Page 15 of Rhythm Of Redemption

Sofia shot him an irritated look. In return, he rewarded her with a dazzling smile, which only seemed to infuriate her more.

“Open your present, Mum.”

In all the excitement, she’d forgotten about her own present. She picked at the edges of the tape and carefully peeled back the paper.

“What is it?” Dani hovered at her elbow, making no attempt to hide her disappointment when Lou revealed the contents. “Chocolates.”

These weren’t just any chocolates, though. She let out a little sigh. These were fig and ouzo chocolate balls of deliciousness from Pasteleria de Catalina. “Thank you, but you shouldn’t have-”

“I wanted to,” he held her gaze. “And I know you like them.” A smile played at the corners of his lips, and she couldn’t be sure if he was laughing at her.

A tide of embarrassment washed over her at the memory. Not only had she polished off almost the entire display of chocolate samples, but he’d then had to come to her rescue as well. “A little too much, maybe.” She tried to make light of the situation, but inwardly, she was still hoping that sinkhole would show up. Suddenly aware of how quiet it had become and the strange look Dani was giving her, “Can I get you a drink or something to eat?” she asked, desperate to escape and put a little distance between herself and Logan.

“Actually, I’ve left a friend in the car. Is it okay if they come over and join us?”

“Of course not.” She forced her unwilling lips into a smile. “The more the merrier. I’ll just pop these inside … somewhere cool … out of the sun.” She held up the chocolates. “You go and get your fringe … I mean, friend, and I’ll be back in a jiffy.” Jiffy? She’d never used the word jiffy in her life before. Once inside, she placed the chocolates in the fridge. Why was she acting so weird? She rifled through the lucky-dip drawer where she dumped everything that didn’t have a specific place for some makeup. He was bound to have some gorgeous eight-foot glamazon girlfriend, wasn’t he? She found some Steve had bought her as part of a set for Christmas one year. It was like new. She twisted the base, running the poppy red gloss over her lips before smacking them together and checking out her reflection in the cloakroom mirror. Yuk! No wonder she never wore it. It didn’t suit her skin tone, and it made her teeth look yellow. On the plus side. She grabbed a couple of slices of toilet roll and began scrubbing at her lips. If he’d brought a date, then surely, he wouldn’t stay long.

The scream rang out. A shrill, high-pitched sound only achievable by hysterical teenage girls and certain species of bats. Lou raced out of the kitchen, imagining all sorts of horrors awaiting her. “Girls.” Her head swivelled left and right, her eyes sweeping the horizon. “What's wrong?”

Chapter seven

“L-l-look,” Dani stuttered, bouncing up and down on the spot like a two-year-old in desperate need of the loo.

“What? What’s wrong? Is someone hurt?” She did a quick head count in case one of them had been dragged off by a rabid bear. What was she thinking? All that noise was making her crazy. There were no bears in Ibiza. “Girls, please, calm down.”

Sofia’s face turned white. “It’s … Him.” She pointed somewhere behind Lou, her arms flapping up and down like a baby chick about to leap out of the nest for the first time. “It's him.”

Lou spun around to see a young lad in his early twenties standing beside Logan. Was that the cause of all the hysteria? A boy? He was good-looking enough, she supposed, in a pretty, cute kind of way, and he did look a little familiar, she guessed. Maybe she’d seen him in the supermarket, or perhaps his younger brother or sister went to the same school as Dani. But why would they be making all this fuss?

“Okay.” Lou held up her hands. Someone needed to take charge of this situation before either her head exploded or their neighbours, Diego and Alba, called the police. “Can someone please tell me who he is and what the hell is going on here?”

“It's hi-”

“Yes, I got that bit. It's him. But what I want to know is, who the hell him is?”

“It's Ty Willis,” Dani said in a breathy voice she’d never heard before.

Ahhh. Now it made sense. This was the Ty Willis, the lead singer of the band ORTS, that Dani and all her friends couldn’t stop going on about.

They swarmed towards him in a collective frenzy, a whirlwind of buzzing energy that left him with no chance of escape.

“Girls.” Lou tried to put herself between him and the girls. “Give him some space to breathe.” Why was Logan just standing there, instead of stopping his friend from getting mobbed? “Do something.”

Logan flicked his hand. “He’s fine. Ty, tell her you’re fine.”

“It’s okay, Mrs-”

“Lou. Call me Lou.” Handsome and well-mannered. “Ty, are you hungry?”

“Starving.”

“What about a cheese sandwich?”

Dani turned to her mother. “Mum,” she hissed out of the corner of her mouth. “Stop, you’re embarrassing me.”

Sofia snickered unkindly. “As if Ty Willis is going to want a cheese sandwich.”

“Does that sandwich come with a bit of pickle?”

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