Marriage & the Mermaid (Hapless Heroes) by Louise Cusack

cabinets for the hard copy, then rather than sneaking out undetected, she’d been discovered with Baz’s file under her arm by the principal on his final sweep through the building.
    It had been a complete debacle, except for the fact that Saltwood’s address was so simple she’d easily been able to recall it later after the file had been taken off her, along with her job. Still, unemployment had freed up time for her to visit Baz, so that was a plus.
    Assuming he responded to the letter.
    They’re busy, she told herself, and be patient, but she was desperate to convince Baz she wasn’t a lush. It had been completely uncharacteristic of her to drink so much, but his inattention had made her so frustrated! The raincoat had seemed, to her muddled mind, to be a shortcut. And it had been — a shortcut to rejection. She had so much ground to recover, and the longer it took to see him, the more her faith that they would have a Happily Ever After wavered.
    To make matters worse, the coffee shop was full of couples smiling at each other, touching each other’s hands, and if she wasn’t careful that would make her cry. The old couple in the corner holding hands were particularly poignant for Wynne. She longed to have the unconscious rapport they clearly had — to have lived with Balthazar for so long that his presence beside her in bed felt like an extension of her own body, so familiar to her that not being able to reach out and touch him made her feel displaced.
    She was ready for that. She was so ready for that. All she had to do was wait, but that was proving harder than she’d thought. The idea that he might ignore her apology grated like sand in bikini pants. Completely unbearable. And as the minutes ticked over and her empty mug was collected and another hot chocolate ordered, Wynne realised the desperation clamoring inside her chest was building towards critical mass.
    If she hadn’t heard from Baz by nightfall, she really wasn’t sure what she might do. Her whole future was wrapped around that man. If he ignored her… well, she really couldn’t be accountable for what might happen next.

Chapter Nine
    B az set the tray of food down on the coffee table in the sitting room and went to wake Venus up. It was almost dinner time. She’d been asleep for a couple of hours. She need to eat and get some fluids down.
    She was curled into a foetal position, snuggled into her pillow and thankfully still wearing his shorts and tee shirt. He stood looking at her for a moment, thinking how cute she was, and how relieved he felt to not be aching to pounce on her. Of course, the she’s hot thing was still happening inside his head, but that was normal. The urge to do something about it had faded. A lot. So he confidently reached down and grasped her thin shoulder to shake her gently. “Venus, honey. I brought some food.”
    Her eyelids fluttered and she rolled onto her back and looked up at him. “So are we going to have sex?” she asked.
    He had to smile at her persistence. It was kind of flattering. “No,” he said. “You’re going to eat something.”
    She glanced at his shorts and Baz shook his head. She really did have a one track mind. But, he reminded himself, that didn’t mean he had to act on the thoughts that kept racing through his mind. “Come on,” he said. “Up you get,” and he took her hand and pulled her to her feet. “In the sitting room.” He led the way.
    She followed him, leaning on the walls along the way, then sat heavily on the black leather lounge. When she was settled she looked at the front of his shorts again, which were now at eye level. “Shouldn’t the penis stiffen when —”
    Baz turned away, embarrassed by the fact that her scrutiny was turning him on. He sat opposite her to hide the growing evidence of his arousal. “It’s just the drug,” he said dismissively, but when she glanced away frowning he remembered her earlier insecurity and added, “Plus the fact that you’re