“You still want to walk around a bit?” Nina said. “I’d love to do a little window-shopping. See what there is to see in town. Get a feel for the place.”
“Sure, that sounds great.” It would also delay the talk they needed to have, which he was all right with. Might as well have one last enjoyable day together.
So they walked and looked in windows and went in a few places. The jewelry store, for one, which didn’t surprise him.
He sensed several times that he’d been recognized, which he’d come to expect, but thankfully, those people left him alone.
But by the time they got home, he was oddly worn out. Maybe it was the thought of the conversation that needed to take place, which he was no longer ready to have, or maybe it was all the endless looking and talking and walking and inspecting things they had no intention of buying.
Or maybe it was pretending that things were fine. Which they clearly were not.
He went straight upstairs to his office, settled into his anti-gravity desk chair, hit the controls to rotate the chair into the anti-gravity position, then fired up his laptop to get some work done. Or at least attempt it.
At the sound of the chair’s motor, Bowie looked up from his window perch and chirped at Ethan.
“Hey, boy. Yes, I’m finally home. And I promised you some play time, didn’t I?”
Bowie jumped down and ran over to Ethan. He hopped up onto his lap and started making biscuits on his chest.
Ethan grinned. “You know I can’t see the screen when you do that.”
Biscuit-making continued.
As he scratched Bowie’s neck, Ethan had a thought. Maybe work wasn’t what he was supposed to be doing.
“The tank is really looking good, don’t you think?” Roxy stood nearby watching while Undrea finished cleaning it.
“I agree,” Undrea said. “It’s matured beautifully. Those wrasses sure have made a home for themselves, haven’t they?” She finished putting the last of her tools into her five-gallon bucket, then grabbed the shop towel she’d brought in with her and wiped up any water drips she’d left behind, giving the tank’s acrylic a final polish as she went. No one wanted to look at their fish and see water spots.
“I love them. They’re so colorful.” Roxy’s gaze was fixed on the wall-to-wall aquarium that Undrea had installed in her office several years ago, her smile a sign of her obvious delight. “It’s hard not to love the clownfish too. Who doesn’t love Nemo?”
Undrea laughed. “They are definitely the most requested addition for saltwater tanks.” She straightened. “You’re doing a really good job of taking care of this tank, too.”
“Thanks. But you’re the one who takes care of it.” She laughed.
“You’re still happy with it?” Undrea never wanted a client, especially one who was also a friend, to be unhappy.
“I still love it as much today as the day you installed it,” Roxy said. “Probably more. Honestly, it is the most relaxing thing. And when I’m stuck in a scene or I don’t know what happens next, I just turn my chair around and stare into that underwater world and kind of lose myself. A couple minutes of that, and the ideas just start to flow again. It’s amazing.”
Roxy was an author who wrote the most delicious paranormal romances. Undrea nodded. “Lots of great creative vibes to be had with water. Anything that relaxes you increases your dopamine production, which helps with creativity. The distraction of the tank can increase creativity. Anyone who’s creative should have one.”
“You should use that as a selling point. This town is filled with creative types.”
“True.” Undrea’s brows lifted slightly. “Including my possible new client.”
“Oh?” Roxy immediately looked interested. “Do tell.”
“Do you know who Ethan Edmonds is?”
Roxy’s eyes went big. “Are you serious? Who doesn’t know who Ethan Edmonds is?”
“Well, I didn’t.”
Roxy laughed. “Okay, I’m sure there are people who don’t. What does he have to do with this? Does your new client work for him?”
“My new maybe client is him.”
Roxy’s mouth came open. “Are you serious? Which house are you putting a tank in? His New York penthouse? Is he flying you somewhere? This is so exciting. You know, I’ve been thinking about basing a hero on him for a long time. There’s something about a super smart guy in glasses.”
Undrea didn’t need convincing. “I’m not flying anywhere. He has a house here in Nocturne Falls.”
“This just keeps getting better.” She pulled out her desk chair and sat as she pointed to the chair against the wall. “Sit. I need to be comfortable for the rest of this story.”
Undrea put her bucket of cleaning supplies down and took the chair.
Then Roxy opened the small fridge she kept beside her desk. “You want something to drink?”
“Sure.”
Roxy tossed her a can of Diet Pepsi and got one out for herself. She popped the top. “Okay, tell me everything.”
Undrea opened her can too. “He’s got a house up in the hills. A big one. They must have had it remodeled because it looks very modern and fresh inside, but you can tell some of the original features were kept, like the big stone fireplace.”
“Pandora would know the details on that, probably. She might have even sold him the house. Wait. You said they. Who’s they?”
“Ethan and his fiancée, Nina.”
Roxy wrinkled her nose. “He has a fiancée? That’s bothersome.”
Undrea bit her lip. “Well, here’s the thing about that…” She hesitated. This was more than she could just jump into. “I really need to back up and start at the beginning.”
Roxy kicked her feet up on her desk and leaned back, taking a sip of her Pepsi. “I am always here for a good story. And my word count is almost done for the day, so I have all kinds of time. Shoot.”
Undrea went back to their first meeting at the lake and told Roxy everything the same way she’d told Mattie. She included the issues with the kiss, too, and how she probably was going to have no choice but to fall in love with him because of mermaid magic and how those things worked. That was as much as she shared about that.
But she figured it was worth doing because Roxy knew a lot about relationships, seeing as how they were sort of her bread and butter. Especially those that involved non-humans.
Roxy listened with rapt fascination. “Okay, I have to say, that is the best meet-cute I have ever heard. Did you really call him a creep?”
“I did. Heat of the moment and all that.” Undrea made a face. “I did apologize for that.”
Roxy laughed. “No wonder he’s in love with you.”
“He’s not in love with—oh no.” Undrea paused as a new thought came to her. “Could the magic work both ways?” Why hadn’t that occurred to her before? Was it possible? “Do you think the kiss could be causing him to fall for me?”
Before Roxy could answer, Undrea pressed her fingers to her temples. “I can’t believe I’m about to become a homewrecker.”