I spend the next hour forcing River to drink several glasses of water, and by the end of it, he’s far more clear-headed and more than a little embarrassed.
“I should have known after my experience with Nirblob’s ship moonshine that alien liquor hits harder than the human variety.”
“Agreed. Let’s steer clear of the cocktails for now.”
He nods, then gets up and stretches like a cat in the sun. His smaller and more compact body is on tantalizing display in his swimming briefs, which gives me all kinds of inappropriate thoughts here in public.
Oblivious to his own silent seduction, River says, “Let’s test out the waters of this lagoon. There’s no way I’m missing out on this.”
We make our way over to the steps that descend into the bioluminescent water and follow them down. The cool water envelops us, and River runs the water through his hands with delight.
“So freaking cool.” Then he hesitates and stares at me like a deer in the headlights. “This isn’t going to make my skin glow—not like the mud bath, but for real—after I get out of here, is it?”
I throw my head back and laugh. “Never fear, the bioluminescent properties of the water are not transferable to one’s skin. I promise.”
“Phew. That could be cool but also really awkward. I don’t care to glow in the dark like I’ve been irradiated,” he says with a goofy grin.
Time passes pleasantly while we alternate between swimming lazy laps and floating in the water as the sun beats down on us. I’m not usually one to be idle, but with River, it doesn’t seem to chafe as much. To be perfectly frank, I think I actually need to stop working for the first time in my life and just enjoy this precious time with River.
My mom would besoproud.
In the late afternoon, we pull ourselves out of the lagoon, grab our towels, and head back to our private honeymoon suite, where we enjoy a mutually enjoyable shower together. After toweling off, River starts rifling excitedly through his clothes hanging in the closet.
“Decisions, decisions,” he murmurs to himself.
I sit on the bed and watch him. I have a feeling I know where this is going. “What do you mean?”
He whirls around and beams at me, eyes sparkling. “Oh, did I forget to tell you? Tonight is the opening ceremony for Tentacular Tales Con.”
I fight back a laugh and growl playfully, “No, you did not.”
He didn’t have to. I already knew and had fully expected River would want to make an appearance there.
I arch an eyebrow at him. “I think the more important question is, are you going incognito or out in the open? The choice is yours.”
River taps his lips as he thinks about it. Then he sighs. “Incognito would probably be best,” he admits.
I get up and saunter over, pulling him into my arms. “Agreed. We don’t want you to be mobbed by your adoring fans. It would take away from our time together.”
“That’s what I’m thinking too. I’ll wait until closer to the end of the festivities to reveal myself in all my glory,” he proclaims, puffing out his chest.
I can’t hold back a laugh. “That sounds perfectly acceptable. After all, we wouldn’t want your fans to find out you’d been here all along and they never got the chance to meet you.” I lean down and whisper in his ear, making him shiver the way I knew it would. “In fact, I’ve already coordinated it with the organizers for you to have a surprise signing event on the second to last day.”
River gasps, hearts in his eyes as he studies me. “You did that for me, boo? Really?”
My hearts swell in my chest. There’s very little I wouldn’t do for this man.
“Of course, but with the organizers’ agreement that I will be your personal security at the event, making sure none ofyour fans get too out of hand or want to give you any, ahem, inappropriate gifts.”
River grins. “Some of them are pretty saucy, aren’t they?”
“That’s putting it mildly, dear.”
River claps his hands together. “This is going to be so much fun. I can’t wait.” He steps back and does a little twirl. “But for tonight, my sexy hubby-boo, we’re going to be super suave undercover agents infiltrating the Tentacular Tales Con. I even brought the perfect outfits for us!”
Of course he did.
“Please tell me it’s not another onesie,” I say with a wince.
