“I don’t think I ever told her where we’re going. I said Cornwall.”
“Why would you say Cornwall?”
“Technically, itisCornwall.”
“Yeah, but if you invite someone to Cornwall, they think of St Ives or Bude … Worst case Land’s End. They don’t think of Scilly.”
“What’s wrong with Land’s End?”
“Nothing.” She chuckled. “I meant in terms of distance. She thinks you’re going to drive to your mum’s house, but you’re actually driving her to the airport.”
“Obviously I’m going to tell her before then.” He sighed and moved the phone from his ear to switch it to speaker. “You need to help me figure out how I casually mention this in a message, so I don’t seem as though I’ve set out to deceive her again.”
“You should also check if there’s a seat on the flight for her before you get your knickers in a twist about this.”
“Good idea.” A knot of anxiety wedged in his stomach as he reached for his laptop, and only shifted when he found that the plane wasn’t fully booked.
* * *
Keira hurriedly shrugged her coat off as she walked into the flat. She desperately wanted to vent about Noah’s revelation and hadn’t expected Mel to be home yet, so finding lights on lifted her mood slightly.
“You’re home early,” Keira remarked as she entered the living room.
Mel paused in tapping away on her phone. “You won’t bloody believe who I saw. Only bloody Tiffany.”
“Bitch,” they both said at once, then laughed. It was their automatic response whenever Mel’s ex came up in conversation.
“Did you talk to her?” Keira asked.
“No. I think she was with her new girlfriend. It put a dampener on the evening so I left.” She bowed her head to her phone again. “I wasn’t sure you’d be coming home at all this evening.”
“The night didn’t quite go as I expected,” Keira said, leaning her head back onto the couch cushions. “Noah invited me to a family party for his mum’s birthday on Friday.”
“Wow!” Mel pulled her legs up to sit cross-legged. “You realise you’re moving at the rate of a lesbian relationship? Next week you’ll be moving in together.”
“Not likely. He also told me he’s moving back home in five weeks.”
“To Cornwall?”
“Yes.” She pouted, not wanting to wallow in self-pity but struggling not to go down that road.
“Whereabouts in Cornwall?”
“I’m not sure.” She cocked her head, realising that would have been a good thing to ask. “It doesn’t make a lot of difference, though. Any part of Cornwall is far from Bristol. At least in terms of maintaining a relationship.”
Mel tapped on her phone. “The closest part of Cornwall is Bude, which is like a two-and-a-half-hour drive, maybe three hours. If we’re talking Land’s End that’s more like four hours. Either way, I think it’s doable for a long-distance relationship. It would be quite nice if you moved to some pretty little surf town. I’d come and visit and find myself a hot surfer chick.”
“It sounds as though you’re trying to get rid of me.”
“No. Just trying to look on the bright side.”
“I don’t know what to do.” Keira covered her face with her hands. “I wish I didn’t like him so much.”
“He is kind of perfect for you,” Mel remarked. “Apart from the whole moving to Cornwall thing.”
“Don’t say he’s perfect. It’s not helpful. What we should do is list all the ways he’s not good for me so I decide it’s best to finish things now. That would be the most painless option.”
“Okay. Let’s think of bad things about Noah …”