bar, her jaw working overtime as she chewed on some gum, her long red nails clicking against the varnished wood as she ran a duster over the already shiny surface of the counter. The brown eyes that were heavily outlined with kohl gave Caitlin a cool once-over as she approached, but she continued to polish as though her life depended on it.
‘Excuse me, I—’
‘What can I get you, love? Are you on your own or are you meeting somebody?’
There was a distinct note of disapproval in the blonde’s voice, as if she believed that women who came into bars on their own somehow spelt trouble.
For a disconcerting moment Caitlin wondered if Tina had been working that night when Sean had turned particularly nasty. But, unable to remember very much other than the soul-destroying humiliation of being insulted by her boyfriend in public, she opted not to dwell on it. Goodness knew she had enough on her mind without fretting about the past. All she wanted—all she needed—was for Jake to tell her that everything would be all right, that she wasn’t about to suffer another humiliation tomorrow night when she sang.
‘I’m not meeting anybody.’ Pushing her rain-dampened fringe out of her eyes, she squared her shoulders in her long charcoal-coloured raincoat. ‘I wondered if I could have a word with Jake Sorenson? He’s staying here, isn’t he?’
Immediately Tina stopped polishing, and her expression was far from convivial. As the two women faced each other the record that was playing on the juke box suddenly changed and a song that Caitlin remembered from her childhood replaced it. It was her mother’s favourite song.
An avid music fan, Terry Ryan had played the tune to death when Caitlin was little. She would enfold her little daughter in her arms and dance round the room with her, crooning gently against her cheek as she softly sang the words, whilst Phil—Caitlin’s older brother—who was disdainful of anything remotely ‘girly’ would groan in mockery.
‘Typical boy!’ her mother would say, and laugh, instantly forgiving him as though it was his birthright.
Memories… Caitlin suddenly found herself pole-axed by them. Treacherously, her eyes filled with tears. What was wrong with her?
She was missing her family—that was what was wrong. Here she was, on the eve of what could be one of the most important nights of her life, and where were her parents and brother? On the other side of the world! They were completely oblivious to the fact that Caitlin had resigned from her job, never mind joined a rock band as their lead singer!
She had never felt as alone or as afraid as she did right then. She was twenty-six years old, about to embark on the biggest challenge she could imagine, with nothing but her dreams, her wits and her talent to help see her through.
‘You must be Cait…the singer.’
As if it had suddenly dawned on her who Caitlin was, Tina stopped chewing her gum and crossed her arms in front of her chest. The sudden movement jiggled her ample breasts in the red V-necked angora sweater she wore. Well…nearly wore.
‘It’s Caitlin.’ The correction of her name was automatic. She remembered that Rick had been using the shortened version of it since he’d met her, and that he apparently had a real soft spot for the buxom Miss Stevens.
‘Yeah…right. All set for tomorrow, then?’ the other girl asked.
Not really.
‘I hope so. Could I see Jake?’ Caitlin’s lip quivered a little as she made an attempt at a friendly smile.
‘Room Three. Turn left at the top of the stairs.’
‘Thanks.’
‘Nice talking to you.’
Could have fooled me, Caitlin thought.
Making her way up the thickly carpeted staircase, with its faded floral tread, she focused her gaze on the landing at the top, on the ponderous oak sideboard with its gaudy Victorian lamp and the sepia-toned photographs of the village that were displayed on the wall behind it.
The dark old-fashioned surroundings seemed incongruous when she thought of Jake. She wondered why he hadn’t rented a house in the village, like the other band members had. But then it occurred to her that maybe Rick had something to do with his decision to stay at the Pilgrim’s Inn. Perhaps the voluptuous Tina Stevens had an equally arresting friend he wanted to introduce to Jake, for instance?
Disliking that particular train of thought, Caitlin arrived at the top of the stairs and glanced anxiously round her. Two doors faced each other across the landing. Before she could talk herself out of it she rapped briskly on number three. She immediately registered the sound of male voices coming from the room and realised that Jake and Rick must be in conference about the concert tomorrow.
She didn’t know whether to stay put or turn around and leave. But the decision was made for her when the door suddenly opened and Rick appeared. Untypically, when his usual mode of dress was more extrovert, he was wearing a pair of ordinary faded Levi’s and a plain white T-shirt.
He gave Caitlin his trademark roguish smile when he saw that it was her. ‘Hello, gorgeous. Come to join the party?’
His candid gaze moved over her figure in her buttoned-up raincoat—possibly the most unsexy item of clothing she possessed. But Caitlin didn’t give the thought much attention.
‘No. I mean, I just came to see Jake…if I could?’
Her mouth suddenly drying, she stared across the top of Rick’s hard-muscled shoulder and found the man she was looking for. His long-legged form was lounging in an overstuffed green and gold striped armchair and his glance met hers, a knowing smile curving his lips. He looked as if he’d been expecting her visit.
Her feverish thoughts went into overdrive. He’d given them all the day off and advised them to get an early night in preparation for the following day, but he clearly didn’t apply the advice to himself. Did the man ever get an early night in his business? Caitlin somehow doubted it.
‘If I’ve come at a bad time—’ she started, suddenly embarrassed. Had any of his other artists ever sought him out the night before a debut concert to seek his reassurance she wondered? Would her sudden attack of nerves disturb him and make him doubt his decision to hire her as Marcie’s replacement?
He must have intuited that she was on the point of changing her mind about talking to him because he said suddenly, ‘Stay right where you are.’
The words were uttered like a command from on high and Caitlin immediately froze. Rick sighed and moved away as Jake took a couple of leisurely strides towards her. As he drew near she saw that his hard, lean jaw was dark with late-night shadow and his slightly cool stare put her on her guard. That less than friendly glance hardly invited a frank admission about her doubts and feelings concerning the gig tomorrow, she thought anxiously.
‘I thought you might come to see me tonight,’ he drawled.
‘Did you?’ Caitlin heard the strength in her voice desert her.
‘Yes, I did’ He turned round to find Rick. ‘Give us a few minutes, will you? Come to think of it, we’ll probably need a little longer than that. Go and have a drink with Tina.’
Looking
