Finn sidestepped a spill of what he suspected was a glamour potion—pink and sparkling on the floor. The last time he’d accidentally touched a glamour potion, he’d taken no fewer than fifty duck-faced selfies.
Just another Tuesday in Manhattan.
Still, he barely made it to the restaurant on time.
True to form, Henry had chosen the best possible spot for the first meeting.
Vino on the River perfectly bridged both their worlds. It was squarely in Manhattan but was a waterfront establishment.
Finn was led toward the table on the patio, and he couldn’t help but notice the archway behind it, coveredin green vines and vivid pink flowers, and how it would make the perfect backdrop for a photo op.
Finn winced at that train of thought, wondering when he’d started to view every single moment of his life through a media lens.
“Can I get you anything to drink?” the waitress—a human, if his instincts were correct—asked as she handed him a menu.
“I’ll have a negroni.” It was his knee-jerk order. Heaven forbid he be caught drinking some brand-name soda or a drink deemed too ‘feminine’ by the press. “Do you happen to have anything on the menu a mermaid might enjoy?”
“A mermaid?” the waitress asked, eyes filling with wonder. “Here? At thetable?”
Finn couldn’t fault her for her awe. It was a rare occasion anyone saw a mermaid at all, save for maybe sunning themselves on a sandbar at the beach. You certainly never saw one in the city itself.
He’d wondered himself more than a time or two why a mermaid, of all species, would want to marry a human political hopeful. They were known for never straying far from the sea, if they ever bothered to surface at all.
“Yes.”
“Oh, my goodness. Oh, that is so neat. I’ve never seen a mermaid before! Um, I don’t think we have anything technically on the menu for mermaids. You know, since they never come on land. But I will talk to the bartender, and we will make up something super special for her. Him?”
“Her.”
“Right. Her. Okay. I will go get right on that,” she said. Then, voice a little lower: “I’mtotallyvoting for you, by the way.”
Before he could even thank her, she was off. He watched as she rushed behind the counter, bouncing on her heels in excitement as she filled in her equally astonished-looking coworkers.
The three of them brainstormed for a moment before one produced a fishbowl-sized glass from under the counter. Then there was an almost alarming amount of preparation going on, as Finn silently worried he shouldn’t have ordered for Iris.
Admittedly, mermaids were one of the species he knew the least about. Mostly because of their aforementioned aversion to being on land. He wasn’t sure if they were more traditional, like the vampires and werewolves, or if they were more modern like many solo-practicing witches and warlocks, or demons.
Oh, well.
The decision had already been made.
Finn ran through conversation points in his mind for a few more minutes before, about fifteen minutes late, he heard the hushed whispers followed by the restaurant patrons craning their heads toward the door.
There were many supernaturally beautiful creatures in the world.
But Finn was willing to bet that this reaction was to a rare sighting of a real, live mermaid. Without her tail. An even rarer sight.
Finn was ready to scoff at their over-the-top shock and awe.
Until he laid eyes on her himself.
His tie felt too tight as he tried to swallow down his saliva, so he didn’t drool all over himself.
Sure, he’d seen paintings of mermaids. He’d even seen drawings of them in a biology textbook.
But nothing compared to the real thing.
She was soul-crushingly beautiful with her cascading pink waves over her tall, fit frame, clad in a flowing blue dress that hugged her every curve. Her face was soft, feminine perfection with generous lips, high cheekbones, a dainty, lightly upturned nose, and eyes the decidedly un-human shade of sea glass.
