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Sid leaned towards her as they quietly sang the final line. His breath caressed her cheeks, and she couldn’t take her eyes off his lips. She wanted those lips on hers.
The song ended. Her pulse raced. She instinctively moved to close the distance between them.
Applause filled the pool area. Startled, she pulled back quickly and tore her gaze from him. Their singing had drawn a crowd. Even James and Jeff seemed impressed.
Her cheeks burned, but after a moment she dared a glance at Sid.
He smiled and acknowledged the cheers and whistles coming from the children, parents, and other merfolk. But he didn’t appear the least bit flustered.
How could he be so calm? Hadn’t he felt something while they were singing? They had almost kissed! And that hadn’t affected him?
No, of course not. He was a much better actor than she had given him credit for.
She had performed that song hundreds of times, but she had never once forgotten it was just a part of the show.
Singing with Obsidian had made her forget that it was all an act.
She needed to un-forget. Fast.
Chapter 18
Sid tried to focus on the children, the other mers, even Jeff and James—anywhere but on Jayna. What had he been thinking? He knew Swim with Me was a love song that ended with a kiss. Why had he thought that song would be a good choice for Marevitrum and Aaramere to sing as a duet?
Sure, it was his favorite song from the Sirens of Atlantis, and he had been captivated by the way Aaramere sang it in the show. But he had expected her to only sing the song, not act out the romantic ending of the scene. For several long, agonizing seconds, he’d worried Jayna was going to kiss him.
Then for several more, he’d hoped she would.
Fortunately, she hadn’t. It would have only been a stage kiss for her, and it wouldn’t have meant anything.
It would have meant far too much to him.
For the rest of the afternoon, Sid did his best to smile and laugh and splash while pretending he wasn’t going half out of his mind with longing. The sound of her laughter, her sweet interactions with the children, her incredible beauty—every little thing she did was like injecting plasma straight into the reactor fueling his attraction.
When the sun dipped low in the western sky, Sid felt bittersweet relief that the service activity was at an end. Both he and Jayna had managed to hide the tension that had grown between them after their song, but it had been exhausting.
As they were saying goodbye to the last of the guests, Kalani approached their ledge hauling the aqua chariot behind him. The chariot was a simple floating platform with a big seashell enclosing a small bench. The whole contraption attached to a harness that allowed him to pull it through the water.
Kalani had been pulling it all afternoon with as many as three riders at a time, which said a lot about his strength and stamina.
“That looks like fun,” Sid said as Kalani disconnected the chariot harness and pulled himself up onto the ledge.
Kalani gave a tired, wily grin. “I’m glad you think so.” He nodded towards the crowd. “Because it’s your turn—by special request.”
Sid turned to see a man pushing a wheelchair that held a frail young woman in a bright blue mermaid tail. Her hands and arms were curled, and her head lolled to one side. She had implants at the base of her skull that likely gave her some control of her body, but even with the advanced bionic technology, she was still wheelchair-bound.
They stopped at the edge of the pool, and Kalani said, “Mermaid Aaramere, Merman Marevitrum, this is Andrea Jordan.” Kalani leaned close to Sid and said softly, “It seems you have an admirer.”
Sid put on his best smile for Andrea. He pulled himself out of the water as high as he could to make eye contact with her. “Hello, Andrea. It’s nice to meet you. Have you been having fun with the mermaids?”
Andrea nodded, and though her mouth didn’t move she answered in a sweet, clear voice with only a slight synthetic edge. “I’m having a lot of fun. I want you to pull me in the chariot.”
Sid drew in a breath. Kalani hadn’t been kidding.
He had to assume it was possible for the chariot to carry both Andrea’s chair and her aide, or Kalani would have refused their request. But he imagined pulling it would be difficult with even the lightest of loads. Sid considered himself a strong swimmer, but his afternoon as a merman required muscles he had never used before. He had no idea if he could pull the chariot.
He hated the thought of backing down from this challenge. Not only would he disappoint Andrea, but he worried it would make him appear weak.
But he also knew better than to let masculine pride goad him into doing something potentially disastrous. He was already exhausted, and he couldn’t risk putting Andrea in danger.
