I finished talking, and Jake stepped closer. He was looking at me in a way that stole the breath right out of my lungs.

“I get it now. You’re like a magpie.” He smiled.

“Sorry?”

“You like shiny things.” He looked down at my shoes and I wiggled my toes in them.

“I’ve never thought of myself like that before, but I guess I do.”

“Fine, fine!” He leaned over the railing. “If shiny things are your thing, I’m going to have to show you something.”

“What?” I also leaned over the railing; our shoulders almost touched.

“I’ll have to take you there later.”

“When?”

“Tonight? After you take Zac home, you think you can come out for a couple of hours?”

“Sure. If my mom is there to look after Zac.”

“Great.” And then he turned his head to me and nudged me with his shoulder. Again. This was the third nudge, and yes, I was counting. “You’re going to take one look at this and totally forget Joburg.”

“I doubt that.”

He looked back at the sea and nodded. “Trust me on this. I’m going to turn the city girl into a sea lover.”

“Okay, I’m off now.” Jake’s dad came up behind us and we both spun around. “I’ll see you tomorrow evening.”

“Is something wrong?” Jake asked.

“Just some issues at the farm,” his dad replied. “Terrible timing. Of course, it would happen today. But what can you do.”

Jake nodded as if this was a common occurrence.

“Really nice meeting you, Lori.” He smiled at me. “And thanks so much for coming, it made Lisa’s birthday so much more special.”

“It’s a pleasure. Glad we were here,” I said, looking at this clean-cut, suited man. It was hard to imagine him ever being an alcoholic. But maybe that was judgmental of me; what did I think alcoholics looked like, anyway?

I watched him closely as he kissed Judy good-bye on the forehead. I felt a little twinge in my chest when I remembered my dad doing that with my mom. He always kissed her good-bye, even in the months leading up to the divorce. That thought made me feel even worse. When he was gone, I turned to Jake.

“I didn’t know your dad was a farmer,” I said.

Jake laughed and shook his head. “He’s an engineer, he works in renewable energy. The company he works for has a wind farm just out of Cape Town. He goes there pretty often, especially if there are technical issues.”

“Zac would love it there. He’s really into anything that involves electricity, batteries, and solar-powered devices. Things I know nothing about—he’s way smarter than me.”

“I think he’s smarter than all of us,” Jake said. “So, what about it?”

“What about what?” I asked.

“Still up for that adventure tonight?”