Apple of My Eye (Tiger's Eye Mystery #7) - Alyssa Day Page 0,29

my comfort zone dating Jack was going to put me.

Thankfully, Erin changed the subject and started to tell me about her magic, which had to do with an affinity for gemstones. It was fascinating, and I peppered her with questions while we walked.

When we reached the palace, I stared up and up at crystal and marble, completely speechless.

"It still catches me off guard sometimes," Erin confided. "I'm just a girl from Seattle who somehow got married to an Atlantean prince."

"Which makes me the luckiest man in the world, mi amara," Ven murmured, caressing her cheek. The heat in the glance they shared made my cheeks warm up again, and I turned away from what suddenly felt like a very private moment.

Jack's eyes were full of a similar fire, though, and I got lost in his gaze for a moment before the tinkling of a bell brought me back to my senses.

"Dinner is served."

About a dozen feet to my right, a stone-floored terrace rose up from the garden, facing a beautiful marble fountain. The man smiling down at us from the terrace was dressed in casual clothes, and he made a beckoning gesture. "Don't want it to get cold."

It was the best dinner of my life.

From the salad, made with fresh Atlantean greens in shapes I'd never seen before, to the main course of seafood, to the delicate dessert of blushberries and cream, I almost felt like I could eat as much as Jack. It was so incredibly delicious that it was like a party in my mouth.

I hesitated at the dessert, though, after what they'd said about Atlantean blushberries, until Erin noticed.

"It's okay. They're safe when they're cooked like this," she said, grinning. "Sorry, Jack."

I couldn't help but return her grin. Ven and Erin were wonderful company. They both had such great senses of humor and were so obviously madly in love with each other, and they made me feel so at home and welcome. Clearly, they both thought the world of Jack too.

"Since you can travel so easily, please tell me you'll come to Dead End and have dinner with us," I impulsively said. "We don't have anything this fancy, but Jack's wonderful with the grill, and I can promise you the best pecan pie you've ever had."

Ven's eyes gleamed. "I love pecan pie. What a delicacy."

I laughed. "Not a delicacy. You can get pecan pie every day of the week. But I have a great recipe from my Aunt Ruby, and it's really something special."

Jack, finally putting his fork down, touched my hand. "To Atlanteans, pecan pie is a delicacy, because they never had pecans on Atlantis. So that's eleven thousand years without great pie."

My mouth fell open. "You're eleven thousand years old? But… I thought… Wow. You look great!"

Ven burst out laughing. "No, I'm not quite five hundred years old, but thank you. You look great too."

Erin shook her head. "Don't make his head any bigger than it already is, Tess. I have to live with him."

After we'd devoured dinner, we drank glasses of an Atlantean wine that was so crisp and delicate that even I, who'd never been much of a wine drinker, loved it. We sat there chatting and laughing while the sun went down and twinkling outdoor lights came on, and then we talked some more. At one point, when Erin and Ven were talking to each other, I leaned my head against Jack's shoulder.

"Thank you. This is the best first date in the history of the entire world."

He froze and said nothing for a long moment. Then he almost hesitantly rested his chin on the top of my head.

"You're very welcome, Tess," he murmured. "I wish—"

But I didn't get to hear what he wished, because a tall, dark-haired man who looked a lot like Ven walked out of the palace and toward us just then.

"I hope you saved me some food, you overgrown house cat," he said, scowling at Jack. "If I'd known you were coming, I'd have stocked up on tinned tuna."

Then he turned to me, his face breaking into a wickedly sexy smile. "And you must be Tess. Please, tell me immediately if you want me to rescue you from this buffoon."

"I'm good where I am," I told him, narrowing my eyes at the insults to Jack. "And if you really want to talk about who's being a buffoon—"

"Tess," Jack said, dropping a kiss on the top of my head and then standing up and holding out a hand to the