Playing for Love (Summer Beach Vets 1) - sweet vacation romance by H.Y. Hanna

eating lettuce salad,” said Craig.
    “Maybe I should be more like that sometimes,” muttered Sara, looking ruefully down at her figure.
    “You’re perfect just as you are.” His blue eyes were serious.
    Sara stiffened as memories of Jeff’s words on breakfast TV came back to her. “I love her just the way she is.” She looked at Craig. Did any man ever really mean those words? Or was it always just a throwaway line, a thing they said because they knew that was what women wanted to hear?
    “G’day, Craig—haven’t seen you round for a while.”
    They both looked up as a girl in a black waitress outfit came over to their table, pen and pad poised. She had the most incredible dyed hair—a shade of bright bubblegum pink—and a scary-looking silver spike through one eyebrow, but her smile was wide and friendly. She eyed Sara with open curiosity.
    Craig smiled at her. “Hi Kylie. How’ve you been?”
    “Oh, you know… usual. Flat out like a lizard drinking. Had this part-timer here that was a total bludger. Thank God the boss finally gave him the boot this arvo. You guys ready to order?”
    Sara blinked. She had understood about five words of what the girl said. She watched silently as Craig gave their order. But when he finished, Kylie seemed in no hurry to leave.
    She leaned towards Sara. “You new here? I haven’t seen you before.”
    “Um… yes, I’m just visiting my cousin, Ellie Monroe,” Sara said.
    Kylie’s eyes lit up. “Oh, so you’re a Yank too! Yeah, I can totally hear it in your accent. When did you get here? How long you planning to stay?” Her eyes flicked towards Craig and her smile became speculative. “You’re a quick one, huh? Snagged yourself a handsome vet to take you round to see the sights. I’ll bet—”
    “Kylie…” said Craig in an exasperated tone.
    “All right, all right… don’t spit your dummy. I’ll go order your tucker.” She stuck her pen behind her ear and sauntered off.
    “Wow,” said Sara, watching her leave. “I don’t think I could ever come here alone unless I brought an interpreter with me.”
    Craig laughed. “You’ll learn the lingo really quickly. Give it a few weeks and you’ll be talking like a true-blue Aussie.”
    I won’t be here in a few weeks , thought Sara. And the thought filled her with sadness. There was something magical about this place—this small seaside town on the other side of the world, with friendly, warm people who spoke such quaint English and a stunningly beautiful setting that was straight out of a postcard.
    She looked across the table at Craig. And him .
    Suddenly, she wished she wasn’t going back to the States next week. Her life in California seemed so far away now. Well, it was far away, she knew, in distance, but that wasn’t what she meant. Far away as in vague, unreal, irrelevant… her old life, her humdrum job… She felt like she had been drifting aimlessly along in a big wide sea and now suddenly she had come ashore onto an island paradise. This was where she wanted to be.
    “Sara?”
    She blinked, coming out of her thoughts. “Sorry,” she laughed. “I was miles away. On the other side of the Pacific Ocean, in fact.”
    “Feeling homesick?” he asked.
    “No, no,” Sara assured him. “In fact, I was just thinking of my life back in L.A. and thinking that I wouldn’t miss much… well, except my dog, Coco.”
    “You have a dog?”
    “Yes, a Beagle.”
    “Ah…” He smiled. “Now I’m beginning to understand better why you were so upset yesterday morning.”
    Sara ducked her head sheepishly. “Yeah, I did overreact a bit. I suppose I was projecting things—imagining that it was happening to my dog. I’ve never left Coco for so long before or come so far away. And that Beagle I found looks almost exactly like her.” She sighed. “I was sort of daydreaming on the beach, imagining how wonderful it would have been to be able to bring Coco on vacation with me… but of course, I know the