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‘What?’ Ben and Georgie said in unison.
Hannah put her hands on her hips in schoolmistress fashion. ‘Now, sit down, both of you, and behave yourselves,’ she said. ‘We’re here to have a coffee and there’s to be no playing legs and toes under the table either.’
‘Surely you don’t think—’ Georgie began hastily, but she was cut off by Ben’s deep voice coming over the top of her lighter one.
‘Cool it, Hannah. You’re embarrassing Georgie. She’s not interested in me any more than I am her. Besides, she’s having a bet with a friend that could lose her a thousand bucks if she goes on a date with a man before Easter,’ he said. ‘Think of how many pairs of shoes you could buy with a thousand big ones.’
‘Not all that many,’ his sister put in with a little mock pout. Georgie stared at the beverage menu, hoping her colour wasn’t as high as it was feeling from the inside.
Thankfully the waiter approached and took their orders for coffee. She couldn’t help noticing how protective Ben was of his sister when the young male waiter gave Hannah a second look of male appraisal. Ben shuffled his chair a little closer and draped an arm over the back of his sister’s chair.
‘Don’t even think about it, kiddo,’ he said when the waiter had moved on. ‘You’re practically still jailbait and he’s not tall enough for you anyway.’
Hannah gave him a little shove. ‘That’s a horrible thing to say. He can’t help it if he’s not very tall. Besides, he looks like a film star.’
He grinned at her and ruffled her hair. ‘Hollywood stars are OK but you’re too young.’
She screwed up her face at him before turning to Georgie. ‘Do you have an annoying big brother who screens all your potential boyfriends for you?’ she asked.
Georgie smiled. ‘No, I don’t, but I’m thinking I might have missed out on something pretty special.’
‘You haven’t,’ Hannah said, but her smile belied her tone. She leaned forward with her chin propped by her hands and asked, ‘So what is it you look for in a boyfriend?’
Georgie blinked once or twice. ‘Um …’
‘Hannah, please,’ Ben said, rolling his eyes.
She slapped him on the arm and, turning back, tilted her head and fixed her expectant gaze on Georgie. ‘You were saying?’
Georgie suppressed a giggle at the look on Ben’s face. ‘Um … let me see now …’ She twirled a strand of her hair around her finger in an idle manner. ‘A sense of humour is very important,’ she said. ‘And I hate to sound prejudiced against short men, but I like a man I can look up to, not just in height but in intellect as well.’
‘So far so good,’ Hannah said with a cheeky smile in her brother’s direction.
‘And …’ Georgie tapped her lips with the tip of her index finger for a moment. ‘I like a man who’s not afraid of being in the wrong occasionally.’ ‘Uh-oh,’ Hannah said.
Ben swung his gaze his sister’s way and frowned. ‘Uh-oh? What do you mean, “Uh oh”?’
She gave him a surely-you-know-what-I’m-talking-about look. ‘Come on, Ben,’ she said. ‘You hate apologising. It’s your one bad point. You’re too proud to admit when you’ve made a mistake.’
‘That’s complete and utter rubbish.’
‘What about Leila, huh?’ she said with a pointed look. ‘You knew she was all wrong for you the moment you got involved with her, but you wouldn’t admit it. Mum and I told you it was going to end in tears, and it did.’
‘Yeah, well, not with mine, it didn’t,’ he growled.
Hannah exchanged looks with Georgie. ‘He’s lying,’ she said. ‘He was depressed for months. We were so worried about him we—’
‘That’s it,’ Ben said, getting to his feet. ‘I’m not going to sit here listening to you rabbit on about me as if I’m some sort of broken-hearted loser who doesn’t know how to pull a decent date. For God’s sake, Hannah, no wonder Mum was worried about you being let loose in the city. You’re out of control.’
Hannah pouted at him. ‘It’s true, Ben,’ she said. ‘You’ve been moping about for months. It’s time to put it behind you.’
An incoming call on Ben’s phone caused a momentary diversion. He strode out of the hearing of the other café patrons and Georgie watched him frown and speak in turn. He came back to the table but didn’t sit down. ‘I’m sorry but I have to leave you to it for a while,’ he said. ‘I’ve got a private patient who needs an urgent consultation.’
He turned to Georgie and asked, ‘Would you mind hanging around with my sister for an hour or so? I’ll call you when I’m finished.’
Georgie gave him a wide smile. ‘I can think of nothing better.’
Ben clipped his phone back on his belt and strode away. I just knew she was going to say that, he thought as he headed to where his car was parked.
