‘It’s okay, actually,’ she said, sounding surprised. There was a moment’s silence. ‘Anyway,’ she began again, slightly awkward, ‘one of the things they’ve been getting us to do here is to apologiseto people we’ve hurt in the past and… well, I figured I owed you a call.’
For a moment Will was stunned into silence. Then he said, ‘You don’t owe me anything, Tina.’
‘Really? I know I was a bit of a nightmare the past year or so.’
‘I was no picnic myself.’
‘I could say it was the coke but, well, I’m trying to accept responsibility for my behaviour these days,’ she said ruefully. ‘So, I’m sorry for being such a pain in the arse.’
‘If anyone’s apologising, it should be me. I’m sorry about the way things ended.’
‘Oh, you weren’t entirely to blame. I guess we both knew we were flogging a dead horse. It was my fault we hadn’t called time on it long before. But you know me, letting go was never my strong point.’
‘No,’ Will laughed, ‘it wasn’t.’
‘Let’s say we’re quits.’
‘Okay – quits.’
Tina took a deep breath. ‘So, how’s old whatserface?’ she said jauntily.
‘Kateis fine – I think. I mean, she seems fine. I saw her earlier at Lorcan’s wedding.’
‘Oh! You’re not?—’
‘We’re not together, no. It… didn’t work out.’
‘Oh…’ There was a long silence.
‘This is where I should say I’m sorry to hear that,’ Tina said eventually, ‘but?—’
‘That’s okay.’
‘This forgiveness thing, well, it’s kind of a learning curve.’
‘You’re doing great.’
Tina sighed. ‘Well, I’d better go. I think there’s a group hug or something at midnight. I’m not sure I can stand the excitement!’
Will laughed. ‘It’s good to hear from you, Tina,’ he said, and meant it. ‘You sound more like your old self.’
‘Well, I’m getting there. Happy New Year, Will.’
‘Happy New Year.’
* * *
The minute Kate entered the auditorium, the heavy thump of bass blasting from the amplifiers hit her like a punch to the gut. The atmosphere was electric. A vast sea of bodies writhed in ecstasy as Owen and Rory wove around the stage and Phoenix’s strong, spellbinding voice soared over the heads of the crowd. The beautiful, sexy creature that was Walking Wounded live was at its most thrillingly seductive.
A huge roar went up from the crowd as Owen played the opening chords of one of their most anthemic songs, and several thousand hands were raised to punch the air in unison. Kate was lowered carefully into the mosh pit by two of the security team – to howls of outrage from some of the throng, who stared at her with a mixture of curiosity and indignation. She smiled at them apologetically, feeling self-conscious. She was ludicrously overdressed for a rock gig and was regretting having let Louise talk her into this. She should have gone backstage and met up there with Will, she thought, growing increasingly anxious as midnight approached. There seemed to be so much that could go wrong. Damn Louise and her sense of the dramatic.
Suddenly a clock replaced the faces of the band being projected on to the big screens and the countdown to midnight started, the crowd shouting ‘TEN, NINE, EIGHT…’
Backstage, Will heard the countdown begin with a heavy heart. The start of another whole year without Kate, he thought.What was there to celebrate about that? She had looked so gorgeous today at the wedding – so gorgeous and so unhappy…
‘THREE, TWO, ONE,’ the crowd thundered. ‘HAPPY NEW YEAR!’
The auditorium exploded in a riot of cheers as stardust and balloons floated down from the ceiling, showering everyone with coloured glitter. The band broke into a souped-up version of ‘Auld Lang Syne’, and everyone grabbed each other for New Year kisses. The audience cheered as Summer appeared from one side of the stage, shyly kissing Phoenix, and Louise appeared from the other, to receive a very enthusiastic embrace from Rory. Georgie hopped down from her drum riser and threw her arms around Owen, who gave her a brotherly kiss on the cheek.
