Page 81 of A Change of Heart

“None.” She shoved Felix’s arm off her. “She’s not his girlfriend.”

“They looked pretty close,” Felix said.

Seren took a long swig of beer, then turned on her heel and walked back out onto the patio. The group of guys moved inside as she plonked herself into a chair and stared out over the coastline. In the fading light she could just make out two figures sitting in the sand.

Telling herself she had no right to be upset didn’t make her urge to cry any less overwhelming. What had she expected, that Kit would wait for her to come around to the idea of being with him? She was tempted to run down and pull him away from Holly and tell him she’d caught up, that she was terrified of messing things up but was ready to dive in regardless. She wanted to tell him she loved him too.

It was a bit late now though. Besides, if he’d really been in love with her there was no way he could move on so quickly. No one could get over someone in that amount of time. He probably hadn’t been in love with her at all. It was just a crush. Angrily, she took a swig of her drink.

“What’s up with you?” Felix asked, breaking her thoughts as he sat beside her.

“Nothing.”

“You could have fooled me.” He leaned back in the chair. “You’re obviously upset. Maybe talking about it will help.”

“Like I’d ever talk to you about my problems,” she mumbled.

“You’re never going to forgive me, are you?”

Her jaw clenched. “No, I’m probably not.”

“I’ve changed,” he said, picking at the label on his bottle. “You could give me a chance to prove it instead of constantly assuming the worst of me.”

“You haven’t changed,” she spat. “You go out of your way to antagonise people for no reason. Why would I ever want to be friends with someone like that?”

“Who do I antagonise?” he asked, his brow wrinkling.

She let out a humourless laugh. “The other week when you came in the pub and started having a go at Kit for absolutely no reason.”

“Oh, that.”

“Yes, that! What’s wrong with you?”

“To be fair, I did have a reason in that instance.”

She shook her head. “No, you didn’t. You’re just a bully who gets a kick out of talking down to people.”

“Okay, sure.” He stood abruptly. “Think whatever you want.”

“What else am I supposed to think? What reason could you possibly have for having a go at Kit?”

His nostrils flared. “Because he’s a Treneary.”

“What the hell has that got to do with anything?”

“Really?” He tilted his head. “You can’t imagine why I’d have a problem with the Trenearys?”

“I know you and Noah never got on, but that was because he always thought you weren’t good enough for me – and it turned out he was right.”

“The Trenearys overshadowed our entire relationship. You were obsessed with them. It was like your life revolved around them.”

“They’re my family,” she said defensively. “And I think you’re exaggerating slightly.”

Shaking his head, he leaned against the table. “Noah was the reason we split up.”

She laughed loudly. “That’s strange! I always thought we split up because you slept with Cindy Taylor on my twenty-first birthday … but of course you’re going to somehow blame Noah for that! God, you’re pathetic.”

“I didn’t sleep with Cindy.” His calm voice was unnerving.