Artur looked revolted. “You bipeds never fail to astonish. Do you not realize—”

Thomas swallowed his annoyance, figuring that if the two of them had to choke down shit earlier, he could hold his temper. “Stop lumping us into one category. I’d no sooner dump my own waste into a body of water than I’d run over a cat. I’m the one who showed up and told Fred the problem. I’m the one who’s done all the research. I’m the one who spent the morning in City Hall. And I’m the one who’s been at work while you two went off for a romantic swim.”

“Poor you,” Fred sneered. “I guarantee your morning wasn’t as miserable as ours.”

Artur looked wry. “I had thought it would be romantic, and it was. Until.”

Thomas almost smiled. He had not been happy, at all, when Fred had taken off with the big red lug, but at least the guy hadn’t gotten very far during his alone time. Bad news: the guy was a prince. Good news: Fred didn’t care. Bad news: the guy was huge and great looking and could show her a world the average person would never know. Good news: Fred didn’t care.

Besides, Thomas figured, I can show her a thing or two right here on dry land, I bet. And I won’t give her crap for being half-and-half, like some of Artur’s people would.

Fred was picking through the plans piled on his desk, looking intrigued. Artur watched her, shifting his weight impatiently.

Ha! Got her. He knew the scientist in her couldn’t stay away from the lab for long. Sure, Artur was a fellow Undersea Folk, but eight years of formal schooling left its mark, no matter if you grew a tail to swim or just put on swimming trunks from Target.

He watched her open up a plan and read it. Even from the back, she was breathtaking. Long, graceful limbs, and that hair… and those eyes… and that gorgeous, pretty tail. Green in some lights and blue in others, it was like a peacock tail, except a million times sexier.

He was aware that he had built Fred up in his mind because of what she was and not who she was. His mother had told him so many stories of mermaids by the time he was ten, he was hopelessly besotted with the idea of jumping into the ocean and finding a friend who could follow his family all over the world.

Whereas his mother entertained him for hours with her wonderful stories (The Little Mermaid, The Mermaid Wife, The Sea Morgan’s Baby), his father was simply not around much—he went where the Navy sent him. And when you were the new kid and knew you’d be moving in another eight or ten or twelve months, there really wasn’t much point in making friends.

So he read. And dreamed, And listened to stories. And dreamed…

Even before he knew Fred’s secret, he was taken with her. She was the first woman scientist he’d ever met who wasn’t, on a subconscious level at least, interested in male feedback. Or even aware the person she was interacting with was male. She was also the first woman—person—who wasn’t paralyzed by conventional mores and standards of behavior. What she thought, she thought, and if people didn’t like it, she didn’t care. Or notice.