Page 37 of The Suitcase Swap

‘Absolutely not,’ Mike said. ‘With the way today’s going, we’ll end up capsizing. Let’s rain-check that idea.’

‘Can you capsize a pedalo?’

‘Normal people? No.’ Mike moved his shake back and forth between them. ‘Us? I’m not taking that chance.’

‘Fair enough,’ she said, finishing off her shake. ‘I’m open to ideas.’

‘No food,’ Mike said firmly. ‘At least, not yet.’ He sipped at his shake for a minute, thinking. ‘Fancy a trip on the subway?’

‘Does anyone, ever, actually fancy a trip on the subway?’

‘Of course not,’ Mike said. ‘But we’re taking one anyway.’

An hour later and they were standing in front of, to Mike’s mind, one of the most impressive buildings he’d seen in a long time.

‘What is it?’ Sophie peered up at the structure, eyes wide.

‘It’s called the Shed – a glorious construction of structural steel, insulated glass, polymers and reinforced concrete. It’s energy efficient and itmoves.’

She blinked at him. ‘It what?’

‘Moves.’ He turned her slightly, pointing to the relevant part of the structure. ‘See that bit, there? Those are wheels. The building can expand as needed. It’s a centre for the arts, which includes performances, so when they need more space, they create it.’

‘Ooooh.’ The sound was filled with awe as it escaped her rounded lips. ‘I’d love to see that.’

Mike felt an overpowering urge to lean down and press a kiss just to the corner of her mouth, rightthere,and— Friends. They were friends. He wasn’t going to break his promise on the same day he’d made it. No, wait, he wasn’t going to break it at all. That was how promises worked, damn it.

He cleared his throat, shoving his hands into his pockets. ‘They don’t do it often. But it does have a bar that I’ve never been into. Can I buy you a drink?’

‘Yes,’ Sophie said, taking out her phone. ‘After I get some pictures and video first.’

Mike held out his hand. ‘Here, I can take some with you in it—’

Sophie shook her head. ‘First, let’s get a few of us.’

Mike dutifully followed her until she picked a good spot, taking several pictures of them from a few different angles. She examined the photos before they moved on, smiling after a second. ‘These are good. I can use these.’

‘You can?’ Mike shook his head. ‘But it’s your blog. You don’t need photos of me in it.’

‘Why not?’ Sophie asked. ‘It’s not like it’s only pictures of my face. I include Edie in it all the time. Besides, you’re the one that brought me here and you’re the one who’s goingto tell me all about the building.’ She frowned up at him. ‘Unless you don’t want to be in it?’

He shook his head. ‘It’s not that. I just don’t want to take over.’

‘You won’t,’ she promised with a grin. ‘Now let’s go and check it out. I want to poke about a bit before we head into the bar.’

They never made it into the bar. No sooner had they walked through the front gates than they were confronted with an explosion of people and noise.

‘What is this?’ Sophie asked, wonder in her voice.

Mike felt a sudden stab of envy. It was like Sophie approached the entire world with a sort of joyous curiosity. When had he stopped being like that? Had he ever been like that?

Sophie peered up at a banner. ‘It’s a market!’ She darted off and all he could do was follow.

The market was full of food vendors, with cuisines from all over the globe. Everything from samosas and meats on sticks to drinks in hollowed-out pineapples, ice cream cookie sandwiches, paper baskets full of arancini – if you wanted to eat it, he was pretty sure the market had it. As he watched, someone pulled apart their cheese toastie, revealing a literal rainbow of cheese.

Just standing as he was at the entrance was a sensory experience. Dozens of food smells wafted through the air, along with people chattering and laughing, while music from a nearby exhibit flowed in the background. Between the stalls and the people, there was so much to look at that he wasn’t sure where to start. It was like an explosion of flavour he could hear, see and smell as well as taste.

‘I have died,’ Sophie said solemnly. ‘And the afterlife is wonderful.’ She grabbed Mike’s hand, tugging him forward. ‘Come on!’

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