The Mermaid's Curse (California Mermaids Book 1) by Kristina Ludwig

“Things are so complicated right now,” I say, my voice muffled in the sleeves of Xavier’s jacket. “How am I going to decide what to do with the rest of my life—in only twelve moons?”
    I raise my head, looking at Xavier for guidance, but he looks as clueless as I feel. “Actually, only eleven moons,” I add, hiccupping. “The first full moon has already passed. I don’t want to leave you. But I can’t bear the thought of leaving my family, either.”
    “There must be some way around this,” Xavier says, picking up a handful of sand and letting it flow through his fingers. “We just have to figure it out. And the thing is, the choice isn’t imminent. You have nearly a year to see me, and your parents.”
    “Right.” I gaze out over the ocean, thinking that, up until I turned eighteen, my entire world had been beneath its waters, simple and contained.
    “I want to spend as much time as possible with you, Oceania,” Xavier says, taking my face in his hands. He looks down at me, his eyes sparkling. They’re practically brimming over with love, but he doesn’t say the words I’m longing to hear. He probably thinks it’s too soon to declare his love, and even though I really want to know for sure whether his feelings for me match mine for him, I just can’t bring myself to say the words first.
    Xavier looks skyward, and so do I, admiring the moon and stars shining through a transparent layer of clouds.
    “I like being with you under the stars like this, but I want to spend a day with you,” Xavier continues. “I want to watch the sunset with you, have dinner with you, just share hours with you.” His face becomes serious as he adds, “I want you to see the land in daylight, and I want my parents to meet you, too.”
    “Are you going to tell them I’m a mermaid?”
    “Not at first, no,” Xavier says. “They would think I was crazy. Of course, Amelie already knows, but I’ll just tell my parents that I met you at the beach. I won’t be lying, but I know they won’t be able to handle the whole truth. Well,” he corrects himself, “my father won’t be able to, at least. He works in banking, and everything in his world is so ordered and logical. My mother believes in fanciful creatures, so she probably would.”
    I laugh. “Is that what I am? A fanciful creature?”
    Xavier smiles and stands, pulling me to my feet. “Absolutely. Although I couldn’t dream up anyone as amazing as you if I tried.”
    We walk down the beach, arm-in-arm, and Xavier says, “So, do you think you can come after luncheon today? We can spend the whole day together. Land is amazing when the sun is out, and you’ve never seen sunshine except through the water, right?”
    I nod. “I think Ula can help me dream up an excuse for my parents. I really want to see the day with you, too, and watch the sunset.”
    “Wonderful,” he says, kissing me gently on the cheek. “If you like what you see, you can come back for the party my father is throwing next Saturday evening.”
    I clap my hands. “Oh! That sounds fantastic!”
    Xavier shrugs. “It should be all right, I suppose. I usually hate those events, but I think you will make everything more bearable.”
    We stop our stroll through the sand, and Xavier picks up a little rounded rock, tossing it into the water where it skips over the waves. He lowers his face to mine, and kisses me.
    As I’d told Xavier before, mermaid’s kisses have power, but they can also be simply an expression of love, if the mermaid refrains from infusing the human with the enchanted breath of life.
    That’s exactly what this is: a kiss of love. At that moment, I know that, although Xavier hasn’t told me he loves me yet, he does.

 
    Chapter Twenty-Six: Xavier
     
    Oceania and I walk along the seashore in companionable silence. I love the way she giggles as I rain kisses all over her face and neck. I love the easy, natural way that she glides over the surface of the sand in her bare