Page 39 of A Spot of Tea
This was not how his job on San Juan Island was supposed to go. The plan was to stay a few weeks, save some cash, and book his next adventure.
A few weeks might be too long. He glanced up at Eliza again. Thankfully, she was busy arguing with Cora about messing up the piles of tokens.
His hand shook as he reached for his teacup.
What was going on with him? He took a sip of tea, trying to steady his mind.
He knew this feeling. He used to chase it. He used to wake up with it, take it to dinner, dream with it under his pillow. But he’d managed to travel the world without running into it again – until this very moment.
What was it about Eliza that had brought it back to life? Was it the tea shop? The fact that if she gazed at him for too long, she could unravel him entirely and see every secret he’d desperately buried?
How would he get through the evening – even the next two minutes – without getting up from his seat and sprinting in the other direction?
“I’ll go first,” he said, picking up a token with a grizzly bear. “Or this game might never get started.”
Fifteen
The game ended in such classic Dennet fashion that Mackenzie wanted to kick something. She’d thought she had a good chance at winning because Cora didn’t understand the rules and Joey was too busy trying to be polite, but she’d forgotten about Eliza, quietly and steadily playing a near-perfect game and building the ideal planned habitat for her animals.
Why had Mackenzie picked a game with animals anyway? She thought she’d remembered how it worked, but it got cloudy after Cora started asking about Steve.
He had loved board games. He loved strategy. He was great to play with because he was clever and calculating.
Apparently, she hadn’t known he applied that cold calculation to his life. Cutting her out was just part of the plan.
In true Eliza fashion, she humbly accepted her win and promptly handed her winnings to Cora.
“Don’t give that to her!” Mackenzie hissed. “You won it fair and square.”
“Yeah,” Joey made a face. “Sorry, Cora, but you’re one of us. A loser. You don’t get to take the pot.”
“It’s not a big deal,” Eliza said. “I could tell she really wanted to win, and she needs the money.”
“I just couldn’t make these stupid game hawks happy!” she whined. “Otherwise, I would’ve won.”
“Yeah, and you didn’t put the bears in pairs,” Mackenzie pointed out. “Or the foxes in the right place at all.”
Cora frowned and nodded. “All true, but listen. Now that I have some money, I can treat everyone to pizza tomorrow.”
Eliza and Joey both groaned.
“Cora, please just keep the money for yourself,” Eliza said. “You don’t have to treat any of us.”
“I’m sure Joey would like some pizza after he takes us up for a flight,” she said, tucking the money into her pocket.
“I can’t go up this week,” Mackenzie said. “I have to do some work so I don’t get fired.”
“Getting fired is underrated,” Cora said. “You should quit. Teach Steve a lesson.”
Joey turned to her, his eyes wide. “He’s yourboss?”
“He got promoted,” Mackenzie said quickly. “He’s not just my boss. He’sherboss, too.”
Cora nodded. “He told her their relationship had to be secret because they worked together, but the whole time he was with the other—”
“Hey!” Mackenzie shot her a look. “How do you know all of this?”
Eliza cut in. “I’m sorry, I told her.” She turned toward Cora and lowered her voice. “So she wouldn’t ask too many questions.”
