There was no reason not to. Why should he mope around over Seren when she had absolutely no consideration for his feelings? Surely she knew how hard it would be for him to see her with Felix?
Well, he didn’t owe her anything. So what if he immediately moved on and started dating someone? That had been the point of telling her how he felt after all. To give him closure so he could move on.
His surge of adrenaline fizzled out when he reached the tourist information to find the sign on the door turned to closed. He didn’t have Holly’s number or know where she lived, so there was no way for him to get in touch with her.
At least the brisk walk had calmed him down a little. He blew out a long breath and was about to start back the way he’d come when a head of distinctive blonde curls stepped out of the supermarket further up the road.
Breaking into a jog, Kit crossed the narrow road at a diagonal, calling out to Holly as he went.
“I thought I’d missed you,” he said, breathing hard when he stopped in front of her. “I went to the tourist office but it had already closed.”
She held up her shopping bag. “I was just getting something for dinner before I head home.”
“I keep thinking about our conversation the other day…” He shifted his weight from foot to foot. As his adrenaline faded, his confidence went with it. “When do you want to come out on the train?”
Her smile brought colour to her cheeks. “I don’t,” she said, shaking her head and pulling a stray strand of hair from her face.
“But you said you wanted to come so you could recommend it to people.”
“I just said that.” She looked slightly bashful. “It was pretty good for a spur of the moment excuse. Because it’s genuinely a good idea.”
“I’m lost,” Kit said, utterly confused.
She moved her shopping bag to the opposite hand. “I came to ask you out on a date. I imagine that was obvious. But I lost my nerve, so I asked about the train trip instead. Then I was about to ask you out, but in my panic I realised that I didn’t even know if you were single, so I asked that instead. And you looked so freaked out by the question that I knew there was no way you’d want to go out with me, so I gave up on the idea.”
“Sorry.” Kit found her honesty oddly endearing. “You took me by surprise. I haven’t dated anyone in ages. My social skills are probably a bit rusty when it comes to dating.”
They stood looking at each other for a moment before Holly broke the silence.
“I’m glad we’ve sorted that out then. We seem to have cleared all the awkwardness.”
Kit chuckled at her teasing. “Do you want to go out sometime?”
“I thought you’d never ask.” She beamed. “I’d really like to.”
“How about dinner tonight?” As he said it, he remembered he had a gig race. Considering he hadn’t raced the previous two weeks due to being in London and nursing his broken heart, he really ought to go. The physical exertion of the intense rowing would no doubt be good for him too. “I’m racing,” he told her. “But I won’t hang around after, so we can still have dinner at a reasonable hour.”
“Well, I did have big plans to cook myself some pasta.” She peered into her bag. “But I suppose that will keep. I presume you were thinking we’d go out for dinner … you weren’t angling for an invite to sample my cooking? Because I’d advise against that.”
“No. I can definitely take you out. Where do you fancy? The food at the hotel is pretty good …” He put a hand on her arm as she bit her lip. “That was a joke … sorry, it was pretty bad.”
She inhaled a sharp breath then laughed loudly. “I’d actually love to see the look on Gavin’s face if I went on a date at the hotel. I’m not sure I’m ready for that yet, though.”
“How about Juliet’s Garden? Any ex-boyfriends work there or are we safe?”
“Safe,” she said happily. “I love it there.”
“Good. I’ll pick you up after the race.” He squinted at her. “I’ve no idea where you live.”
“Just over on Church Street. Near the museum.” She gave him her phone to put his number in and told him she’d message him the address. As she took the phone back, her nose wrinkled. “Do you have a car?”
“No. I hope this doesn’t sound like bragging, but I do have a train and a bus. Which one would you prefer I pick you up in?”
“I really hope that’s another joke.”
“Yeah.” He smiled widely. “I also have a golf cart, but it looks as though it’ll be a nice evening if you feel like a walk.”
“A walk sounds good.” She glanced over the road and winced slightly. “Is that your mum over there?”