Page 17 of Never Too Late
She nodded reluctantly. ‘I’d better ask Ethan first, but how about ten? Sound good?’
‘Sounds great. I can’t wait.’
It sounded terrible to Steph, but she didn’t have much option.
Chapter 8
The recording session with Denver the next day turned out to be more interesting than Steph had been expecting. It didn’t come as a surprise to see him arrive under the watchful eye of Willow, today wearing a skimpy garment that might have been a minute skirt or might have been a wide belt. Either way, when she perched on one of the stools in the recording area, Steph could sense a distinct increase in interest from Ethan at the console. The sight of Ethan appeared to have appeased Willow’s possessive instincts as far as her boyfriend was concerned, and she almost looked happy for a change.
Denver had brought an acoustic guitar with him, and it soon turned out that he was more than competent with it. Steph wasn’t quite sure what she’d been expecting but listening to him produce a professional sounding performance came as something of a surprise. From Ethan’s earlier disparaging comments and from Keith’s apparent reluctance to let him play along with Johnny and him, she had been expecting far worse. As far as genre was concerned, it soon emerged that Denver preferred ballads and there was a definite Sinatra vibe to his singing. As with so many crooners, he slipped into an American accent in his songs, but he did it well and she felt sure the average man or woman in the street wouldn’t have twigged that he had been brought up in the UK. Mind you, Faye had told Steph that he was the only one in the family with a US passport, courtesy of his birth mother and being born in Denver, hence the name.
The even bigger surprise came from his partner. Although Steph provided a bit of keyboard accompaniment to his guitar playing, Ethan felt that some backing vocals would help, and Willow was quick to volunteer. The surprise came from the discovery that she had a terrific voice. Underneath the prickly outer coating, it was clear there was a lot of talent inside Willow. The combination of Denver’s voice and her backing resulted in them being able to lay down a couple of decent demo tracks, although Steph wasn’t sure how many people would be interested in cover versions of ‘I Did It My Way’ and ‘Moon River’. Maybe Ethan hadn’t been too far out with his ‘elevator music’ description.
Denver and Willow left the studio looking happy, and Steph found herself alone with Ethan for the first time since his outburst the previous night. As the silence lengthened, she worked quickly to close down the machines on which she had been working and was on the point of heading out for a pre-lunch walk or swim when he stopped her, his tone, if not fully apologetic, certainly more conciliatory.
‘Listen, Steph, about what I said, I probably came across a bit hard. I’m happy for you if Royalty really do make you an offer you can’t refuse, and I fully understand that you wouldn’t be able to refuse it. Nobody would. I just know that I’ll miss having you here alongside me.’
She was genuinely amazed. It might not have been the most eloquent of apologies, but it was a hell of a lot more than she had ever got out of him before, and she even felt a little tug on her heartstrings at his words. He presumably meant ‘here alongside me’ in a work sense, but it made her stop and take stock once more. Could it be that he was rethinking his refusal of her request to modify his behaviour and, if so, what did that mean as far as she was concerned, or had they both already passed the point of no return? For now, she skirted around the subject.
‘It’s all right, Ethan, I understand. Besides, the chances of them offering me a place in the group are next to non-existent. There are loads of far better keyboard players than me out there. But like I’ve told you before, I love my job and I’d also miss being here alongside you.’
He could make of that what he wanted.
It was just after twelve when she emerged from the studio and headed back to her room to change into her swimming things. It was another hot day, but clouds were massing over the hills behind the coast, and she had a feeling a change in the weather might be on the way. Still, if it did rain, this would be the first she would have seen since leaving London so she couldn’t complain.
The water was as warm as ever and she had a lovely, relaxing swim. She was floating lazily on her back, watching the seagulls wheeling overhead, when she discovered she had company A snuffling sound accompanied by a few splashes and snorts were followed by the unmistakable feel of a nose against her shoulder. She straightened up, treading water, and saw the Labrador alongside her with a broad canine smile on his face.
‘Ciao, bello.’ She reached out a hand to ruffle his ears and glanced around, wondering if she would see his master, but the bay was empty apart from her and the dog. Repressing what might have been disappointment – in spite of her resolve to steer clear of Rob because of his reputation – she swam to the beach accompanied by her four-legged companion. Back on the sand the dog wasted no time in finding a suitable piece of driftwood and dropping it at her feet. She and he were still playing fetch when she heard a voice.
‘Hi, Steph, looks like you’ve found yourself a friend.’
It was Lottie, and along with her was her husband. Both of them were wearing swimming things and both looked as though they had managed to catch a bit of sun. Ben, in particular, looked all the better for it. Steph gave them a big smile and a warning.
‘Watch out when Waldorf comes back out of the water. The first thing he’ll do is shake himself and soak you and then he’ll probably jump all over you to say hello. He’s a very friendly dog.’
It was Ben who replied. ‘No problem. We love dogs. We’ve got three back home.’ He looked and sounded bright and cheerful today.
‘Who’s looking after the dogs while you’re here?’
‘Our daughter and her husband. They’ve moved in with the kids to keep an eye on things while we’re over here.’
At that moment the happy dog emerged from the sea and, as Steph had feared, immediately soaked Lottie and Ben as he shook himself dry. As a result, they headed for the water to clean up and cool down while Steph, who had taken evasive action, dried herself off and took up her station on her favoured rock. She had been delighted to see Ben sounding so relaxed and she wondered if this might translate into a desire to join the others in reforming Royalty.
A few minutes later Lottie and then Ben joined her on the beach while the dog trotted off up the little path towards his home. Lottie leant back against the warm rock and stretched happily. ‘What a beautiful day. I can hardly believe we’re here.’ She glanced over at her husband. ‘You needed a lot of persuading, Benny, but now I bet you’re glad we came, aren’t you?’
Ben nodded decisively before answering and when he spoke there was a smile on his face, and it suited him. For a moment or two, Steph was reminded of how he used to look when Royalty were in their heyday.
‘I’m glad all right. The water’s perfect, the private beach fantastic and this whole area’s fabulous. Gulf of the Poets – I can see why they came here.’ He reached across and caught hold of his wife’s hand. ‘Thanks, sweetie. Sorry you had to bully me into it, but I promise next time you won’t have to.’
‘Does this mean we’re coming back?’ Lottie was grinning from ear to ear, clearly delighted to see her husband looking and sounding so cheerful. Steph had the feeling he hadn’t been doing a lot of smiling for quite some time.
‘You know what I was thinking, Lot? How about we do like Keith’s done and buy ourselves a little place over here? Would you like that?’
‘Would I like that?’ The expression of joy on his wife’s face spoke volumes. ‘I’d love that, Benny, I really would. Why don’t you have a word with Keith or Cesare? They’re bound to know the best places and the best agencies to contact.’
He nodded to himself a few times. ‘And maybe I should build myself a little recording studio as well…’
Steph could see the amazement on his wife’s face at this mention of recording and so she decided to risk a suggestion.
