"Remy, you in?" Andrew asks.
"Nah, sitting this year out. Thanks, though."
The three of us wander toward the crowded meeting room. "Holy crap, when did it get so crowded at these meetings? There must be a couple hundred people here."
"You haven't been in a while, have you?" Tate quips.
"Guess not. Hey, I'm going to grab a cup of coffee."
I break away from my brothers and fill a paper cup with brown liquid. Andrew's now at the front of the room, welcoming everyone and talking about routine Chamber stuff. I stand near the doorway, eyeing the table where my brothers are sitting. They've left an empty chair for me, right next to Kate, Damien's wife.
Andrew starts talking about the mentor program — I have to hand it to him, he doesn't screw around with jokes or filler — and I'm thinking about slipping out when I spot a familiar-looking head of golden hair.
No. That can't be Leilani. Can it?
The woman's wavy hair looks exactly like hers, but since her back is to me, I'm not a hundred percent certain it is her. If I go sit with my brothers, I might get a better look from that angle.
I weave my way through the tables and plop down. First, I grin at Kate, and then twist in my seat so I can pretend to listen to Andrew.
Kate clocks my expression and looks at where my eyes are pointed. She arches an eyebrow. "Oh, this is going to be good," she murmurs.
"Don't," I mutter.
"I'm not doing anything."
I scowl at her.
"And our first mentee is the owner of a brand new bar here in Cypress Grove. It's called Mermosa, and it's a mermaid-themed bar. Isn't that a great name? Mermosa? It's like mermaid and mimosa — two of my favorite things. Let's give a big hand to Leilani Kostas, and she can talk about her new establishment!" Andrew extends his arm in her direction, and she stands.
Yep. It is her. My stomach clenches.
She's wearing a black-and-white polka-dot blouse and a tight, black skirt that hits just below her knees. She walks to the podium and I inhale sharply. Her hair is down, in soft, dusky gold waves. It's pinned to one side with a red flower, and she's wearing matching red lipstick.
She catches my eye across the room.
The color drains from her face. Then floods back in.
Beside me, Kate makes a small sound that could be interpreted as either coughing or laughter. I'm pretty sure it's laughter.
"Thank you," Leilani says into the microphone, her voice slightly thrown. "My business is a bar called Mermosa. Sorry, Andrew already said that. I'm a bit nervous. The bar will be a casual establishment with food, and people can book mermaid-themed parties. There will be a large tank in the bar where mermaids in costume will swim as entertainment."
A ripple of laughter and applause erupts.
Andrew says something about how she was a Weeki Wachee mermaid, and the room applauds again. Obviously, people love this idea; in Cypress Grove, the more unique and quirky the business, the better.
I feel a jab to my ribs.
"Dude," Tate hisses. "That's your mermaid."
I shoot him a dirty look.
"As you all know, now we pick a mentor from the people who signed up. Leilani's mentor will help her hone her business plan and oversee her launch. All the new businesses in the program are opening within three months. The team that has the most successful launch, judged by the criteria in the contest rules, will win the ten-thousand-dollar cash prize." Andrew shakes a green plastic bucket, the kind that kids use on the beach. He dips a hand inside. "And the number is zero-eight-eight-six."
He brandishes the ticket, and the room buzzes with the voices of people who are looking at their own tickets to see if they match. Some of the men in the room are sitting straighter, hoping their number's been called. This adds to my discomfort.
"Who's got the winning ticket?" Andrew calls out. "Zero-eight-eight-six."
"Zero-eight-eight..." Tate says, holding his ticket at arm's length. "Whoa. Would you look at that?"
