My brows shot up at that. “No way! That’s so cool.”

“Yes, and annoyingly romantic,” Alexis added.

I chuckled. “That, too.”

Trev stood on my other side, holding my hand like he didn’t want to let go, when two women approached us with wide smiles. One was tall and blonde, the other short and brunette.

“Alexis! King!” the brunette called out. “It’s so good to see you both.”

“You, too,” said King. “Can I introduce you to some friends of ours? Matilda, Lille, this is Trevor and Reya. Trevor, Reya, this is Matilda, Jay’s wife, and Lille, Jack’s girlfriend.”

“Hi,” I said, giving them each a little wave. “Can I just say, both of your other halves were amazing tonight? That performance was like nothing I’ve ever seen.”

“Yeah, the problem is they know how good they are,” Matilda joked, her attention wandering to Trev. Her eyes narrowed in thought as she tapped a finger to her lips. “I feel like I’ve seen you somewhere before.”

“Should I be worried?” Trev asked jokingly, charming smile in place.

Matilda smirked. “I hope not.”

“Nah, you might have seen my TV show, Running on Air?” Trev went on.

“Oh yes!” Lille exclaimed as she nudged Matilda in the arm. “We have seen it. That’s the one with all those guys who do parkour, remember?”

“Right,” said Matilda, bobbing her head. “That’s how I know you. Your show is fantastic. Edge of the seat stuff. Jay loves it as well.”

Trev’s charming confidence wavered for a brief second at that news, like he’d just been told his idol knew his name. “Oh, uh, really?”

“Really. He says it’s one of the best things on TV right now.”

I chuckled when I looked at Trev because he appeared about to expire. Then, to make matters worse, the man of the hour himself came to join us.

“King, I heard you might be stopping by,” came Jay’s booming voice as he approached. The two men shook hands, tattoo-free and debonair next to extensively and impressively inked up. They were the last two people you’d expect to be friends.

“My sister’s been complaining that it’s been too long since I visited,” King explained.

“That lady always gets what she wants,” Jay chuckled as he turned to greet Alexis and gave her a brief hug. When his attention fell on Trev and me, he didn’t miss a beat. Unlike his wife, he didn’t have to wrack his brains to remember how he knew Trev.

“Trevor Cross, as I live and breathe, how the fuck are ya?” he said, like they were old pals. Then he surprised everyone when he pulled Trev into a man hug. Trev was so stunned I had to cover my mouth to keep from laughing. Jay greeted him like a friend he’d known for years, though being on TV did have that effect. People felt like they knew you.

“I thought that was your ugly mug I spotted in the audience,” Jay went on. “It’s great to finally meet you.”

He said it like he somehow knew they’d meet one day and it seriously confused me. It seemed to confuse Trev, too, when he rubbed a hand along his jaw and replied, “Er, yeah, it’s great to meet you, too.”

“Sorry to interject, but the way you said finally . . .” I butted in, unable to help myself.

Jay’s attention fell on me and it was a little overwhelming. There was a moment of silence as he shot me a look, and it seemed everyone else was wondering the same thing as we waited for him to respond.

He gestured to Alexis. “The lovely Lexie here is besties with Karla Cross, wife of the restaurant owner Lee Cross, brother to Trevor Cross. It’s like the six degrees of Kevin Bacon. I knew our paths would cross one day . . . excuse the pun.”

Everyone seemed to let out a breath that said, right, that explains it, because for a second I wondered if he really was psychic and not just faking it with mentalist tricks like he did on TV.

“Hold on a second,” Matilda interrupted, looking up at her husband in suspicion. “I’ve spent a lot more time talking to Alexis than you have, and even I didn’t know that. So, how did you?”

He shot her a cunning smile. “No offence, Watson, but what you don’t know could fill a phone book.”

She swatted him on the arm. “You cheeky little—”

He shut her up with a kiss, then said, “Cheeky big, Matilda, never little.”

She shot him a flirtatious scowl then seemed to notice something behind us because she let out a startled yelp. Quick as a flash she grabbed Lille by the arm. “Come on, Lille, I need to get you situated for your birthday surprise.”

“What, right now?” asked Lille, bewildered.

“Yes,” said Matilda, adamant. “Right now.”

“It was great meeting you,” Lille called to us as Matilda dragged her away.

“You, too,” I called back. “And happy birthday!”

When they were gone, Jay addressed us with a wink. “I knew all that from Facebook, just in case you were wondering.”

We all laughed as Alexis joked, “Who needs detective work anymore when there’s Facebook, am I right?”

A loud argument rang out from where Matilda had been looking and I turned to see Jack giving some red-haired guy a stern talking to. There was a box of fireworks at his feet.

“I’m not going to explain why dropping that box could’ve ended in you blowing your goddamn feet off, because I know the chemical components will go right over your thick head, but just imagine you’re holding a box full of gunpowder. Do. Not. Fucking. Drop. It. Again.”

Wow. Jack the fire-breather was scary when angry. The guy on the receiving end nodded like he was about to cry. Then he picked the box back up, held it like his life depended on it and scurried away.

“Relax, bro. You’re going to bust Ugly Sue if you don’t calm down,” said Jay, teasing his brother before looking back to us. “Ugly Sue’s what I call the vein in his forehead that gets all bulgy when he’s pissed.”

I think we all wanted to laugh, but when Jack approached our laughter fell flat. Thick waves of tension radiated off him and none of us wanted to be on the receiving end of it, like that other guy.

“The kid’s a bloody idiot,” he grumped. “Earlier I caught him flicking his lit cigarette butt to the ground right next to where I was storing the fireworks. And just now he drops them. If he sets himself on fire I’m blaming his IQ.” He paused, noting King’s presence as he reached out to shake his hand. “Hey bud. Good to see you.”