertwined his fingers with mine tightly. I didn’t know what to say when he smiled at me like that.

Millie and her nanny walked in front of us after we told her nanny about the route that we wanted to take. I came to appreciate the nanny so much. She seemed so responsible and could handle Millie all on her own. It was like we didn’t even need to be there, and we didn’t need to worry about taking care of Millie. That gave Adrian and me a lot of time together, but I wasn’t sure if this was what a standard family outing was supposed to be like.

Our first stop were animals from the savannah. Zebras, lions, tigers, and various other animals from the savannah were on display in well decorated large cages that were supposed to resemble their natural habitat.

“Tiger! Tiger!” Millie shouted loudly in her excitement of seeing live tigers.

“That’s right. Their fur looks so soft but don’t put your hand into their cage...” I said before warning her.

“I know...” she replied with her eyes still glued to the tigers lazing around in their cage.

“They’re so big and look at their stripes,” I said encouragingly.

Millie seemed to be enjoying herself and that was a great thing. I could feel Adrian’s eyes on us, and I turned to smile at him. I wasn’t sure if Adrian was enjoying himself, but he was willing to carve out time from his busy schedule to spend time with us here.

.....

“Big cat...” Millie said happily.

It was probably because the tigers were one of Millie’s favorite animals that we spent quite a lot of time in the savannah zone before moving on to our next destination.

“Millie seems happy,” Adrian said softly at my side.

“Yes, I think so too. Do you bring her to these types of places often?” I asked.

“Not really, but I try to. Most of the time she just goes with her school, with her friends, or with her nanny,” Adrian replied casually.

“You must be so busy. Thank you for taking the time to come with us today...” I thanked him.

It was my idea to invite Millie out to bond with her all for the sake of my job and with that Adrian got dragged out as well. I hoped he didn’t mind, though.

“Don’t worry. I’m having a good time,” he said to ease my worries.

The way his hand tightened slightly around mine made me believe that he was telling the truth and I found myself smiling like a fool as we walked side-by-side to our next destination.

...

“Fish fish fish!” Millie cried out excitedly when we stood in front of the aquarium section of the zoo.

“Not just fishes. Your cute little penguins are in there too,” I told her as I placed a hand on her shoulder.

“Penguins! Penguins!” she said happily as she turned to smile at me.

It was the right decision coming to the zoo. Millie was so excited that she began dragging her nannie’s hand, pulling the poor woman after her in a hurry to go inside. I laughed a little to myself as I watched them go on ahead of us.

“Shall we?” Adrian said invitingly.

He offered me his arm teasingly and I thought that he looked like a prince but just dressed in casual clothing. I smiled at him before I nodded and slipped my arm around his. His arm in mine felt warm and comforting and the way he would slip his arm around my waist or pull me close when someone was passing by close to us, made me feel like we really were a couple. Adrian is amazing at handling girls.

I let Adrian lead me into the aquarium. There were a lot of families and couples there probably because it was a Saturday. It was a lot dimmer inside and only the pathway and the fish tanks were lit up with light. We followed Millie as she jumped from one fish tank to another.

“This one is Nemo,” I said as I pointed to an orange fish with white stripe.

“Yes, you’re right,” Millie said with a nod as her eyes grew wide.

“It’s a clown fish,” I said before turning to smile at her.

“It’s so cute. So pretty...” Millie whispered in awe.

Millie’s attention shifted to another large fish tank and tugged on her nannie’s hand to lead her there. I smiled after her, thinking how adorable she is. Millie seemed like a sweet and normal girl despite her family’s situation. I wasn’t sure if Adrian was over thinking things or not because Millie didn’t seem that affected by the fact that she didn’t have a mother like the other kids. Well, as far as I could tell.

As I was about to follow Millie, Adrian tugged on my hand and pulled me back. His slightly forceful pull landed me against him. I looked up to see Adrian’s face close to mine and he was smiling down at me mischievously.

“Adrian?” I called his name softly and questioningly and I wondered what he wanted.

His arms wrapped around my waist from behind, pulling me even closer to him. The heat of his body against my back made me very aware that we were pressed very closely together. We’re in public and there’s so many people around. What is he doing?

“Millie can hang out with her nanny so what about we go on our own date?” Adrian suggested as he whispered into my ear seductively.

A date with Adrian didn’t sound bad but aren’t we supposed to act like a family for Millie today? A couple on a date walked past us and I started to wonder if Adrian and I looked like a couple on a date together just like that.

–To be continued...