decent rental place became available in this tiny seaside pocket that the Daniels sisters now called home.
A favor for a favor, Zoey figured it only fair that she help with café clean up at the end of each day.
‘I’m going to the Gold Coast for five days, to a big gaming convention where I’ll get to see what all the latest computer game characters are wearing and I’m rooming with someone called Eli Jackson, who I’ve never met, but he’s a sweetheart. A real gentleman.’
Sophie stopped scrubbing the café’s grill plate long enough to offer up a snort. ‘How do you know he’s a gentleman if you’ve never met him?’
‘I’ve been gaming online with him for almost two years. He never undermines me when I lead the play and I haven’t heard a sexist comment out of him yet.’
‘Yeah, so he doesn’t trash talk you. What a prince. What else do you know about him?’
‘He’s twenty-six, has two older brothers, dove grey eyes and he likes shucking oysters better than he likes shelling peas.’
‘What does that even mean?’
‘Yeah, I don’t know either but I like him. I want to meet him.’
This time Sophie put the scrubber down, wiped her hands on a nearby tea towel and offered up her full attention. ‘Couldn’t you have just invited him round for coffee? I’d have thrown it in for free.’
‘He lives two hours up the road. It’s a long way to come for coffee.’
‘How do you know where he lives?’
‘I looked up Jackson’s Boatbuilding.’
‘He’s a boat builder?’
‘I’m not sure. It looks like a family business. According to the website he’s either a fisherman, a dive master, a charter boat operator or a boat builder. Apparently they do the lot. A grey-eyed fisherman, Soph. Tell me that’s not just a little bit sexy.’
Sophie looked determined to think of it as anything but sexy. She crinkled her nose. ‘Think of the smell.’
‘Think of the muscles.’
‘We’re not talking about food, are we?’
Zoey shook her head and the curls she’d spun into her hair earlier that morning went flying. ‘We’re talking about adventure.’
‘So how many days?’ asked Sophie with grim resignation.
‘Five. I leave next Friday afternoon and I’ll be back the following Wednesday. I was thinking that if you need an extra set of hands for Tuesday lunchtime you could give Gidget Carney a call. She’s looking for casual work. I think she’d be good.’
‘Gidget with the dreadlocks?’
Zoey nodded enthusiastically. ‘She’s had them cut. She has shoulder-length dreadlocks now. They look great.’
‘We’ll see.’ Sophie wasn’t committing. ‘So about this computer game convention and the fact that you’re sharing a room with a complete stranger—’
‘Eli.’
‘You’ll call every day to let me know you’re okay?’
‘Like clockwork.’
‘And where are you staying?’
‘At the big casino hotel on the Gold Coast. That’s where they’re holding the convention.’
‘Can I talk you out of this?’
‘No. It’ll be fun, Soph. You’ve got to recognize the good in life and grab it while it’s on offer. This is the good.’
‘I know. I know.’ Sophie always melted when Zoey played this particular card. ‘I just—’
‘I’ll send pictures,’ Zoey coaxed.
‘You’d better. Especially if your fisherman’s hot.’
‘He sounds hot.’
Sophie gave her the don’t say I didn’t warn you look and Zoey grinned and kept right on stacking little red coffee cups and saucers. ‘No, really, he does. He’s got a great voice. Nice and deep, a little bit gravelly on occasion and downright delicious when it goes all soft. Why do you think I make an effort to hear it every Friday?’
And Sophie, her too solemn, workaholic big sister laughed.
Chapter Four
E li strode through the hotel doors and slowed abruptly at the sheer number of people in the foyer. He’d never been to a gaming convention before and didn’t know what to expect, but he hadn’t counted
Tim Lahaye, Jerry B. Jenkins