Page 41 of A Change of Heart

“How’s everything with Noah’s girlfriend?” he asked when they’d finished eating and were sipping coffees.

“Good. He’s all loved up and everything seems to be going well.”

“It seemed that way when they came over here the other week. She was saying Kit had offered her a job on the train.”

“Yes. He’s been training her up.”

He smiled lightly. “If Kit gets on with her she must be all right.”

“That’s how you judge people? On whether Kit likes them? That seems like a poor way to judge, considering Kit likes everyone.”

“I know. But if Kitdoesn’tlike someone that’s a very bad sign.”

“True.” She felt her smile slip and took a sip of coffee as her chest tightened. Her plan for the day hadn’t been to sit around discussing Kit’s virtues.

“I take it Kit’s doing well?” Lowen asked.

She pursed her lips and fought off tears. “I don’t really know. We’ve hardly spoken since we got back from London.”

“Did you fall out or something?”

“Kind of … not really … I don’t know.”

He waited for her to say more, then shrugged when she didn’t. “I’m sure he’s fine. Kit’s about the happiest person I know.”

Every muscle in Seren’s body tensed. “As far as I know he’s actually pretty miserable.”

“Why?” His tone was suspicious, as though she might be trying to trick him.

“He’s your brother. Ask him yourself.”

“Did you come here today to make a point about me not calling my brothers enough?”

“Not enough?” she asked with a humourless laugh. “Do you ever call them?”

“We message now and again. I talk to them when I see them.”

“Which is like once in a blue moon!”

He stared at her. “What’s your problem?”

“You,” she spat. “You’re my problem. Why can’t you swallow your pride and sort everything out? You can’t claim not to care about your family and then sit here quizzing me about how your brothers are doing.”

His jaw tightened as he stared out to sea, then his gaze dropped to the sand dunes and the long grass which leaned with the wind. “I never claimed not to care about them,” he muttered as he pushed his chair back and stood up. “I need to get back to work.”

When he stalked inside the restaurant, she waited for a moment, blinking back tears until her legs finally got into gear. He’d paid the bill by the time she walked inside, and she had to hurry to catch up with him as he left through the front door. On the front path he upped his pace and ignored Seren’s pleas for him to slow down.

Finally, she gave up and stopped in her tracks. “Don’t you miss them?” she shouted after him, fully expecting him to march on without looking back. To her surprise he stopped and looked back at her in concern.

“What’s going on with you?” he asked.

Fat tears pooled on her lower lids. “Don’t you miss how it used to be? When we were one big happy family and the best thing in the world was having all of us together.”

“It was never like that,” he said, walking back to her. “Not for me.”

“It was for me. I miss it.” She didn’t believe that he didn’t miss being part of his brothers’ lives and knowing what was going on with them from day to day. “I missyou,” she said sadly.

He slung an arm around her shoulders and they set off again, walking slowly across the island in the direction of the quay.