It had been a turning point for Kat and made it easier to put up with Harry and his silly jokes and endless messing about in class. As she’d got to know Chloe and Issy better she’d inevitably been drawn into their wider friendship circle, which had included all of the Penrose boys. Outside of school, she’d seen a gentler version of Harry. He and Ed had still got up to mischief but it was all done with a spirit of fun. Sitting so close to him, it hadn’t taken long to work out the reason for Harry’s disruptive behaviour – he couldn’t understand their textbooks and his writing was a disaster. He mixed up letters likepandbanddand often put letters backwards. His spelling was terrible and it wasn’t for want of trying. She could still remember how hard he’d gripped his pen, how carefully he’d moved it as he tried to get the information from his brain on to the page. She hadn’t had a word for it at the time, but she’d come to learn much later that he was profoundly dyslexic. She’d tried to help him where she could but he’d continued to disrupt things. In the end he’d been moved away from her to sit beside Ed where he’d at least calmed down enough that their teacher was able to get on with their lessons. Once options and streaming had kicked in, the twins had been separated again and Harry’s behaviour had gone downhill until he’d eventually been placed on a long-term suspension.
As Kat stared up into his smiling face, it was hard to connect that troubled boy with the man Harry was now. Working with Russ Armstrong had helped him turn his life around, smoothing away the rough edges and setting him on the straight and narrow when he’d seemed destined for trouble. She was proud of how far he’d come and couldn’t help wishing she’d found herown way to distance herself more from the girl she’d been at school.
Finally leaving home had been a step in the right direction, but she couldn’t impose on Issy’s kindness for much longer. She needed to find an alternative solution, especially given her father’s madcap idea of opening a second franchise. She supposed it should’ve annoyed her that all her hard work had come to nothing while Harry had come on in leaps and bounds from such a sticky start, but Kat knew the truth. She only had herself to blame for letting her parents entangle her in their unhappy mess. It was time to stop treading water before the waves lapping at her chin completely overwhelmed her.
‘Drink?’ Harry prompted, reminding her she hadn’t actually answered him before.
‘Oh, God, yes please!’
Harry shot her that impish grin again and led her to the front door. It was closed but resting on the latch and yielded to a gentle push of his hand. A wall of heat and noise hit them – laughter, conversation and music. The hallway was rammed and it looked like the Penroses had invited half the village. Kat let Harry go in first, grateful of his broad shoulders as he expertly worked his way through the crowd of guests. He had a word for everyone, but he never lost momentum or got trapped in a conversation.
If Kat had been on her own, she doubted she’d have made it more than six feet inside the door before someone would’ve caught her. She’d never been good at moving people along and the only saving grace when she was behind the counter at Java Brava was being able to point out they were holding up the queue. ‘You’re such a good listener,’ people would say after talking at her until they’d got whatever they needed to off their chests. Funny how many of them never showed an interest inhow she was feeling or listening to anything she might have to say.
Before she knew it, they were in the kitchen and Harry was reaching for her jacket to help her out of it. A crackle of static threatened to lift her top and she quickly smoothed it flat with her hands.
‘Oh, what happened to your dress?’
Kat spun on her heel to see Chloe bearing down on her, arms outstretched. After exchanging a hug Kat stepped back, shrugging in apology as she replied, ‘I decided it wasn’t really me after all.’
‘That’s a shame.’ Chloe looked disappointed for a moment then her face brightened into a dazzling smile. ‘Well, never mind, you look gorgeous whatever you wear.’
Kat laughed. Being around Chloe was always an instant ego boost. ‘Forget the design business, you should become a motivational coach.’
Chloe brushed off the compliment like it was no more than her due. ‘I’m multi-talented, what can I say? Come on, help me distract Mum and Aunt Rachel away from the fridge. They’ve already prepped enough food to feed the entire street.’
‘Just as well because the entire street is here tonight!’ Kat glanced up at Harry, who’d returned from hanging up their coats. He’d removed the beanie he’d been wearing and it had left his curls slightly flattened on one side. Kat rubbed her fingers together to chase away the urge to reach up and fix his hair. Before she could wonder what on earth had got into her tonight, he was striding across the kitchen to greet his mother with a kiss. Seconds later he’d nudged Rachel aside and relieved her of the knife she’d been holding.
Kat watched in silent wonder as the knife flew across the chopping board, slicing a red pepper into perfect thin strips. Using the side of the knife, Harry scooped up the pieces andtossed them into a bowl on the counter before reaching for a chunk of cucumber and beginning to chop that. His attention was only half on what he was doing as he laughed and chatted with his mum and aunt, and Kat looked away with a shiver. If she tried something like that, one of her fingers would end up on the plate of veggie sticks. Not wanting to distract him, she took care to approach Harry’s mum from the other side. ‘Hello, Rachel.’
‘Kat!’ Rachel offered her cheek for Kat to kiss, her hands busy unwrapping more vegetables for Harry to chop. ‘Don’t you look gorgeous! Is that a new top?’
That awkward pleased-but-embarrassed feeling she always got whenever she felt the centre of attention fizzed up in Kat’s stomach. ‘Yes, Mum and Dad gave it to me for Christmas.’
‘Oh, that’s nice. How are they, by the way?’
Kat shrugged a shoulder and did her best to smile. ‘Oh, you know, same as ever.’
Rachel gave her a long, considering look that said yes, indeed she did know. ‘Well, do give them my best.’
‘I will.’
Kat wasn’t sure if it was possible to die of awkwardness, but she was saved from finding out when Chloe swept over carrying two glasses of champagne. She thrust one into Kat’s hand then clinked hers against it. ‘I’ve had two of these already so you’ll have to catch up.’ Kat took a large mouthful, more than happy to oblige.
Harry paused mid-chop and shot a glare at his cousin. ‘Hey, where’s my drink?’
‘You’re big enough and ugly enough to get your own,’ Chloe retorted.
‘I’m working here, in case you hadn’t noticed.’
Rachel laughed and patted his shoulder. ‘Sorry, I was just admiring Kat’s top. Don’t you think she looks lovely tonight?’
Kat hid a cringe behind her glass, taking another large drink in the process. She knew Rachel was just being kind, but begging second-hand compliments on her behalf made her look completely desperate.
‘She always looks beautiful.’ Harry held her gaze long enough for an embarrassing blush to begin burning her cheeks before turning his eyes back to the chopping board.
Kat drained the last of her champagne with a long swallow and put her glass on the counter. ‘Let me get you that drink.’ Without waiting for an answer, she hurried over to the fridge and yanked open the door. The blast of cold air hit her hot face as she scanned the packed shelves. Every inch was crammed full of food. Chloe hadn’t been kidding about them preparing enough for the whole street.Get a grip, she told herself as she took a few deep breaths. She couldn’t understand why she was getting herself into such a tizz over Harry giving her a compliment. Especially when his mum had all but forced him to make it.
Making a grab for the nearest bottle in the door, Kat turned back to find that, while she’d been having an existential crisis, no one was paying her any attention. Well then, she’d been worrying over nothing. She’d just placed the champagne on the worktop when Harry’s twin, Ed, swept in and made a beeline straight for her. ‘Hello, Kitty, don’t you look lovely tonight!’ He made a show of looking her up and down, but she didn’t miss the humour glinting in his eye as he took the bottle from her grip and began to open it.
