Pretty in Pearls: A Forgive My Fins Novella (HarperTeen Impulse) by Tera Lynn Childs Read Free Book Online Page B

intensifies. Clearly he didn’t enjoy getting his own words thrown back at him. Too bad.
    I’m done playing doormat Peri.
    “You know what?” I say, grabbing the bag of pearls off the counter. “Send my mother the bill.”
    With a flourish of current, I spin away and sweep out of the stall. Score one for good luck. Finally.
    “Mom, I’ve got the pearls,” I shout into the house when I get home.
    “She’s not here,” Lily says. “She had to go do an on-site fitting for Astria.”
    I whirl around to see my best friend floating in the doorway to the kitchen.
    “That is so typical,” I complain. “Astria knows my mom is swamped getting ready for the dance. She shouldn’t have to make house calls so late in the process.”
    “I know, right?”
    Lily has a weird smile on her face, like it’s spread a little too wide to be natural. My spine stiffens. Lily only gets that weird smile on her face if she’s up to something. And judging from the way her eyes are widening as I study her, I think she’s definitely planning something that she knows I won’t like.
    “What’s going on?” I ask cautiously as I swim toward her.
    “I didn’t find any baggies,” an unfamiliar male voice says, “so I used a kitchen towel to hold the ice.”
    I scowl at Lily. What is going on here?
    A merman—a merboy, really—floats up behind Lily, with one of our kitchen towels—apparently full of ice—held against his forehead. He looks about eighteen, with blond hair, a lopsided smile, and thick, black-framed glasses.
    “That’s great, Lom,” Lily says, not breaking eye contact with me. “Peri, this is Lomanotus. He works for my dad. He’s an intern. Lom, this is my best friend, Periwinkle Wentletrap.”
    He swims forward and offers me his free hand—the other still holding the ice pack in place. “Nice to meet you, Miss Wentletrap.”
    Everything about him is formal. His short blond hair is perfectly groomed. He’s wearing a shirt and tie. When I take his hand, he shakes mine like I’m a new business acquaintance.
    And, oh yeah, he called me Miss Wentletrap . No one under the age of sixty calls me Miss Wentletrap. It’s Peri or, at most, Periwinkle. Who is this guy?
    “Um, sure,” I say, frowning at Lily as subtly as I can without being rude. “Nice to meet you too.”
    His smile lops to the other side and my stomach sinks. I have a feeling I know exactly what he’s doing here.
    “Lily, can I, um”—I give her an emphatic look—“see you in the kitchen for a second?”
    “Okay,” she says as I grab her hand and drag her after me at full force. She calls out over her shoulder, “We’ll be right back.”
    The moment we’re out of earshot, I demand, “What are you doing?”
    “Helping Lom find an ice pack,” she replies, as if she doesn’t know what I’m really asking. “He hit his head on the doorframe.”
    “Lily . . . ”
    “Funny story, actually.” She looks around the room, at the ceiling, the counters—anywhere but at me. “Apparently he’s really clumsy when he’s nervous.”
    “Lily . . . ”
    “And apparently,” she continues, “he’s nervous a lot .”
    “Lily!”
    She stops and looks me in the eye.
    I kick forward and whisper, “Why is there a boy with an ice pack and a pocket protector in my front hall? What are you planning?”
    “Nothing,” she says, giving me that innocent smile.
    “You need to reexamine your definition of nothing.” I gesture toward the front entryway. “Why did you bring a boy to my house?”
    She shakes her head, like she’s going to deny what we both know she’s doing. But then she must realize that I know her better than anyone and she can’t pull one over on me.
    “I just thought,” she says, “that if Riatus is being such a jerk, you might be better off looking for someone else.”
    My eyes narrow. That sounds like too simple of an answer.
    “No,” I say. “You love that I have a crush on a bad boy who looks like a pirate. You think