Page 34 of Song of Lorelei

Lila gestured between the two of them. “See, this is why we are friends.”

As Lorelei reached for another chocolate, Lila pulled the bag away, wagging her finger. “Uh-uh-uh. Can’t have you spoiling your dinner. You’ve got at least three people to eat by the end of this week.”

Darksider.

Chapter Seventeen

KILLIAN

Leaning against the doorway, Killian watched with amusement as Lorelei danced around the kitchen with a serving spoon in one hand and a drink in the other. She’d gone out for happy hour again with Lila—and despite the day’s pile-on of turmoil and drama—was in a good mood when she breezed in through the front door. He’d been about to make dinner, but she playfully booted him out of the kitchen, throwing together homemade salsa and grilled chicken salad.

And now she was shaking her hips and singing along to one of her feel-good songs. Something about how haters were gonna hate. Killian liked seeing her like this. Happy. Carefree. Twirling about the kitchen like she was high on life. And—he sipped from the glass he was holding—taking lemons and making the best tasting lemonade he ever had in his life.

He loved this woman. And he loved to listen to her sing. Even if it was usually off-key. A sea siren who couldn’t sing. And now it sounded almost…good? “Have you been sneaking singing lessons?” he joked.

Lorelei stuck her tongue out, face scrunched up with cute disgruntlement. “Sorta.” She shrugged one shoulder and explained how Nireed speed-trained her vocal cords.

“I’m gonna miss the terrible singing.”

She playfully swatted his arm. “They pass down their siren song, just like language and stories and traditions.”

Stepping away from the doorjamb, he helped Lorelei set the table. “Would you teach me? The sign language they use, I mean.”

He didn’t think Lorelei’s mood could brighten even more, but it did. Her smile dazzled like shimmering sunlight on water. “You really want to learn?”

“Of course, I do. I want to be able to tell you how much I love you in every language you know.”

Grinning from ear to ear, Lorelei ducked her head, a blush creeping up her cheeks. When they finished setting the table, and began tucking into dinner, Lorelei paused to point at herself, then crossed two closed fists over her chest, and pointed to him. “That’s how you sign ‘I love you’ in ASL. The sirens use it, too.”

“How do I sign your name?”

“You can either finger spell it or use my name sign.” She showed him both.

He signed ‘I love you, Shorewalker’ first. “Can you show me how to finger spell your name, again?”

She slowly went through each letter, waiting for him to copy her before moving on to the next one. When he messed up ‘R,’ she reached for his hands across the table, not quite touching him. “May I?”

He nodded, letting her gentle touch coax his pointer and middle fingers into the correct crossed position.

“Knowing what the sign feels like helps me,” she said. As he slowly put it all together, another ‘I love you,’ followed by the letters that spelled Lorelei’s name, happiness shone in her smile, glowed on her skin.

When he finished signing, she drizzled a sweet homemade vinaigrette across their salads. “You learn quickly,” she beamed, setting the pitcher back on the table. Dressing ran down its side, which she swiped up with a finger.

Killian winked, clasping her hand, and drew the finger into his mouth. He sucked it clean, then kissed the tip. “I have a pretty teacher that I want to impress.”

Her blush deepened. “You did that ages ago.”

“Doesn’t mean I’m ever gonna stop.”

Just because they were engaged, and soon to be married, didn’t mean he’d stop showing her how special she was. He hated when guys at the gym whined about their wives, like marriage to them was a shackle or a chore and not the best damn thing that ever happened to them.

When Killian put that ring on Lorelei’s finger, he did it with the promise that he would spend the rest of his life earning her love. Showing support and participating in the things she cared about was a part of that promise.

Honesty was important, too.

He didn’t think now was the time to tell her about Branson’s tranquilizer gun under a tarp in the barn, not while she was so happy and focused on teaching him something as personal and intimate as her kin’s underwater language. But he’d have to tell her soon. He hated keeping a secret between them.

Sign language lessons continued between bites of food. Just a few conversational basics like ‘thank you’ and ‘please,’ and signs with occupational relevance, such as ‘fish,’ ‘ocean,’ and ‘boat’—the latter of which the sirens always coupled with the sign for ‘loud.’

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