Page 23 of Never Too Late
‘If only we could get Ben involved. We’ve got some really good stuff here.’ He looked across at Keith. ‘When do you think we should play him the mix of his new number with our backing?’
Keith shrugged helplessly. ‘I’ve been trying to work that out. The last thing I want is to scare him off. Tomorrow’s our anniversary so if you agree, maybe let’s wait until after that.’
And the anniversary party would see Denver stuck on a boat all day with his half-brother. That promised to be interesting.
Chapter 11
The Bailey’s anniversary cruise was certainly interesting.
On Friday morning they were all ferried out from the beach to the specially chartered yacht in a beautiful, highly varnished motor launch. As she waited on the sand for her turn, Steph was delighted to discover that the Labrador would also be coming. He arrived on the beach on the end of a lead held by his master, who was evidently taking no chances that the dog might decide to leap into the sea and then come and shake himself all over everybody. Steph wasn’t taking any chances either. She was wearing one of her new tops and her new shorts over her bikini, but she had brought a towel and a complete change of clothes with her in a little backpack just in case. She also had a bottle of sun cream in her bag as it was once again a spectacular day without a cloud in the sky.
The trip out to the motor yacht took barely a couple of minutes and the yacht itself was incredible. It was a huge vessel with two decks, white-uniformed staff and a vast lounge – or stateroom as it was called – that was as luxurious as the very best hotel Steph had ever visited. She was awestruck to discover that the yacht had already picked up a number of special guests, among them one whose name came straight out of the Rock ’n’ roll Hall of Fame. This was Cody Havergill, legendary bad boy of the rock world, who had allegedly trashed more hotel rooms than Steph had had hot dinners. She hadn’t seen or heard of him for some years and seeing him now came as quite a shock.
He was about the same age as Keith, somewhere around sixty, but unlike Keith he hadn’t aged well. He now looked as though he was more likely to fall asleep in a chair by the fire than cause mayhem. Along with him was a chunky bodyguard bizarrely wearing a dark suit in spite of the blazing sunshine. In the course of the day the bodyguard and Cody between them ate more than the rest of the group put together. Cody also did his best to drink the boat dry and was barely able to stand by the end.
Steph would desperately have liked to take a whole host of photos and send them to her mum, but she and Ethan had been warned in advance that, understandably, today was a no photo event.
She sipped her champagne and wondered if Ethan would be able to control himself and stay sober. The previous night he had once again done his best to drink himself into a stupor and she had had to warn him that Keith was looking as though he was beginning to get fed up with this behaviour. As a result, Ethan had left the dinner table early muttering that he was going to bed, although when Steph got back to the guest apartment it had been to find him in the studio, sprawled across the recording console, passed out. She had left him there and made sure she locked her bedroom door before going to bed.
When all the guests were on board, the yacht set off across the bay. There was virtually no wind, just a very pleasant breeze, and the sea was as calm as a millpond. This suited Steph down to the ground as she had never been a good sailor. She stood outside on the upper observation deck for a while, admiring the view and soaking up the sun. Her pale English legs and arms had begun to collect a bit of colour, and it was wonderful to feel the fresh sea breeze on her skin. She was joined up there by Sky who told her that she and Tom would be leaving in two days’ time. When Steph expressed disappointment, Sky explained.
‘We’ve been here for almost a month now and we both need to get back to work.’ She glanced around to check that they weren’t being overheard. ‘And, to be honest, I can’t wait to get away from Den and that girl. Have you seen what she’s wearing today? Fancy turning up for a cruise and a picnic in high heels! The crewman made her take them off so as not to damage the teak deck and now she looks tiny, doesn’t she? She also looks livid. Did you hear Denver complaining? Mind you, Denver’s always complaining about something.’
Steph felt it was wiser not to get dragged into slagging off the other guests or family members, so she just nodded.
As they stood there, looking over towards the opposite shore of the gulf that was drawing nearer, they both witnessed a scene on the deck below them. Most of the other guests had collected down there, drinking and chatting, and Denver was conspicuous as he mingled with the celebrities, clearly loving every minute of it. At one point, his mingling brought him to where his half-brother was standing making sure his dog didn’t try to help himself to the contents of a silver salver of nibbles. As Denver spotted Robert a smile appeared on his face, but it wasn’t a friendly fraternal smile.
‘Hi, Rob, I wondered if you and your mutt would show up. How’s life working out for you with your violin? I suppose classical music doesn’t pay like real music, does it?’
‘I’m doing fine, thanks.’ The expression on Robert’s face was hard to read. It was a mixture of discomfort, dislike and apprehension. ‘How’re things with you?’
‘Really good. I have a place in Beverly Hills now. A bit different from that shack where you live.’
‘Don’t start, Den. It’s not a shack. It’s a great house.’
‘Don’t start what?’
‘Your usual snide remarks. Can’t you just try and be a nice person for once?’
‘I am a nice person with people I like.’ The disdain in Denver’s voice was clear to hear.
Robert’s tone hardened. ‘Well, sod off and talk to somebody else, will you? And remember it’s Mum and Dad’s anniversary, so try not to spoil it.’
‘Why don’t you just jump overboard and make us all happy.’
Robert stared hard at his brother for a few seconds and the tension in the air was palpable even from high above. Finally, he glanced down at the dog. ‘Come on, Waldorf. Let’s go and get a change of air.’
‘No, you stay here. I’m off.’ With a dismissive wave of the hand, Denver turned away and left.
Steph looked across at Sky in disbelief. ‘So much for brotherly love…’ She kept her voice low although Robert had moved across to the far side of the deck and was engaged in conversation with an attractive dark-haired woman.
‘It’s not pretty, is it?’
‘How sad to see them fighting. Have they always been like this?’
‘Den has. For years Rob just meekly took it, but he’s finally realised that the only way to treat a bully is to stand up to him.’ After another covert glance in all directions, she continued. ‘It’s such a shame, but there’s no doubt it’s Den’s fault. He’s always treated his little brother like dirt.’
Steph looked back down at the tall, handsome man with his equally handsome dog beside him. ‘Not such alittlebrother now.’
