“Not brilliant.” He did his best to smile when she put her hand over his, but everything felt like too much effort.
“What are we going to do today?” she asked. “Other than the boat race.”
Every mention of the race made his mood plummet further, and he wasn’t sure how he’d manage to be a cheerful tour guide for the day.
“I was telling Keira how tame the seals are around the islands,” Seren said. “You should take the boat out to Great Ganilly and see if you can spot any.”
“Where?” Keira asked.
Seren smiled over her coffee mug. “It’s one of the Eastern Isles. It’s uninhabited and the seals like it there. You should definitely go.”
As Noah locked eyes with Seren, he saw exactly what made Keira nervous about the way she looked at him. Except it wasn’t that she was in love with him. Seren just knew him well enough to know he was struggling – and why. She also knew he needed someone to suggest an activity for the day, because he didn’t have the brain power to come up with anything himself. Unfortunately, she’d come up with a plan that required more effort than he’d like.
“That sounds like fun,” Keira said.
He nodded, already feeling sorry for her, having to spend the day in his company. If there was a way to spare her he would, but he couldn’t think of anything that wouldn’t be rude or offensive. He’d have to hope she could cope with a day of him being quiet. Maybe he could feign a headache and blame his bad mood on that.
“You’ll have a great time,” Seren said. “I can lend you a wetsuit and snorkelling gear. Then you can get right in with the seals.”
Keira’s eyes widened. “Seriously?”
“It’s amazing,” Seren said, nodding.
“You should come too.” The words were out before Noah properly had time to consider them, but it was actually a decent plan. With Seren around, him being out of sorts wouldn’t be so noticeable. She could do all the talking and would make sure Keira had a good time.
Seren stared at him. “I’ve got a few things to do today. And I’m sure you two would rather be alone.” She gave him a look that told him to uninvite her immediately, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. This would be better for everyone.
“You don’t mind Seren coming, do you?” He squeezed Keira’s hand. “She’s like the seal whisperer. She always knows where to find them.”
Keira’s smile looked about as genuine as his. “The more the merrier.”
Chapter Fifteen
Keira wasn’t sure what was going on with Noah, but she suspected him not being able to look her in the eyes and barely speaking to her had a lot to do with their conversation the previous evening. It was as though he didn’t want her around. Him inviting Seren along with them for the day had made it obvious he didn’t want to be alone with her.
She almost wished she hadn’t agreed to stay for the whole weekend. Except it was pretty easy to forget about Noah being grumpy while she sat in a wetsuit on the boat, bouncing over the waves. Crystal-clear water stretched out around them and they whizzed past gorgeous sandy bays and mysterious-looking rocky coves. At least on the boat she could tell herself the only reason Noah wasn’t speaking to her was because of the noise of the engine and the wind whipping around them.
Eventually he slowed the boat a notch. Seren tapped Keira’s knee, then pointed to a stretch of sand with scattered black rocks. When they started barking and wriggling into the water, Keira realised they were seals and not rocks.
“Did the boat scare them away?”
“No!” Seren grinned. “It attracted them. They’re coming in to play.”
“Really?”
“Yes. We’ll let them swim around the boat for a while, then we can get in with them. They can get really playful, so don’t freak out if they come right up to you. They won’t hurt you.”
“Okay,” Keira said, nodding uncertainly.
“Don’t swim after them, let them come to you.”
She nodded again.
“Here they come,” Noah said, switching the engine off.
A smooth black head popped out of the water close to them, then dived under again. Soon, a whole group were swimming around the boat.
“Want to get in?” Seren asked happily.