Page 55 of A Change of Heart

He took a deep breath and flashed her a sad smile. “We’re still friends. We’ll always be friends. But for the sake of my sanity I’ve stopped going out of my way to see you.”

“Okay,” she said quietly.

“I never wanted to upset you,” he said, his brow creased. “I definitely never wanted to jeopardise our friendship.”

“I hate not seeing you.”

His features scrunched up. “I think I need a bit of space. Seeing you all the time is too hard for me at the moment. And things feel weird now that you know how I feel about you.”

“I can pretend I don’t know,” she suggested weakly.

He gave her a lopsided smile. “I’m not sure how well that would work. Just give me a bit of time. We’ll figure out how to be around each other again eventually.”

She nodded. “Are you going to your mum’s for lunch tomorrow?”

“Yeah.”

“Even though I’ll be there?”

“Fortunately my love of Mum’s cooking outweighs my discomfort around you.”

“Glad to hear it.” She smiled through her tears.

“Are you all right?”

“I think so.” She sighed as the embarrassment at her outburst hit her. “I’m sorry to turn up here and rant at you. I could probably have messaged you.”

“I don’t know …” His shoulders hitched slightly. “If there’s a choice between messaging someone or turning up on their doorstep and shouting at them, I think you should always opt for the latter.”

“Don’t tease me.” She gave his arm a gentle shove, which only served to remind her of the fact that he was wearing a shirt and looked as though he was on his way out. “Where are you off to?” she asked, hoping she sounded casual.

He glanced down at his shirt. “Just meeting a friend.”

That sounded like code for a date, but she decided she was probably being paranoid. And if hewasgoing on a date, it was none of her business. She could hardly be annoyed with him for dating when she’d turned him down.

“Have a good night then,” she said, forcing herself to back away.

Going home to spend the evening in her own company didn’t appeal in the slightest. Automatically, she wandered in the direction of Old Town. She could have gone to her dad’s place, but hanging out with her dad and Naomi didn’t quite provide the same comfort that being with Mirren did. Whenever Seren was upset, it was Mirren she was drawn to.

The sun was setting as she walked along the beach at Old Town Bay. Light spilled from the windows at Noah’s place, and Seren reminded herself that even if it weren’t for Keira, she wouldn’t go to him with this problem. There was no one she could confide in about her feelings for Kit.

As she slipped in through the backdoor of Mirren’s house, Seren had a flashback to the days when the boys still lived at home and the place was constantly abuzz with chatter and noise. Now the house was eerily quiet as she kicked her shoes off in the utility room. She called out to Mirren, who answered her from the kitchen, where she was sitting at the table with a glass of wine in front of her.

“Hi,” Seren said, a wave of sadness hitting her as she kissed Mirren’s cheek. Once upon a time, Mirren had probably longed for peace and quiet, but from the look on her face there was no way she wanted it now. “Are you okay?”

“Yes. Fine. How are you?”

“Not bad. I hope you’ve got more wine.”

“In the fridge. Help yourself.”

“Do you think you’ll rent out rooms in the house again this summer?” It had been something they’d done after the boys had moved out, before Terry had died. Mirren hadn’t done it since, but it occurred to Seren that it might be a good thing to have some bustle around the place.

“I’m trying to avoid it. I don’t like the idea of having strangers around these days.”

“What about returning customers? So you already know them.”

She shook her head. “I might seem sad and lonely, but I’m okay.”