Never too late, p.24
Never Too Late, page 24
‘The very opposite. It was as if a hammer had hit me on the back of the head when I saw you, and I suddenly realised what I’d been missing all these years. I’m sorry I was so uncommunicative at first, but I was terrified I’d scare you off.’
She grinned at him. ‘You sound like Johnny talking about his beloved fly fishing.’ She stopped a passing waiter and grabbed two glasses of champagne. ‘I don’t know about you, but I could do with a proper drink.’
* * *
The sunlight shining in through the blinds woke her early and she opened her eyes and blinked. A movement beside her made her turn her head and she saw him propped up on one elbow, staring down at her.
‘Buongiorno, signora.’
‘Buongiorno, signore. It’s good to see you.’
‘Not as good as it is to see you. I’ve been watching you sleep for maybe an hour now.’ He reached down and brushed a lock of hair from her face. ‘As shows go, it was one of the best. I could have spent all day just looking at you.’
She rubbed her cheek against him and stared up at him. ‘You don’t look too bad yourself.’ She kissed the side of his chest and then looked up again. ‘So, what’s the plan? How long have I got you for?’
‘I think the question should be, how long have I got you for? Dad told me last night that you guys are off to San Francisco tomorrow, then Seattle, Vancouver, and any number of places in Canada before coming back to the States again en route to Mexico.’
She shook her head ruefully. ‘And didn’t you say you’ve got a tour in Germany coming up?’
‘Starting on Tuesday.’
‘As soon as that? And you flew all the way from Europe just for a couple of days? I’ve been meaning to ask: did you manage to get yourself fixed up with a new accompanist?’
‘I’d have flown all the way just for the sake of a couple of hours with you. As for my new accompanist, the answer’s yes and no. Yes, for the next few weeks – an old friend doing me a favour – but I’m going to have to start looking properly before the end of the month.’ His eyes twinkled. ‘I don’t suppose I can lure you away from Royalty? I’m afraid the money’s not so good.’
‘I know which I’d rather do, but I’ve promised your dad and the others now, so I’m stuck.’ She corrected herself. ‘Sorry, that sounds so ungrateful, but you know what I mean.’
‘I know; I was just kidding. Of course you’re committed. By the way, I’m a bit concerned about Dad. It sounds as though he’s getting as obsessive about the band as he used to be. I hope he doesn’t scare the other two off.’
‘Johnny and Ben said the same thing. Hopefully they’ll have it out with him. I’m the new girl, so I feel it’s not up to me. So, what this means as far as you and I are concerned is that I’ve got you for today, and then that’s about that.’
As she spoke the room phone started ringing and she stretched over his body to answer it. His skin felt really good against hers and she was almost purring as she picked up the phone.
‘Morning, Steph, Sol’s team have booked us an interview at CBS at eleven. The car will pick us up at ten thirty. Don’t be late, okay?’ It was Keith and he barely gave her time to reply before hanging up, presumably so as to be able to bully the other band members into getting up as well. She dropped the phone but stayed where she was, now looking down into Rob’s eyes from above.
‘We don’t have a lot of time.’
As she bent down to kiss him, she heard him murmur.
‘Mustn’t waste it then…’
Chapter 24
The rest of the month was a blur of different cities but remarkably similar hotels, limos, private planes, interviews and studios. Steph worked her way through – and even augmented – her stock of new clothes, gradually got used to having cameras pointed at her, and refined her answers to stock questions like, ‘How does it feel to be the first woman in Royalty?’ She enjoyed seeing places she had only heard about until now, but found that she had very little free time for sightseeing, and on the rare occasions when she could get out, an increasing number of people were starting to recognise her face and stop her for photos or autographs. Although such fame had been her dream since her teenage years, it made her feel very self-conscious.
All the time Rob wasn’t far from her thoughts. They called each other most days, but with the time difference this meant that the moments she really would have liked to hear the sound of his voice – like when she was getting ready for bed – she knew that he was probably sitting down to breakfast. It made their relationship feel ever more insubstantial. She had cried when he’d left her to fly back to Europe and even now, weeks later, the thought of him could produce a poignant mix of smiles and tears. There was no longer any doubt in her mind that he was The One, and she relayed this information to her mum who asked the inevitable question.
‘What are you going to do about it? Presumably you’ll be back over here in a few weeks. Are you planning on getting together with him? Maybe go and stay with him and his lovely dog?’
‘You can’t imagine how much I’d love to, Mum, but it’s not as easy as that. We’ve got our first concert coming up at the beginning of December, and Keith says we’ll need to spend a lot of November in the studio in London practising for it. He’s even talking about what he calls an “impromptu” concert here in the States before we leave, and we’re going to be in a studio in Detroit for a few days this week, to get ready for it. I barely have time to eat and sleep.’
‘So what you’re saying is that your job’s going to keep you and Rob apart?’
‘That’s exactly what I’m saying, at least for quite a few months or even a year, as we go on tour, promoting the reformed band and the new album.’
‘Well, surely if he feels the same way about you as you do about him, he’ll wait until you’re freer. He does feel the same way about you, doesn’t he?’
‘I think so… in fact I’m pretty sure he does, but the truth is that we’ve spent so little time together. Maybe if we remain apart for too long he’ll change his mind. Don’t forget his track record with women.’
‘Rubbish. You’ve told me yourself you think he’s a changed man. He’ll wait for you, I know it.’
‘But how long for?’
‘I suppose the alternative is that you tell Keith and the others that you’ve changed your mind and you want to leave the band.’
‘Don’t think I haven’t considered it. The thing is though that I just can’t do something like that to them. Apart from the fact that I’ve signed a contract, I owe it to them to stick with it although I’d be lying if I said I enjoyed all the baggage that comes with fame. If it was just the music, I’d be fine, but I feel like my life’s no longer my own.’
‘Just remember that your health and happiness are the most important things.’
‘You’re right. The guys tell me the media attention will calm down with time and I should still be happy, even if it has to be without Rob.’ Her mum made no response but both of them could hear the doubt in her voice.
Making the new videos provided a couple of days of diversion. To the director’s chagrin, Steph dug her heels in and refused to appear in a bikini – particularly one of a selection of microscopic bikinis Bexley had insisted on buying for her in LA – but she had to agree to appearing in the sort of revealing tops and short skirts she would never normally have dreamt of wearing. Ben and Johnny provided reassurance and support for her, although Keith was getting ever more domineering as far as what she and the others should do. Ben reported to her one night that he and Johnny had taken him to one side earlier in the day and tried to convince him to chill out but had had little success. Ben even muttered darkly, ‘If he carries on like this, I might chuck the whole thing in, just like I was thinking of doing before Vince’s death.’
This left Steph with mixed feelings. If Ben really did pull out of the band, maybe even accompanied by Johnny, that would surely signal the death knell of Royalty and, with it, the sudden end to her very short career as a rock star. Although her eye-watering salary and the share of royalties on the new album would keep her going for ages, it would be frustrating to see her big break dissolve into thin air. On the other hand – and far more important in her eyes – was the fact that the demise of Royalty would allow her to spend much more time with Rob. As long as he still wanted her.
The impromptu concert took place right at the end of October when they were back in California once more. Sol’s company had rented Santa Monica Pier for the event and by the time Steph and the band arrived there at sundown there were thousands of people crowding the beach. Despite being a free concert, Keith had asked for donations towards his World Hunger Trust, and volunteers with collecting buckets squeezed in and out of the throng of people. As well as the lucky onlookers who managed to find a place on the sand, the concert was also being filmed and broadcast live across the world, and a hastily erected grandstand was packed with journalists and music critics who would further spread the word of the group’s resurrection to anyone who hadn’t yet heard.
As Steph stood at the side of the stage, apprehensively waiting to go on, she felt a touch on her arm. It was Faye, who had flown in specially for the occasion.
‘Feeling nervous?’
‘Terrified.’ They hugged. ‘It’s great to see you, Faye.’
‘And you. Don’t be frightened. It’ll go wonderfully, I’m sure. I’m glad I got to you before you went on. I have a message for you from Rob. He says he’s missing you terribly and he can’t wait to see you again.’ Faye’s eyes sparkled. ‘I can’t tell you how happy I am that you’ve found each other.’
‘Not as happy as I am. The trouble is that he’s got his life and now I’ve got this life and it looks like never the twain shall meet.’
‘You’ll sort yourselves out, don’t you worry.’
At that moment the lights of the stage were extinguished, and an expectant hush spread throughout the audience. Keith materialised at Steph’s side with the other two. ‘It’s show time, folks! Come on, let’s show them Royalty are back, even better than ever!’
Steph barely felt Faye kiss her on the cheek before Keith led them out onto the stage. There was just enough light for her to see her way, trying desperately not to trip over anything as she crept around all the paraphernalia to her keyboards. The audience must have spotted movement as a groundswell of noise started to rise up in a low rumble. Seconds later the lightshow started with flashing lasers and strobes, while the video of them in the Everglades appeared on the huge screen behind them. The noise from the crowd became a roar and she only just heard Johnny beat time with one drumstick against the other as he called out, ‘One, two, three, four.’ And they were off.
Although she subsequently learnt that the show had lasted over two hours, it felt as though it was over in a matter of minutes. The presence of the crowd, like an invisible animal out there roaring and screaming, was unnerving at first, but she gradually got used to it and when she produced just about her best ever performance of the piano solo from the group’s former hit, ‘Getting Back on Top’, she could distinctly hear the crowd chanting ‘Steph, Steph, Steph’ and it felt good.
The final number was ‘Never Too Late’, Ben’s homage to Vince, and it reduced the thousands out there on the beach to near silence. As Steph looked out over the crowd, all she could see was a mass of moving lights as people held up their phones and swayed in time to the music. The audience then erupted into a massive outpouring of delighted applause as the last notes of the guitar echoed around the pier. The stage lights came on, effectively blinding her to the crowd on the beach and she looked across at the other members of the band. Keith was beaming, Johnny wiping his face with a towel, and Ben quite obviously in tears. Relinquishing her place at the keyboards, Steph made her way across to him and enveloped him in a hug.
‘Wonderful, Ben, just wonderful. Vince would have been so pleased, I’m sure.’
He gave her a grateful smile and wiped his eyes, clearly too emotional to speak. The noise from the audience rose even higher until it changed into a chant, demanding more. Giving Ben a quick kiss on the cheek, she hurried back to her piano as Keith turned towards them and indicated they would play one more number. This was ‘Summer Nights’, one of the old ones, and it started with one of his best-known guitar solos. Steph looked on in fascination as the guitar riff split the night air. Keith raised the guitar to the heavens, a single spotlight on him, and played like a man possessed, not missing a single note. When he came to the end of his solo the audience erupted once more and Steph and the others joined in with their instruments and the song continued at full volume for ten minutes.
She looked across at Johnny over the top of her keyboard as she played and saw him give her a huge grin. That’s when she realised that she had been grinning wildly at him. All her pre-show nerves had faded away and she’d genuinely enjoyed herself, savouring the atmosphere, knowing that she had just fulfilled a dream. The light show behind them rose in intensity as the number they were playing approached its climax, and when it finally ended, the sky above them exploded into a blinding and deafening firework display. To equally deafening applause from the audience on the beach, they filed off stage and Steph joined the others in waving back at the fans and the TV cameras, filled with an overwhelming sensation of achievement. She had done it. She was now a fully fledged member of one of the greatest bands that had ever existed. Overcome by a sudden wave of exhaustion, she stumbled offstage into the wings, slumped down on a packing case and burst into tears.
She sat there and her thoughts returned once more to her father. She now knew what he must have felt when he had been in iconic concert halls, performing with the orchestra, and for a moment she felt his very real presence alongside her. She dropped her head into her hands and sobbed, unsure whether out of grief or joy.
Seconds later she felt somebody sit down beside her and a comforting arm stretch around her shoulders. It was Ben. ‘Let it out, Steph, it’s all right to cry. It’s the most natural thing in the world. You were great, just great. I’m so happy for you, for all of us.’
Steph buried her head in his chest for over a minute before she felt the tears slow and then stop. She straightened up, wiping her hands across her eyes, and kissed him on the cheek.
‘Thanks, Ben, I’m sorry about that, I don’t know what just happened.’
‘It’s the adrenalin. It’s been pumping through your body for a couple of hours and now, suddenly, the tap’s been turned off. It happens to all of us.’ He pointed across to where Keith was hugging Faye. ‘Even our lord and master himself.’ He raised his voice and bellowed over to the others. ‘Royalty’s back, guys! You’d better believe it!’
One of the roadies appeared with towels and Steph took one gratefully, burying her face in it, realising for the first time that she was soaked in sweat. Seconds later she felt a cold bottle of water being pressed into her hand and she tore off the top and upended it into her mouth and over her face before mopping herself down with the towel one more.
A familiar voice roused her. ‘That was fantastic, Steph. Now let’s get you changed. The media are waiting to talk to you all, and you need to look good.’
Steph emerged from the towel to see that it was her style guru, Bexley. ‘Hi, Bex. Did you say we’ve got to do an interview right now?’
Bexley nodded and glanced at her watch. ‘You and I have exactly fourteen minutes to get you out of those clothes, into the shower and into fresh clothes. You coming?’
Thirteen and a half minutes later Steph was rushed out of her changing room and joined the three men under the lights of the TV crew. The interviewer was a well-known face and mercifully he and Keith between them did most of the talking while she did her best to relax and drained yet another bottle of water. By the time the questions came around to her she had at least had time to catch her breath and collect herself a bit.
‘Hey, Steph, that was great. How did it feel out there on stage?’ The TV host, brimming with bonhomie, transferred his attention to her and she saw a now familiar microphone on its boom swing towards her. She took a deep breath and replied.
‘I’m still trying to come to terms with it myself. Being out there alongside legends like Keith, Ben and Johnny has been my dream – has probably been the dream of thousands, maybe millions of people – for so long that I still can hardly believe it’s happened. Tell me this isn’t a dream, would you?’
‘This is no dream, Steph, and you and the rest of the band were terrific.’
He then produced a volley of questions, which she managed to deal with pretty well after a month of practice, before he finally offered her the chance to pass on her own message. ‘Steph, this is being broadcast all over the world so do you have anything you’d like to say to anybody? Your family maybe or somebody special?’ The innuendo in his voice was as obvious as the cheeky grin on his face.
‘If my mum’s watching, I’d like to tell her I love her – although I’m sure she knows that. And I’d like to thank her for all her love and support… along with my dad, of course.’ Her voice faltered for a moment. ‘If it hadn’t been for his influence none of this would have happened.’ While she reached for a tissue and wiped her eyes an idea came to her. ‘And as for a message to somebody special, I’d like to send lots of love to Waldorf, my perfect companion.’
‘Waldorf, that’s some name!’
‘He’s some guy.’ This time she wasn’t talking about the Labrador.
Chapter 25
All the way back across to the UK she couldn’t stop her brain from churning. Once the euphoria of the concert had begun to subside, she had found herself reflecting ever harder on this new life of hers and on the position in which she now found herself. The concert had been terrifying, gruelling, but immensely satisfying, and she could still feel a terrific buzz inside even now after three days. It had been an uplifting experience and she knew she would never forget it. The media had reacted in an overwhelmingly positive way to the concert, and photos of the band – and her face in particular – were now popping up all over the place on magazine covers and newspaper hoardings, catapulting her from obscurity into the limelight. She had become an overnight sensation and she still didn’t know if she was going to be able to cope with the pressures this produced on her and her private life – or at least, what little was left of her privacy. It really had been a baptism of fire, but she was looking forward to their next concert, scheduled to take place at the O2 Arena in London in just over a month’s time.
