Page 18 of Wish You Once More
“Who’s Bree?” asked Ellie.
An innocent enough question, except the answer would be something she wouldn’t want to hear. I signalled to Scott not to say anything, and to let me take the lead. A slight incline of his head in return said he understood.
“She’s an old friend, we go way back.” I stopped there, not wanting to elaborate further.
Bree was my first love. Possibly only. Except I screwed it up.
“Oh? You looked very cosy for friends,” Ellie pressed. “She looked gobsmacked when I arrived.”
Ellie really didn’t have any right to be jealous. It wasn’t as if were actually dating, or anything had gone further than a couple of kisses. A part of me wanted to bawl out Rosie for interfering in my love life. But I hadn’t come here planning to make up with Bree.Had I?We had to be civil to each other for the sake of my brother and this festival. I didn’t want to get a reputation for being hard work when it wasn’t warranted.
“Probably didn’t expect to see Scott here either,” I bluffed, moving the topic of conversation away from me and Bree. “It’s not every day a town like this gets a rock star in its midst.”
“Except you, obviously.” Scott slapped me on the back.
“Ha, you know that’s not true.”
Mostly, I was still Jonny Redmond’s little brother whenever I came home. Jonny and his band were well known, playing each and every pub and charity fundraiser going. They were the celebrities, not me. Sometimes I relished that.
I wondered where Bree had gone. Apart from seeing she wore one of the crew shirts, I had no idea whether she was helping backstage, marshalling the crowds or doing something totally different.
For the next couple of hours, the four of us hung out at the edge of the stage, drinking and watching the bands. It made a change from actually performing, and one I enjoyed. There was a band I recognised from a festival Trash Gun had been at around Easter time, but mostly they were new to me. Whoever was running the festival had done a great job in mixing local talent with bands from further afield. I wondered how much input Bree had had in the decision making.
“Do you want another beer?” I help up my empty cup.
“I could do with some food,” said Ellie. “If I drink any more, I’m not going to be able to stand up much longer.” She giggled, her eyes a little glassy from too many gins.
“Me too,” agreed Rosie. “Is there a restaurant we can go to?”
I screwed up my face. “Yeah, but it’ll be busy now and you’d end up waiting ages for a table. You’d be better off going back to the house and ordering in something.”
“Are you going to come back with us?” Ellie placed a hand on my arm.
I was torn. She’d obviously come here with the intention of us taking things further. But I also wanted to see my family. Dad, in particular.
“I promised Jonny we’d eat together tonight.” I grinned, coming up with the perfect excuse as to why I couldn’t. “When he knew Scott and Rosie would be here, he said they’d probably be off shagging every excuse they could get, so he didn’t want me to be alone.”
“Ugh, gross! Wait until I meet your brother,” muttered Rosie.
Scott winked. “He’s not wrong though. Why don’t you come by later? Obviously, we won’t shagging with Ellie there.”
“Yeah, maybe. I might hang around until the end.”
In truth, I wanted to find Bree and finish the conversation we’d started before Ellie arrived.
“You’d better.” Jonny’s voice floated into our conversation. “I’ve got a free pass and I intend to make use of it.”
“Jonny Redmond!” Scott caught my brother in a man-hug. “My girlfriend has a bone to pick with you.”
When Jonny clocked that Rosie Tatton was Scott’s girlfriend, his jaw dropped. His gaze flicked from her to Scott and back again. After a beat, he extended a hand. “Rosie, lovely to meet you.”
Melinda pushed her way into the group, Henry clinging to her hand. “And I’m Melinda, Jonny’s better half.”
Rosie and Ellie bent down to greet Henry, chucking his chin and stroking his hair. The scene of domesticity struck me as totally out of character; even Scott looked interested in the little man.
“I’m going to take this one home, he’s definitely tired,” said Melinda, pulling Henry tighter into her body. She kissed Jonny’s cheek. “Don’t stay out too late.” She fluttered her fingers at the group and headed off, totally at ease.
I watched her go wondering, not for the first time, how my brother had landed such a decent girlfriend. He really did need to take things a step further and propose.
