“Oh, that’s no problem with us. As long as you aren’t in the way of any of our zoo staff…”

Falcon tried not to blush as he nodded politely at the poor admin worker he’d just badgered about media passes. “Right. I just wanted to be on the safe side.”

“If y’all plan to be here more than once, get yourself a membership, honey. It’ll save you a lot of money.” Her concern made him beam at her.

“Thank you, ma’am. I will,” he promised. “Appreciate it. Have a good day.”

The zoo was small, so it didn’t take him long to get back to the meerkat exhibit and set up in the spot the hot keeper had pointed out to him. He spent the next couple hours doing sketches of the meerkats.

Falcon’s first priority was figuring out how they walked, stood, moved. He could find models online of their anatomy, but nothing was better than actual close observation. Then he could decide what pose to paint—he’d been thinking a family group, if any pups were around, but he couldn’t see any right now. Maybe three adults in mischievous poses.

Falcon was staying until the zoo closed. If Mr. Sexy Vet Coat asked, he’d been planning that all along. In reality, he’d only planned to stay the morning.

That man had caught his eye immediately. Sometimes he connected instantly with someone, knew through eye contact that the chemistry was hot. It didn’t always mean the sex would be, but usually it was. It also didn’t always mean they’d get along outside the bedroom—often enough, that wasn’t the case. God knew nobody had really stuck around long enough to find out.

But Falcon was curious anyway. He was going to be here for a while, definitely often enough to get a membership. He might as well see if he could talk to the grumpy but gorgeous vet while he was at it.

First, lunch.

He dug through his backpack for the frozen water bottle, marveling that the core of ice rattling around the inside was still there. On a late August day, Knoxville temperatures could easily soar.

The picnic area was small but easy to find, and Falcon chose a table on the end, away from the kids. More than anyone, they got in his way and obstructed his view while he worked, knocked into his easel, and stared at him. He could kind of see why the vet was so grumpy, if he had to deal with visitors all day.

Just as he finished up his sandwich and carrots, he spotted the guy walking past, toward the red panda exhibit. He had what looked like two plastic tubs stacked on a moving dolly. He was walking with another man, exchanging looks and laughter.

That caught Falcon’s eye… and it made his blood a little hot. The guys were clearly coworkers, even wearing the same kind of uniform. But that didn’t mean his love interest wasn’t dating this other guy.

Jealous? Holy fuck. You don’t know his name. Getting way ahead of yourself, Falcon.

He packed up his food and followed at a leisurely pace, finding himself a spot in the observation area of the exhibit.

The pandas were nowhere in sight—presumably kept away from the exhibit so the keepers could do their work. Both of the zookeepers? Vets? Whatever they were, they walked around, stretching a wood and rope bridge between them, then balancing on stepping stools to attach it to two trees. The hot guy put something on the planks of the bridge.

Next, they set out ice blocks around the exhibit, and when Falcon squinted, he caught a glimpse of what looked like fruits inside.

They were joking about something, the sound of their laughter echoing around the empty exhibit as they retreated to the keepers’ area.

A minute later, two pandas crept out, looking around already to see what had changed. One jumped onto the tree and scurried up toward the bridge while the other started to nose at the ice blocks.

Falcon almost lost track of his plan to find and flirt with the vet, he was so amused by watching the panda. It was pushing around the ice block, patting it gently like it wanted to break in but wasn’t quite sure how.

Then he caught sight of the vet leaning against the public viewing wall, smiling softly as he watched, too.

Falcon hadn’t had a good chance to really look at him, so he took his chance now before he approached. He looked so much more relaxed now, not the stressed and easily-annoyed man he’d been just a few hours ago. Interesting.

“You skipped lunch, didn’t you?” The other vet walked up to him, seemingly not noticing Falcon staring. “Go take a couple minutes. I can take care of the reptiles, and Annie’s checkup. I seriously owe you one.”

“Sure, sure. Not like I’ll need the favor back, after Tuck,” the guy responded in his deep, melodic voice. It was sexy when it wasn’t grumpy. Well, it was sexy when it was growly, but that was a different kind of sexy, and Falcon tried not to think too hard about it.

The other guy leaned in and said something, then walked off. Perhaps sensing eyes on him, the vet looked around, then caught sight of him and raised a brow.

Falcon shouldered his backpack and easel again, then approached in a slow amble. “You seem happier now.”

“Happy animals make happy vets. Talk to me after I vaccinate a bunch of otters later.”

Falcon stared. “Seriously? That’s adorable.”

“They’re smelly little brats.” The vet was smiling, though. “I’m Blane.”

“Falcon. Well, I told you earlier, but…”

“I’m not likely to forget.” The vet reached out to shake hands, and his grip made Falcon’s skin tingle. The warmth that shot through him wasn’t just from the heat of the day.

Falcon had to take a breath as he let go. “Right. Yeah. I know it’s a weird name.”

“You choose it, or someone else?”

“My parents. My sister’s called Rosalina, like nobody else from the twenty-first century.” Falcon chuckled ruefully. “At least boys always think it’s cool. That’s what matters.” And you just outed yourself. Great job. He turned red.

“Second only to animals, I agree,” Blane answered quietly, his gaze flickering back to the pandas. Was that him… coming out, too? Falcon chose to interpret it that way.

“You skipped lunch? To make… fruity ice cubes for pandas?”

“Meh. It happens,” Blane shrugged. “Someone called in sick. The pandas don’t care. They need environmental stimulation.”

“We all do sometimes.” Falcon gave Blane a quick up-and-down look, then adjusted the strap of his pack. “I’d better get back to the meerkats.”

“Are you painting them today?”

“No, sketching them. I’ll be back tomorrow to start that. By the way, I stopped by the admin office and the woman blessed my heart several times before telling me that I don’t need a permit.”

“Good to know.” Blane’s lip quirked in a small smile. “So I’ll see more of you.”

“Hopefully not from the doorway of the staff-only areas,” Falcon tried for self-deprecating humor.

It worked. He finally got a laugh—a momentary one, but it was something. “Yeah. Hopefully not. I’ll probably be busy with the otters all day. See you tomorrow, maybe,” Blane told him.

Falcon was taking that as permission to keep flirting. “See you, I hope,” he answered, then turned and strode away, adjusting the easel on his back so Blane had a good view of his ass in his clingy shorts as he walked off.