She held out her hand, and after a moment, he took it. She hadn’t rejected him, hadn’t turned her back on him because of what he was. Because she didn’t know, an inner voice reminded him. If she did… when she did… she would look at him with the same revulsion everyone else he’d thought he’d known, thought he could trust, had. Still, as her fingers wrapped around his and she pulled him through the water, it was easy to get lost in the joy of the moment. He sped forward, his body surfing over the water’s surface and cold air blowing over his face. It was brisk and invigorating—exciting and like nothing he had ever experienced before. They reached the yacht, and, sensing Sarina might want privacy for her transition from water to land, Nolan climbed onto the boat on his own, then turned his back. He was curious to see the mermaid’s tail out of water, but he maintained his stance through the sounds of splashing and something flapping against the boat’s polished wood deck.
