Page 12 of Love & Lattes at The Mermaid Cafe
“I hear sharks are the leading cause of mermaid deaths,” Cade deadpans.
My fists take position on my hips. “Are you trying to annoy me?”
“No.” His arms come gently around me.
It’s a nice embrace. But, “This goes against my No Dating policy.”
Cade’s chuckle reverberates through me. “I thought I might have earned enough points for a date.” He draws me closer.
And I can’t remember what his point total is.
Chapter Eight
Cade
There was no riddle at the mermaid statue.
Except for Lena. She’s soft-hearted, guarded, and I want to kiss her. Badly.
“How’s the tour going, Trouble?” That voice.
I turn to face Marina, my arms dropping from around my tour guide.
Marina looks nearly the same as yesterday—gray hair in a long braid, maroon paisley dress, cream-colored fisherman’s sweater. And the way she looks at me hasn’t changed either. To her, I am the devil.
Lena shifts away from me, looking self-conscious. “Cade ate all the eel pie.”
The elderly woman waves Lena’s information away. “A stomach of iron just means a heart of iron.”
That’s annoying.
“Wow.” I smile unkindly at Marina. “I was just saying you look like the mermaid here.” I gesture to Serena.
“Really? I’ve never had anyone say that before.” Marina’s smile is secretive. But then she looks a bit more like her grouchy self. “I would have thought Trouble would liken the mermaid to Lena, in the hopes of charming a kiss out of her.”
“Right. I’d love to stay and chat, Marina, but we’ve got a tour to finish.” Lena leads me away from Marina and toward the Penny & Dime Arcade without another word. No excuses for Marina’s comments. No reminder of her No Dating policy. And no update on my point total.
My mind is reeling, making me lightheaded, because I don’t like not knowing where I stand with a woman. I don’t like not knowing where I stand with anyone, really.
Or perhaps it’s the eel pie coming back to taunt me.
Before I can decide, Lena opens the door and we enter the Penny & Dime. “Penny? We’re here for the tour.”
No one answers. The place is empty.
The Penny & Dime is an old time arcade. Machines are operated on pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters. There’s an old wooden fortune teller in a glass display (fifty cents), a pinball machine (twenty-five cents), a black and white movie experience (ten cents). None of the machines here are high tech. There’s not even a Pacman machine. This is one of the businesses I’ve targeted as an easy sale.
An old woman appears in an open doorway at the back. She’s dressed in blue jeans and a black turtleneck sweater. Her silver hair is short and flyaway. Like Albert Einstein’s, it stands on end.
The businessman in me notes:except for Lena, every business owner so far has been retirement age.In my experience, the older the business owner, the more logically an offer is received and accepted. Deals with the retirement generation are easier.Or I’d expect them to be, if not for this tour. This tour implies determination to run a business until death do they part.
“You’ll be wanting a game of air hockey.” Penny turns toward an air hockey table that is already on and humming. Two cats are batting a hockey disk back and forth. “When Laurel and Hardy are done with their game, it’ll be your turn. But first, a riddle.”
Another riddle?
I roll my eyes. “Hit me with it.”
One of the cats scores on the other. The puck clatters through the goal slot.
