She didn’t even get a chance to bask in the glory of her work.
The second they got back from filming the late-night show, Henry had about fifteen calls that Finn needed to return.
And she watched how all of the tension returned to Finn’s shoulders, how his whole demeanor so effortlessly shifted back to the political mannequin he’d spent so many years becoming.
Shelly’s words danced around her mind as she spent the next day alone, trying to focus on her reading but failing.
She’d been right that it was possible to bring out a side of Finn that he was keeping under wraps, whether he was conscious of it or not.
The question was … did she want to? Was it sustainable? Would it be a constant fight between the real parts of him and the persona he wore like a shield?
If he won his election, he would need to be that shell of a person every day of his life. What were the chances that he would be able to hang up that part of him when he walked in the door and give her the man that she genuinely enjoyed being around?
She wasn’t sure she liked the odds.
Iris cradled the shellphone in her hands in the courtyard behind the apartment building as she watched the bees flirt in and out of the flowers she would never see again if she said to hell with this engagement and went back to the sea.
Her heart felt torn in two as she lifted the shell to her ear, hearing the whooshing sound of the sea, and closing her eyes as her blood sang along with it.
“Shelly?” she called.
“I should have known it was her.” Juna’s voice met Iris’s ear.
“What was her?”
“Who stashed a shellphone in with the normal shells in our sitting room. She sent you one too, then?”
“Don’t turn her in to Mother. It’s been nice to be able to connect with you guys here and there.”
There was a slight pause before Juna spoke again. “Why haven’t you spoken to me?”
“Well, gee, because I hear you are out spending all your free time with a certain merman.”
“Oh. About that. I know you figured he might be your future betrothed, but—”
“I’m happy for you,” Iris cut her off. “Truly.” And maybe a little jealous at how easy the connection between her sister and her new partner seemed. “You deserve a little fun.”
“Are you having some fun?”
“Are you asking me that? You, Miss All-Duty-All-The-Time?”
“I’ve been finding more balance. I’ve been keeping an eye on you and Finn. It seems like things have been getting busy as you get closer to the … election.”
And the wedding.
“They have been. I think there’s some big event every week moving forward.”
“What else have you been doing? It seems like that pelican of yours has been a little too busy rubbing elbows to hang out with you as much.”
“Yeah, Monty has been busy. I’ve made some friends, though. A witch named Selene, who owns a bookstore.”
“That sounds like a tailor-made friend for you.”
“I know, right? And then there’s Arden, our wedding planner.”
“IadoreArden.”
“Wait, what? You know him?”
