They hadn’t gone very far when Keira’s phone vibrated in her pocket. She pulled it out to read the message.
“Who is it?” Noah asked.
“Mel.”
“Is she missing you already?”
“Something like that.” She was telling Keira to enjoy the rest of her night, along with a load of heart emojis and a winky face. “Everyone has a crazy best friend, don’t they? It’s not just me?”
“I’m sure lots of people do.” He veered to the edge of the path where a wooden bench was illuminated by an orange streetlight. They sat side by side with their legs touching.
“What’s your best friend like?” Keira asked.
“Um …” His hesitation gave Keira time to remember that his best friend was female. The thought made her stomach clench. “Seren’s very chilled out. She can be a bit quirky but I wouldn’t say crazy. Kit can get a bit crazy on occasion. Sometimes it feels as though he’s got too much energy, like an excited kid. Trystan’s harder to describe … he kind of lives by his own rules and doesn’t tend to care what other people think. They’re all pretty cool.”
“You count Kit and Trystan as best friends? Your brothers?”
“Yeah. Don’t tell Mel … I reckon she’d give me a lecture about how you can’t have more than one best friend.”
“Can you really count siblings as best friends?”
He looked at her searchingly. “Yes. Of course.”
“I don’t have siblings so I don’t know. It just feels like cheating.”
“It’s not cheating,” he said lightly. “Or maybe it is. I don’t care anyway.”
She hunched her shoulders as a cool breeze swept around them. “Did Kit reply to your message?”
“I don’t know.” He got his phone out to check.
Keira peered at the screen and read the message out loud. “Nice! I’ll take the blonde. Bring them to Mum’s birthday dinner… that should liven up the evening.”
“You shouldn’t read other people’s messages,” Noah said, pointlessly pressing the phone to his chest.
She flashed him her sweetest smile. “I don’t like secrets.”
“How do you feel about privacy?”
She winced. “I like my own. Not so interested in other people’s.”
“Clearly.” His face cracked into a smile.
“So, it’s your mum’s birthday coming up?”
“Yeah. On Friday. I’m heading over for a family meal.”
“This Friday?” she said, concentrating hard to keep a straight face. “Mel and I were planning on drinks in the Flute and Fiddle, but I guess we could come with you instead.”
The way he searched her features made it difficult not to laugh.
“We could make a weekend of it,” she went on. “A couple of days in Cornwall sounds like bliss.”
He stared blankly at her until she erupted with laughter.
“I’m joking.” She put a hand on his arm. “Don’t look so scared.”
“I’m not … I knew you were joking …”