Chapter 23
Iris
She didn’t even get a chance to bask in the glory of her work.
The second they got back from filming the late-night show, Henry had about fifteen calls that Finn needed to return.
And she watched how all of the tension returned to Finn’s shoulders, how his whole demeanor so effortlessly shifted back to the political mannequin he’d spent so many years becoming.
Shelly’s words danced around her mind as she spent the next day alone, trying to focus on her reading but failing.
She’d been right that it was possible to bring out a side of Finn that he was keeping under wraps, whether he was conscious of it or not.
The question was … did she want to? Was it sustainable? Would it be a constant fight between the real parts of him and the persona he wore like a shield?
If he won his election, he would need to be that shell of a person every day of his life. What were the chances that he would be able to hang up that part of him when he walked in the door and give her the man that she genu-inely enjoyed being around?
She wasn’t sure she liked the odds.
Iris cradled the shellphone in her hands in the courtyard behind the apartment building as she watched the bees flirt in and out of the flowers she would never see again if she said to hell with this engagement and went back to the sea.
Her heart felt torn in two as she lifted the shell to her ear, hearing the whooshing sound of the sea, and closing her eyes as her blood sang along with it.
“Shelly?” she called.
“I should have known it was her.” Juna’s voice met Iris’s ear.
“What was her?”
“Who stashed a shellphone in with the normal shells in our sitting room. She sent you one too, then?”
“Don’t turn her in to Mother. It’s been nice to be able to connect with you guys here and there.”
There was a slight pause before Juna spoke again. “Why haven’t you spoken to me?”
“Well, gee, because I hear you are out spending all your free time with a certain merman.”
“Oh. About that. I know you figured he might be your future betrothed, but—”
“I’m happy for you,” Iris cut her off. “Truly.” And maybe a little jealous at how easy the connection between her sister and her new partner seemed. “You deserve a little fun.”
“Are you having some fun?”
“Are you asking me that? You, Miss All-Duty-All-The-Time?”
“I’ve been finding more balance. I’ve been keeping an eye on you and Finn. It seems like things have been getting busy as you get closer to the … election.”
And the wedding.
“They have been. I think there’s some big event every week moving forward.”
“What else have you been doing? It seems like that peli-can of yours has been a little too busy rubbing elbows to hang out with you as much.”
“Yeah, Monty has been busy. I’ve made some friends, though. A witch named Selene, who owns a bookstore.”
“That sounds like a tailor-made friend for you.”
“I know, right? And then there’s Arden, our wedding planner.”
“I adore Arden.”
“Wait, what? You know him?”
“He’s going to be planning my wedding as well.”
“Oh, wow.” So much was going on below the surface without her.
“How do you feel about surface life?”
“Conflicted,” Iris admitted.
Because, yes, there were many things she missed about the ocean, but she had fallen in love with just as many things about the surface.
It was to the point that she was considering even staying after the engagement broke off.
Without her mother’s good graces, she would need to find her own way. She could do like all the other surface--dwellers did: get a job, an apartment, build a life. One free of any sort of royal or political responsibilities.
“What is it, Iris?” Juna asked. Her voice was gentler than Iris had ever heard it.
“What do you mean?”
“You seem … unhappy.”
“I’m conflicted,” Iris repeated.
“About your engagement? Or your fiancé?”
“Yes.”
“Why? Has he not been good to you?”
“No. No, Finn has always been thoughtful and kind.”
“And yet?”
“There is a part of him that I have begun to really like. But the other part of him, not so much. And I’m beginning to worry that the other part of him is bigger than the part I have grown fond of.”
Juna gave that the usual amount of careful considering Iris knew her for, before speaking. “I know it’s hard to see while in the thick of something, but it really hasn’t been very long. If there are parts of him you’ve come to like, don’t you think that more time would make you like him even more?”
“I don’t have a lot of time. The wedding is being planned as we speak.”
In fact, Arden had been texting her pictures of various options for their reception dinner. She needed to pick one so the two of them could go and do a tasting menu in the next few days.
“I’m sure you can find time to carve out for just the two of you. I’m sure Finn is a busy man, but surely his campaign manager can give him an evening off here or there.”
“The power is in Finn’s hands. It’s his choice to go to all these events.”
“Perhaps. But have you expressed your desire to have more alone time with him?” Iris’s answer was her silence. “Maybe start there,” Juna suggested. “It might help you make up your mind once and for all.”
“You’re right,” Iris agreed. If she wanted to make an informed decision, she needed more than some fantastic sex and one interview where they vibed. “Thanks, Juna.”
“Of course. I just want you to be happy, Iris. I know you’re worried about Mother’s opinion, but …”
“But?”
“But you deserve to find your own happily ever after. With someone you like all the time.”
With that, they ended their call. Iris sucked in a deep breath and made her way back to the building, her big sister’s words still swirling around in her head.
“Oh, good,” she said when she entered the apartment to find Finn standing at the kitchen counter. “I was hoping I would run into you.”
“You were?” Finn asked, his tone hopeful.
“Yeah, I was wondering if maybe you could find a couple of hours in your schedule for us to be alone?”
“Not tonight,” Henry said, coming down from the hallway. “We have that meeting with investors. But you have time tomorrow night.” Hope swelled but was quickly dashed. “You have the charity gala.”
“That’s not alone,” Iris griped.
“You’ll be together.”
“In a ballroom full of other people.”
“It’s the best we can do. Finn’s schedule is booked until election night.”
“Finn …” Iris implored, silently begging him to listen, to hear the plea for more for the two of them, for a real future.
“I can—” Finn started.
“That’s a callback from the Gargoyle Rights Council,” Henry said, holding up his phone.
Finn glanced between them. He was clearly torn. But she could sense which way he was leaning.
“Never mind,” she said, grabbing her purse and storming toward the door.
“Iris, wait.”
“He’s right here,” Henry announced.
Iris glanced back.
Finn was looking at her, his gaze conflicted.
But he reached for the phone.
And she was pretty sure that was his answer.
She took a moment in the elevator, fighting back useless tears, then picked up the phone to call Arden.
“Hey, gorgeous. What’s going on?”
“Any chance we can do the taste test today?” she asked.
“Um, sure. If you’re willing to send your mother that bill. And it will be a big one.”
“Set it up. But wait. Make it for three.”
“Bringing that cynical witch too, hm?”
“Yes.” She needed Selene’s trademark brand of skepticism and empowerment right about then.
“Name your choice and I’ll meet you there in an hour.”
Distraction plan in place, she named one of the places at random, then made her way toward Selene’s store.
“For goddess’s sake, Gerty!” Selene growled as Iris pulled open the door. The witch barely managed to duck in time to avoid a massive tome being hurled at her head. “I put the damn register back, you nasty old crone!”
Another book whizzed through the air, slamming into Selene’s altar behind the counter, sending a small cauldron and little bottles of various herbs clattering.
“Keep it up and I’ll have someone come in here to do an exorcism.”
“Want to get out of here?” Iris asked.
Selene’s head whipped over.
“Hell, yes,” she said, jerking as a book whacked the back of her head. “I don’t even care if you’re dragging me to something nauseating. Like a rom-com.”
“We’re going to eat a ton of food on my mother’s dime.”
“It’s not all going to be seafood, is it?”
“I think we get to pick from a list of proteins.”
“Perfect,” she said, grabbing her bag. “Have fun throwing things around,” she called to her ghost before moving outside. With a wave of her hand, the door locked and the OPEN sign turned.
“What got into her this time?”
“I have no idea. She’s more temperamental than my cat.”
“We can bring Arden back here after the tasting.”
“Ugh. Arden’s coming?”
“He is the wedding planner. Besides, I think you like him more than you’re willing to admit.”
“He’s obnoxious.”
“He’s enthusiastic,” Iris countered. “And charming.”
“What you call ‘charm,’ I call a cry for attention in a tailored suit.”
“Oh, come on. He saved you from vampire glamour,” Iris reminded her.
“I would have snapped out on my own. I think. Eventually. Probably.”
“You’re just salty because he found out you like love stories.”
“They’re not love stories. They’re about … tactical alliances. With emotional side quests.”
“Have I mentioned lately how much I appreciate having you as a friend?” Iris asked.
“Okay. What happened?” Selene asked, stopping in the middle of the sidewalk.
“What are you talking about?”
“Well, first, the impromptu friendship appreciation declaration. But even without that, the emotional turmoil is popping off of you like sparklers.”
“What are sparklers?”
“I forget how green you are sometimes. They’re a lot like this,” she said. Selene rubbed her fingers together until they sparked and sizzled. “But they’re on a stick. Kids usually run around with them. But the little dragon shifters like to bite the tops off, the little stinkers.