Page 69 of The Weekend Getaway

“That’s not logical.” Her dad’s features crinkled in confusion.

“It’s like rolling a dice,” Noah explained. “Your chances of rolling a six are always one in six, regardless of what you’ve already rolled.”

The look Ron shot Keira was a mixture of confusion and amusement. Clearly he thought Noah had no idea what he was talking about.

“We went to visit Noah’s family a couple of weeks ago,” Keira told her mum in a blatant attempt to change the subject.

“Where do they live?” Sue asked.

“The Isles of Scilly.” Keira smiled as she recalled the trip. “Off the coast of Cornwall.”

“I know where they are,” Sue said. “I watched a documentary on them a couple of years ago. Such a beautiful place. Didn’t I say I wanted to go, Ron?” She elbowed him lightly.

“You did. Unfortunately, we don’t have the money to go jetting off on fancy holidays.” He tipped his head in Keira’s direction. “She’s not daft, our girl. We could never afford to flit off on weekend breaks, but that’s what comes from having a fancy office job.”

Keira winced, thinking of how Noah had refused to let her pay for the trip. Her palms were sweating profusely when the food arrived. She wiped her hands on her jeans, then managed a half-hearted smile when Noah gave her leg a reassuring squeeze.

“What’s all this then?” Ron said, peering at the food. “It’s all little bits of different things.”

“That’s what tapas is.” Keira tried to be patient, but her stress levels were far too high to pull it off.

Ron shook his head disapprovingly. “It doesn’t look like a proper meal. How do you know what it all is? It looks a bit foreign to me.”

“It’s tapas!” Keira told him. “It’s Spanish.”

He peered at the dish nearest him. “I’m never sure how I feel about foreign food. We’re in England. We should be eating fish and chips!”

“Try this,” Noah said, pushing one of the plates in his direction. “That should bring you round to Spanish food.”

“What is it?” Ron said.

“Dates wrapped in bacon.”

“Gawd! What next?” He took one with his fingers, eyeing it with contempt. “In for a penny in for a pound, I suppose!” Chewing it slowly, he began to nod. “Bloody hell, thatisgood. Try one of these, Sue.”

“Delicious, aren’t they?” Noah said, stabbing one with a fork and popping it into his mouth.

“They are,” Ron agreed. “Who’d have thought it? They don’t give you many, though, do they? We’ll have to ask for more. I could eat a whole bucket of those things.”

The smile Noah gave her made Keira relax enough to enjoy the food. She even managed not to get too annoyed by her dad’s brash commentary of the meal.

“We can’t stay out late,” Keira said, faking a yawn almost as soon as they’d finished eating. “I’ve had a busy week and I’m done in.”

“Let’s get the bill then.” Her dad pulled a pouch of tobacco from his pocket and began to roll a cigarette. “You’ll treat your poor old parents, won’t you, love?”

Keira felt her cheeks flame. “Yeah, of course. You paid last time.” She might have got away with the remark if her parents had played along instead of looking completely baffled.

After asking a passing waitress for the bill, her dad declared he needed a ciggie and would wait for them outside. Her mum followed.

“That was nice,” Noah said, turning to Keira as they wandered away.

“The food was good,” she agreed vaguely.

When the bill came, Noah took it and pulled his wallet out.

“Give me that,” Keira said, taking it from him.

“I can get it.”