ANGEL COULDN’T BELIEVE HER GOOD LUCK. SHE’D HIT THE
crabpot!Then she saw Harry’s fin circling off the bow for the eighth time since she’d awoken and amended that. Luck had nothing to do with this; Hammerhead Harry did. And wouldn’t it tweak his big ol’ blockhead to know he could be helping her right into her dream job?Served the shark right. Try to eat her, would he? Keep her stranded on a boat? Ha. Angel couldn’t stop her grin. “Thank you very much for your offer, Logan. I’d love to stay.”“All right!” Michael bounced again—she couldn’t wait to try that when she was alone—but his father looked a little green around the gills.“Michael, I don’t think—” The little black box on Logan’s hip started playing music. He glanced at it and exhaled. “I need to take this call. We’ll discuss Angel staying with us when I’m done.”Long legs carried him fluidly off the boat and up the dock, one arm swinging, head held high as he spoke into the box.She had studied the way her brother Reel walked hundreds of times. He was the only two-legged Mer in their world, but walking was so different when Logan— Humans—did it. The lack of buoyancy on land made the flexion and extension of the muscles slightly different,requiring the ability to balance between two shifting ap-pendages, the heel-toe rhythm, the contractions of his gluteus maximus…“What happened to your tail, Angel? Is it going to grow back? Are you gonna stay here forever? Can I tell Logan that you’re a mermaid?” Michael bounced beside her, his whisper loud enough to carry on the warm sea breeze.Angel guided Michael to a pull-down bench behind the captain’s chair, stepping on the lid of the catch box on the deck to make sure it was closed securely. No need for Logan to discover where she’d stowed away last night to escape Harry. Nor that Michael had seen her, helped her, and hid her. All under his father’s un-suspecting nose.She tugged Logan’s soft shirt beneath her as she sat. She’d forgotten the nudity part of the transformation. Thank the gods Logan had thought so fast. “My tail will come back if any seawater touches it, so it’s very impor-tant that doesn’t happen around grown-ups, okay?”Michael’s little chest puffed out as he sat on the cush-ion next to her. “I’m the only one who knows about you, aren’t I?”Angel tapped the rim of his hat. “Yes, you are. And I wasn’t even supposed to let you know, so we definitely can’t tell Logan.”“Are you gonna get in trouble?”So much it wasn’t funny. Unless she could make this situation work to her advantage. “Not if we keep my tail a secret, okay?”Yes, Rod, her brother the High Councilman, would be so proud of the lies.Not.Truth was, she wasn’t either, but what could she do? Harry had been all about getting a Mer meal last night, and she’d been the only one around. So she could either have climbed aboard the fishing boat, or…Or nothing. Harry or the boat. There was no other choice.“Okay, I won’t tell. I can keep a secret. Cross my heart and hope to spit.”That comment didn’t make any more sense now than it had last night when she’d slipped on board just before dark. On the lookout for adult Humans, she hadn’t seen the child, but he’d certainly seen her.One thing about kids: they were infinitely more ac-cepting than their adult counterparts—which was the basis of her plans for the Mer-Human Coalition her brother was forming. Michael had gone with the fact that she was a Mer and understood her need to stay out of sight of adults. He hadn’t turned her in then, so she had high hopes he wouldn’t do so now.Not that she was condoning his lying to his father, but when it came to her life or a child’s honesty, she was going with her life.Still, The Council could bring charges against her for this.If only Hammerhead Harry had kept to the truce agreement with The Council, she could have conducted her research without any detection, let alone face-to-face contact. All she’d been trying to do was monitor Human fishing practices, but the stupid shark just had to show up. Then she’d had to unload everything to the bottom of the sea so she could have a chance of outswimminghim. There went all her notes, all her tools, and a lot of her self-respect.But she now had the perfect opportunity to redeem herself and learn enough to earn the position of director of the Coalition she’d wanted in the first place.All thanks to Harry—not that she’d ever tell him. “I’m sorry I caught you last night, Angel.” Michaelunwrapped a small pink, rectangular item he’d pulled from his pocket, then shoveled it into his mouth. “I didn’t mean to hurt you.”She stopped herself from rubbing the spot just above her big toe where Michael’s fishhook had sliced into her fluke. First time in recorded history that a Human had actually hooked a Mer with a fishing line—and a child, no less. Without trying. She wouldn’t be spreading that story around any time soon.And, fish! That hook had hurt. But, ironically, it had been what saved her. She wouldn’t have thought to use a boat to escape a shark otherwise.“It’s okay, Michael. Mers are fast healers, and you did save my life. Harry wouldn’t come near me once you caught me.” Sharks were more afraid of Humans in hunting mode than of going hungry.Michael let the colorful wrapper flutter to the deck. “What’s a Mer, Angel? I thought you were a mermaid.”Angel picked up his refuse and held it out to him. “Here. You shouldn’t litter. It damages the planet.”“But it’s only a piece of paper.” He chomped on the substance… ah, chewing gum.Amelia the pelican was a huge fan of the stuff, which she found on any dock, beach umbrella, or othersurface where Humans congregated. Talk about dam-aging the planet.“It’s only a little piece of paper from you, Michael, but what if everyone did the same thing? Then there would be a lot of paper.”“Oh. Okay. I’ll throw it in the trash.” He took the paper from her and shoved it back in his pocket. That was a start.“Good job.” She patted his knee, curbing the desire to study it. She had her own knees now and could examine them all she wanted. She ran a hand over them, then extended a leg. Flexed it. Wiggled the toes.“So what’s a Mer?”Right. Focus on the conversation. She’d have time enough later to study the workings of her legs.“We are called Mers, Michael. Both male and fe¬male Mers. You Humans use the terms ‘mermaids’ and ‘mermen,’ not us.” As for the maid part, well, that hadn’t been true for selinos, but she wouldn’t be ex-plaining that.“Mermen? There are mermen, too? Cool!” This time Michael forgot to whisper and—of course—his father was heading their way.“Sssh!” Angel touched a finger to Michael’s lips. “Remember, it’s our secret.”Michael followed Angel’s gaze. “Right. Our se¬cret. But can I tell Rocky?” The little boy was back to whispering.“Who’s Rocky?”“My pet raccoon. Well, he’s not really a pet. He’s a toy. I wanted a real pet, but Rainbow said no and I didn’t ask Logan yet.”“Who’s Rainbow?”Michael grabbed the rim of his cap and tugged it lower until half his face was hidden. “Oh, she’s my mom.”So Logan was married. Darn. She wouldn’t have minded watching Human courting rituals. Oh well, beggars—and landed Mers—couldn’t be picky. She’d be happy with what she got.Then Logan reached the boat and she was very happy.Logan Hardington was one fine-looking specimen— Human or Mer. Handsome face and warm, dark brown eyes below thick hair the color of a sea lion’s pelt after a few hours in the sun. The light dusting of hair on his chest was a shade darker. Broad, tanned shoulders ta-pered to a taut abdomen where his black shorts rode low on his hips above long, well-toned legs. His face and lean, muscled body looked as if they’d been carved by a master sculptor.Her sister, Mariana, who was a sculptor, would love to get her hands on him. Of course, Logan’s wife might have something to say about that.Here’s hoping the wife didn’t mind a houseguest.Logan climbed aboard, and Angel took mental notes of which muscles contracted, the angle his upper body assumed to counterbalance the forward momentum, how his arms moved… If only she had her tablets to mark down these observations. Damn Harry.“Hey, sport,” Logan said, “I’m sorry, but there’s a change in plans. No fishing today. I have to handle somethi
THE SEAGULLS WERE LAUGHING AT HER.Atop a lighting fixture at the end of the dock, the birds started making noise the minute Angel stepped off the rocking boat.They could cut her some slack. So she was a little un-steady. This was the first time she’d ever had legs, and disembarking a rocking boat wasn’t easy. Not to men-tion, she was still floating over the fact that she’d pulled it off. Logan was letting her stay. She had an excuse and an opportunity to test out her plans for the Coalition.Now she just needed to figure out how to pull off a disappearing act every other night to ensure the return of her tail so she could stay for more than a day or two. Much as she wanted to learn about Humans and get the directorship, she didn’t want to sacrifice her tail to do so, which is what would happen if she had legs for more than two consecutive sunsets.“How long have you had the boat, Logan?” She turned around as he climbed over the gunwale. “Do you use it often? Have you ever lived
Logan tilted his head to the side, studying her. “You want to prove something to them.”It wasn’t a question, but it was so right on the cur-rency that Angel grabbed it with both hands. “Right. They think I can’t do this, and if not for that damn shark, I could have proved them wrong in a tailfli—in a heartbeat.”All of which was true—if slightly skewed.Logan studied her another moment or two, his eyes narrowing, and Angel refused to remember how they’d darkened when he’d almost kissed her… or, rather, when she’d imagined he’d almost kissed her.Oh, Zeus. Let it go already. If she wanted to be taken seriously in the Mer scientific community, the last thing she needed was to swim down that stream about a Human. With The Council’s, and most of the Mer popu-lation’s, prejudice against all things Human, her obser-vations would be tossed aside as lovesick musings. She pulled her arm from his grasp—and ignored the sudden chill that raced over her skin.“Okay, Angel, I know all about n
MICHAEL CHATTED ALL THE WAY OFF THE DOCK AND BACK UPthe steps, with his father patiently responding, discuss-ing anything and everything. Who owned which boat in the marina, why Tony cussed so much when he didn’t think Michael could hear him, what they were going to have for dinner; the little boy never seemed to run out of questions to ask. It was both interesting and beneficial to listen to the two of them.Interesting because Angel had wondered what Human conversations were like beyond Beach-Speak, the only dialogue she’d ever observed in the wild, and benefi¬cial because it gave her something to focus on rather than that near-miss of a kiss and the fact that Logan Hardington was a man.“You can ride in the back with me,” Michael said when they approached the big, black vehicle. “Usually Rocky does, but he stayed home today. Rocky doesn’t like boats.”She’d have to thank Rocky, because she’d always wanted to ride in one of these. The purloined Jet Skis and other small watercra
“Blech.” Michael knocked his hat sideways. “Girl stuff.”“Girls like girl stuff, Michael,” his father said, straight-ening the hat. “Someday you’ll be glad about that.”“Nuh-uh. Girl stuff is yucky.”“Not if you’re a girl.” Angel reached in front of him for the perfect pair of purple shorts, a few shades darker than her amethyst tail, with delicate filigree like lace coral around the edges, then held them against the tops of her legs. “What to do you think of these?”Michael shrugged his shoulders, but Logan turned the most interesting shade of red and walked away without a word. An odd garbled sound, but no word. Was that some Human language she wasn’t familiar with?Michael just giggled. “Logan still doesn’t know you’re a mermaid, does he?”She shook her head. “No. And you have to remember not to say anything.”“I won’t. I promise. I always wanted my very own mermaid. I hope you get your tail back soon. I liked it.” She was going to have to remind him about that word, mermaid
THANK GOD SHE’D SAT IN THE BACK.Logan rushed out of the boutique with the image of Angel’s shapely, toned legs peeking out from beneath the hem of his shirt searing his brain and shooting straight to his groin. Yeah, as if the hardening of her nipples from the store’s air-conditioning and that jumble of hair—not to mention the sexy lingerie she’d held against her body and that kiss they’d almost shared—had nothing to do with his condition.God help him, he couldn’t forget one single detail, and his body’s reaction was making walking damn difficult. He angled away from Michael before adjusting his shorts, not wanting to contemplate what he’d be going through if she’d sat next to him in the SUV, those thighs inches from his—especially after watching them ascend the dock steps, then having her in his arms, almost kissing her… He’d been utterly relieved by Michael’s seating arrangements.And thank God for the store clerk. If he’d had to spend one more minute with Angel holding lingeri
ANGEL WAS GONE.Mariana swam through her sister’s condo, making a mental list of what was missing: the slate tablets of notes Angel kept stacked on the desk in the study, the box of urchin spines she stored next to the Human perfume bottle of octopus ink, that bottle of octopus ink, and the sea-pak from the foyer closet.The shutters were closed on every window, and cloth¬ing was strewn all over the bedroom, the Human shirts Angel had bought at the Salvager’s Market floating atop the furniture in the soft current that wended through downtown Atlantis. This mess wasn’t like Angel. She was a total neat freak about her “treasures,” only getting maniacal like this for one reason.Mariana somersaulted back to the living room. The sea stars were missing. The little colony of colorful echinoderms Angel had recently adopted from Rod’s office usually spent the day wandering around the coral sculpture Mariana had designed for just that purpose.She swam over to the kitchen sink. Yep. The he
ANGEL FELT LIKE A PRINCESS.Okay, so, technically, since her family was royalty, she was a princess. But other than the occasional “my lady,” the title didn’t mean a hill of shells in her world. Here, though… wow.Wendy must have melted that plastic with all these clothes. Angel knew it’d be fun to try on silky item after silky item, then put more on top of those. Swishy dresses, flowing skirts, lightweight pants, colorful tops. They were all so beautiful, like a tropical coral reef on a sunny day. That Humans could create such beautiful products said a lot about them—and gave her hope for the future.And the shoes! Oh, the shoes. The flats came in so many colors, and Wendy had insisted she try on a pair for each outfit. Really, Angel hadn’t needed much convincing. She loved the flamingo-colored sandals the saleswoman had said were the latest style. They were comfortable and looked so very pretty on her new feet. And then, the high heels! All different heights, some thick-heeled, s