“It’s Betty,” she corrected, patting the vehicle’s bonnet fondly. “And she prefers not to be referred to as a golf cart. She’s perfectly adequate.”

“Yes, for one tiny person. Not for all three of us. We’ll take my car. It’s roomier.”

Aria didn’t move. “Get in,” she said. “This is our girls’ day, and we’re doing it my way.”

“Fine.” He raised his hands in a gesture of surrender. “But I get the front seat.”

Aria and Teri stared at him.

“Okay, I’ll go in the back.”

Teri burst out laughing.

“What?” he demanded.

“Nothing,” she replied hurriedly. “Only, I’ve never seen you get bossed around by anyone other than Mum and Dad.”

“Don’t get used to it.”

With a scowl of displeasure, he squeezed into the back seat. Aria smiled, taking the driver’s seat. It was going to be a long day, but at least they’d gotten off on the right foot.

“Timaru is perched on the rim of an extinct volcano.” Aria was playing tour guide as they drove through the outer suburbs. “Mount Horrible. Nice, huh? There are just over thirty-five thousand people here. In Itirangi, we tend to think of Timaru as a city, but it’s really only a town.”

The residential area they had passed through on the outskirts of Timaru was hilly, while the central business district they were now emerging into was flatter. Out of the window, Eli could see hotels and houses perched on a craggy cliff which overlooked the ocean.

“That’s where the rich folks live,” she explained. “Some of them, at least. Wouldn’t want to be them in thirty years, when the cliff has eroded and they fall into the water.”

Aria’s first stop was a clothing store. The girls hurried inside. Eli followed, looking grim. It felt like four hours later when he finally escaped, having learned that an hour spent listening to women chat about which colors flattered certain complexions seemed much longer.

It was all her fault. That brightly colored, too-perky, infuriating woman. She’d done it on purpose, to drive him crazy. He’d seen it in her eyes.

But now it was over, thank god, and they could relax on the beach. Eli enjoyed the beach. An excellent surfer, he thrived on the thrill of flying through the waves and the calm of lying on the sand. In winter, he often needed to wear a wetsuit, but he hadn’t bothered to pack one today. It was warm enough not to need one.