Free Catch of a Lifetime by Judi Fennell

have to contribute to the conversation or to worry he'd accidentally blow her cover.
       Actually, she'd almost blown it herself. Human food wasn't totally new to her, thanks to the occasional cap sized vessel and the undersea wedding reception her parents had held for her brother Reel and his Human wife, Erica, complete with their favorite Human foods, but burgers hadn't been part of her experience.
       She'd almost swooned when she bit into one. The combination of flavors and textures… And of course, the dry bread and condiments that hadn't been watered down… The burger was to die for. The flavors were so different. Stronger. Better.
       And the beverages… She'd passed on the milk Logan had insisted Michael drink, but the iced tea was deli cious. Fresh water, too, and even a sip or two of grape wine, so different from the kelp wine Mers had. What an experience for the palate. And the chocolate cake Logan carried out… it almost brought tears to her eyes.
       She'd tasted chocolate before on the rare occasion and could smell the cake's sweetness. Charley, her fa ther's advisor, could go on and on about the consistency of cake. She couldn't wait to try it.
       "Should we sing?" Logan looked at her.
       Sing? He wanted her to sing? Here? In front of his son? Usually when Human males wanted a Mer female to sing, it wasn't appropriate for children.
       "You know 'Happy Birthday,' right?"
       Ah. Right. She remembered that tune from Human Cultural Basics 101. "Of course I do."
       Logan lit the candles on the cake, and Angel tried not to stare at the flames. They fascinated her. While tem peratures in Atlantis were regulated by the heat of molten lava that flowed beneath the sea bed, flames were a for eign concept. She was going to have to experience this fire phenomenon up close while she had the chance.
       She leaned forward, catching the hair that swept over her shoulder before it could catch on fire. She didn't want to experience it that closely.
       Logan cleared his throat, and when she looked up, he quickly averted his eyes. "Ready?" he asked, his voice deeper than before.
       Angel glanced down. The peekaboo hole in her dress gapped forward. That explained the throat-clearing. Thank the gods Logan was such a gentleMer—man. She pressed one hand against the bodice of the dress, tucked the hair behind her ear with the other, and sat back. "As ready as I'll ever be."
       Logan cleared his throat.
       Angel looked at him.
       He looked back.
       "Are you guys gonna sing or what? I want cake." Michael hopped up and down in his chair.
       Logan cleared his throat again and spun so fast to look at Michael that Angel thought the man might fall out of his chair.
       He tapped the rim of Michael's cap. "Ah, sure we are, sport."
       He started the song then and Angel quickly caught up. Beneath her melody, he had a very nice voice. Tenor. On key. It could be a bit stronger, but that wouldn't take much work.
       His lips formed the words properly—not that she was looking at his lips or anything—but perhaps he could lengthen that "you" note. His technique wouldn't take much tweaking. He breathed at the right moments, not straining to hit the high note, soft when he should be—
       She suddenly realized she was singing solo. She stopped, mid -dear Michael.
       "What?"
       Both males stared at her, Logan with a strange gleam in his eye and Michael with a breathy, "You sing like an angel, Angel."
       No, actually, she sang like a…
       Siren.
       Oh Hades. Her voice. She'd forgotten the effect it had on Humans. Especially adult males. Logan, his pupils almost nonexistent—the classic characteristic of Siren Song enchantment—was clearly under its influence.
       "Uh." She cleared her throat and took another sip of that delicious wine. "I, um, that is… I guess I like to sing?" She shrugged her shoulders, going for nonchalant.
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