“I’ll need to draw up a contract and make sure we have everything set up officially. I’ll get on that as soon as I can. How about we discuss everything again next week and go from there?”
She grinned. “I can’t wait to tell Noah.”
“You better go and tell him then.”
“Wait … what do you do in between trips? I need to know everything.”
“I wipe the seats down and check for any rubbish that’s been left behind. That’s about it.”
“I can do that,” she said eagerly.
“You don’t need to do it now. Get back home and see Noah.”
She hugged him again before hurrying away.
Keira’s enthusiasm left him feeling a little more upbeat. Getting more involved at the lifesaving club would be good for him, and with the height of tourist season just around the corner he’d soon be too busy to dwell on his heartbreak.
By the end of the day, his newfound positivity had dwindled slightly. He checked his watch after saying goodbye to the last of his passengers. If he waited half an hour, Seren would emerge after her day shift. It was easy to kill half an hour chatting to whoever was around the promenade or grabbing a coffee in one of the cafes. Cleaning up the train took a bit of time too if he chose to do that at the promenade rather than back at the garage.
He needed to break away from his old habits though. It was time for him to start looking to the future. His days of stalking Seren were over.
Lost in his internal motivational speech, he didn’t notice Holly until she called his name. Her blonde curls bobbed around her shoulders as she quickened her pace.
“Hi,” he said as she neared him. “How are you?”
“Good thanks.”
He squinted. “Keira said you were looking for me a couple of weeks ago … I only just remembered.”
“It wasn’t important.” She shook her head as a blush hit her pale cheeks. “I just wanted to ask you something …” She bit down on her lip and drummed her fingers against her thigh.
“If it’s about the train tickets again, I’m really not interested in selling tickets from the tourist office. For several reasons.”
“No. It wasn’t about that.”
“Do you want to give me a clue then?” he asked, sounding curter than he’d intended.
“Yes. Sorry. It’s nothing … I just wondered …” She glanced around. “I was wondering if I could come on the train with you sometime?”
“If you’re looking for a job, you’re a few hours too late. I took someone else on this morning.”
“It’s not that,” she said in a rush. “It’s only that I spend a lot of time recommending your tour to sightseers. Everyone says it’s great and your online reviews are fantastic. But I thought it might be nice to have actually experienced it.”
“Oh. Yeah sure. You’re welcome to come along whenever you want. Free of charge, of course. I’ll even let you ride in the front with me.”
“Thank you.” Her shoulders sank and she gave him a small smile.
“I’m afraid you’ve missed the last trip for today though.”
“Yes. Another day would be great. I’ll look forward to it.” She took a couple of steps backwards, then stopped abruptly. “Are you single?” she said in a rush, her voice rising in pitch.
“What?” He’d heard her, he was just slightly confused since the question seemed to come out of nowhere.
“Are you seeing anyone?” She winced. “I just wondered.”
He swallowed hard, hoping she wasn’t about to ask him out. “No. I’m not seeing anyone.” He scuffed the toe of his shoe on the concrete when she didn’t say any more. “Are you still with …” The name escaped him. “You were seeing the guy who works in the hotel, right?”
“Yes.” She nodded, then switched to shaking her head. “We were together, but we’re not any more.”