“It’s not a big ask.”
“Oh, by the way, I rescheduled the meeting on Wednesday.”
“What? Why? You can’t do things like that without consulting me. What if you piss off—”
“We have had long-time support from the hybrid community. They aren’t going to be mad that their meeting is pushed back a day.”
“Why do you need to push it back?”
“Because I am going to make good on a promise I made.”
“A promise to Iris?”
“Yes.”
A muscle ticked in Henry’s jaw, but he was smart enough to keep his opinions to himself. “What kind of promise?”
“That I was going to make time for us. So all day Wednesday, I’m not going to be reachable. Not even if the entire campaign blows up.”
“I see. What are you planning to do?”
“I rented a boat. I’m taking Iris out on the ocean. Just the two of us. No one else for miles.”
He’d already checked the projected currents, pored over maps, taken an online course to brush up on boat safety, and ordered food to bring with them.
“All right. I will fence all your calls, so the two of you have a nice day to yourselves without any interruptions. Where are you going to be? Just so I know in case something happens to you.”
“Iris is a mermaid. I’m pretty sure if something happened, she could save me.”
“Even so. I need to know where you are.”
“Fine,” he said, producing a map to show him hisprojected course, with them ending up somewhere near Iris’s favorite sandbar.
He’d been too excited about the outing to pay much attention to his campaign manager.
And he wouldn’t know what was coming until it was too late.
To protect Iris.
To protect the delicate bond growing between them.
26
Iris
“What’s this?” Iris asked.
She’d opened the door to find Arden standing there, practically bouncing on his feet, a gift bag held up high near his chest.
“Orders from your fiancé.”
“Orders? For what? I thought we didn’t have any campaign stuff to do today.”
She had her heart set on going to a neat little fae pop-up market where they were selling all sorts of neat trinkets and jewelry.
“No campaign stuff,” Arden assured her, moving into the penthouse. “But plans regardless. Open. The anticipation is killing me.”
“Is it shiny?” she asked, reaching inside the bag.
