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chin toward a chair across from him. “That one hasn’t been claimed,” he said, smiling faintly. “Although we rarely sit down at the same time.”
    “Should I tell them the food’s done?”
    He sent her another strange look. “They smelled it. They’ll be here when they get here.”
    Shrugging inwardly, Anna settled in the chair he’d indicated. Apparently, it wasn’t their custom to wait for everyone to arrive to start eating. Caleb hadn’t even waited for her to sit down and she was standing beside him!
    “Were you born here?”
    He stiffened, swallowing his food before answering. “Yes—I’m second generation. Simon is third—his father was born here. Ian’s also third generation Atlantean. Joshua is first. He immigrated here with his family when he was a kid.”
    She could see Caleb knew the direction of her thoughts. After casting around for a moment for a distraction, she said, “So, really, he grew up here, too.”
    “Yes. He’s few years younger than me, but I’ve known him since he was a kid.”
    Anna looked at him in surprise. “Really? I thought the two of you were the same age.”
    He looked amused. “How old do you think I am?”
    “I’m not very good at guessing that sort of thing.”
    “How old do you think Joshua is?”
    “Like I said …,” Anna said uncomfortably.
    “I was just wondering how you arrived at the conclusion that we were the same age if you have no idea how old we are.”
    She shrugged. “You look about the same.”
    “Except I’m eight years older than he is.”
    Anna gaped at him. “You’re joking, right?”
    He looked so amused she was sure he must have been teasing. Joshua arrived, to her consternation.
    “Anna thinks we look like we’re the same age,” he said, chuckling.
    Joshua sent her a startled look and turned red. “He was born here.”
    “I know. He told me,” Anna said curiously.
    Joshua shrugged. “They don’t age like we do.” He thought it over. “Actually, nobody does down here, even if they weren’t born here. It slows the aging.”
    Anna frowned, trying to think if she’d ever heard that or read about it, but it dawned on her that it wasn’t just a matter of her own focus on plants. No one seemed to know much about the Atlanteans. There certainly hadn’t been any studies done that she’d heard of about the long term effects of living beneath the sea.
    The colony was more appropriately named than she’d realized. It was a lost continent, ignored and forgotten by pretty much everyone. Nobody, including her, gave Atlantis or its citizens a thought beyond enjoying the fruits of their labors in their daily lives—except for those who wanted to wipe them out because they considered them ‘abominations’.
    The slowed aging actually made sense now that it had been pointed out to her, though, and she thought about it. They were almost completely protected from both gravity and solar radiation, two major contributors to aging, or at least the appearance of aging. The necessary change in their diet might also contribute and the exercise—swimming, even slowly, took a lot more effort than walking. Granted, she hadn’t seen many of them, but if Simon and his men were anything to go by, they didn’t seem to carry around a lot of extra fat.
    It made her wonder just how old they were. Just how out of her league was she if they had years more knowledge and experience than she did?
    No wonder she felt so damned inadequate to the situation!
     
     

Chapter Four

    Luckily, Anna had almost finished eating when Simon arrived at the table, heavy-eyed, wearing a distinct ‘five o’clock’ shadow, and with his hair still tousled from sleep.
    It took an effort to peel her eyes off of him.
    Maybe she’d been just a little hasty in deciding he had no appeal at all?
    “Is there any coffee?”
    His husky voice sent a shiver down her spine.
    “I put it on. It should be ready.”
    He got up and left the table, heading for a cabinet near the