“What’ve you been thinking about?”
You.
Only, he didn’t say that part out loud.
“Just things I can do to improve my business.” Which also wasn’t a lie, because he did think about ways to make a betterliving so that when he went to Pearl, he could offer her whatever she wanted and he could take care of her.
They stopped in front of the coffee shop and he looked down at her, her beautiful violet eyes, those luscious pink lips he longed to kiss, her soft skin he ached to touch. It was all he could do to hold back and not run his knuckles softly across her face like he wanted to do.
He still remembered how she felt in his arms at the wedding. He was a cold-blooded being, but thinking of her and how much he wanted her made his blood burn with need. His hidden gills up his spine vibrated in response to thinking about kissing her, touching her.
Tasting her.
She smiled up at him sweetly. “I wish you would talk to me.”
“I am talking to you.”
“Phineas,” she whispered. “There’s something?—”
His pulse was racing and he inched closer to her, hopeful. The door of the coffee shop jingled and it whacked him in the back, causing him to stumble forward slightly. Pearl reached out to steady him, but he was much taller than her.
“Sorry,” Phineas mumbled. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. Are you?”
“Sore.” He rubbed his shoulder and turned to look at who had whipped open the door of Cool Beans and hit him.
“Sac á maam!” the stranger exclaimed.
Phineas’ mouth dropped open as he stared at the gill man standing before him., still gripping the door. He blinked a couple of times, not sure what he was seeing.
Save for the scar and the discoloration on his pebbly skin, which was slightly darker green, Phineas would swear he was looking at a twin of his late father.
Pearl gasped slightly behind him. “Oh my. The resemblance…”
The other gill man was grinning. “Could it be?”
“I’m sorry, could what be?” Phineas asked. “You hit me with the door.”
“My apologies for mybrigandbehavior. I didn’t mean to hurt you.” The stranger’s accent was thick.
Phineas frowned. “No problem. Just be careful where you’re going.”
He was hoping the strange gill man would leave because he was sure that Pearl had been on the verge of telling him something important before they’d been interrupted.
Only, the other gill man didn’t leave. He just stared at him.
“Are you Phineas?” the gill man asked.
The fins on the back of his spine rippled with nervousness. His parents always told him to be wary of strangers, unless it was someone from Harmony Glen. “Maybe. Who are you?”
“My apologies.” The other gill man bowed slightly. “My name is Pierre Lafontaine, and if you’re Phineas, then I’m your older brother.”
Chapter
Four
Phineas wasn’t sure he heard the man correctly. “Sorry, you’re my…what?”
