Keira left them to get ready. When she returned, Mel and Noah were laughing hysterically over the game and Keira lingered in the doorway to watch them. It was good that he was so at ease, but she couldn’t help feeling that he was a bit too at ease. At first she’d thought it was sweet and thoughtful of him to invite Mel out with them, but now she was wishing it was a more romantic setup.
“Are you ready?” Mel asked, breaking Keira from her trance.
“Yeah. Who won?”
“I did,” they said at once.
“Technically, Mel did,” Noah conceded. “But only because she cheated.”
“I didn’t cheat. I just forgot to tell you all the rules.”
Keira smiled at Noah. “I should have warned you about that.”
The three of them bustled out of the flat and into an Uber to take them to Clifton Downs. When they arrived, the sun was setting and the gentle orange glow illuminated the leaves of the huge trees around the vast expanse of lawn where the evening’s event was being held.
Rows of deck chairs were set up in front of the large screen. To the left, the orchestra warmed up under a brightly lit pavilion. A couple of food trucks and a mobile bar were parked behind the deckchairs.
Getting into the low deckchair made Keira feel like an elephant. If there was a graceful way to do it, she had no idea how and managed to slosh part of her drink onto her jeans.
“We should get a photo,” Mel said, bouncing out of her chair as soon as she’d landed in it. “It’ll be great to look back on the time when I gate-crashed your romantic evening. We’ll laugh about this for years to come.” She moved behind Keira and Noah, leaning between their chairs. “Who’s got a decent camera on their phone? Mine’s rubbish.”
Noah wriggled to retrieve his from his pocket.
“What did your brother say about the photo you sent him the other night?” Keira asked, remembering their last selfie.
Mel gave her shoulder a firm shove. “That’s rude – talking about things I know nothing about. I don’t like that you already have secrets from me.”
“It’s not a secret,” Keira said gently. “Noah’s brother didn’t believe he was on a date, so we sent him a photo.”
“He still didn’t believe it.” Noah gave up on taking the picture and lowered his phone again. “He reckoned I’d just grabbed a drunk girl from the bar and taken a photo with her.”
“I guess you couldn’t really argue with that!” Mel said, then dodged out of the way when Keira reached out to shove her. “Come on, take the photo,” she said, moving back between them. “The film’s going to start soon.”
Noah raised the phone and they moved their heads together and grinned.
“You should send that one to your brother,” Mel said as she took her seat again. “Tell him you’re on a date with two women this time.”
“That’s tempting actually.” He looked at Keira for approval before going into his messages.
“Make sure you send it to the right person,” she said in his ear.
His head shot up and his cheeks flushed. “You saw my message?”
“Who was it supposed to go to?”
“Trystan. My older brother.” He shook his head bashfully.
“I’m just glad you were saying nice things.”
“What else?” The twinkle in his eyes caused a flutter in her chest, and she looked towards the screen.
An official-looking woman tapped on a microphone, then proceeded to introduce the orchestra and the film. Applause rippled around the audience as she moved aside again.
Rolling her head on the fabric of the deckchair, Keira caught Noah’s eye and smiled at him. He frowned in reply and she opened her mouth to ask what was wrong when he stood abruptly. After moving his chair so it was touching hers, he sat back down and slipped his arm onto her chair, lacing their fingers together and flashing her a smile that made her insides quiver once again.
“That’s better,” he whispered. With his face close to hers, she automatically leaned in to kiss him. She could feel the warmth of his breath on her lips when a commotion beside her made her pull back. Mel loomed over her, wrestling to move her chair. It was touching the edge of Keira’s when she flopped back into it.
“Good idea,” she said in a loud whisper. “Now we can chat … only about the film, though. Nobody interrupt unless it’s to do with the film.” She let out a giddy squeal as the orchestra kicked in.