My making a cute guinea pig?’ Dan chuckled, making her shiver. Amanda rolled her eyes and wriggled out of his grasp to retrieve two wine glasses. She handed a glass to Dan – who nodded, watching her adoringly from under his long lashes – and filled up both of their glasses.
‘To Torta per Tutti,’ Dan said, raising his glass to hers. Amanda’s knees immediately buckled, and she went to sit down at the kitchen table, floored that Dan had remembered the name she and her grandpa had come up with for their dream café, years ago. She had only shared this with Dan on one occasion. Hearing him say it out loud made it more real. She wasn’t just doing this for her, she was doing it for Grandpa too. Dan took a step closer to her, so she had to look up and meet his gaze.
‘And to us,’ he added, clinking her glass. They each took a sip, before Dan set about getting the rest of the ingredients for the rum baba out of the fridge. The niggling insecurities she had about her being bad at relationships were the last thing on her mind. She felt every doubt she had ever had about life vanish as she watched him move confidently around her kitchen. If she thought Dan couldn’t get any sexier, she had been very wrong. She stared at him as he put on her apron, pursed his lips and creased his eyebrows in concentration while he read through an Italian recipe, and her heart exploded with happiness.
Their relationship had been going strong for four years. They had faced loss, fame and distance together. Dan and his forever chilled persona had found solutions to problems without drama; he centred Amanda, they knew each other inside out. Nothing could tear them apart.
Vanilla Tea Cupcake
Ingredients:
For the cake:
4oz sugar
4oz butter
All-purpose flour
1 tbsp vanilla – infused with a few drops of Earl Grey tea
2 eggs
1 tsp baking powder
1-2 tbsp milk
For the frosting:
Butter
Icing sugar
2 tbsp tea
1 tsp vanilla
What to do:
Cream butter and sugar together.
Add eggs slowly, then milk.
Combine baking powder and flour and sift into mixture.
Add tea and vanilla.
Stir until combined.
Scoop into cupcake liners and bake at 180 degrees for around 25 mins or until spaghetti comes out clean.
Beat butter and icing sugar until desired consistency and add tea and vanilla. (Doesn’t have to be super stiff, it gets too sweet like those American cakes with too much frosting. Keep it fluffy and buttery.)
Sabrina glanced around the overcrowded coffee shop. In every direction she looked there were people staring at laptops and phone screens; headphones bobbing along to music. Occasionally she had a rare glimpse of people communicating, looking at each other, fully engaged in conversation as they sipped on their vegan chai tea. She had loved LA for its vibrant culture and colourful mix of inhabitants. She didn’t regret her time here for a second but having spent Christmas in Italy with her family she knew going home was the right thing for her. She’d learnt so much during her time in LA, from both the highs and the lows. She had immersed herself in her work, given Lydia and Jones Records her all, but now it was time to really show the music industry what she was made of.
Since arriving back in LA after the New Year, her phone had been buzzing continuously. The news was out that San Francisco Beat were free agents and that Sabrina was no longer working for Jones Records either. Her first point of call had been to address the situation and so she had made a statement that she was still very much the manager for San Francisco Beat and that yes, they were on the market for a new record deal.
She sipped her Earl Grey, longing for an Italian espresso, but knowing that over Christmas she had been well and truly spoilt by the fresh Italian coffee her zias made and that here in LA, no matter what Italian brand they used, it just wouldn’t quite be the same. On the other hand, the Earl Grey did satisfy her needs and made her stomach bubble with excitement about getting back to Manchester. She eyed her list of emails, a swarm of potential record labels flooding her brain. When Levi and Dan had asked her to remain their manager she had been thrilled. She had leapt up and down, grateful that she still had a job and overwhelmed and touched that they believed in her. Of course she still felt all those things, but now there was a niggle of nerves partying in her stomach that she was having trouble evicting. This was a huge decision. In this business it was a trying task to stay true to who you were. Record labels could suck the soul right out of a band with the temptation of making millions and making you a star – after all, they knew exactly how to do that. But Sabrina was smart. San Francisco Beat were already a huge success across the USA and were making waves across the pond too, thanks to their last song ‘Need a Little You’ being popular with radio DJ’s. Sabrina had been able to converse with the band’s music publisher on a few occasions without Lydia breathing down her neck. She’d snuck in a few mentions as to what UK radio stations she believed would be a good fit for the band and her moments of bravery had paid off. Sabrina had done her utmost over the last three years to fight for the band and what they represented, despite Jones Records’ best attempts at getting them to strip down to their boxers and create their own perfume; that was wonderful for some acts, but it just wasn’t them. Being their manager, due to her big sister’s meddling, meant Sabrina had a lot of say in their careers. However, with her attachment to Jones Records and working so closely with Lydia as her assistant, Lydia had certainly made this hard for her.
So now she needed to find a label that would complement her vision and best suit the boys and their sound. Her palms were sweaty as she tapped away at her keyboard, opening proposals and reading through offers. They all sounded good, many highlighting the big clientele that already worked for them and discussing the fame and fortune they could deliver. Sabrina ‘umm’ed and ‘ahh’ed, nothing special leaping out at her. Yes, the boys wanted to be successful. Their lives had changed dramatically over the last three years. They were no longer playing dive bars and small clubs in San Francisco, working part-time jobs to get by; they were playing arenas across America and had all been able to buy houses and pay off their parents’ mortgages. For that they were incredibly grateful, but money did not drive them. Sabrina loved that about them. She kept them grounded and they kept her grounded in this crazy world of showbiz.
It was vital to her that the label understood who San Francisco Beat were; artists whose music came first. To them it was all about performing and connecting with their audiences, putting on shows that gave people a sense of belonging, checking their egos at the door and providing for their families.
Thinking of family reminded Sabrina that she had a few texts from her sisters that she needed to reply to. As she picked up her phone to do so, it started ringing – a number flashing across the screen that she didn’t recognize. She hastily accepted the call, keen to stay on top of the requests for San Francisco
