“I can’t believe you’ve been in love with her for all this time and not done anything about it,” Keira said.
“There’s the age gap,” he said. “Which I think would be an issue for her.”
“There’s not much of an age difference is there?” Keira asked.
“I’m twenty-two, she’s twenty-eight. It’s not huge, but I’m fairly sure she sees me as a kid. Anyway, that’s not the only reason I haven’t done anything about it.” He thought back over the last two years and how the timing had never felt right to say anything. “To start with, I thought it was just a fleeting crush. And she was seeing someone at the time.”
Noah groaned. “Ritchie Scaddan. What an idiot.”
“When she broke up with him, I considered telling her how I felt,” Kit went on. “But I kept chickening out and then she started dating this other guy.”
“Wayne Guillimot.” Noah set steaming mugs of tea on the counter. “Also an idiot. Seren has really bad taste in men.”
“She does,” Kit agreed.
“She’s single now,” Keira pointed out. “You should tell her how you feel. Isn’t it killing you to not say anything?”
“Yes,” he admitted. “It’s killing me. But it’sSeren.She’s pretty much family. If I tell her how I feel, all I’ll do is freak her out and make her uncomfortable around me. Which will be unpleasant given how much we see each other. I suspect she’d start avoiding me, and that would be way worse than the current situation.”
Keira blew on her tea and seemed to mull the situation over. “I think maybe she likes you too …”
“No,” Noah said firmly. “She doesn’t see him that way.”
Keira shook her head. “I swear when you were joking about her jumping your bones, she looked super uncomfortable.”
“Yes,” Kit agreed. “Because the thought of it disgusts her.”
“No! Because you were too close to the truth.”
“That’s really not what was happening,” Kit said sadly. “I’m almost sure she’s never had any thoughts about me that were in any way sexual or romantic.”
“Don’t you want to find out for definite?”
“No. I already told you it would only make things awkward.”
“Maybe Seren needs a little nudge in your direction,” Keira said coyly. “Perhaps someone making a few comments about what a catch you are …”
Kit’s shoulders shook as he laughed. “If you’re thinking of matchmaking, don’t.”
“Please,” she said with a pout. “I took two weeks holiday from work to give me time to settle in. So I’ve got two weeks with nothing to do. Even when I do start working again, I’ll only be sitting in front of the laptop for a few hours a day. I need some purpose in my life. Matchmaking could be just the thing.”
“Or maybe you could focus on finding a job on the island,” Kit said. “Didn’t you say you wanted to find something part-time?”
“I’d like to find something to get me out of the house and meeting people, but I’ve got no idea what.”
“You’ll find something,” Kit said. “Around here, it’s more a case of speaking to the right person than anything else.” He sat up straight and took a sip of his tea. “You could always drive the train a couple of days a week, if you want?” He fully expected her to laugh at the idea, but she stared at him with an expression he couldn’t read.
“Are you serious?” she asked.
“Yeah, if you want to.”
“Do you actually need someone, or are you asking because you feel sorry for me?”
He dragged a hand through his hair. “I wasn’t looking for anyone, but the summer is always busy so I generally work seven days a week. Noah covers for me now and then, and one of the bus drivers will help in a pinch, but mostly it’s just me working my arse off. It might be good to have a couple of planned days off a week.”
“And you can afford to hire someone?”
He caught Noah’s eye and they exchanged a small smile. “The train’s a gold mine,” he said. He wasn’t usually one to brag about how successful his business had turned out to be, but he didn’t see harm in mentioning it to Keira. “I could employ someone to drive it full-time while I sit around doing nothing, but I enjoy it. Besides, it’s my baby – I’m a bit protective of it.”