Apple of My Eye (Tiger's Eye Mystery #7) - Alyssa Day Page 0,30

newcomer. "I'd like you to meet King Conlan of Atlantis."

Conlan strode over and gave Jack a big man-hug and then punched him lightly in the arm, grinning, while I wished as hard as I could that the portal would show up again and swallow me whole.

I'd just insulted the king.

Of Atlantis.

In his own palace—or at least on the back porch of his own palace.

I closed my eyes and tried not to groan out loud.

"Tess, we're delighted to have you here," the king said, forcing me to open my eyes and look at him.

Luckily, he didn't look at all angry.

"I'm sorry—" I began, but he cut me off, grinning.

"No worries. Jack deserves someone who'll stand up for him."

"Jack deserves friends who don't insult him in front of his date, but I guess I'm stuck with you," Jack told the king, grinning.

"It's about time you brought your woman to meet us," Conlan said. "I was beginning to think you were avoiding us."

I could feel my ears get hot. "I'm not his woman, Your Majesty."

To my surprise, Ven and Conlan both started laughing, and Erin shook her head and sighed.

"Never mind these fools, Tess," she told me. "It's an in-joke with them about how every time one of us denied it, we wound up soul-mated to the man in question very soon after."

My face turned hot and then cold, and I suddenly found it hard to breathe. "We're not… I'm not… Jack. Say something."

"This is our first date, and you're embarrassing Tess," he told them mildly, but a warning flashed in his eyes. "Back off before you give her a bad impression."

Conlan's eyes widened. "First date? But Ven said…" His voice trailed off, and he turned to me and bowed. "My apologies, my lady. I was led to believe—"

"Enough," Jack said.

The king glanced at him, lips quirking up at the corner as if he were fighting off a smile. "Certainly. I look forward to seeing you both again when I can spend some more time. Riley sends her apologies, but she's still caught up with the ambassador from Switzerland. Or Sweden. Maybe Spain. One of those S countries. Man nearly bored my boots off."

Jack laughed. "I'm still trying to picture you as a politician, Conlan, instead of with a sword in your hand. It just doesn't work."

The king shook his head. "It doesn’t work for me, either, but at least we get some fun once in a while with these demon incursions."

"Fun?" I echoed.

Demon incursions?

King Conlan's eyes lit up. "Definitely! At least I get to see a little action, instead of being stuck inside. I'm still a warrior first."

"And Poseidon's Warriors are definitely not suited for playing politics," Ven said, grimacing.

"You can come to the barbecue," Jack told the king. "We're going to have a big cookout, and Ven and Erin are coming."

I blinked. Had Jack just invited the king and queen of Atlantis to my house for a barbecue?

Aunt Ruby was going to lose her mind. She'd want to offer them the key to the city, er, town, and, oh, wow, did I have some cleaning to do, and my entire house was the size of this porch, er, terrace, and…

I gulped. "Yes, you're always welcome," I said faintly, glancing at the crystal goblets. "Um, how do you feel about plastic cups?"

After the king had excused himself and gone to rescue his wife from the ambassador, the four of us talked for a little while longer, but Jack caught me glancing at my watch.

"Time to turn back into a pumpkin?"

"I'm sorry, but I need to get some sleep tonight. Last night was a little rough, and I have a long day in front of me tomorrow." We hadn't told Ven and Erin about the stalker or much about any of the problems we'd had over the past several months, choosing instead by unspoken mutual pact to keep things light. I'd gotten the feeling from some of the stories they told at dinner that Ven and Erin might be the type to charge in, swords flying and magic blazing, to try to solve our mystery, and I wasn't quite at the point where I wanted to call in the Atlantean cavalry.

We stood and said our goodbyes, and Erin and I traded phone numbers and email addresses so I could reach out to her about the cookout.

"It will be a little while. We have the Swamp Cabbage Festival this weekend," I told them, and Ven's grin widened.

"I can't wait to spend some time in