“You know how Jason wants to marry me before spring training, right?”
“Yes, have you accepted?”
“I’m pretty close.”
“What was that thing you couldn’t tell me about before? Can you tell me now?”
Merry dropped her head in her hands. “Jeez! I want to, but I’m not sure I can.” She reached across the table, grabbed Roz’s wrist, and searched her face. “Will you believe whatever I tell you without accusing me of losing my marbles?”
“Uh, probably. I’ve never known you to lose your marbles—or your mind for that matter. We are talking about your sanity, right?”
“Yes.”
“Well, then yes, you can tell me anything without my questioning the amount of your marbles.”
Merry took a deep breath. “Here goes nuthin’. Jason is a shapeshifter.”
Roz ’s eyes widened, and she fell silent.
“I knew you wouldn’t believe me,” Merry wailed.
Other people in the restaurant glanced over at them. Both women waited until everyone returned to minding their own business, then continued their conversation in hushed tones.
“I’m familiar with the term,” Roz said, “but only in fiction. Are you telling me he’s a werewolf or something?”
Merry suppressed a laugh. “No. He’s a peregrine falcon. There are some nice benefits to his being that particular bird.”
“Oh? Like what?”
“Well, first and foremost, they’re monogamous.”
“That’s terrific. You’ll never need to worry about his fooling around on you, even when he’s on the road or if you see stupid, damaging headlines in gossip columns.”
“I know. That part’s really great, but there’s a downside.”
“To monogamy?”
“Well, yeah. I mean, now that he’s made his choice, he’s begun some kind of process that can’t be stopped. In other words, it’s me or no one.”
“Well, that sucks—for him. You can take your time about it though, right? I mean, I can understand his wanting to make it happen sooner rather than later, but he isn’t still pressuring you to marry him right away, is he?”
“Kind of. There’s more.”
“Uh-oh. What else?”
“The reason he wants to marry me before spring training is so I’ll be in Florida with him when the urge to mate hits in March. Apparently, it’s a falcon instinct at that time of year. If I’m not there, the human in him may be so stressed out, he could losehismarbles. Even if he doesn’t, he could shift without warning in order to fly to me wherever I am. That would end his career.”
“Wow!That’s a lot of pressure.”
“Tell me about it.”
“So, what else will change if you marry a shapeshifter? Does anything happen to you?”
“No. I won’t change at all. He likes to stay in human form, so things shouldn’t be that different.”
“Okay. So, what are you worried about if that’s the case?”
“I feel like I’m letting you down. We had all these dreams ofgoing clubbing on my weekends off and leading theSex and the Citylifestyle for a few years. Here I am looking at marriage to the first man I met on day one in the city!”
