Page 4 of Mr. Risky

“You did go on a few dates, didn’t you? Wouldn’t it be so cute if you had a second chance? Hayden’s been asking about you. . .”

“I have a boyfriend now,” I said.

Pippa’s thin lips split open into a bright, sharp smile.

I don’t want your husband, if that’s what you’re worried about. In fact, I hate him.

“Oh, come on. Is it actually serious? You know, Hayden is quite a catch. Such a nice guy. And, not to be crass, but he’s loaded.”

“It is serious,” I said, nettled.

Pippa only gave me another little smile, and sat down on the couch, stretching her long, elegant legs out in front of her.

“It feels like we haven’t talked in ages! You never come home for Christmas.”

Because I couldn’t bear to see you and him together.

To know he chose you over me.

“So busy. . . tickets so expensive,” I muttered.

But that wasn’t it at all.

“What’s happening with Hayden?” I asked, to change the subject. “I thought he was married.”

But I was going to have to get used to her talking about Granger, wasn’t I? Because this was how it was going to be. All summer long. . .

“Well, Hayden got divorced this year. So I think he’s been looking forward to you coming. I think he’s really hopeful for a second chance.”

“I didn’t come here to get back with Hayden. I came here to play the flute. And remember, I have a boyfriend!”

“Yeah, but you never know,” Pippa said. “If the guests like you there’s all kinds of possibilities for your career. And with Hayden, a lot of doors could open for you. . .”

Was she implying I was only here to be Hayden’s girlfriend?

“I’m really excited to change into my Sirens costume and play for dinner tonight,” I parried, grabbing my battered flute case from the suitcase.

“Oh, Sosie. I can assure you that Hayden can help your career more than any of Grandaddy’s old friends.”

I bit back the retort that she should shut up about her brother, and she linked arms with me as we walked back to the big house, already buzzing with activity, workers moving back and forth with big, gorgeous centerpieces and getting the tables ready for dinner.

To be invited to Hollingsworth House for a Sirens performance was a coveted honor, and I could see several big-name journalists and streamers here. Live feeds of these performances could get tens of millions of views.

Oh, to feel my toes in the water was lovely. As much as I dreaded coming back, I loved the ocean too much to ever stay away from it forever.

And tonight was my first opportunity to be a Siren.

Might seem silly to some, but being raised by my grandmother in a trailer on the edge of Oystar Bay meant I had such a fascination with them.

She’d had no use for children, and no use for me specifically, and the first time she’d seen me watching the Sirens from a distance she’d blistered my ear with her sermons about the kind of women who would have gone there and played music wearing dresses that showed too much of their breasts.

And she had never forgotten my fascination, warning me repeatedly against the dangers of whorish behavior.

But I used to sit by the ocean and dream, that there was a family of mermaids out there and that I was their long-lost child.

That someday I would live out there like they did.

And he used to encourage me too. Back when we both worked at the Salty Dog Diner.