“Forced matrimony will do that to a girl.”
“Yeah. I mean, yeah.”
Selene’s head tipped to the side. Almost as if she was listening. Maybe she was.
“Do you have feelings for Finn now?”
Iris sucked in a deep breath and started walking. “I think I have feelings for the parts of him he keeps buried.”
“But he doesn’t appreciate you coming with a shovel?”
“I don’t think that’s it, exactly. It’s more like … I’m worried that I might dig and dig until I can’t lift my arms, but he is always going to come back and fill it all in again.”
“And yet you’re still conflicted.”
“I went to see my family, and my sister said something about bringing out hidden parts of someone being worth the work.”
“Do you want another voice in your head, or do you just want me to listen?”
Iris exhaled hard. “I think I want all the voices I can get. I’m too mixed up to make sense of anything.”
“Now, if you repeat this—especially to that walking warning sign with great hair—I will deny it. But I’m constantly trying to tamp down my hopeless romantic streak with raging skepticism.”
“I noticed that.”
“That said, I am always secretly hoping someone comes along and proves me wrong. I mean, not me personally,” she said, looking horrified at the idea of falling in love. “But those around me. So, if you think there’s a chance that things might be real between you two, I think it’s worth exploring. And giving Finn some time. I mean, men can be dense. Ask this one,” she said, waving toward Arden.
“Ask me what?” Arden asked, turning to look at the women.
“Why men are so emotionally constipated,” Selene said, shooting him a big, fake smile.
“Oh, my lovely girls,” Arden said. He dropped an arm around each of their shoulders, guiding them toward the door of the catering restaurant. “It sounds like we’ve been gossiping. And I feel left out. Let’s catch me up over some delicious food.”
“Good goddess,” Selene gasped as they moved inside. “How much does all of this cost?” Her gaze moved over the elegant table setup.
“You don’t want to know,” Arden said. He pulled out chairs for both women before taking his own.
“Is Finn paying for this?” Selene asked.
“No, Her Highness, the queen of the seas is.”
“How rich is your family?”
“If they lived on land, they’d have private jets and mega yachts,” Arden explained. “Multiples.”
“Where does the money come from?”
“Well, a good chunk of it lately comes from seaweed sheets for sushi,” Arden told her.
“Seriously? That creates enough cash for planes and yachts?”
“To be fair, mermaids don’t really need or use money much,” Iris explained, accepting a glass of water from the server. “The sea provides everything we need. And if there are things we want, we tend to work on the barter system.”
“Which leaves a lot of nori money for wedding planning,” Arden declared. “Yes, that will do,” he told the server, who turned the wine label toward him. “So, what’s going on?”
“Iris might have feelings for her fiancé,” Selene said.
“Let me guess, you’re trying to talk her out of it? Something about love being a lie tied up with a string of empty promises?”
