Page 32 of A Change of Heart

Noah closed the till with too much force. “I’ll never know what you saw in that guy.”

“He’s got nice hair.” It was supposed to be a joke, but it fell flat. “Do you want anything to eat?” she asked Kit.

“No, thanks. I think I’ll head home.”

“The chef’s got risotto on special this week … it’s really good.” She wanted him to stay around, but he slipped off the stool, clearly not tempted.

“Have a good night,” he called before he walked outside, leaving Seren with a misplaced feeling of guilt over the way Felix had spoken to him.

CHAPTERELEVEN

Seeing Seren’s idiot of an ex-boyfriend in the pub riled Kit up. The guy was obnoxious and cocky and clearly intent on making a move on Seren. After the way he’d treated her when they’d been dating, Seren surely wouldn’t give him the time of day, but Kit hated the thought of Felix sniffing around her. Mostly he was panicking that some guy was about to swoop in between the two of them, which was ridiculous considering there was nothing between him and Seren.

On Thursday, he was debating whether to go ahead with his afternoon train ride despite the drizzle when the heavens opened, making the decision easier. There was a note on the timetable at the beach saying that the train didn’t run in heavy rain so he didn’t have to do anything – he just got the afternoon off. The relief at not having to entertain tourists was only momentary. Until he realised he had nothing to do except mope around his flat, thinking about Seren.

After whiling away a couple of hours mindlessly playing on his PlayStation, he got a beer and drank it standing at the window, looking out at the dreary grey car park. Usually he could glimpse the sea between the buildings, but the view was impeded by mist and rain. He’d just sent a message to Trystan, checking how he was doing, when his phone rang.

“Something’s been bothering me since you and Seren were here,” Trystan said without preamble.

“What?”

He paused for a moment. “I’m kind of a cuddly sleeper.”

“I really don’t want to know.” Kit’s heart rate picked up and he paced in front of the window.

“No, just listen to me … I woke up with my arms around Seren and I’m fairly sure she was about to kiss me.”

“Well, that’s lovely,” he growled in reply. “Thanks for telling me.”

“She thought I was you,” Trystan said forcefully. “She didn’t care that I was cuddled up to her until she realised it was me. When she thought it was you, she was going to kiss you … at least I think she was …”

“Maybe she was just going to kissyou?”

“Definitely not. I was half asleep and I’m not entirely sure what happened, so I wasn’t going to mention it, but it’s been bothering me all week, and the more I think about it, the more I think she wanted to kiss you. She said your name. Then she completely freaked out when she came around and realised it was me.”

“Was there a point to you telling me this?” Kit asked wearily.

“Yeah. I think you should tell her how you feel.”

He took a long pull of his beer. “I’ve been thinking about that too, but what if it ruins things between us?”

“Wouldn’t you rather know one way or another?”

“Kind of, yeah. But I also like hanging out with her. I don’t want to lose her as a friend.”

“So you’re going to carry on with things the way they are? Indefinitely?”

“What’s going on with you? Why are you suddenly so keen for me to make an idiot of myself?”

“I don’t know. Maybe you’re right and you should keep your mouth shut. I just keep thinking about Jenny … maybe sometimes it’s better to jump in with both feet than do nothing and wonder what might have been.”

“You miss her?”

“Yeah. We were together for ten years. I thought I’d always be with her.”

“Sorry.”

“I’ll survive. How come you’re not working anyway?”