Blood Past - By Samantha Young Page 0,41
as they sought the next greatest restaurant and bar. Noah smiled at her as he caught her glancing back at the castle again and she shrugged him off with a sheepish smile.
As they passed the gardens and the Scott Monument, Tobe turned so she was facing Eden and began walking backwards. “You have to come back to Edinburgh at Christmas time. The both of you.
This place is beautiful. They put white lights on all the trees and there’s a German market that smells amazing and a small fun fair with this huge ferris wheel all lit up. Princes Street at night on a cold Winter’s day is the prettiest thing I’ve ever seen. Even if I do say so myself.” Tobe grinned.
“She’s right,” Cameron agreed. “It’s really Christmassy. There’s even ice skating down in the gardens.”
Christmas had never been a big deal in the Winslow Mansion. Since it was a religious holiday and not a soul eater’s religion, they pretended on the outside with everyone else, but on the inside there was no decorations, no tree, no presents. Unlike birthdays, Christmas was blown past with Ryan handing them a wad of cash and telling her and Stel to buy whatever they wanted.
“I wouldn’t have thought you guys celebrated Christmas.” Eden frowned.
Tobe shrugged still walking backwards, impressing Eden with how she managed not to trip or knock into anyone. “Well of course we don’t go to church or anything like that but many people who celebrate Christmas don’t go to church.”
“You go to the service,” Cameron murmured at her.
Eden could swear she saw Tobe’s face flush red as made a face at him. “Service?” Tobe huffed, “What? It’s cool OK.”
Noah snorted. “The defensiveness would make some sense if you told us what you were talking about?”
“There’s a Christmas service at McEwan Hall at Edinburgh Uni every year. The Hall is huge and stunning and it has an old organ. They hold a proper Christmas service with these amazing choirs.
It’s kind of beautiful.”
Eden thought it sounded wonderful. “And you’re embarrassed by this why?”
“Because I’m not religious. It’s weird for me to go.”
“No it’s not.”
Tobe smiled at her and turned back around.
Cameron grimaced and threw her a look. “I’ve been telling you it’s not weird for five years and you still sneak off to it with a furry hat pulled down over your head so no one recognises you. Eden tells you it’s not weird and suddenly it’s not.”
Eden and Noah shared an amused smile.
Tobe shrugged. “Well she is the authority on weird.”
Eden’s smirk slipped and Noah smothered a laugh with a cough.
“Thanks, Tobe, real nice.”
Her ‘cousin’ shrugged without looking back. “Don’t mention it.” They made their way to their destination in relative quiet, letting Eden soak up the atmosphere of the city. Less than ten minutes later and Tobe and Cameron were leading them into a glass front building with two giant metal giraffes outside. The centre had a cinema and a bunch of restaurants and clubs inside it, and they stood for a while trying to agree on where to eat. Eventually they decided on an Asian fusion restaurant and settled around the table in a comfortable silence as they perused the menu. Cameron asked Noah a couple of questions and Eden relaxed as Noah answered them amiably. She’d noticed that Noah had been a little cagey around the cute Neith over the last week. Cameron was a naturally flirty person and she had kind of got the impression that his flirtatiousness with her was bothering Noah.
That made her stupidly happy.
Eden, however, didn’t put any stock in Cameron’s flirting. She had been watching him and Tobe over the last few days and was beginning to think there was something going on there. Yeah Tobe had said that they had tried dating and quit because it was too much like kissing her cousin but the way they acted around each other had Eden questioning that story. Tobe excused herself to go to the bathroom and Eden watched with amusement as Cameron followed the girl with wistful eyes. She looked at Noah and was surprised to see he had noticed too. They shared a knowing smile that made her feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Flushing, Eden quickly picked up her glass of water and waited for Tobe to come back to the table. Sure enough, Tobe kept glancing at Cameron surreptitiously, just as she had been doing all week. For the first time ever Eden wanted to meddle. She chuckled inwardly at