Meena has a secret guarded closely by her family—a secret as dangerous as the sea and buried just as deep. When court-appointed community-service workers are assigned to Flukes, the family-owned animal sanctuary, everyone is on high alert. It doesn’t help that Meena finds herself attracted to sexy-as-sin Blake Weathering, one of the new workers. If he wasn’t so distracting, she might be able to land Flukes a much-needed cruise-line contract. Blake Weathering, the first in his family to attend public school, has developed a tough image. Unfortunately, it lands him in trouble. Now banned from his high school graduation ceremony, getting his diploma is dependent upon a community-service gig cleaning up fish crap. No diploma, no trust fund fortune—and no way to escape his overbearing father. The last thing he needs is the distraction of a mysterious girl with teal eyes who pulls at his heartstrings. When Blake discovers Meena’s secret, they are both thrown into a desperate search for information about her past. Two worlds pull them in opposite directions, and they will have to fight to hold on to all that really matters. \\\ This novel is not intended for young readers. \\\

A short story from NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author Nichole Chase. FREE ON BARNES AND NOBLE, iTunes, KOBO, and SMASHWORDS. What does a mermaid ask Santa for at Christmas? Follow young Meena and her father to find out! Approximately 3,000 words (Originally included in the Christmas Lites II Anthology but has been reedited and fleshed out.) This title also includes the first three chapters of Flukes by Nichole Chase