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“Maybe.”

“Because you’re disappointed I’ve stopped singing?”

Her eyes danced and he knew he’d been rumbled. “Something like that.” He figured a change of subject was in order and indicated towards the building in front of them. “Mateo comes here after school. If I’m around we usually shoot some hoops together.”

“How old is he?”

“Fifteen.” He swallowed. “The same age I was when Mum told me she had cancer. Mateo has an older sister, so he’s not on his own, but it’s a tough time for him and the family. There’s no dad, very little money. His mum tries to stay positive but some days she’s too tired to be a mum. That’s when I try to help.”

He felt her eyes on him. “Is this where you disappear off to when we’re not together?”

“Between the gym and running, yes.”

“And you didn’t want to tell Pearl because . . . ?”

He glanced sideways at her. “She asks more questions than Oprah. I didn’t want to get into the inevitable conversation about my mum.”

She gave him a soft look. “I get that.” Then patted his hand in a way that sent a tight band around his chest. “Let’s go and say hi to Mateo.”

He spotted the guy’s curly brown hair from across the hall. As usual he was larking around, acting big with the group he was hanging with. A mask, just like the mask Luke had worn, still did, only his was more . . . surly, he supposed.

“Hey, buddy.”

Luke waved over to him and Mateo immediately snatched the basketball the group had been playing with, tucked it under his arm and ran over to them. As he noticed Anna he slowed, his gaze running up and down her in a way that had Luke narrowing his eyes at him.

“Whatever you’re about to say, it had better be respectful,” he warned.

Mateo grinned. “That’s my middle name.” He held out his hand towards Anna. “Hey, foxy lady. I’m Mateo, who are you?”

Anna laughed. “Hey handsome. I’m Anna. Friend of Luke’s.”

Mateo winked at Luke. “I like her.” Then he turned back to Anna. “How good a friend are you? ’Cos this guy hasn’t turned up here with a woman before so I’m guessing you must be a special friend.”

Luke grabbed him by the collar and started to march him towards the exit. “Be back in a minute, Anna,” he threw over his shoulder, waving towards the vending machine with his free hand. “Grab yourself a drink.”

“Hey, what are you doing?” Mateo grumbled.

“Having a quiet word with you before you say something that will make me want to swap you out for a Little who knows when to talk and when not to talk.” The spark in Mateo’s chocolate brown eyes dimmed and Luke cursed under his breath. “You know I didn’t mean that. I just . . . Anna is Colin’s sister.”

“Your friend. The guy who died?”

“Yes. We’re just . . . hanging round together for a bit while we try to come to terms with his loss.”

“So you don’t like her?”

“I didn’t say that.” Mateo’s spark returned and when he opened his mouth, Luke put a hand over it to silence him. “If you want this next hour or so to be fun, I suggest you don’t ask any more questions about her.” Mateo nodded and Luke removed his hand. “Now, before we go back to Anna, tell me how your mum is?”

Mateo shrugged and looked down at his feet. “Okay, I guess. She had chemo yesterday so she’s tired today.”

“Yeah, chemo will do that. It will also make her sick, she might lose her hair.” Still the boy didn’t look at him, so Luke tapped him on the chin to force his eyes up. “It will make her more prone to infection. All the things we talked about.”

“I know, I wash my hands loads. I empty the dishwasher and keep my room tidy.” A small smile crossed his face. “Plus I give her those frozen popsicles you told me about. She likes that.”

“I bet you’re a real help to her, buddy.” He gave him a gentle nudge with his shoulder. “And you keep talking to her, huh? Ask her how’s she’s doing but tell her how you’re doing, too. That’s important.”

Mateo finally looked up at him. “Did you talk to your mom when she was sick?”

“No. I bottled it all up inside. The anger, the resentment that I was left doing stuff for her while my mates were out enjoying themselves.” He felt a sting at the back of his eyes. “She’d have been gutted if she’d known, but I didn’t say anything, so nothing changed.” And he spent the last year of her life being cross with the person he loved most in the world.