Mermaid For You: A Man of the Month Club Novella: Small town work place romance (Magnolia Point)

Chapter 11

Alexi wasready to pick up the pieces and leave Van—or Sullivan—in pieces. I assured him that Sullivan has picked up all the pieces. We’ve grown so much from that first time together. We’ve learned and healed, and hopefully will continue to do so.

Today is Go Fishing Day. The resort is pulling out all the stops. People are everywhere. Sullivan is pulling out his wallet while talking to two other guys at the bar. I ask Rosemary who they are.

“Oh. That’s Teddy and Ben.” She makes a gagging sound.

Those are the guys he made the bet with. I hurry over and wrap my arms around Sullivan. “There’s my lover!”

All three of them stare. Sullivan allows me to kiss his lips and then whispers with a deep V-shaped frown between his brows. “Lover?”

“Yes, moby!”

Teddy and Ben clear their throats. One of them asks, “I thought your name was Van?”

“It is! But I call him my moby. Can you guess how he got that name? Wink, wink. Like Moby Dick. But it makes him blush. I’m his angelfish. Don’t let the name fool you. I’m anything but an angel. I’d say I’m more of a blowfish.” I reach down and cup Sullivan between the legs.

“I’m sorry, I’m Ben. What is happening?”

“I’m his girlfriend!”

The other one, who must be Teddy, speaks. “You told us you didn’t have a girlfriend?”

“That’s silly! Were you trying to keep me all to yourself, you little mackerel?”

Sullivan whispers into my ear. “What are you doing, my little starfish?”

I think about it and then say loud enough for everyone to hear, “Starfish doesn’t work. I’m attached to angelfish.”

“This is weird,” Ben mumbles.

“I’m uncomfortable,” Teddy agrees.

Sullivan holds his hands up. “The truth is, she knows about the bet. She found out last week. We are together.”

“Teddy, that means I win,” Ben declares.

“Not so fast,” I tell him. “He did succeed. I didn’t know until right up until the time. And he didn’t blow his cover, Rosemary did. He’s done everything, and I am in love with him.”

Ben crosses his arms, but Sullivan speaks. “Angelfish, I don’t care about the bet. If anything, I do feel like I won. Not the money, but you. I gained a better sense of the company, my family’s legacy. A purpose. The love of my life. Yeah, I feel good about how all this turned out.”

“Well, let’s go celebrate!” Teddy cheers as he holds up his fishing pole.

* * *

Sullivan getsa small wooden boat for just the two of us. We float along, enjoying each other’s company. We pass by the mermaid lagoon.

“So you still want to be the next Margie?”

“Absolutely. Spunk and all. I want to be a mermaid for a couple more years. Maybe ten.”

Sullivan laughs. “Ten years isn’t a couple of years. It’s a decade.”

“I guess.” I ask him what his plans are.

“Staying here, if that’s okay with you?”

“More than okay. I really like that idea.”

“And what do you think of the idea of me staying on as a photographer, but also management?”

“Like my boss?” I waggle my eyebrows at him.

“Technically, I’ve always been your boss.”

“Only now I’m going to make sure nobody else ever takes photos of you.”

It’s my turn to laugh. “What? That sounds a little possessive.”

“I am possessive.”

And why do I like this? I can’t help but blush. “Well, nobody else can take photos of you.”

“Deal.”

“This feels like we’re planning a future together.”

“Would that be so bad?”

“No, not at all.”

“Speaking of the future, what do you have planned for the next twenty minutes?”

“Considering that nothing is biting, I guess my schedule is clear.”

“Well, there’s our spot.” He nods toward the willow tree. “And I can guarantee there will be biting over there.”

Kinky. I like it. But I’m more nervous about something else biting me than him. “Can we stay in the boat this time?”

“Yeah. Might be a lot of rocking.”

“I sure hope so.”

His blue eyes gleam with mischief, and he begins rowing us toward the willow tree. Sullivan ties our boat to one of the lower branches, then crawls over to me and whispers against my forehead. “You know what this is? The start of us planning a future together.”

This is definitely off to a good start.