The following week brought a growing sense of unease for Keira. Deep down she knew Noah was gearing up to leave. She’d seen the signs at his place: piles of papers on the desk that he’d been sorting through; random piles of clothes that were obviously waiting to be packed; a couple of bulging bin bags beside his wardrobe. It was a room that was being packed up, but instead of speaking to him about it, she ignored the subject completely.
On Friday she and Mel were propping up the bar in the Flute and Fiddle when they overheard Noah chatting to one of his colleagues about selling his car on Sunday. Considering the state of his room in the flat, it shouldn’t have been at all surprising to Keira, but the overheard conversation seemed to bring everything crashing down.
“He’s leaving,” she whispered to Mel beside her.
“Yeah.”
“I kept hoping he’d change his mind but he’s not going to, is he? In a week or so, he’ll be gone … oh god, I don’t even know when he’s leaving.”
“You really haven’t spoken about it at all?”
“No.” She tilted her head, thinking back to an evening in the week when she’d been at his place. “Noah tried to say something about it the other day but I changed the subject. I’m such an idiot. Can you ask him when he’s leaving? I’ll feel stupid asking him now.”
Mel looked along the bar to where Noah was chatting to customers while pouring their drinks. “Now? You want me to ask him now?”
“Yes. I need to know when he’s leaving.”
When there was a lull in customers he walked over to their end of the bar, asking them if they needed more drinks. They both declined.
“Are you all ready for leaving?” Mel asked, sitting up a little straighter.
“Almost.” His gaze strayed to Keira for a moment. “Just got a bit more packing to do.”
“When is it that you leave?” Mel asked.
“A week on Saturday.” Again, he seemed to be monitoring Keira’s response, but she’d schooled her expression to polite interest. “I think there’ll be a bit of a leaving party here next Friday if you two are up for it?”
“We’ll be here,” Mel said, while Keira managed a small nod.
Shit, he was leaving.He was leaving and she was going to be heartbroken. Maybe she already was. The ache in her chest would suggest some kind of damage had occurred in the past few minutes.
She cleared her throat to dislodge the lump that had swelled there. “You’re selling your car?”
“Yeah.” His eyes widened. “Did you want it?”
“Did I want your car?” She shook her head, confused.
“Yeah. It didn’t even occur to me that you might want it. One of Kevin’s friends is buying it from me. I should have asked you.”
“I don’t want your car. I couldn’t afford a car anyway.”
His forehead wrinkled. “I’d have given it to you cheap. Or you could have just had it. I can tell Kevin’s friend I changed my mind if you want …”
“I don’t want your car,” Keira said, more forcefully than she’d intended. She didn’t need a car, and that wasn’t why she’d asked him about it. Him selling his car just felt so final. “Sorry. I wasn’t asking about it because I wanted it … how will you get to the airport if you’ve sold your car?” If she stuck to the practicalities of his leaving she might be able to avoid thinking about the ache in her chest.
“Kevin will give me a lift.” He looked as though he was about to say something else but was distracted by customers trying to get his attention.
“I need to go home,” Keira said to Mel as soon as he’d moved away. “I can’t hang out in the pub casually discussing him leaving in a week.” Slipping off the stool, she pulled her bag on her shoulder. “You don’t mind, do you?”
“No.” Mel finished her drink and followed.
“Are you leaving?” Noah asked, walking to meet them at the end of the bar.
“Yeah.” Keira forced her lips upwards. “I’m tired.”
He moved around the bar and slipped his arms around her waist. “I can’t convince you to hang out at the bar until closing? We could go back to my place when I’m finished here.”
“Not tonight.” She gave him a quick peck, irrationally irritated by the disappointment in his features. If he was so eager to spend time with her, maybe he shouldn’t be moving hundreds of miles away.