Page 35 of Poseidon's Island Flower

That would not fly with me, no, sir.

Except, maybe if he asked if I could be his. Then after that, it’s fine.

The only sound in the car was the faint hum of the engine. I could hear my own heartbeat and feel the heat of a stare from Candice in the front seat. She looked at me through the shade mirror as if to check her make up. She blinked hard and arching her eyebrows several times, meaning she was not happy.

Zeus was being…well, weird. His eyes would go to the road but instantly land back on Candice. If he thought he had a shot with her, he was obviously mistaken. When Candice decided on something, that was it.

Sheesh, Candice usually likes that kind of attention. But not today.

“So how long are you guys staying at the resort?” I broke the silence, speaking to no one in particular. My abrupt question was too loud because Cy winced.

I frowned, realizing that I was too abrupt, but he shook his head in apology.

“As long as Cy says. Right now, we have the room for a month, but if something catches his eye, we may be here for longer.” Zeus winked into the mirror.

As elated as I was, how could one take an infinite vacation?

“What about your jobs? Can you work remotely like that?” I asked.

Zeus chuckled, his fingers tapping on the steering wheel. “You could say that. Cy enjoys being by the ocean anyhow. Helps him relax, a lot of his work involves it, so it’s only natural to stay here.”

“You love the ocean, too? What part about it?” I turned to him.

I’d spilled my love for the ocean, the waves, the currents, and how free I felt when I surfed along the moving glass, but Cy never commented much on it. Just that he enjoyed swimming.

“Everything. But mostly the creatures within it,” he mumbled. “My job requires me to work with sea life, and I find it most rewarding.”

“So, you’re a marine biologist? That is what I wanted to do when I graduated from high school. Discover sea life that hasn’t been found yet. Only five percent of the ocean has been explored, and I’m pretty sure mermaids exist, and I’m determined to find them.”

Especially after my near-death experience. If they all looked like that, I’d drown more often.

“You still like the sea after what happened?” Cy asked. “Humans, I mean, people would normally fear the ocean after something that traumatic.”

I shook my head. “No way. I love the water too much. How weightless you feel, how quiet it is down there. Yeah, it was scary, especially when the air left my lungs.” I gripped my throat, feeling the burn.

Cy gripped my wrist gently, his soft hands pulling it away from my neck. We caught each other’s eyes, and he didn’t look away.

His hands were so soft and warm, as if they were trying to convey a feeling too deep to be put into words. Those eyes were strikingly blue, but the flecks of gold reminded me of the merman I met at the bottom of the ocean.

Did he think I was crazy when I said I believed merpeople were real?

I didn't break the stare, but I wanted to shake my head at the thought of a merman saving me. Because a flame-red haired, bulky merman didn’t exist. Cy did. Cy was the one with the most powerful, sleek body. He was far leaner than most men I used to ogle, due to his swimming skills. But still with such turbulent ocean, I didn’t think he could power through the waves like he had.

“But no, I’d still go surfing. I’ll continue to go back. It’s in my blood. My destiny is in that ocean, and hopefully, my children will see the wonders of it, too.” I smiled. “Besides, I’ve got to find those merpeople.” I winked.

Candice snorted in the front seat. “Yeah, she’s been saying she’s wanted to find mermaids since we watchedThe Little Mermaidtogether. She didn’t like Prince Eric like the rest of us. No, she had her eyes on King Trident.”

“Candice!” I slapped the front seat. “You are terrible, and that was forever ago!”

“Lani, you know you wanted some fin up in that chocolate starfish of yours. I dunno, if Trident is the king of the sea, maybe you can get some tentacle up in your woman cave, too. I bet those suction cups would feel really good on your…”

“Candice!” I cried, laughing, rubbing away a tear.

The entire car burst into an uproar of laughter, even Cy tried to hold back his smile by covering his mouth. He smiled, and I pulled his hand away from his mouth to see those white teeth. And his smile lit up the entire back seat. He squeezed my hand and kept it there until we reached the diner at the end of the dirt road.

The diner was far out of the way for any tourists. It was a secret restaurant for the locals. We didn’t have to worry about outsiders complaining to some health-grade system about how our way of cooking meat and sides was unsanitary.

This was just how my father’s ancestors cooked.

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