“Come on, slowpokes. Let’s go.”
Adrian pushed Susan to the back of his mind. Kate deserved his full attention and he wouldn’t let Susan spoil the day.
***
Libby stretched and grinned. She was finished! The heady elation that came with writing the final word swirled around her. She breathed deeply in satisfaction and rolled her stiff shoulders.
She checked the clock on her screen. Five o’clock. No wonder she was stiff. She’d been writing almost nonstop since she returned from her walk. Her stomach grumbled a complaint at the lack of food as she re-read the last page she’d written.
It still needed some polishing but it was good. The story was complete, with an ending to satisfy her readers, but there was a hint of what was to come in the next book.
She saved the document, backing it up to her thumb drive and uploading a copy to her cloud share folder.
She had to find somewhere she could print out a copy and she needed to eat. Shutting down her computer, Libby stood and stretched again and then did a little jig. The hard part was done. Now she would enjoy re-reading, editing and polishing her words until they shone.
A peek out of the window showed her it was raining relentlessly, so she put on her rain jacket, checked her umbrella was in her bag and headed downstairs. In the lobby, she stopped at the reception desk to enquire about the cost of printing her manuscript. She coughed in surprise at the answer, smiled politely and decided to hit the street. There had to be an office supplies store somewhere in the CBD that would print her manuscript cheaper.
Libby walked toward the main shopping precinct, and asked someone walking by if they knew of a print shop. Within minutes she was inside one, listening to the whirr of the printer, waiting for her novel to be printed.
The saleswoman handed over the document and Libby carefully tucked it into the folder she’d brought before putting it in her bag. She thanked the woman and left, her bag significantly heavier than it had been.
Now she had to find something to eat. Her stomach grumbles had turned into roars.
She bounced down the footpath, her spirit high at her achievement, but there was no one to share it with. Checking her watch she noticed it was too early to call her best friend Piper in Houston and her other friends closer to home would still be at work. She whipped off a couple of text messages, standing under the shelter of one of the buildings so she didn’t get wet.
It would be nice to talk to someone about it, share her excitement, but she’d have to wait. Now, she really did need to eat.
On her way to the print shop, she’d passed the Vietnamese restaurant she and Kate had spotted earlier in the week. Libby made her way back to it and went inside to be greeted by the hum of diners and the smells of coriander and noodles. Landscape paintings covered the walls, lush pictures of country Vietnam. The tables were square and covered in white tablecloths, and about two-thirds of the restaurant was full. Her stomach grumbled and she put a hand to it to settle it.
“Can I help you?” the waitress asked.
“Table for one, please.” It didn’t bother her to dine alone. She’d use the time to study her fellow diners and make notes about their body language and quirks. Something might even give her a story idea.
“This way.” The waitress weaved through the tables toward the back and Libby followed.
“Libby! Hey, Libby, over here.” A voice yelled over the din somewhere to her right.
Libby scanned the restaurant to see Kate waving frantically and both George and Adrian watching her.
Adrian’s gaze was direct – not quite the cheetah of pre-performance, but there was an intensity to it.
Her heart thudded hard.
It wasn’t because she was glad to see Adrian. No, it was from surprise.
That was her story and she was sticking to it.
Chapter 7
Libby didn’t want to interrupt but she couldn’t ignore them. Changing direction, she made her way to their table and smiled at Kate. “Hi. Did you have a good day?”
“It was the best. We went to Luna Park and went on the dodgem cars and the Ferris wheel and the railway and the ghost train.” Kate paused to take a breath.
“Sounds like great fun.”
“It was.”
The waitress came up beside Libby, obviously impatient to seat her so she could serve her other customers.
“I’d better take my seat. You can tell me all about it tomorrow.”
“Who are you eating with?” Kate asked, craning her neck to see past Libby.
A flush crept unwelcome onto Libby’s face. “No one. I’ve finished the first draft so I’m treating myself to dinner.”
“You should join us.”
To Libby’s surprise it was Adrian who offered the invitation, not Kate. He seemed a little startled himself.
“I don’t want to interrupt.”
Adrian shrugged. “You can celebrate with us. We’ve only just ordered and it’s way more than we can eat.”
“Go on, Libby. You can tell me about the book.” Kate grinned.
Libby narrowed her eyes. “I’m on to you. You want to find out what happens before anyone else does.” She smiled.
“Yep.” Kate smiled back.
“Then I’d love to join you.”
The waitress next to her sniffed and left the table. Libby ignored her and took the spare seat next to George. As she placed her bag at her feet, she bumped Adrian’s knee. He jerked away.
“Sorry.” She fought a battle with her embarrassment and lost. “My bag’s heavy.”
“Women and their bags,” George said. “They have everything but the kitchen sink in them.”
“In my case it’s my manuscript,” Libby said.
“So can I read it?” Kate leaned forward.
Libby grinned. “Nope. There’s a bit more work to be done on it before it’s truly finished.” She paused. “Besides, it’s not the next one in the series. You’d need to read the one that is at the publisher now.”
“It’s still worth celebrating,” Adrian said.
He was right. Libby beamed at him. There were days when writing was a slog, and to finally be able to write “The End” was fantastic.
“How long has it taken to get to this point?” he asked.
“Six months.” Her smile died a little. She’d have to write the next one a lot faster if she was going to meet her new deadline, but she was getting quicker. If she did the edits in a month, she’d be close to her target. If only she could afford to write full time.
The waitress arrived with drinks and Libby ordered a glass of white wine. Adrian sat back sharply. Unsure what she’d done to cause such a reaction she looked around and noticed everyone was drinking soft drinks.
Suddenly she remembered the clause in her contract. She wasn’t allowed to drink alcohol when she was looking after Kate. She’d never drink while she was working so she’d not paid much attention to it. Maybe she wasn’t supposed to drink around Kate at all.
Adrian let out a deep breath as if forcing himself to relax and asked, “Didn’t you say you now have to write a new book every six months?”
“That’s right,” she said.
“That’s going to be a bit of a struggle, isn’t it?” George asked with a slight hint of doubt in his tone.
It was, but she didn’t need him reminding her. “I don’t think this manuscript will need too many edits, which means I can start the next novel early.” She shrugged. “Besides, sleep is overrated, isn’t it?” She winked at Kate.
Adrian chuckled. “I remember quite a lot of sleepless nights when I was trying to break through,” he said. “You can’t have forgotten them, George.”
George groaned. “I’ve tried to block them out of my memory,” he said and smiled Libby an apology. “I’m sure you’ll manage somehow.”
“How long did it take you to break through?” Libby asked Adrian, curious to know some more about this private man.
“Seven years.
” Adrian didn’t hesitate. It was obviously something close to his heart.
“Seven long years and some real dives,” George reminisced. They shared a grin.
“What do you mean by dives?” Kate asked.
“Dark, smoky and a little run-down,” Adrian said.
Kate tilted her head to the side. “Why did you go to them if they weren’t nice?”
Adrian paused, obviously figuring out some way to explain. “I wanted to practice performing in front of people, and when you’re not well known, it’s difficult to get a gig in the nicer places. I needed to let word of mouth grow so more people knew about me.”
“Why didn’t you use the internet?”
“That wouldn’t help me learn how to perform in front of real people,” Adrian said.
“How many get-ups do you think we tried?” George asked.
Adrian flashed a glance at Libby. “At least a dozen.” He shifted in his seat.
What was he uncomfortable about?
The waitress arrived with four different appetizers. Libby gaped at the amount of food they put down on the table. Adrian wasn’t kidding when he said they’d over ordered.
Kate waited until the waitress had gone and then picked up the little tongs next to the rice paper rolls. “Who wants a roll?”
George lifted his plate toward her. “I do.”
Kate dished out the rolls and then dunked her own into the dipping sauce, taking a bite with relish. “Yum.”
Conversation abated while they each tried the appetizers. Libby waited to see if the others ate using their fingers before she did. She’d been out with people who used cutlery for finger food and thought her downright uncouth for using her fingers. She didn’t want to make a bad impression.
The food was delicious and Libby had to stop herself from scoffing it down, she was so hungry. Sometime during the day she’d run out of snacks and hadn’t wanted to stop writing to get more.
Curious to find out about how Adrian had created Kent, she asked, “Did you always perform as Kent?”
“No.” He took a bite of a little parcel of something.
Was he going to elaborate? She waited.
Adrian swallowed. He sighed. “I tried a few different looks before Kent. The crowd absolutely loved him so there was no real doubt about using him. We signed a record deal less than three months after the first performance.”
“Did you sing the same kind of music the whole time?”
“Yeah, it was always rock.”
Libby pressed her lips together, thinking. Did a singer’s appearance really change how an audience reacted that much? Or did Adrian behave differently on stage when he was Kent? She suspected it was the latter.
“You should see some of the pictures of Uncle Ade before Kent.” Kate laughed.
“I’d love to.”
“Trust me, you don’t want to see them,” Adrian said, grimacing. He smiled a little at her, his eyes dancing, his lips turned up just a touch at the sides.
Libby’s heart stuttered and she stared at him until a waitress reached in front of her to clear the table and broke her line of sight. Had anyone noticed her reaction? Kate was playing with her fork, and George was handing one of the plates to the waitress. She was safe.
What was it about Adrian that made her react this way? She took a sip of her drink to lubricate her dry mouth. She needed to change the subject. “Tomorrow’s our last day in Melbourne, isn’t it?”
“That’s right. On to Sydney the day after,” George said.
“How long does it take to pack up the stage?”
“The crew will do it straight after the show tomorrow night and it will be in Sydney by morning. They’ll have a couple of days off before we have access to the center to set it up.”
“We’re going to climb the Sydney Harbour Bridge and go on a boat cruise and other things too, aren’t we, Uncle Ade?”
“Sure will, kiddo.”
It sounded like a lot of fun, but Libby reminded herself she wasn’t required for the first couple of days while they were in Sydney. Besides, she had her novel to edit. Hopefully she’d get a good portion of it done before she started looking after Kate. But maybe she’d find an activity for the two of them to do. She would see what was suitable for a ten-year-old in Sydney.
The main meals came out and Kate kept chatting about all the things she wanted to do. They were going to be there for just over a week so she should have time to do most of it.
When they finished they decided against dessert and coffee and instead headed back to the hotel. Libby got her purse out but Adrian put a hand on hers to stop her getting money out. A pleasant zing went up her arm and she shivered.
“We invited you to join us. I’ll pay.”
There was no arguing with him so Libby put her purse away.
It had stopped raining but was dark and cold when they stepped outside the restaurant. Libby shivered, glad she had someone to walk with back to her hotel. In the lobby, Kate chattered about which game she wanted to play when they got back to the suite. She finally decided on a card game.
At their floor they went their separate ways. Libby ignored the twinge of disappointment she felt when Kate didn’t invite her to join them. George had told her Adrian liked his space when he wasn’t working and Libby had to respect that. She was the nanny, not part of the family.
She’d run herself a bath and read the book she’d brought with her. Then she’d have an early night, so she could start on her edits first thing in the morning. It would be great. She hadn’t had a bath in ages, as her rental shack didn’t have one. She’d add some bubbles, have a long soak and pamper herself.
Libby opened the door and walked into the dark, empty hotel room.
She wasn’t lonely.
She was perfectly content by herself.
She’d learned she had to be.
Chapter 8
The next night Libby knocked on the door to Kate’s suite. To her surprise, instead of Kate’s smiling face popping out from behind the door, it was Adrian who opened it. He gave her a small smile. “Come in.”
There was something wrong.
Libby stepped into the room. In a quiet voice Adrian said, “Kate’s been in a mood for the last couple of hours but she won’t tell me what’s wrong. Maybe you’ll have better luck.” Raising his voice as he moved into the room, he called, “Kate, Libby’s here.”
There was no response.
“She’s in her room.” He sighed, worry lines creasing his forehead.
“I’ll talk to her,” Libby said. What had happened for Kate not to be her cheerful self?
He hesitated for a moment and then said, “I haven’t had a chance to pack yet, so if you could I’d appreciate it.” He didn’t look at her while he spoke, as if he was embarrassed. “There’s a cooler in the cupboard for the food and Kate generally packs her own suitcase, but you need to gather up all the games and DVDs.” He gazed at Kate’s room, clearly worried.
His cell rang and he answered it. “I’ll be right down.”
Libby smiled what she hoped was an everything-will-be-fine smile. “If I can cheer her up, I’ll send George a text.” She reached out and grasped his hand, then realized she’d overstepped the limit. Before she could let go, Adrian squeezed her hand and then dropped it.
He turned and knocked on Kate’s door, stuck his head in and said a few words. Kate jumped up and gave him a hug before returning to her bed. He closed the bedroom door behind him and turned to Libby. “I hope you have more luck,” he said. With one last look at the closed door, he left.
Libby let out the breath she’d been holding.
Knocking on the bedroom door, she called, “Are you all right, Kate?”
“Go away.” The voice was loud despite the closed door.
“Is there anything you want to talk to me about?” Was there something Kate couldn’t speak to Adrian about?
“No!”
“Would you like anything in particular for dinner?�
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“No. Go away. I don’t want to see you.” There was a hitch to Kate’s voice, part anger, part hurt.
Libby’s heart fell. Was it something she had done? There wasn’t anything she could think of. She paused, her hand hovering over the doorknob. No, she’d leave Kate a little longer, do the packing, and then maybe Kate would talk.
Checking the cupboard and fridge, she sorted out what they would have for dinner, a smorgasbord of leftovers, and then put all the non-perishable items in the bags Adrian had left out. She went around the room collecting the games and DVDs and stacking them on the dining room table, ready to pack. She double-checked the entire room, making sure nothing was left in drawers, under tables or underneath the couch cushions before she was satisfied she’d collected everything.
Half an hour and there hadn’t been a peep out of Kate’s room. Time for some action.
Libby knocked on Kate’s door again before opening it a crack. Kate was lying face down on her bed, Sebastien Bear clutched under one arm. It must be bad for Sebastien to be out. “Kate, can we talk?”
“No.” The word was muffled against Kate’s pillow.
“I’d really like to know what I’ve done wrong.”
That got her attention. Kate peered suspiciously out from under her armpit. “What makes you think it’s you?”
“You gave your uncle a hug before he left, so it didn’t seem like you were angry at him.” Libby reviewed the night before. Kate hadn’t invited her to play games with them and it was Adrian who’d invited her to join them at dinner. “Didn’t you want me to join you at the restaurant?”
Kate clammed up and turned away.
Libby sighed. She walked over to the bed and crouched down next to it. “Kate, I can’t help if I don’t know what’s wrong.”
“You don’t want to help me!” There was so much hurt in Kate’s voice.
Libby flinched. “Of course I do. You’re my friend, aren’t you?”
Kate sat up suddenly, her face screwed up in anger. “You’re not here because of me. You’re just like Emily. You’re here because you like Uncle Adrian.”
Libby’s jaw dropped open at the accusation. “That’s not true.”
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