Page 4 of Love & Heart Braking

“No… I have something with Soleil.”

“Tomorrow then.”

Dammit. “I have another thing.”

His chest rose and fell. “I see.”

“It’s not like that. I really do have stuff on. How about Wednesday?”

The berserker’s lips curved, though his blue eyes remained furious and uncertain at the same time. “It’s a date.”

2

I kicked the fence of Tiara’s on the way out. Stupid gnome didn’t pay for his “excellent lettuce.” Maybe fair enough considering I’d forgotten the guy was there.

“Why me?” I asked a statue of Vesta on the street.

“Why me?”

Who said that? I glanced down to find an echo imp beside me. Dread filled me as we locked eyes. Echo imps tended to hang around dumpsters and in dark alleys so they could attach to unsuspecting victims. Seeing them on a main thoroughfare like Nox Street really wasn’t common.

Looked like this evening just got worse.

The echo imp scowled and held up a printout of a profile.

Desiree BJ Dreams

The picture on the profile was of a mermaid. My eyes widened as I connected the dots. This was the echo imp we’d set up with Olegh the selkie not that long ago.

Shoot.

No wonder she was on Nox Street. She’d come for me specifically. This echo imp was out for blood. I pressed my lips shut. The worst thing you could do was to speak. If I didn’t, her magic would struggle to latch—

The echo imp stomped on my foot.

“Ow!” I shouted.

“Ow!” She smirked.

I closed my eyes. “Listen, my night has been bad enough as it is.”

“Listen, my night has been bad enough as it is.”

“Things didn’t work out with Olegh? Is it because you put a mermaid up as your profile picture, Desiree?”

“Things didn’t work out with Olegh? Is it because you put a mermaid up as your profile picture, Desiree?”

Blood poured into my cheeks. “You know, if you’d just made a real profile, you wouldn’t be in this mess. He was expecting a mermaid. It doesn’t mean you’re not good enough. But if you start a relationship with a lie, then what do you expect?”

“You know, if you’d just made a real profile, you wouldn’t be in this mess. He was expecting a mermaid. It doesn’t mean you’re not good enough. But if you start a relationship with a lie, then what do you expect?”

The echo imp mimicked my defeated slump.

I blew out a breath. “Look—”

“Look—”

“I’m really not having a good night. The guy I’m into… I had to hurt his feelings.”

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