“That looks good.” She smiled and it was a relief to see her a little more at ease. “I like the picture you used of Dad and Mom. They look so happy.” She sighed, her breath teasing my ear. An image of me pulling her into my lap danced through my brain and I had to close my eyes. I repeated the word friend over and over in my head, but it didn’t work. When I opened my eyes, I could see the swell of her breasts under her shirt and quickly looked up at her face. She was staring at me and it was a hungry look.

“Meena,” I said. I didn’t know what I was going to say, but if she stayed right there any longer, I had a suspicion that we were going to end up on the couch.

She took a deep breath and looked back at the computer, reaching over me to click the mouse to the next page. “This part looks good too.” She stood up then, putting distance between us. I ground my teeth and looked back at the computer.

The inside of the brochure was up and there was a picture of Meena in one of the uniform one-piece suits, sliding through the water with Mitch. I loved that one. It captured her joy and serenity all at once. “I wanted the people to look at it and see themselves having fun.”

“You did it. It’s great.” She went to the kitchen and got a glass of water. “Want some?”

“Sure.” She brought me a glass and sat down across from me.

“I ordered fifty shirts. There are only sixteen employees, but this gives us backups for accidents and in case Dad hires anyone else. I also went ahead and ordered some stuff for the gift shop.” The gift shop was a tiny little tiki hut near the bird house. It was also the first place visitors went to sign in.

“We need to do something with the gift shop. Make it bigger, spruce it up. Something.” I leaned back in my chair and chewed on the end of the pen I had been using to make notes.

“Yeah. It’s a little run-down. I guess I can talk to Dad about a budget and see what we come up with.” I could feel her eyes on my mouth. It was almost physical. I should respect her wish to be friends, but part of me just wanted to win her over. And that was the larger part of me.

“Aren’t the guys working on painting and stuff? Maybe we could get them to help with the hut. Manual labor would be the most expensive part.” I leaned forward and rested my forearms on the table.

“We’d have to have a contractor and inspector no matter what.” Meena looked out the window.

“I know a guy.” I cocked my head to the side, studying her profile. “I could see if he’s busy.”

“Okay. Let’s talk to Dad and see where we go from there.” Meena took her empty glass back to the sink and I closed my laptop. Ben was working near the fish shack. Some of the guys were replacing old or rotting boards on the walkway and he was painting the building a tan color.

“Hey, guys! What’s up?” He always looked so relaxed, I wondered if I could bottle some of his cheerfulness up and send it to my dad.

“Blake and I were talking.” Meena walked to her dad, a smile on her face. I noticed some of the workers watching her, and it was clear from their expressions that they enjoyed the view. I glared, pissed that they could openly stare without her being upset. Honestly, I wasn’t sure that she even noticed. Devin smiled at me and I balled my hands up. When he turned to look Meena over, I stepped in his view to try and block her. She had no idea how she affected the men around her.

“So you think we should redo the gift shop, too?” I looked back at Ben, realizing I had missed a good part of their exchange. He looked worried and I could understand why. Even with the manual labor they had, the supplies would really eat into their budget.

“You need somewhere for the visitors to get out of the elements. Maybe even a place they can buy snacks or food.” I winced, knowing that would make it worse. “It’s a lot up front, but it will make you look more appealing to the cruise lines.”

“There’s the risk that even with those upgrades we won’t get the contract.” Ben rubbed a hand over his jaw, thinking things through. “You know someone that can help? Make sure everything is up to code?”

“I need to talk to him, but he’s done small jobs for my dad. I really liked him.” I didn’t add that I really liked him because he didn’t cut corners, even when Dad tried to bribe him.

“Then do it.” Ben looked back at the workers who quickly went about their business. “Find out what it would cost. I’ll pay the guy a consultation fee even if we decide not to do it.”

“Sounds good.” I looked around, thinking it was probably about time for Josef to be off work. “I’ll go give him a call and see what he’s up to.” I hesitated, not wanting to leave Meena around all the workers, but since she was with her dad I figured she would be fine.

I ran up the stairs and dug through my bag for my cell phone. I hadn’t charged it last night, but had enough battery to make a couple of calls. I called my father’s secretary, got Josef’s number, and dialed quickly.

“Josef.” His thick Caribbean accent filled my ear and I smiled.

“Hey, Josef. It’s Blake Weathering.”

“Blake? What’s up, mon?”

“I was wondering how busy you were. I’ve got a project I could use your help with.” I looked out the window and watched Meena walk to the bird house.

“It is for you or for your dad?”

“For me. My friends own Flukes and want to redo one of the buildings.”

“The dolphin-swim place?”

“That’s the one. They have guys to help with the labor, but need someone to oversee it. They’d pay you to work up a quote.” Josef made a hmmming sound over the phone as he thought it over.

“What they be wanting to do?”

I sketched out my idea for a larger gift shop with lockers and a place to change. “They’d also like to know about maybe adding a place for food.”

“That’s gonna cost ‘em.” I kind of figured it would be more expensive than they would be able to pay, but I had a plan.

“When would you need the payment?”

“Half my fee up front. They pay for supplies as we need them.” He named a figure and I calculated things in my head.

“How long do you think it would take?”

“A couple of weeks.”

“Can you promise it will be done in two? If so, I can write you a check for all of it the first week of July.” I continued watching outside, wondering what Meena was up to.

“Are you paying? I thought it was Flukes.” Josef’s voice sounded amused.

“It’s a gift. For a friend.” I’d just tell Ben the amount of Josef’s fee and take care of the rest. I could manage with what was in my account right now, and in July I’d have my trust fund, which would make this look like pocket change.

“For you, I can do that.” Josef laughed. “I’m betting it’s a very pretty friend.”

I laughed. “You have no idea.” We set up a time for him to come to Flukes the next evening and I hung up the phone.

I went back and told Ben that Josef would be there the next day and quoted him Josef’s fee. Meena was nowhere to be seen, so I spent the rest of the afternoon working with her dad. We talked about the remaining areas that needed to be spruced up and what they would have to do to get ready for the remodel.

The next day, Meena barely spoke to me. It was hard to pretend like there was nothing between us, and I even missed hanging out with Mitch. She spent most of her time with the animals and avoided the workers. The longest time I spent around her was when Josef came to do the quote. She wasn’t rude to me and was very grateful to Josef and listened to his suggestions, but once we made a decision, she disappeared again. It was starting to really get to me.

Over the rest of the week, dreams of her haunted me. I had it bad but didn’t know what to do about it. Everything seemed hopeless. Between trying to keep the cost of the build away from Ben, my father’s constant demands on my time, and the lack of sleep, I was starting to lose my patience with everyone. And I had no tolerance for some of the other workers. Most of them weren’t bad guys, they had just made mistakes like me. But Devin and his friends were a constant pain in the ass.

The afternoon the sign was delivered, I was down by the parking lot helping install it. Ben asked me to run back to the house to grab some of the paperwork for the delivery guy. I knocked on the door but no one answered, so I stuck my head in the door.

“Hello?” No one was inside, so I went in and started shuffling through the paperwork on the kitchen table. Meena’s handwriting was scribbled across a bunch of the pages, little notes and suggestions. I smiled when I saw that she had circled something on the pamphlet I had designed and wrote “nice” in the margins.

The papers Ben needed were in my hand and I was heading for the door when I heard a scream. My heart stopped and the only thing I could think of was Meena. I didn’t realize I was moving until my feet hit the path in front of the house. When I saw the large shadow in the window of the fish house, rage surged through my veins.

Chapter Thirteen

- Meena -

My heart hurt and I was tired. I hadn’t slept all week. Avoiding Blake was more difficult than I had thought it would be. Especially when he was all I could think about. I missed his jokes, the cocky way he grinned. I missed the way we bantered, how he kept me on my toes. I missed being around him and I realized I had been falling in love. I hadn’t seen it coming, hadn’t thought it would happen with him. But there is was. As soon as he went to the house, I took a deep breath and left my perch on the hill to go see Dad. When I got down there he put an arm around me and squeezed.

“You okay, Sea Monster?”

“I’m fine. Just tired.” I watched as the workers went about pulling down the old sign.

“I haven’t seen much of you lately.” There wasn’t any condemnation in his voice, just truth. My parents hadn’t treated me like a kid in a long time. They trusted me. It meant a lot. “Are you still avoiding Blake?”

“I’m not avoiding him.” I sighed and stepped away from him. “Okay, I am avoiding him.”

“Why are you avoiding him? Excuse me for pointing this out, but you both seem kind of miserable.” Dad frowned. “The boy has been moping around all week.”

“It’s just not a good idea. He’s going to be leaving soon.” I clenched my left hand and looked down at my wrist. There was a faint line that almost looked like a rash.

“I can see how that would be hard to deal with. Something like that hanging over your head.” Dad’s eyes watched me. “Sometimes, we have to decide if the good outweighs the bad, sweetheart.” He reached out and pulled me into another hug. “You know, Meena, you could travel if you wanted to. You would just have to be careful. Plan it out.”

“I know,” I said. “But I really do love it here. I like what we’re doing. It’s important.”

“You could always come back, Meena. We aren’t going anywhere.”

“Thanks, Dad. But I’m happy. I really am.” I tried to believe it, to accept that I didn’t need to go anywhere to know this was where I belonged.

“Shit!” One of the workers hollered. He had picked up the gas-powered weed eater and the oil had drained all over the white sidewalk.

“Someone go get the cleaner out of the shed. Marcus, set it in the grass so it doesn’t make any more mess.” Dad walked away from me and I watched the chaos for a few minutes before deciding to go take care of some little things I had been neglecting while avoiding Blake.

I headed for the bird house to make sure that everything was in good order. Becca wasn’t in today, but her assistant, Laura, seemed to have everything in order. Some of the birds would be released back into the wild, but there were a few that would never be able to leave the sanctuary. I peeked at the tiny baby seagulls and then headed out to the fish house.

No one was in there, so I grabbed some supplies and set out to clean the tanks. I had just climbed up the step stool when I heard the door open. When the smell of something rotting reached my nose, I froze. Very carefully, I turned around and looked at Devin. He had a bottle in his hands and was leaning against the door.

“Where’s your boyfriend?” His voice grated on my nerves, making me want to wince.

“Blake isn’t my boyfriend.” He laughed like I had made a joke. I stepped down from the stool and crossed my arms. Devin was unstable and I didn’t want to be at a disadvantage. “What do you want?”

“Just to talk, but I was starting to think I wouldn’t have the chance to get you alone.” He took a few steps in my direction, effectively blocking me from the exit and the back room. “I know what you are.”

“Annoyed?” My heartbeat picked up and I was feeling the edges of panic creeping in.

“You’re funny. I like that.” His creepy smile made me want to run, but I had nowhere to go. “No, sweetie. I know about your… fishy problem.”

“I don’t understand.” He took a step forward, but I held my ground. I wasn’t your typical human. I was stronger than I looked and I’d use it if I had to.

“See, my mom was just like you. Preying on men and then ruining their lives.” He swung his arm, making the liquid in the blue jug swish.

“I don’t understand what you mean.” My eyes darted around the room. I was backed into a corner.

“You’re so much like my mom.” His eyes flashed with something ugly. “She loved the water just like you but wouldn’t even talk to me.” He turned his head at an awkward angle and I saw something open behind his ear. Two long slits flashed briefly and then closed. My mouth opened and closed. He had gills.

“I’m not your mom, Devin.”

“She didn’t teach me a lot about myself, but I did learn some things about her.” He lifted the jug and shook it. “She couldn’t stand chemicals. Even dish soap broke her out. And bleach? Let’s just say it wasn’t pretty. So I’m pretty sure that this stuff is going to hurt like hell.”

“Devin, I haven’t done anything to you.” I moved a little farther away from him. Maybe if I lured him far enough into the building I could get around him. “I’m sorry your mom is so mean to you.”

“Was mean. She’s been gone for a long time.” He unscrewed the lid and I felt my heartbeat sped up even more.

“Devin, don’t do this. I have nothing against you.” That wasn’t true. He was crazy as shit and mean.