Free Playing to Win (Summer Beach Vets 2) - sweet contemporary romance by H.Y. Hanna

I’m just meeting up with Dan as a friend, that’s all.”
    “Oh yeah? Pull the other one.” Kylie grinned as she walked off.
    Ellie made her way out onto the terrace and across to the table by the edge, where Dan was sitting. He was wearing a pale blue T-shirt and faded blue jeans, the colours bringing out the grey in his eyes. He looked tanned and sexy, sitting there against the backdrop of sand and ocean, his short hair ruffled slightly by the sea breeze. Ellie felt her pulse speed up as she approached the table.
    “Hi.”
    “Hi.” He returned her smile and waved to the seat opposite him. “I hope this table is okay? It might get a bit windy out here—we can go in if you like.”
    “No, no, this is fine,” said Ellie as she sat down. She felt the breeze lift her hair and blow it across her shoulders. It was going to get into a tangled mess , she thought.
    “You’ve left your hair down.” Dan looked at her with pleasure.
    Ellie nodded shyly.
    “It’s beautiful.”
    Ellie flushed. It was ridiculous how two little words could make her feel so good. Suddenly she didn’t care if it took her an hour to get all the tangles out later.
    “I haven’t really been here for brunch before. Only a couple of times for dinner and once for lunch. What do you usually order?” she asked, flipping through the menu.
    “The works,” said Dan. “The big breakfast with eggs, bacon, sausages, baked beans, grilled tomatoes, mushrooms, hash browns, and toast.”
    Ellie’s stomach shrank in protest. Maybe it was nerves but she wasn’t feeling that hungry this morning. “Er… that’s a lot of food. Is there something lighter that you’d recommend?”
    “How about some banana bread then? One of our iconic foods—it’s practically on every breakfast menu in cafés across Australia.”
    “Banana bread?” Ellie furrowed her brow. “We have that in the States too.”
    “Ah… bet you haven’t had it like this though.” Dan grinned and quirked an eyebrow.
    “Okay, I’ll try it,” said Ellie with a smile.
    When their food arrived, together with steaming cups of coffee, Ellie examined her plate with interest. Stacked in the centre were several chunky slices of what looked like a dark brown bread. They were freshly toasted, with a light dusting of icing sugar, and had a square of butter melting in the centre. A scoop of berry compote had been ladled over one of the pieces, together with a dollop of whipped mascarpone and a scattering of crushed pistachios. The whole plate gave off an amazing smell. Ellie picked up her knife and fork and cut carefully into one slice, then popped a piece into her mouth.
    Oh wow.
    The outside of the banana bread was crispy, the inside sweet and moist, and the little pat of salty melted butter added to the rich, caramelised flavours in her mouth. Mixed in with this was the crunch of the pistachios and a trace of tartness from the berry compote. She chewed and swallowed, sighing slightly.
    “What d’you reckon?” asked Kylie, who had been hovering after serving their food, obviously keen to watch Ellie taste the banana bread.  
    “Absolutely incredible,” said Ellie, taking another bite. “My God, I’m going to have this for breakfast every day now.”
    Kylie grinned. “We’ll turn you into a true-blue Aussie yet!”
    As the waitress walked off, Ellie laughed and said, “She may be right. I’ve been here five months and I’m already sliding into an Australian—oops, I mean Aussie lifestyle.”
    “So… not homesick?” Dan raised an eyebrow.
    “No,” said Ellie after a moment, with some surprise. “Not really. I thought I would be because… well, it’s so far away. But actually, I was surprised when I arrived in Australia. It wasn’t what I expected.”
    “Why—were you expecting us to all be walking around with a crocodile slung over our shoulder like Paul Hogan in Crocodile Dundee ?” Dan grinned.
    “No, of course not,” said Ellie. “But I was surprised by how