Chapter 14
Chapter Fourteen
Suzie was instantly on alert. Her head told her that whatever it was, she needed not to react while her heart raced off on its own desperate course.
‘We’ve got a special act to close the show tomorrow night. A real treat for the fans.’
He was watching her with a strange intensity. The feeling of dread that had been building over the last couple of days resurfaced with a vengeance.
‘Don’t you want to know who it is?’
Just the way he said who gave her all the answer she needed. Playing along would give her a precious moment to compose herself.
‘Oh, go on then, tell me. Who is it?’
‘It’s…’
Frank let the seconds slip by. What was he waiting for? A bloody drumroll?
‘Christian Lestrange and his band.’
The urge to scream was overwhelming, but she had to hold it in. She pressed the thumb and forefinger on her right hand together so hard it hurt. But she wasn’t going to give Frank the satisfaction of showing how upset she was.
‘Wow. That’s quite a coup. Getting Christian to leave his farm behind and come to Athens.’
‘I knew you’d be pleased to see him.’
‘Yeah, it will be nice to catch up, like it’s been nice to catch up with all the guys here. It’s been so long since we’ve all seen each other.’
Christian wasn’t at all like any of the other guys there, but she hoped against hope that her breezy manner had Frank fooled. His excited expression had quickly turned to one of faint disappointment.
‘I thought you’d be more excited. You always seemed so close. Like iron filings to a magnet, you two were.’
Suzie let out a strangled laugh.
‘Frank, we’re talking nearly forty years ago. I can barely remember the man.’
Barefaced lying was a wretched tactic, but she had nothing else.
The harsh strip lighting made the promoter look positively demonic when he smiled directly at her.
‘I’m sure it will all come back to you. In Technicolour.’
Punching Frank or letting loose a string of swear words weren’t really options, but any longer in his presence and she’d be sorely tempted.
She wasn’t enough of an egomaniac to think that he’d set up the whole thing just to wind her up.
Bringing the band over would have cost a bomb.
But there was no doubt that tormenting her was pleasing him no end, especially after her recent rejection of his feelings. It was time to get out of there.
‘It will make for an exciting finale to the tour, that’s for sure, so well done. But got to dash; my taxi’s waiting. Bye.’
Her last view of him, standing with his arms crossed in her dressing room, a big smile on his face, made her want to vomit. He raised a hand.
‘Exciting times ahead. See you tomorrow.’
Safely in the taxi, Suzie finally let out the breath she’d been holding. Her first reaction was to feign illness, pack up and leave first thing in the morning, miss the show and avoid coming face to face with Christian.
But that was the coward’s way out. She’d be letting down a lot of people, including the paying audience, not to mention her fellow performers.
Frank, she couldn’t give a fig about, especially now, but the likes of Jake, Carol and Teresa deserved more.
They were all expecting her at the after party.
She could just do her set, stay for a quick drink and get the late boat back to the island with Giannis rather than spending another night in Athens.
It would be easy to sort, and she felt tonnes better already for having a solid plan.
Keeping out of Christian’s way wouldn’t be a problem.
If he wasn’t arriving until the next day, he and the band would need some major rehearsal time on a completely new stage.
She could hide away in her dressing room.
Although … there was a tiny part of her that was fascinated to see what he looked like now.
There’d been a couple of long-distance shots from his pub gigs online, but nothing up close.
Maybe she could lurk out of sight at the side of the stage and grab a quick look.
The entrance to the hotel loomed up on her left. Whether she could get a glimpse of Christian without him knowing was tomorrow’s problem. For now, it was bath, check Giannis was back, then straight to bed and try to sleep.
The sleeping had been easier than she’d thought, no doubt helped by a lot of Prosecco.
After a late breakfast together, Giannis had gone off to have coffee with a friend and do some last-minute shopping for her, plus he needed to get something special for Kat’s birthday.
She’d broken it to him that they’d be going back late that night, instead of tomorrow, not that he was bothered, and she’d instructed him to come to her dressing room at six as usual. The master plan was taking shape.
With endless coffees in the hotel and a large chunk of her book read, she’d hung it out as long as she could, but she couldn’t miss the final soundcheck.
A receptionist informed her a car was waiting, so it was back to the venue whether she liked it or not.
When she got to the auditorium, her hand on the door wasn’t totally steady, and the sound of a band playing seeped out when she pulled it open a crack to peek round.
But it was just Juice on stage, finishing up, so the coast was clear.
Jake waved to her as she walked down the aisle.
‘Hey, Suze. Did you hear about Christian and the boys performing tonight? What a turn up! The old gang all back together.’
She only had to get through the next few hours, and she’d be back on her peaceful little island with her secrets intact.
That’s what she had to keep telling herself.
Figuring out how to behave normally when the love of your life was about to appear out of the blue after so long was as tough as it sounded.
Like the others, he’d no doubt want an explanation as to why she’d done a runner from the music scene, but in his case, the answer wasn’t so simple to trot out.
She gave Jake a mock punch on the arm and a big smile.
‘It’s fantastic news. Can’t wait for their set. Have you had a chance to catch up with them all yet?’
‘Oh yeah, they rehearsed just before us. Same old Christian. He makes it look effortless, and the band’s still got it.’
She could hardly ask Jake what Christian looked like now; that wouldn’t look at all suspicious. It was better to stick to music talk. Only her soundcheck to go and she could retreat to her dressing room.
On cue, Luke, the sound engineer, called her name.
‘Suzie, can we just check you for level up on stage, please?’
‘Sure.’
She climbed the stairs and stood in her usual spot before pulling her glasses out of the bag. She wouldn’t wear them for the performance, but she could double-check the words now.
‘The opening song, please.’
‘Coming up.’
Belting out her big hit was a release of sorts. There was some stopping and starting for technical issues, but once she got into her stride, it flowed out of her.
Almost at the end of the song, a movement in the wings made her glance to her left. What she saw nearly made her drop the mic. She stuttered to a halt.
‘Everything OK, Suzie?’ Luke’s voice filled the stage.
‘Yeah, sorry. Let’s take it again from the last section.’
Emptying her mind, Suzie forced herself to finish the song, eyes forward. She couldn’t look left of stage again where Christian was watching and waiting. She hurriedly shoved her glasses back into her bag. All her plans had come to nothing. There was no escaping him now.
His casual nod as she walked towards him gave the impression he was someone who’d last seen her a couple of days ago.
‘Suze.’
‘Christan.’
He opened his arms wide.
‘Come here. It’s so good to see you.’
‘You too.’
She fell into his embrace and buried her head against his chest to cover her confusion.
He’d always been way taller than her, and the hug felt so familiar it hurt.
But it was his smell that almost undid her, a combination of woody aftershave, mint and a faint undertone of cigarettes.
It was a smell she hadn’t experienced for so long, a smell she didn’t even know she’d missed.
His heart was beating even faster than hers under his navy cotton T-shirt.
It was strangely reassuring to know he wasn’t quite as calm and collected about their unexpected reunion as he made out.
He looked down at her at the same moment as she looked up at him.
He might have put on some weight round the middle – there was definitely more to hug – although he was still in his battered Levis, and he’d cut his hair very short, replacing the fulsome blond locks the fans went crazy for.
But close up, his eyes were still the same shade of blue, the blue of a troubled sea.
When he smiled, she could see the laughter lines carved by age on both sides of his face, fanning out from the eyes that had caused her to lose her senses time and time again.
His full mouth, so soft to the touch, was moving.
She should really listen to the words instead of remembering what a good kisser he was.
‘Now we’ve both finished with our soundchecks, let’s get out of here. Are you up for a drink? I’m not sure I want to catch up in full view of everyone.’
Christian moved his head a fraction to one side, and Suzie caught a glimpse of Frank behind the sound team. She convinced herself she’d been about to say no, but she had no desire to be spied on.
‘Yeah, just for a few minutes. And by a drink, I mean coffee. No drinking before singing these days.’
‘You ought to get that put on a key ring.’
‘Amusing.’
It had only been a minute, but already they were back sparring.
They left the venue together, under the beady eye of Frank, who watched them all the way out of the door.
Christian waited until they were on the street to link arms.
‘That guy still gives me the creeps. Even after all these years.’
Suzie attempted to keep up with his long strides. He’d never been very good at altering his pace for her.