“Good morning, Sir Clancy.”
He froze.
“Yes, I’m awake and you are, too. I can tell.”
Slowly, Clancy turned to face her. With the barest hint of light in the room, he could make out the lovely shape of her face and the curve of her smile. He traced his fingertips along her cheek. “Good morning, sweet Evie.” He leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss on her lips.
Evie pressed tighter to his hip while pulling her leg away, as if she realized what she’d done to him. “This is the first time we’ve ever woken up together. It’s pretty nice.”
“I’m not so sure about that.”
“Say what?”
“Yeah. See, waking up with Earl is pretty nice, and you’re way hotter than him.”
They giggled together, then busted into full-out goofy laughter, holding on to each other while trying to keep the noise level down.
“Shhh.”
“What time does Christina usually wake up?”
“Six thirty or so. What time is it?”
Clancy reached for his smartphone by the bed. “Four fifteen. I need to be at work by seven.”
Evie placed her lips against the side of his neck. He heard himself groan with the pure pleasure of her silky flesh and warm breath. He imagined how incredible it would be to feel that sensation everywhere on his body.
Clancy turned on his side and propped his head on an elbow. He traced the outline of her body from shoulder to knee and back again. “It pains me to say this . . .”
“I agree.”
“I figured.”
Evie nodded slowly. “It wouldn’t be smart. Everything has been so strange for Christina lately. If she were to see or hear something, it would scare and confuse her. Thank you for understanding, Clancy.”
He decided to keep his frustration to himself.
“I don’t think I could be quiet, anyway,” Evie said.
“That makes two of us.”
She propped up on her elbow as well. They remained like that, sharing the dim light with each other as the breeze from the open windows brushed over their skin and clothing.
“I wrote you exactly two days after I got home from vacation, the day before school started. I remember it clearly.”
“What did you say?”
She shrugged. “I’m not sure about the exact words, but I talked about starting tenth grade and how much fun I’d had on Bayberry Island. I told you I thought you were the love of my life and we would always be together. And I said that if you didn’t write me back, I’d know you didn’t feel the same.”
Clancy wasn’t sure why, but a flash of memory came to him. It wasn’t of their summer together—it was his dream encounter with the mermaid. Had she been trying to tell him something? That she had never cursed him? That Evie had always been there and now she needed him? She’d mentioned he was facing the most important decision of his life . . . what the hell? Clancy laughed to himself.
“What?” Evie straightened a bit.
“I don’t know how to put this into words because it’s going to sound completely crazy, but I think I’ve always carried you with me somehow. In the back of my mind, in my dreams.”
“Seriously?”