Page 51 of Not So Very Sensible

And the gushiness with which Katie had shared last night ignited again.

Ellie swapped glances with her dad and waited for Mum and Katie to conclude their mutual lovefest.

“You don’t look like you think this is a good idea, Ellie,” Dad said.

“Oh, how can it not be? He’s such a handsome man,” Katie interjected.

“I really think we’ve been sold a lie that someone’s external appearance automatically matches their inner qualities,” Ellie mused.

“What are you saying?” Katie challenged. “Don’t you trust him?”

“I didn’t say that.”

“You kind of did on Saturday night.”

Ellie arched her brows. “Do you really want to talk about that now?”

Maybe Katie realised where that conversation could go, because she clamped her lips shut. Then huffed out a heavy breath. “Look, I’m just saying that you can be really judgy sometimes. And I don’t know why. Ethan is almost as good-looking, and you don’t hear me complaining about him.”

“Ethan?”

“Come on, Mum. We mentioned him last night too.” Katie grinned at Ellie. “So, have you heard from him yet?”

It suddenly seemed rather lame to admit a three-word response was all she’d received. Especially when she’d thought they had really clicked. If he was interested, wouldn’t he have messaged more? And while Jason wasn’t exactly the kind of guy she wanted connecting with her sister, he had apparently contacted Katie three times in the last twenty-four hours. Which suggested solid interest, at least.

“So, have you?” Katie persisted.

“We’ve been in touch about some youth group graphics I’d said I would do for him.”

Katie’s nose wrinkled. “Are you serious? That’s all?”

She shrugged. “It’s better to take it slow than to get carried away on false hope.”

Katie scoffed. “I’m not getting carried away. Besides, we’ve arranged to meet up in Sydney on Saturday.”

That’s right. Saturday. Her heart picked up. Ethan had virtually promised to be here on Saturday. So she didn’t need to worry. He would show up, she’d make him the best coffee of his life, they’d talk tea and all kinds of things, and all would be well. Her heart settled down.

She glanced at her parents. “I might have a bit of a date this Saturday too.”

“With this Ethan man?”

Her smile was shy. “He said he wanted to come visit the café, and I promised to teach him about different types of tea.”

“Oh, in that case, we’d love to meet him. And your Jason fellow too, Katie.”

Katie shrugged. “I don’t know if Jason plans to come here. We talked about meeting up in the city. I might stay with EJ that night.”

“Well, I can’t wait to meet the men who have stolen your hearts.”

“My heart isn’t stolen, Mum,” Ellie protested. “There’s no need to get carried away.”

“Well, I’ll be glad to meet him, whenever he chooses to come.” Dad winked at her. “Stolen heart or not.”

“Thanks, Dad.”

He nodded, and she wondered if she should share with him some of the concerns she’d had about Jason. Mum wouldn’t listen. She was so romance focused that it blinkered her to everything else. But Dad’s former police career meant he had a healthy scepticism about people, so he was probably safe to talk to.

The meal finished, the seven o’clock news was put on, and Dad settled in front of the TV as he did most nights. After stowing the items in the dishwasher and setting it to FAST WASH, Ellie joined him as a raft of various political stories floated by. Apparently the state elections were coming up soon, and the latest opinion polls showed that the opposition leader, Neville someone, was trailing by double digits.