Can I please take you to dinner? Tonight? Tomorrow? Forever?
Yeah, none of those will work.
I've never been this instantly hooked on a woman before. Whatever this is, it's primal in a way I don't quite understand. Don't want to, either. I'm just going to ride it out and see where it takes me.
"Hey," I say softly, finally finding my voice and my nerve. "What's your name?"
The electricity crackles between us. I take in her long eyelashes, the freckles on the tops of her cheekbones, the perfect bow of her glossy upper lip. Her wet hair is slicked back, hanging past her shoulders. And I was right — there is a sheen to her skin. I inhale sharply and detect notes of a coconut-based sunscreen.
She blasts me with a teasing grin, then turns and dives headfirst into the water. Her body slips below the surface, the blue mermaid outfit catching the sunlight. The tail is the last thing to go under, flicking upward like a dolphin's. Little drops of water land on my face.
And she swims away. My heart dissolves into the water.
I blink and wonder if I should go after her. But she's too fast, and within seconds, she's almost to the far bend of the spring. I look up at Tate and Isabella.
They're still cracking up.
"Did that just happen? Was that for real?" I ask.
Because I'm not sure what just happened. All I know is that for a few minutes, my world shifted off its axis, and I'm not certain if it will ever be the same.
THREE
Leilani
I swim like there's an angry momma alligator behind me.
A man is the last thing I need right now. Even if he's a honey-eyed dude with the nicest abs I've seen since that time I went to another mermaid's bachelorette party in Tampa. We'd gone to that male stripper show and all the guys had incredible stomach muscles.
The guy who fell off the platform looks similar to one of those strippers. Except he's a little rougher around the edges. No fake tans or hair gel for him. His tan is the real deal, earned from long hours in the sun. I could see where his broad shoulders had gotten a bad sunburn a time or two. His scruff is probably a week old, his hair a little too long.
Rough. Messy. Edgy.
Not my normal type. Wait, what am I saying? I don't have a normal type. I've had exactly one serious boyfriend, plus a couple of casual hookups in my early twenties. One of the casual hookups ghosted me. The other had been wanted for auto theft, so that relationship had been short lived.
Come to think of it, my track record with men is abysmal.
Another reason why it's best to swim far away. If I'm attracted to him, it's a good bet that he's a bad idea.
I swim around the little sand mound of an island until I'm out of sight of the platform, hidden behind the cypress trees. I come up for air and realize I'm out of breath. Not because of exertion, but from sheer excitement.
My mind's reeling, which is absurd considering I was in the guy's presence for all of five minutes.
For a bad boy, his voice had been soft and kind.
And if he's rough and edgy, what is he doing with that polished-looking couple?
Also, why did he fall into the spring like that? That was weird.
"Guess you'll never find out," I whisper to myself, then dip back underwater. As intriguing as he is, I'm not in Cypress Grove for a relationship. Not now, not after all I've accomplished in such a short time. No, no, no.
Today was a fun, brief flirtation. A confidence-booster. Nothing more.
I swim in the direction of my kayak, trying to reclaim my playful, blissful state from before. But the memory of the guy's eyes lingers. When I reach the sand bar island, I turn to glance back at the platform as I roll the waistband of the mermaid tail down over my hips.
He's not following me. That's a relief. There's no telling what I'd do if he came after me. Probably something stupid.
For the next hour, I sit in my bikini on the shore of the tiny beach, munching on the sandwich I'd packed in the cooler. The memory of the guy is replaced with all the things I have to do for the bar, and I wish I'd brought a notebook so I could make a new list. That wouldn't have been practical, though.