“Astra!”

So now I knew the name of the hot mermaid I’d been kissing less than ten minutes ago. If Sondra hadn’t walked in, I might still be kissing her. Kissing Astra.

Or worse.

No. Better.

Definitely better.

Well, it would have been better if she hadn’t just overheard me making my pitch to Congressman Van Allen at a fundraiser she’d clearly been a part of planning. That had been an asinine move on my part.

“Should I go talk to her?”

The low, mellow voice came from the man next to me. Congressman Silas Van Allen. But he wasn’t looking at me. He was staring off into the crowd, looking for that vibrant red wig. He knew her.

“No.” The congressman’s daughter huffed out an irritated breath and reached into the little beaded bag dangling from her wrist. “I’ll call Kaleb, have him check on her. She hasn’t been having the best night, apparently.”

I shot another look off into the crowd. I wanted to go check on her, and the impulse surprised me. I didn’t want to just kiss her again either, although that was definitely on my mind. If I kissed her again, maybe I could convince myself she didn’t taste that good, feel that good.

But maybe she would–

“Why don’t you tell me a little more about the facility you’re planning?”

Jerking my head around, I met Silas’s gaze. “Is that a good idea?” I asked bluntly. “It wasn’t exactly considerate of me to talk about my facility when this event is geared toward raising funds for another cause.”

“Don’t be silly.” Sondra leaned in and patted my arm. “You only spoke to Silas, and it’s not like he plans to announce that you’re looking for donors and backing.”

And that told me what I needed to know. I shouldn’t have said a damn thing. I should have paid attention to where I was instead of being so focused on myself that I acted like a total ass. Irritated with myself, with Sondra, and with Mermaid Astra, I disengaged from the conversation as quickly as possible, without being outright rude.

“Shit.”

That inelegant comment coming from the woman in the yellow dress had both me and Silas looking at her. She made a face at her father, not really paying any attention to me. “Kaleb is helping somebody out to their car, and…well, the guy really had too much to drink. Kaleb will have to ask Miles to find him something else to wear. I better go find Astra myself. Can you handle things for me for a while, Dad?”

“Of course.”

She gave him a kiss on the cheek and only then seemed to notice me, giving me a polite nod while hardly glancing at Sondra.

“Well.”

Silas clapped his hands together, then looked at me.

“I pissed her off, didn’t I?”

His eyebrows went up. “Piety?”

“Piety. Astra.” I shrugged. “Take your pick.”

“You and Astra were barely in the same space for sixty seconds.” He waved a hand. “I wouldn’t worry about it. Piety will explain that Sondra just mentioned I might be able to help with some of the issues you’re having. Setting up a non-profit can be a pain in the ass, anybody in government knows that, including those two.”

I wasn’t convinced but inclined my head. “Of course.”

He gestured to the crowd. “Since Piety went to go check on Astra, why don’t we mingle? You can tell me about your problems, and I’ll meet and greet. Senator, come with us.” He pointed a finger at her. “But no fundraising. This is my daughter’s event. Her cause gets the funds.” He smoothed a hand down his tie and gave me a pained look. “I should probably double my initial donation.”

“Give it to Astra,” I said without thinking.

He paused and gave me a measuring look. “Had the two of you met before?”

Sondra covered a laugh with a cough while I nudged her forward. “Come on. We should mingle, as you said.”

We shook hands.

I introduced myself.

The senator made it clear I was a friend of hers, nothing fascinating, and Congressman Van Allen was happy to play her off as a fellow politician who’d come to support the endeavors of his daughter and her best friend.

Over and over and over until my head was pounding.

“I assume I’ll be writing a check for this shelter before I leave the city, won’t I?” Sondra said lightly as we found a quiet bit of floor.

“You will.” Silas looked satisfied. “It’s a worthy cause.”

They chatted more while I searched the room for Astra.

It didn’t take long to find her. She was on the other side of the room, working the crowd with her friend Piety. Neither the sunshine yellow dress nor the brilliant red wig could easily be overlooked, though I had a feeling those two could attract attention no matter what they wore.

The two of them chatted brightly, and the people with them smiled back and nodded. I wasn’t surprised to see the two women collecting cards. I figured it was for the charity, but a part of me wondered if Astra was getting phone numbers too.

It would make sense.

She was bright and cheerful and flirtatious, the picture-perfect socialite. How many women had I known like her?

I couldn’t even recall, but I doubted there was anyone else like her anywhere.

When she glanced in my direction, and our eyes met, I felt the connection to my bones.

I told myself I just needed to get laid, and I wanted to believe it too.

But I didn’t.

* * *

“I think that went well!”

Sondra was no longer wearing her wig.

It sat on the seat next to her. Staring at the towering white disembodied coif, I found myself wondering about the hair under Astra’s wig. She’d said it was boring brown, but I doubted anything about her was boring.

I hadn’t seen her for nearly an hour, and I wouldn’t have a chance to see her again because Sondra’s car was turning onto the road that led away from the Van Allen home.

She’d avoided me all night. If she would have given me three minutes, I would have gotten the information I needed to let her know I’d be sending funds on to the shelter she was supporting. I had money to spare.

I’d do it anyway, but I didn’t want her thinking I was some jackass who’d come in and tried to divert funds away from her pet charity.

Immediately, I felt like an ass.

Pet charity or not, women like Astra managed to get a lot of money flowing toward issues that would otherwise go unnoticed. That was one fact I’d learned over the past couple of years as I focused on the best way to find help for those who might otherwise end up like…

Closing my eyes, I tried to push the thoughts out of my mind. I didn’t want to think about that right now.

“You look tired.”

Sondra’s voice had me opening my eyes.

“I am,” I admitted.

“You should be wide awake. You’re several hours ahead out on the west coast.”

Lifting a shoulder, I said, “It doesn’t matter what time zone I’m in, I don’t sleep much in general, and it’s been less than usual lately.”

“Oh, I hear you there.” She sighed and smoothed her short hair back, staring out at the rapidly passing scenery. “Go ahead and rest, if you need to. If you fall asleep, I’ll wake you when we reach the hotel.”

I wasn’t about to argue with that. I doubted I’d sleep, but I definitely wasn’t up to being social.

* * *

I didn’t sleep.

Not in the car, and not for several hours in my room.

I couldn’t blame the bed or even the time change though. I couldn’t even blame my over-wired brain this time.

I was actually tired, but every time I closed my eyes, I saw Astra’s face.

I wanted to go back and undo the evening. Make it to where I’d never walked into that office in the first place.

Or to where I’d never walked out.

I wished I hadn’t kissed her.

I wished I hadn’t stopped kissing her.

I wished I hadn’t walked away from the office without her.

I wished I hadn’t left the party without hunting her down and talking to her.

It was possible to hunt her down. Both women’s phone numbers had been left on the information about the shelters they were supporting, so if I wanted to be a total stalker, I could call her.

But the last thing I needed to do was get my head twisted up over a woman.

Still, as I lay in bed, I knew that’s exactly what I was doing.

Getting twisted up over her.

I wondered what she looked like without that wig.

I wondered what she would have done if I’d asked her out.

I wondered what I would have done if I’d asked her out. I didn’t date. Not really. I did the one- or two-night stand thing whenever I got the urge, but I didn’t do the whole dinner and movie thing. Not since...

Despite all the questions, I wished I would have at least asked.

But I hadn’t, and I hadn’t seen her again.

So, it didn’t matter.

I just needed to convince my brain of that.