Chapter 10
Chapter Ten
Cassie
When my phone alarm drags me from sleep, I’m disoriented enough that for a moment I think I’m back on tour.
Then I remember. This isn’t another fancy hotel room for Melody Night.
This room belongs to normal girl, Cassie St. James.
The events of yesterday afternoon come flooding back to me in a near-dizzying rush of memory, and I cringe.
It’s clear normal and I are off to a rocky start but today is a new day.
I’ve not been normal since before my first album came out when I was seventeen—I was bound to be a little rusty, but I’ll get the hang of it.
I swing my legs out of bed, my feet sinking into the plush carpet as I walk over to my suitcase.
Aside from pulling out my pyjamas, toiletries, and cross-stitch kit, I didn’t unpack last night.
I’ll take care of that later today. First, I need to get breakfast, then find out what’s going on with Liam’s car.
I pull out a pair of high-waisted mom jeans and an oversized navy t-shirt that I knot at the bottom. My white trainers complete the look. The casual outfit is a far cry from the bubble-gum shades, glitter, and excessive ruffles that make up my Melody wardrobe.
One look at my hair in the bathroom mirror as I brush my teeth has me deeply regretting leaving it loose last night, but after some battling, I finally wrestle the strands into something resembling a French plait.
Accepting that this is as good as it’s going to get, I take my sertraline, scooping a handful of tap water to my mouth to help me wash down the tablet.
Ready to face the day, I grab my handbag from my suitcase, quickly transfer my purse and other essentials from my backpack, then make my way downstairs.
The dining room is large—I count ten tables, plus the buffet spread—but the warm lighting and décor make the room feel cosy.
“Good morning. How was your first night?” Esther asks, pausing next to me as I try to work out where to sit.
“It was great, thank you.” My stomach rumbles making her chuckle.
“Help yourself to whatever you’d like from the buffet and feel free to sit anywhere.”
I give her an awkward smile in thanks, then do just that.
The dark floorboards creak beneath my feet as I fill my plate with a slice of toast, scrambled eggs, and some fruit.
At the end of the long buffet counter, there’s a kettle, boxes of assorted tea bags, and two jars of instant coffee.
There’s a tray of mugs waiting to be used, so I turn one right side up and flip the kettle to boil.
Avoiding the decaf coffee and going straight for the full-strength stuff, I dump a generous teaspoon into the plain white mug.
I doctor it to my liking—a splash of milk and half a sugar to take the edge off the bitterness—then walk over to the closest table.
Getting comfortable, I take a sip of the coffee, wince, then add the other half of the sugar packet to the mix. The food looks delicious, but I’ll need to find better coffee since I’m going to be here for a while. I make a mental note, adding that to my to-do list for after I check on Liam’s car.
Esther’s resetting a table on the other side of the room. There’s nobody else in here, so I call out to her. “Hey, Esther?”
“Yes?” She asks, looking my way as she lays down fresh napkins and cutlery on the table for two in front of her.
“Is there more than one garage in town? I want to go check on my car this morning, but I’m not sure where I’m going,” I admit sheepishly.
I should have asked Abby while I was at Bowman’s filling out my paperwork, but my thoughts were so scattered that it didn’t occur to me to check.
Evidently the accident threw me more off balance than I first thought.
Austin’s intimidating presence didn’t help.
Not that I think he was trying to be intimidating.
If anything, he made an effort to seem less physically imposing.
It was surprisingly thoughtful, but while my head barely reaches his shoulders, his solid build isn’t what makes him stand out.
There’s a quiet intensity about Austin that says he’s paying attention to and assessing everything around him, even if he doesn’t feel the need to comment on it.
His piercing green gaze had me convinced he was about to uncover all my secrets even before he started questioning the somewhat shady answers I provided on my starter paperwork.
Hopefully, after the training session tomorrow, we won’t see too much of each other except in passing during my shifts.
“Oh no, there’s just the one,” Esther replies, pulling my focus back to the present. Finished resetting the table, she comes over and pulls out the chair across from me. “Gem’s is about a fifteen-minute walk from here.”
She grabs a napkin from the dispenser on the table and produces a pen from her apron.
With how quickly Esther sketches out a little map, it’s clear I’m not the first tourist to ask her for directions.
“This is us.” She points at her doodle of a dragonfly, and I nod.
Esther continues, giving me directions to the garage, then explaining how to get from there to the main street where I’ll apparently find a few shops and other businesses.
She points out where Bowman’s is. “It’s not open at the moment, but the grand reopening is next Saturday.
It’s sure to be a good time—you should come. ”
My cheeks heat. “I actually got a job there yesterday.”
Esther’s eyebrows arch in surprise. “Oh?”
“Yeah. The, er, accident I had damaged some of their outdoor seating, so I owe them. I have training there tomorrow, and the soft reopening this Saturday will be my first shift.”
“My goodness. I doubt Austin was happy about that.”
“Oh, he definitely hates me. I’m lucky he’s giving me a chance to work off what I owe. Hopefully I don’t suck and he keeps me on long enough that I can afford to pay for whatever repairs the—my—car needs.”
She waves off my concern. “Don’t you worry, that boy’s bark is worse than his bite. I remember when he started coming here for guitar lessons from Thomas when he was ten years old, back when Thomas’s parents still ran the place.”
It’s my turn to look shocked. Of all people, I should know better than to judge, but the uptight, growling guy I met yesterday would be the last person I’d peg as having a love of music.
Then again, I’m hardly the person I was at ten years old.
That and I did destroy his bar—the towering man had a reason to be grumpy.
Maybe he’s usually less… tense. I can only pray that’s true, since I’m hoping he’ll be my boss for the foreseeable future.
“OK, thank you for the directions. I should go see how much the car repairs are going to set me back.” I stand and pick up my empty plate.
“Leave that, hon. It sounds like you’ll be clearing plenty of tables soon enough, but not here. Here you’re a guest,” she tells me in a warm but firm voice.
“Right, sorry. Thanks.” Napkin map in hand, I scuttle out of there.
* * *
Unlike yesterday, the sky is powder-blue, and the only clouds in sight are fluffy and white.
The walk to the garage is pleasant, and I marvel at the simple pleasure of being able to walk around on my own without anyone be it Ant, fans, press, or worse, my mother, following me.
A light breeze tugs at my cotton t-shirt and ruffles my hair.
My bare arms are a little chilly, but I don’t regret leaving the B&B without an extra layer.
I’ll be fine once it gets a little later in the day and the sun’s had time to work its magic.
Just like on the little map Esther drew for me, the garage sits next to a petrol station on the corner of the street.
There’s space out front for parking, and a heavy-looking metal shutter is drawn up, allowing me a look into the workspace of the garage from my position across the road.
The cherry-red sign above the door reads Gem’s Garage in bold black letters, and the logo is a wheel with a diamond in the middle instead of a hubcap.
I cross the road and open the glass and metal door to the right of the workspace, stepping into a small reception area.
A skinny guy in his late teens looks up from his spot behind the reception desk.
Strands of dark brown hair peek out from his backwards baseball-cap, and his chin is dotted with a few angry red spots.
“Hi, my car was brought in here yesterday afternoon—”
“Shit, you’re the lady who crashed into Bowman’s?”
“Dude, don’t swear at my customers.” A tall woman in black overalls that hug her full curves says, stepping through a door at the opposite end of the reception.
I glance over her shoulder, but can’t see Liam’s car from here.
“Sorry,” the teen mumbles looking sheepish. “Nothing exciting’s happened around here for ages. Still, I shouldn’t have got carried away.”
“It’s OK.” I turn my attention back to the woman. “Are you Gem?”
“That’s me. Sorry about my cousin.” She shoots a pointed look at the lanky teen who, now she mentions it, I see shares her full, angular brows and mahogany locks.
Embarrassed, the teen shrinks back as if he wants to disappear into his oversized hoodie, which has the shop’s logo stamped across the chest where Gem’s overalls have it embroidered in red thread above her heart.
“You’re here about the car from Bowman’s?
” Her golden skin is flushed as if she’s already been working hard for some time, even though it’s only nine in the morning.
She goes to brush a strand of dark hair from her eyes, then, glancing at her hands, thinks better of it and wipes them on the stained cloth hanging out of her pocket instead.
“Yeah. I know it wouldn’t start after the accident, but I’m hoping it’s going to be an easy fix?”