She nodded and smiled, a dimple dipping in her left cheek. She really was adorable. ‘There’s a hot guy in that one.’

I raised an eyebrow. ‘Age?’

‘Twenty-four.’

Pleasantly surprised, I smiled, flipping through the pages. ‘Nice. Who knew teen fiction had got so risque?’

‘The main character is eighteen. It’s not gross or anything.’

‘Good to know.’ I stood up from my kneeling position and wandered over to her huge bed to flop down beside her. ‘I wouldn’t want you corrupting my innocence.’

Hannah chortled. ‘I think Malcolm’s already done that.’

I gave a wee huff of amusement. ‘What would you know about that stuff? A boy caught your eye yet?’

Of course, I’d expected her to shake her head, frowning like she always did when I asked her this question. To my utter surprise, her pale cheeks flushed red.

Interesting.

I sat up and pushed her laptop off her lap on to the bed so I could have her full attention. ‘Tell me everything.’

She slanted me a look. ‘You can’t tell anyone. Not Ellie or Joss or Mum –’

‘I promise,’ I replied hurriedly, feeling a bubble of excitement for her. First romances were so exhilarating.

Making a face at my obvious anticipation, Hannah shook her head. ‘It’s not like I’m going out with anyone.’

I grinned. ‘Then what is it like?’

She shrugged uncertainly, her eyes suddenly filled with dismay. ‘He doesn’t like me the same way.’

‘Who doesn’t? How do you know?’

‘He’s older.’

Worry stabbed me in the gut. ‘Older?’

Hannah must have heard the note of reproach in my voice because she waved my concern away quickly. ‘He’s just eighteen. He’s in the last year at school.’

‘So how did you meet?’ Although I was willing to be a friend to Hannah, I also wanted the details so I could figure out whether there was reason to be concerned or not. Hannah was a young fifteen when it came to boys and I didn’t want anyone taking advantage of her.

Relaxing, Hannah turned towards me, getting more comfortable with confiding her boy story to me. ‘Last year these boys started to make fun of me and my friends. We didn’t really bother when we were together. It was just names, and they’re just a bunch of idiots who skip school and bully everyone who actually likes school.’ She rolled her eyes at the stupidity of the young male species. ‘Anyway, one day last year I missed the bus, so I began walking home. They followed me.’

I gripped her duvet cover, my eyes wide. ‘Di–’

‘It’s okay.’ She cut me off, reassuring me. ‘Marco stopped them.’

My lips twitched as I tried to contain my smile at the dreamy way she said his name. ‘Marco?’

She nodded, her smile more than a little bashful. ‘His dad is African American but his mum’s family is Italian American with family in Scotland. He’s from Chicago but he moved here last year to live with his aunt and uncle. He was with a couple of friends and he saw the boys following me and taunting me. He scared the guys off, introduced himself, and then walked me home even though it was in the opposite direction from his place.’

So far, so good.

I nodded, encouraging her to continue.

‘He told me anytime I missed the bus he would walk me home. He started hanging around with his friends at the end of school and waiting to see if I got on the bus. The couple of times I missed it, he was true to his word and walked me home.’

What was this kid after? ‘So has he asked you out?’

Hannah heaved a dramatic sigh. ‘That’s the thing. He really is just looking out for me, like I’m a wee sister or something.’

Okay, maybe he really was just a good kid. ‘Is it your shyness? Do you not talk to him?’

Hannah laughed, such a grown-up sound of tart amusement I had to remind myself for a second I was talking to a teenager. ‘That’s the thing. I clam up around other boys, and you’d think with how hot he is, I wouldn’t be able to talk to him. But he makes it really easy. He’s really down to earth.’

‘How do you know he doesn’t fancy you?’

Her cheeks flushed a deeper red than before and she bit her lip, her eyes flickering away from mine.

‘Hannah?’

‘I may have mmmhed imm,’ she mumbled.

I leaned closer, suspecting I already knew the answer to my next question, ‘What was that?’

‘I may have kissed him,’ she answered grumpily, her cheeks brightening again.

I grinned teasingly. Little Hannah had her sister’s impulsiveness when it came to her crushes. Ellie had told me all about the night she’d thrown herself at Adam. Adam was Braden’s best friend, and out of respect to Braden had held Ellie at arm’s length for a long time. Ellie had not made it easy on him. ‘How did that go?’

Hannah’s brow puckered as she stared at the ground. ‘He kissed me back.’

‘Yay!’ I punched the air like a goofy idiot.

‘No.’ Hannah shook her head at me. ‘He then pushed me away, didn’t say a word, and has avoided me for the last month.’

Feeling my chest ache at how crestfallen she looked, I slid my arm around her shoulders and hugged her to my side. ‘Hannah, you are beautiful and funny and smart and there are going to be a ton of boys who won’t push you away.’

I knew how empty my words were. There were no words that helped ease the pain of teenage unrequited love, but Hannah hugged me back, appreciating my efforts nonetheless.

‘What’s going on?’ Ellie’s worried voice brought our heads up. She stood in the doorway, her slender arms crossed over her chest, her eyes creased in concern. Her blonde hair was much shorter than it used to be. For weeks after her surgery she’d worn head scarves to cover the patch of hair that had been shaved. As the hair grew in, she’d chopped it all off into a sexy pixie cut that she absolutely hated. It was now chin length and as uber chic as Hannah’s.

I felt Hannah tense against me, obviously afraid that I would share the news about her secret crush on the elusive Marco. I sympathized with her. He did sound intriguing. It was bad enough moping after a mysterious African American, Italian American, Scottish Italian hottie, without your annoying family knowing all about it. ‘I was just telling Hannah all about my first love, John, and how he broke my heart. She was giving me a hug to say she was sorry.’

Hannah’s fingers squeezed my waist in thank-you as Ellie’s eyes grew round. ‘You’ve never told me about John.’

Not wanting to actually get into it, I sat up on the bed, pulling Hannah with me. ‘Another time. The smell of food is wafting up the stairs, which means it’s almost ready.’

Ellie looked a little disappointed as she led us out of the room. ‘I know! We’ll have a girls’ night in this month and we can talk about our first loves.’

‘Aren’t you and Joss dating yours?’

Her mouth turned down at the corners. ‘Just yours, then?’

I grimaced. ‘Sounds like a real good time.’

‘Every time you hang out with Hannah, you get a little more sarcastic. I’m banning you from her company.’

Hannah grinned happily at the thought that she might have influenced me, and I couldn’t help but laugh, affection filling my chest with warmth. ‘Only wild horses, Ellie. Only wild horses.’

Once we were seated around the table, Elodie clucked around us, making sure we all had what we needed.

‘Are you sure you don’t want any more gravy, Jo?’ she asked, the gravy boat hovering precariously in the air in her light grasp.

I smiled around a potato and shook my head.

‘Cole?’

‘No, thank you, Mrs Nichols.’

He made my heart hurt with his beautiful manners, and I nudged him with an elbow, grinning at him. Cole flicked me a look that clearly said, ‘You’re such an idiot’ and continued to eat.

‘What were you and Hannah talking about in her room for so long?’ Elodie asked as she settled back in her seat at the end of the table. Clark sat at the opposite end. Ellie, Adam, Joss and Braden sat across from me, while I was between Cole and Hannah, and Declan was on Cole’s other side. I could tell Elodie was pretending she didn’t really care what we had been talking about but in truth was dying to know.