Page 12 of A Change of Heart

“Shit. I’m sorry. I must sound insensitive. I didn’t mean to make light of the situation.”

He smiled gently. “It’s fine. I’d just rather not talk about it.”

“Okay. But if you ever do want to talk about it, you can.”

“Thanks.” He checked his watch. “Are you coming on my two o’clock ride?”

“Yes. If that’s okay.”

“Of course. I’ll pay for lunch and we should get going.” While he paid, Keira wandered over to the display of ceramics. It looked impressive arranged on the rustic wooden shelving.

“Lowen’s pretty talented, isn’t he?” Kit asked when he joined her.

“I can’t believe he can make all this. I watched him at work yesterday and he makes it look so easy.”

“Did he let you have a go on the pottery wheel?”

“Yes. Which proved to me that it’s not easy. I managed a slightly wonky bowl.”

“It’s fun, though.”

“So much fun,” she agreed as they made their way to the door.

The sun had emerged when they stepped outside, and Kit pulled his sunglasses down from his head. “How do you feel about having a go at driving the train on this trip?”

“I’d love to,” Keira replied, then asked him a bunch of questions as they wandered along the concrete promenade.

They were nearing the train when Kit’s phone rang. He was about to send it to voicemail but paused when he saw who was calling. His heart rate increased as he answered.

“Hi, Seren.”

“Hi.” There was a pause and he wondered if they’d lost the connection. Meanwhile, Keira was pretending not to be interested in the phone call. “I was just thinking,” Seren went on hesitantly. “About London. If it’s still okay, I think I’ll come after all.”

He stopped dead, putting a hand on Keira’s arm to draw her attention. “You want to come to London with me?” he asked down the phone, while conveying his absolute panic to Keira with a wide-eyed look.

“Yeah. I was thinking about it, and maybe it would be good for Trystan to have both of us there …” A short silence followed. “Is that all right with you?”

He swallowed hard. “I guess so. I was going to book the flight this evening.”

“Great. Then book me on too. Message me the details later and how much I owe you.”

“Um … yeah … sure.”

“I need to get back to work. I’ll talk to you later.”

Keira squeezed his arm as he slipped his phone into his pocket. “Has she changed her mind?” she asked excitedly. “She wants to go away with you for the weekend?”

“Yes.” He felt slightly shell-shocked.

“That’s so amazing!”

“Calm down.” Kit wished his heart would do the same. “Don’t start making out like it’s some romantic getaway. It’s a weekend with my brother. The only reason Seren agreed to come is because she’s worried about Trystan.”

Keira schooled her features into a serious expression. “You’re right. It’s best if we don’t get carried away.” She bit down on her lip. “It’s kind of exciting though, isn’t it?”

“Exciting probably isn’t the right word,” Kit said on a sigh. “I’m not sure my heart can take an entire weekend with Seren. It might just be torture.”

CHAPTERFIVE