Nicholas rose and he crossed the room to pat Clio's shoulder just for a tiny moment before withdrawing his hand. "I'll try."

He followed Clio back out into the kitchen where Mairead was finishing her dinner. She looked up at him and her eyes grew wide. "...hi?" she asked, totally frozen.

"Hi, I'm Clio's friend Nicholas."

Mairead turned bright pink and she ducked her head, clearly attracted to him, "Mairead."