Nick gave her an easy laugh. “That’s what I meant. Mate as a friend.”
Of course. Silly her. “Uh—maybe he also wants to see the rocks?”
“Wanna wait for him?”
“No! It’s fine. Let’s go.” She nudged him forward.
The bushes soon opened to a view of the ocean and cliffs of dark gray rock, with horizontal lines running through them.
“The Pancake Rocks,” Nick announced with his arms spread, then laughed at himself. Shanna joined him.
“They’re stunning.” She leaned on the wooden fence guarding the sheer drop to the ocean. The horizontal layers were so perfect, spread only inches apart from each other, it looked almost unnatural—like a computer glitch had occurred in the rocks. Shanna mused at the thought. She might be bad news for technological devices, but nothing she could do could make for such a magnificent display of nature. Beyond the outcrop, the coast continued, thick and lush green, reminding her ofJurassic Park.
“And a bit ahead is the blowhole,” Nick said. “When the sea is rough enough, you’ll get water bursting out through the narrowcracks.” He squinted with one eye. “Feels like there’s a joke in there I should use on a date.”
Shanna giggled.
As they continued walking, and Nick explained more about how the rocks were formed—from earthquakes over millions of years, which flattened the seabed each time—she said, “You know a lot about this. But you said you weren’t from here?”
“I’m taking a year off before I return to my studies in Auckland,” Nick said. “Traveling around. Picking up whatever work is available. Been along the west coast for a few months now.”
“Oh! You might be able to help me then. This is one of the places my mom had been to.” She pulled out the postcard. “But we’re not sure which one it is. Something to do with the gold rush?”
Nick looked at the card, turned it around, and read the message: “I wouldn’t exchange this for all the gold in the world.”
“One of the mining towns. Probably Ross,” he said. “It’s further down the coast, hard to miss. Do you have a map?”
“Yes, here.” She unfolded it, and they bent over, Nick showing her where they were right now, then tracing the road down to Ross.
“Sweet as, you have an actual map.”
“Technological devices are notoriously unreliable in my vicinity.”
“Oh?”
“Long story.”
“Well, we’re about halfway through the walk, and I don’t know how far into the date.” He flashed her a cute, lopsided smile. “But I understand if you don’t want to reveal all of your secrets. Play it cool.” He winked.
Considering how much of a disaster this date could have been, she’d really chosen well. In another reality, she might have reallyliked Nick. Well, she liked him here as well—at least as much as she wasn’t preoccupied with a certain other maddening man stalking her despite not wanting to date her.
“Anyway, if you want, I can mark some cool points on the map—scenic lookout spots and such,” Nick said.
“I’d love that! Here.” She brought out a sharpie and laid the map on the flat side of her bag.
As Nick bent to write on it, Shanna caught Simon, standing down the path, much less than a hundred feet away, with a rather unimpressed look on his face. As she stared at him, he wordlessly stared back and only raised his hand, waving the tattoo.
She sent him a narrowed-eye look, hoping to say, “As if that’s the problem.”
He gave her a sickly-sweet smile.
She made a shooing motion with her hand.
“Sandflies?” Nick asked.
“Huh?”
“I thought you were chasing them. Nasty buggars.” He handed her the map.
