Apple of My Eye (Tiger's Eye Mystery #7) - Alyssa Day Page 0,28

your furry little kitten butt in gear."

I could feel my face heating up and expected my face was the exact color of the scarlet blooms on the bush next to us.

"Let's go, Jack." I tugged on his hand and started after the prince. "We don't want to insult Atlantean royalty in my first minutes in Atlantis."

Jack rolled his eyes but allowed me to drag him along. "Ha! If you want to hear about insults, let me tell you about the time prince 'I can't be in love' over there met Erin."

"Shut up, Shepherd," Ven said, but his eyes flashed with amusement. "Don't make me—"

But whatever he'd been about to say was cut off when he caught sight of a curvy, blond woman running toward us. She jumped the last couple of feet through the air, and the prince caught her in his arms and kissed her.

"It's about time," she said, after the kiss. "Now put me down, so I can meet the woman who finally broke through Jack's defenses."

Ven kissed her again and let her down, and she immediately turned to me with a huge smile. She was shorter than me and beautiful. She wore a sleeveless pink silk dress that was gorgeous with her coloring. She studied me with eyes that were a darker blue than mine, and she looked really happy to see me, which went a long way toward putting me at ease, even though I'd begun to worry that my manners lessons had never covered anything about eating dinner with royalty.

How many forks did Atlanteans use at dinner? And were they even forks, or miniature Tridents? And…

I realized Erin had said something, and I cleared my throat.

"I'm sorry. I missed that. I'm a little bit overwhelmed," I confessed, and she laughed and reached out as if to hug me.

I took a quick step back, out of her reach, mortification washing through me.

"I'm sorry. Again. I can't touch people," I said, wishing for the thousandth time that I was not inflicted with this horrible 'gift.'

Jack moved closer and put an arm around my waist. "Ven should have told her. You have nothing to be sorry for."

A tinkling chime sounded, and it seemed to be coming from one of the rings Erin wore. She glanced down at it and smiled a little, shaking her head.

"No, I'm the one who's sorry. He did tell me, I just got caught up in the moment. I have a little magic myself, and if you'd like to talk about it at dinner, I'd be fascinated to hear about yours."

I automatically started to refuse, but something in her expression told me that this wasn't idle or voyeuristic curiosity, the kind I usually got from strangers. She seemed to be interested in me as a person, not just as an oddity.

"Maybe," I said, overcome by a feeling of shyness. "Um, Your Highness."

She laughed. "No, definitely not that. I married into this family on the strict condition that I was never, ever to be called Your Highness."

She walked over and gave Jack a kiss on the cheek, taking care to stand on the opposite side from where I was. "And how are you, my friend?"

He released me and gave her a quick hug. "Much better than the last time you saw me, that's for sure."

"More stories for later?" I glanced between the two of them and saw Erin bite her lip.

"What's for dinner?" Ven smiled at me. "How about a quick tour of the gardens on our way to the terrace? We're eating outdoors."

"I'd love that."

It was the most beautiful place I'd ever seen. The flowers, trees, and bushes were a fantasy of vibrant colors and incredible scents. I couldn't recognize anything. Not that I was a garden expert, by any means, but I'd helped Aunt Ruby with hers and grown flowers of my own, so I wasn’t a complete novice. But this—this was like stepping into a magical land of make-believe.

Which, come to think of it, I actually had.

"What kind of berries are these?" I stopped to inhale the fragrance of a bush with richly red berries and glossy, dark green leaves. "Are they edible?"

"Those are blushberries," Ven said, a hint of laughter in his voice. "They're edible but dangerous."

Erin gave him a gentle nudge with her elbow. "Ignore him, Tess. They're delicious. It's just that they're said to have aphrodisiac qualities."

I snatched my hand back. "Um. Okay. Maybe later!"

Jack's low chuckle sent shivers through me, and I suddenly wondered how far out of