Page 51 of A Change of Heart

“Yeah. You can imagine how awkward that was after we split up.”

“No wonder you looked for a new job.”

“I think it all worked out for the best. I was ready for a change. Sometimes moving on to a new chapter of your life is exciting … that’s what I keep telling myself anyway.”

“The problem with change is that often you only realise it’s a good thing with hindsight.”

“Very true. Hopefully one day I’ll look back on this time of my life with much more positivity than I feel now.”

“Maybe.” Kit mulled the idea over, wondering if one day he’d be able to look back on this part of his life and see that it was a necessary transition. Maybe finding out he had no chance with Seren would be the catalyst for something good.

“I had a really nice evening,” Holly said when they arrived at her door.

“Me too.” The evening had been a lot more fun than he’d anticipated.

“Do you want to go out again sometime?”

“Yeah,” he said automatically. “That would be good.” He had a momentary panic over how to end the evening. Even though he’d enjoyed himself, it’d felt more like hanging out with a friend than a date. He felt no desire for a goodnight kiss.

Thankfully Holly moved towards the door before he had time to think too much about it.

“I’ll talk to you soon then,” she said briskly, avoiding any mention of who would get in touch with who.

As he wandered on through the quiet town, Kit felt slightly lighter. An evening out had been refreshing. Wallowing was doing him no good, and he needed to get out of the habit. He just wasn’t sure dating was the right thing for him at the moment.

Holly was sweet. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt her.

CHAPTEREIGHTEEN

The following Thursday evening Kit went over to Noah’s place to drop off the contract he’d drawn up for Keira.

“Do you want to stay for dinner?” Noah asked, turning from the chopping board when Kit walked into the kitchen.

“Yeah okay.” He perched on the stool at the island while Keira stood beside him, scanning the contract. “I’ve just adapted the contract I have with the bus drivers,” he told her. “But I’m happy to make changes if there’s anything you’re not happy with.”

“I’m sure it’s all fine.”

“Take some time to look over it. I’ve put fifteen hours based on you doing the morning tours in August. I probably won’t need you that much generally, and definitely not in the winter. There’ll be a few months where I won’t need you at all, but I’ll pay you year-round anyway.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah. The hourly rate isn’t that great, but with the tips it’s pretty good money.”

“I’d be quite happy to do it just for tips, so anything else is a bonus.”

“Don’t tell him that,” Noah said. “He’ll change the contract.”

“I’ve put the start date as next week, but if you want to do a few more trips with me before going it alone, you can.”

“Maybe one or two more times with you would be good, if that’s okay.”

Kit nodded. “That’s fine. I’m quite happy to relax and take in the view.”

“You didn’t look very relaxed last time,” Keira said, shaking her head. “It seems pretty excruciating for you to watch someone else giving the tour.”

He grinned. “That’s no reflection on you. I told you, the train’s my baby. It’s weird having someone else take the tour.”

“What do you want on your pizza?” Noah asked, taking a step back from the cutting board, which was covered in an array of chopped veg, ham and salami.