Page 92 of A Change of Heart

Seren’s chin twitched. “Did he?”

“I couldn’t see it,” Mirren said, her eyes shining. “I thought you’d end up with Noah, but Terry always rolled his eyes when I said that.”

“Kit’s coming over for dinner tonight,” Seren said, with a burst of hope that things might just turn out after all. “We’re going to talk everything through properly.”

“Well …” Mirren gave her leg a playful tap. “Don’t talk too much. It’s overrated.”

Seren cracked up laughing at the teasing in Mirren’s eyes. “I can’t believe you just said that!”

Chuckling, she stood up. “Love you, sweetheart.”

“Love you too. Thanks for coming over.”

Left alone, Seren couldn’t stop smiling.

The evening couldn’t come soon enough.

CHAPTERTHIRTY-ONE

Kit’s morning train tour felt endless. Once it was over and he’d modelled balloon animals for all the children who wanted one, he set off for home to grab a quick nap. Hopefully that would revive him enough to make it through the afternoon. Then he’d pick up a takeaway and head over to Seren’s place. The thought brought a smile to his face as he made his way through town.

He hadn’t made it far when he caught sight of Cadan wandering along the other side of the road. Seeing Kit, he raised a hand in greeting and crossed over to him.

“I was going to go and see Seren,” Cadan said. “But I called her and she said she was about to have a nap. She sounded okay though. Reckons she’s feeling better today.”

Kit never had a lot of patience when he was tired, and he was hit by a surge of anger that Cadan had let Seren leave the party alone. “She wasn’t in a good way when I found her last night,” he said through gritted teeth.

“So she said. Reckoned it was a good thing you got to her when you did.” Cadan looked completely unremorseful and it irritated Kit. “She seemed okay when she left the party. And I honestly didn’t think it would be that bad since she hadn’t actually eaten any peanuts.”

Kit narrowed his eyes. He needed more sleep to engage in conversation with Cadan. “You realise peanut butter is made from peanuts?”

“Yes.” He laughed. “But since she didn’t actually eat any herself, I thought it would have less of an effect. It never occurred to me that she could get a reaction that way. I guess she takes her life in her hands every time she kisses anyone.”

Kit’s smile tightened. He had questions, but he didn’t want Cadan to know that he had no idea what he was talking about. “I’ve got to get on,” he said, moving around Cadan and striding away. Instead of continuing home, he detoured to the tourist office, thankful to find it devoid of customers.

“Hey!” Holly said brightly. “How are you? You look a mess, no offence.”

“I didn’t sleep much.” He leaned on the high desk, deciding to get straight to the point. “Did anyone say anything about Seren after I left the party last night? About her allergic reaction?”

“Yeah. Everyone was talking about it.” Her sympathetic smile was a good indicator that he wasn’t going to like whatever had been said.

“What were they saying?”

She raised her eyebrows. “Don’t you know?”

“I’ve got a good idea. But I’d like to hear it from you.” Even better would have been to hear it from Seren.

“Apparently she was kissing Felix after he’d eaten the peanut butter brownies.” She winced. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay.” His stomach twisted to a knot and he felt vaguely nauseous.

“Didn’t Seren tell you?”

“No. She didn’t mention it.” Not only had she neglected to mention it, but she’d also lied to his face. On two occasions. Once when he’d asked how she’d come to eat the brownies, and once when she’d told him there was nothing between her and Felix.

“How is she?” Holly asked.

“I sat up all night to make sure she was breathing,” he said sadly. “She seemed to be fine this morning.”