The Billionaire's Mermaid by Amberlee Day

Author:Amberlee Day [Day, Amberlee]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Appletree Cove Publishing
Published: 2019-12-09T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 17

“Those have to be the best tacos I’ve ever had,” Cleo said. “Mrs. Fortney outdid herself.”

They’d barely made a dent in the delicious food on the table, and while she was tempted to go back for thirds, she wasn’t going to say no when Van asked if she’d like to dance. Big band music, roses, soft lights, and snow swirling outside, almost in tempo to the music, plus being led about the floor Van’s arms. Cleo would have never imagined such a recipe for romance, so she relaxed, followed Van’s lead to the romantic tune, and enjoyed the magical spell it cast on her.

“Actually, I think our visiting chefs put those tacos together,” Van said. “Have you met them? They’re a colorful pair.”

“Let me guess: tattoos and dyed hair?” Cleo took in Van’s guilty expression. “Seriously? You really do have a thing about appearances.”

“In my experience, people with body piercings, tattoos, and, yes, wild hair dyes, tend to live wild lives. Normally best to steer clear.”

“Hm. Well, in my experience, the cover doesn’t always give you a clear picture of the book.”

“Let’s concede to different experiences, then,” Van said. “Besides, as it turns out, these two are amazing cooks.”

Cleo let it drop. The evening was too beautiful, and she didn’t want to waste the feel of Van’s arms around her. After a small cleansing breath, she smiled up at him. “Have I told you what a joy it is to work with Lily?”

“You don’t have to. It shows. You’re wonderful with her.”

Warmth spread through her body. “Thank you. I appreciate that.”

“Is she getting to be an expert mermaid? She keeps telling me to come see what she’s learned, but I haven’t made it down there in a while.”

“She’s getting very good. She’s got the tail flip down well enough that you probably want to be careful what you wear next time you come to the pool.”

“I might get wet?”

“Mm-hm. She soaked Rodney, the pool man, the other day.”

Something about that made Van hold her a little closer, sending waves of electricity through her. “I know you did synchronized swimming in high school and college,” he said, “but how did you make the switch to professional mermaid?”

“I was busy with synchro.” She paused to give him a chance to make fun of the name again, but he only nodded to say he’d behave. “I’d been having some issues with continuing. We had eight-hour workdays, six days a week. Besides the pool, there was Pilates, ballet, and weight room.”

“That’s pretty intensive training.”

“It was. I miss it sometimes. I loved the routines, and had some wonderful friends on the team. But something was telling me it was time to stop.”

“What was that?”

Cleo shrugged. “Injuries. From overuse, mostly, but I’d just had my second concussion.”

“How do you get a concussion swimming?” Van asked. “I suppose you could hit your head on the side, or bottom.”

“Swimmers get hurt all the time in synchro. Elbows, knees, hard kicks. When you’re working that closely to seven other people, sometimes you get hit.

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