Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 102166 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 511(@200wpm)___ 409(@250wpm)___ 341(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 102166 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 511(@200wpm)___ 409(@250wpm)___ 341(@300wpm)
“You can’t take Checkers.”
“He likes Iris more than you,” Monty sniffed, attempting to zip up the bag around the cat.
“Iris lives in the ocean.” Monty’s gaze flicked away. Too quickly. “She went to the ocean, didn’t she?”
“Where was all this concern for my magnificent sea wench last night?”
“Monty, do you know where she is?”
“I’m her emotional support bird. I always know where she is.” He shoved several of his little vests into another bag as Checkers started to wiggle out of the head hole Monty left for him. “Besides, the fish at the aquarium were trying to leap out of their tanks to get to her. One of them was spelling out HELP in bubbles, I swear.”
“What?”
“The fish were trying to get to her.”
“Why?”
“Do you know anything about that resplendent creature?” Monty asked, turning to cross his wings and glare at him.
“I know everything she’s been willing to share with me so far.”
That seemed to soften the bird slightly. His wings fell. “The fish swim to her when she cries. It’s some oceanic princess magic, I guess. Which I imagine is charming in the ocean. But mildly horrifying on land.”
“She was crying?” Finn asked, stomach dropping.
“Of course she was crying. And I hope that witch cursed you with each spilt tear.”
“The witch?” Finn asked, grasping onto that with both hands.
Monty sighed.
“She’s with Selene?”
“I can’t tell you that.” Monty lifted his enormous beak. But as Checkers finally emerged from the bag, he turned. “Get back here, you beast, or I’ll store you somewhere else much less favorable.”
“Do not put the cat in your beak.”
“He won’t stay in the bag!” Monty threw a wing out dramatically.
“Listen, how about you put a pin in stealing my cat. And in your packing. Let me go see Iris. I want to fix this.”
The pelican seemed unconvinced.
“I love her.”
“You say that. And yet she was crying last night.”
“Please, Monty. I want to make it right. I can’t lose her.”
Monty stared at him for a moment.
Finally, he gave him a nod and an address.
“But that’s the bookstore.”
“And Selene’s home,” Monty said. “Bring her a hot pretzel,” he suggested.
“I can do that,” Finn said, daring to feel hope for the first time in hours.
“Finn,” Monty called.
“Yeah?”
“Bring our girl home.”
“I will.”
He would.
Whatever it took. Even dropping out of the race, he’d do it. For her.
“Not now,” he snapped when Henry tried to stop him.
“Finn, we don’t have time for this. You’re still lagging in the polls. You have to get your face out there and change public—”
“There’s only one thing I need to do right now. And that’s try to convince the woman I love to give me another chance. Everything else can wait.”
Henry wasn’t done, though. He followed Finn into the elevator.
“There’s no time—”
“Then we lose the election.”
“How can you say that?” Henry shook his head. “This is all you’ve ever wanted.”
“Things change. Now she is all I want.”
As soon as the doors slid open, he strode out, ducking his head to avoid the hard look from Willow as she watered the plant in the lobby.
“You,” a voice said as Finn stepped onto the street. His head jerked up, seeing Arden barreling down the sidewalk toward him.
“I know. I’ve heard it all from Monty already. And there’s nothing you can say to me that I haven’t already been saying to myself.”
“Good. You should be wallowing. Now go do something heroic and romantic about it. Do you have any idea how hard it is to plan a wedding for two people who have practically been in love since they met but are too stubborn to see it? I’m surviving on caffeine and Firis fan fiction.”
“Firis?”
“Finn and Iris. It’s your couple name.”
“There’s fan fiction about us?”
“There’s fan fiction about the gargoyle who sits on top of the First Paranormal Bank building and sighs each time one of the tellers shows up to work. Of course there’s fan fiction about you two. But I bet after last night’s fiasco, a dozen new story arcs are being created as we speak. And I want them all to end in scandalous sex and happy endings. Fix it, Finn.”
With that, he walked off.
Finn sucked in a deep breath and strode down the street, stopping only to get a whole bag full of hot pretzels before making his way to the bookstore.
The door was unlocked for business.
But when he tried to enter, he felt an invisible wall slam into him.
“Did it hurt? I hope it hurt,” Selene said, appearing out of the depths of the store. “A lot of wards come out kind of rubbery, so they don’t do any real damage. I added in some mystical concrete. Not enough to break your nose, but I hope it crunched a little.”
He barely resisted the urge to reach up and rub it.
“I deserve it.”
“You do. And unless that suit is hiding a grand romantic gesture, a heartfelt apology, or a soul, you’re not getting in.”