Page 49 of Riding the Tide

Blair bit his bottom lip. “You can’t know that.”

“Okay then, how’s this?” Marcus ran his hand up and down Blair’s back. “If you’re uncomfortable at any point while we’re over there, just say so, and we’ll leave.”

Blair stared into Marcus’ eyes. “You would do that for me?”

“Absolutely.”

Brett blew out a deep breath. “Okay, that helps some. Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me for caring about you. You’re my mate, so of course I want you to be happy. Or in this case, relaxed. Like I said—say the word and we’ll be out of there.”

“Okay, okay.” Blair straightened his shirt. “Well, let’s go meet Brett.”

He followed Marcus to the elevators. He’d picked much fancier clothes which Marcus immediately vetoed. He claimed all they needed were shorts and T-shirts, and they’d be good. After a short, heated discussion over what informal meant, Blair finally gave in. These were Marcus’ friends and he knew better than Blair what was appropriate for tonight. All Blair knew for sure was he wanted to make a good impression.

When they got down to the lobby, Brett was waiting for them.

“Hey, where’s Brooke?” Marcus asked, looking around. There were people everywhere, but no, sexy, blue-headed female.

“Something came up with her friend Cora. She’s not going to make it tonight,” Brett said, playing with his truck keys.

Marcus frowned. “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah.” Brett shrugged. “It’s a mermaid thing.”

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

“CORAWOULDsokickyour ass for saying that,” Marcus joked, sidestepping several kids whose parents were trying to catch up with them.

“Hey, what she doesn’t know won’t hurt me,” Brett said.

“Blair, Cora also lives in Nisha’s territory.” Marcus tugged gently on Blair’s hair to get Blair to look at him. “She and Brooke have been friends for quite a while.”

“She was Brooke’s bridesmaid when we married.” Brett glanced at his wedding band, a smile softening his face.

“You got married?” Blair asked. “Like… well, you know… married.”

Brett grinned. “Yep. Right there on the beach with Nisha and Kannon attending. Then they took a turn. They didn’t have the legal paperwork like Brooke and I did, so I guess you’d call it a dress rehearsal for the real thing.”

Marcus slipped his arm around Blair’s waist. “Kannon says they’re going to do it legally, too.”

Brett nodded. “Once Kannon gets something in his head he’s pretty hard to dissuade. Are you guys ready?”

“Yes,” Blair said. The three of them walked out to Brett’s vehicle. Marcus was friends with Brett, so Blair got in the back seat. Once they were settled, he brought up something that caught his attention. “You said you and Brooke legally married?”

Brett glanced in the rearview mirror as he drove out of the resort. “Yes, why?”

“Oh, I hope I didn’t insult you by asking. I just wondered if that was something mers do,” Blair said.

“I wasn’t offended. We actually may be the exception to the rule. I own property, and there’s a lot of money involved. If something happened to me, I wanted Brooke legally taken care of. Even if she never touched any of the money, it’d be there if she needed it.”

“That makes sense,” Blair said.

Brett kept the conversation going as they drove to Kannon and Nisha’s house. Marcus turned partly in the passenger seat so he could see Blair as the three of them talked. He hoped Blair would calm down, but he wasn’t seeing signs of that, not yet.

Tension radiated off of Blair. He wished there was something he could say or do to relieve it. While he understood, he was unconcerned. He meant what he said earlier—as long as he had Blair, where they lived didn’t matter. Talk about an extreme change of heart.

They arrived at Kannon and Nisha’s bungalow, and immediately Kannon went out of his way to make Blair feel welcome. Marcus was glad to see it, although he really wasn’t surprised. If anybody understood the pressure of being a mate, it was Kannon. Marcus was much more easy going and laid back than Nisha, but unlike his friend, Marcus spent time around humans and had an inkling of their thought process—something Nisha didn’t.

---