CHAPTERSEVEN
If she had any sense whatsoever, Seren would have objected to sharing a bed with Kit. She knew that if she’d have so much as blinked too many times when Trystan had laid out the sleeping arrangements they’d have figured out an alternative.
But Trystan had assumed they wouldn’t mind sharing a bed, and she didn’t want anyone to think she was anything other than fine with it. Itshouldbe fine. She should be able to sleep beside Kit without her thoughts wandering. Unfortunately, that proved impossible, and her thoughts wandered for most of the night. On her frequent wakings she kept her back firmly towards Kit.
Finally, at the crack of dawn, she gave in to her desire to shuffle onto her other side and watch his peaceful features as he slept. He’d pushed the covers off, giving her a full view of his bare torso. The rise and fall of his chest was hypnotic, and occasionally she let her eyes drift down to the waistband of his boxer shorts. From there she snapped her eyes back to his face. When Mirren had asked her to keep an eye on Kit she’d definitely meant his general well-being and not his crotch area.
Seren was drifting back to sleep when she heard movement elsewhere in the flat. It wasn’t enough to fully wake her and she dozed for the next hour, occasionally coming around enough to hear Trystan and Kit chatting in the kitchen. Footsteps finally roused her and she blinked her eyes open as Kit set a mug of coffee on the table beside her.
“Thanks,” she mumbled. “Is that a hint that I need to get up?”
“Trystan just left. If we want to go to the Warner Brothers Studios we need to leave to get the train in about half an hour, but we don’t have to if you don’t want to.”
“You already bought the tickets,” she said in confusion.
“I know, but I should have asked you first. I assumed you’d want to go, but I don’t want you to feel you have to just because I was presumptuous. If there’s something else you want to do, I don’t mind.”
God, he was so sweet it was unbearable. “I want to go,” she said, reaching for her coffee. “I just need a minute to wake up, then I’ll jump in the shower.”
He went back to the kitchen and sat at the island, scrolling on his phone as he sipped his coffee. Seren mentally chastised herself for being insensitive the previous day. Kit had gone out of his way to plan a day that he knew she’d enjoy, and she’d completely thrown the gesture back in his face because she couldn’t deal with her own feelings. To make things worse, he was still lovely to her even when she was awful to him.
Lost in contemplation, she almost jumped out of her skin when Kit’s voice broke through the silence.
“Trystan’s going to try and meet up with us for dinner tonight,” he said from the kitchen, “but he’s not sure what time he’ll be finished with work.”
“Okay.” Seren swallowed hard, feeling daunted by the day ahead. It was crazy to be nervous about spending the day with Kit. She’d known him forever and should be completely relaxed around him, but she had the feeling that she had no idea how to act around him.
On the Tube ride and shuttle bus, Seren still felt half asleep and was grateful that Kit wasn’t particularly chatty.
“You might have had a point yesterday,” he said as they stood in a queue to go into the studios.
“About what?” she asked through a yawn.
“About needing a kid to come here.” He looked pointedly at all the families around them, then raised an eyebrow. “Thank goodness you’ve got me.”
“I was joking yesterday.” Feeling the need to make amends for her previous attitude, she rested her chin on Kit’s shoulder and slipped her arms around his waist. She’d always had a tactile relationship with Noah, and Trystan too, but not so much with Kit. She wasn’t sure why. Now it felt unnatural. Pulling away immediately would seem weird, so she waited until the queue moved to extract herself from him and hoped he hadn’t been able to feel the intense thudding of her heart.
“I’m sure it’s fun for adults too,” Kit said, sounding suddenly unsure of himself.
She smiled at him. “We’ll have fun no matter what.” At least if she ever fully woke up. Her night of disturbed sleep had left her feeling like a zombie.
Finally, it was their turn to go inside and they were ushered into a large room where a staff member welcomed them and gave them a rundown of the tour, then showed a video of the film’s actors talking about their time filming.
Standing side by side, they waited before the massive, intricately carved wooden doors that signalled the start of the tour.
“I hope there’s a cafe along the way,” Seren whispered in Kit’s ear as a couple of kids were chosen to open the doors.
“Are you hungry already?” Kit asked. “It’s not long since we had breakfast.”
“I need another coffee and something sweet to boost my energy levels.”
Kit nodded and they followed the crowd into the Great Hall.
As it turned out, the excitement of being surrounded by all things Harry Potter gave her more of a boost than caffeine ever could, and her energy levels went through the roof as they moved through the various sets and exhibits.
All her previous discomfort around Kit vanished, and they excitedly pointed out details to each other while they explored. Seren could barely take it all in and gawked at everything. They took photos of each other pushing the trolley through the wall on Platform Nine and Three Quarters and then more photos in front of the gleaming red Hogwart’s Express.
“Shall I get us a butterbeer?” Kit asked outside the Backlot Cafe.