Nope. That made no sense. He barely knew her.
Carrie walked up. “Hi all, what can I get you?” Then her gaze zeroed in on Shaw.
Eli tensed and Kellan shifted so he was covering their younger brother from her sight.
“Shaw Jones? Is that you?” she asked, smacking her gum. “How are you? Jeez, you’re looking a bit tired. Been partying too hard, huh?”
“Something like that.” Shaw hunched his shoulders.
Arabella tensed next to him and Eli was about to shield her, although he had no idea why when she spoke up.
“Actually, it’s my fault,” she said quietly.
Carrie’s gaze shot to her. “Oh. I didn’t see you there.”
Eli scowled at the younger woman. That was rude and uncalled for.
“Shaw and I went on a safari in Africa and while we were there, Shaw contracted campylobacter. I don’t need to tell you how bad it is to be that sick while on a safari where you have to dig your own toilet. It sucked. I mean, the stories I could tell you. As you can see, he’s lost weight and sleep.” She shook her head as the whole table stared at her.
What was she doing?
There was no way that Carrie would believe that bullshit.
“Oh my God! Africa? Really? I’ve always wanted to go there. I love hippos,” Carrie said.
“Very smart animals. Deadly, though,” Arabella said seriously.
“I bet.” Carrie nodded. “I’d love to see any photos if you have them.”
“Absolutely,” Arabella replied without missing a beat. “I’ll get that organized for another day. But Shaw needs to eat. The doctor said he can’t wait too long between meals.”
“Of course, of course. Urgh, that camplo-thing isn’t contagious, right?”
“No,” Kellan said. “You can only get it by eating something contaminated with feces.”
“W-what?” Carrie said.
“I didn’t do it on purpose,” Shaw said.
“Nobody said you did,” Kellan replied. “Why would you?”
“Well, monkeys often do,” Arabella said. “Gorillas too.”
“Luckily, I’m not a monkey or a gorilla,” Shaw said dryly.
“Indeed.” Arabella gave him a regal nod.
“Um, right,” Carrie said. “Can I, um, take your order?” She was staring at them all like she thought they were about to ask for some poop on a plate.
Eli shook his head while he watched Arabella hide her smile behind her menu.
The minx.
She was trouble. They all ordered, even Shaw, and then turned to her.
“I cannot believe you told her I ate poop,” Shaw said with a groan. “I went to school with her older brother. That’s going to go around the town.”
Arabella’s face closed down. All the amusement drained out of her face until she seemed like a shadow of the person she’d been before.
