Page 16 of Musical Games
Sam tapped the side of her nose. ‘I have my sources, however, I see you still have lemon ones left so your secret is safe with me.’
She popped one in her mouth and handed over the bag. He put it hurriedly back inside his jacket as Zoe exited the castle. ‘Hey, Fraser, you taking good care of my BFFF?’
Sam stage whispered to him, ‘“Best Fucking Friend Forever”. I tell you, this one’s got a right potty mouth.’
‘Bollocks!’ cried Zoe. ‘That was your idea.’
Sam looked at Fraser. ‘See what I mean?’
Zoe rolled her eyes and grabbed her arm. ‘Alright, Saint Samantha, let’s get you inside so you can meet the Almighty.’
Sam let herself be dragged away. ‘See you later, Fraser,’ she called over her shoulder.
Inside the front doors,Sam stopped. Everything was huge. The entrance hall was bigger than a small house, with a grand staircase you could have driven a car up. And there were people everywhere. She thought the set ofElm Tree Lanewas busy, but this was another level.Yes, it’s called Hollywood. Now up your game.
‘You sure you want to do this?’ Zoe asked.
Sam’s heart was ping-ponging around inside her chest and her palms were sweating. She rubbed down the outside of her pencil skirt and lifted her chin, tossing her hair back. ‘Yeah, yeah, I’m ready. Let’s do this.’
She followed Zoe through the ground floor of the castle until they reached a door. Zoe pushed it open and they entered. Sam swallowed. There he was. Brad Bauer: megastar, man-whore and maker of dreams. He smiled at Zoe, the unveiling of his teeth brightening the room by a hundred watts.
‘Hey, babe, everything okay?’
‘Yeah, great, it’s been such a fun morning. I wanted to introduce you to my best friend, Sam.’
Brad stood and walked over, lifting Sam’s hand and holding it in both of his. ‘A real pleasure to meet you, Sam. I’m Brad.’
She stared. Brad Bauer was in front of her. He was touching her. Her synapses froze with overload and her brain crashed. She could feel a distant part of her consciousness screaming at her across the void.Say something!Her mouth opened, but there was nothing inside to come out.
Brad put his head to the side and a tiny bit of his ultra-smooth forehead moved. ‘Hey, do I know you?’
Her brain fired back up.Yes!The magazines had worked. He knew she was Bethany, one of the stars ofElm Tree Lane.
‘Yes, I’m—’
Brad dropped her hand and slapped his thigh with a crack that made her jump.
‘Yeah, baby! I knew it! You sang the song with Jamie! I saw it on Instagram. Man, that was sick. The two of you…’ He thumped his fists together, then splayed them apart, mimicking an explosion. ‘Boom!’ He whacked himself in the centre of his chest and she jumped again. ‘It got me here. Sucker punch to the heart, baby. Have you been together long?’
Sam’s brain went from barely functioning to hyperdrive in a nanosecond. She saw her and Jamie high up on the glen under a summer sky. Jamie was shirtless, playing his guitar, and she was wearing a dress with a white pinafore over the top, singing as she spun in circles. They were accompanied by an orchestra of grouse, goshawks, songbirds and sea eagles, all perching on the ground or on the bushes of purple heather around them.
Her dream was disturbed by an internal klaxon informing her she was now speaking. ‘Yes, we have. We’ve been writing for a couple of years now.’What the fuck?‘We’ve been really inspired by your work, especially what you’re doing withBraveheart 2. In fact, we’ve written an entire album dedicated to you. The title track is called "The Heart of Scotland".’
Brad’s mouth fell open. ‘Hot damn! Sing it for me now! I have to hear it!’
By now, Sam’s fantasy had collapsed. Jamie had disappeared, lightning tore the sky to shreds and the birds were killing and eating each other. She kicked her terror under a rock. ‘I can’t without Jamie, maybe later?’
Brad turned to a beautiful blonde hovering beside him. ‘Speak to the dude at the pub, set something up the night before we wrap.’ He looked back at Sam. ‘This is intense, baby. I wanna hear it all!’
Sam plastered on her red-carpet smile. ‘Absolutely, we can’t wait to share our music with you.’
The door opened and a head popped around. ‘Mr Bauer, they’re ready for you now.’
Brad squeezed her hands. ‘Crystal will be in touch to arrange it.’ He strode out of the room, his assistant following, leaving Zoe and Sam alone.
The moment the door shut, Sam collapsed into a chair, her head in her hands.
‘Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck! What have I done?’
