Page 59 of Never Too Late to Date

‘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.