"Hey," he murmurs against my mouth. "Hey, I'm not seeing anyone else. I don't want to, okay? Just you."
He kisses me softly.
"Just me?" I whisper.
He nods against my mouth. "Only you. Why would I want anyone else when I've got the perfect arrangement with you? We've got our pact. You’re perfect. Our pact is perfect."
I nod. Is it, though?
For some reason, the pact feels perfect when we're together like this. It's when we're apart that the pact seems like a rotten, stupid idea.
I shove my doubts aside and accept his sweet kisses, wrapping my arms around his neck and pulling him closer. I'd changed out of my shorts and T-shirt when I got back from my ill-fated bike ride for coffee, and am just in the soft dress I wear around the house when it's too warm for anything else.
"In fact… I missed you," he murmurs.
I straddle him, not caring about the dress or the doubt or the rules of our pact, and let myself disappear into him for a while. Sometimes the easiest answer is to stop asking questions.
It's two hours later and we're tangled together in my bed, the late afternoon sun coming through the blinds in soft, pale yellow stripes. My dress is somewhere on the floor. The ceiling fan moves the warm air around in slow circles, and neither of us has the energy to stand and pull the switch one more time so it spins faster.
"I heard from Damien today," he says softly.
Whoa. This is out of the blue.
"Oh yeah?" I roll to one side and prop myself up on my elbow. Remy rarely talks about his twin brother, and I'm eager to know more.
"Yeah. He's in Montana. Thinks he’ll be home soon after this final assignment. I worry about the guy."
"How much longer does he have?"
"Dunno. A month? Maybe? I really hope that when he comes back, he stays for good. Has a job lined up with the local fire department and everything. He’s never really lived a normal life, though, so we’ll see if settling down with Kate does the trick"
"I'm sure it will."
"We all worry about him."
"I’m sure you do. You've probably worried about him for years, no?"
"Yep. Ever since he got the idea to be a backcountry firefighter."
I brush his hair off his forehead with my fingers, and he shuts his eyes. "Did you ever consider doing something like that? The military? Firefighting?"
"Thought about the Coast Guard. But fishing was always my thing. Always knew I wanted to fish as a career. Sounds weird, doesn't it? Fishing as a career?" He opens his eyes.
"Not really. But, I'm a mermaid, so what do I know?"
He grins. "I love that you're a mermaid. Did I ever tell you that? How proud I am of you?"
"Thanks," I whisper, kissing him on the cheek.
"And don't you worry about me being with anyone else. If the time comes when I feel I need that, I'll make sure you aren't blindsided, okay?"
A lump forms in my throat, and I try to swallow it. "Okay. Are we adding all this to our pact?"
"Yeah. We are. We're just making the pact better."
"This is like the Treaty of Versailles. Only in Cypress Grove."
He laughs and tickles my stomach. "Exactly. And same goes for you. If I'm not enough for you, if you want someone else, just let me know. 'Kay?"