Times Like These

by Laura Carter

  Sofia stood from her seat. ‘She told me. I was… am, furious.’

  Hannah stood, too. ‘I know. She shouldn’t have meddled and Andi knows that too. She was going to call it all off after she had confessed to you.’

  ‘She was trying to play God with my life,’ Sofia scolded.

  ‘She made a mistake. But she also thought it would be a test. See, in Andi’s mind, if Jay didn’t take the deal and he got sober, she would have left you to it and accepted that you had to be left alone to work things out between you. If he took the deal, it meant…’

  ‘He didn’t love me,’ Sofia said, sadly. ‘As it happens, he didn’t take the deal, so maybe he loved me enough not to sell me out to Stellar. Or maybe he just despised Andi enough not to want her to win but for him to still get cash. Either way, he still left.’

  Sofia moved to the window and stared outside. ‘Andrea was wrong to mess with my life with Jay. Yet, I have Sanfia. And Jay has done what I probably could never have asked him to do – he’s left. In a warped and messed-up way, maybe things have worked out for the best.

  ‘But I still have the problem of having to buy Jay out of the label,’ Sofia said. ‘I can’t afford to do that.’

  ‘Have you considered asking Rosalie?’ Hannah suggested.

  Sofia gave her a look of incredulity. ‘In Rosalie’s mind, I must be tied to Andi in this whole thing. She’ll probably never speak to either of Andi or me again, let alone offer to lend me money or buy into the label.’ She looked back to the outside. ‘I wouldn’t want to abuse her friendship like that, in any case.’

  ‘All I’ll say is, Rosalie truly doesn’t have a malicious cell in her beautiful, immaculate body. She wouldn’t hold something that Andrea has done against you, Soph.’

  Hannah retook her seat. ‘Well, now you know the truth, how do you feel?’

  Sofia shrugged. ‘I don’t know. I’m mad at Andi but I’m pleased I understand now what she had been thinking. Ultimately, it doesn’t matter now. She’s my sister and she’s hurting.’

  An hour later, Hannah and Sofia crept quietly into Andrea’s room, where she was asleep, fragile and pale. As Hannah took a seat at one side of the bed, Sofia leaned her head next to Andrea’s on her pillow as she sat in the chair by the other side of her sister’s hospital bed, both of them watching Andrea sleep.

  Andrea had made a huge mistake getting involved with Hunter but maybe it would have never happened if she hadn’t felt like she had to leave Sanfia Records and let Sofia run the business with Jay. Her goodness had been misplaced when it came to her actions with Sofia and Jay, meddling in their lives. But her good intentions were there. Hannah was sure that, deep down, Sofia knew that those good intentions had always been there.

  ‘I don’t hate you, Andi,’ Sofia whispered. ‘I could never hate you. I love you with all my heart and it’s breaking for you right now.’

  Andrea’s hand rose and she brought it to rest on Sofia’s cheek, her eyes still closed. ‘I love you,’ she whispered, turning to kiss Sofia’s brow.

  28

  Rosalie

  Rosalie was reviewing her investment report over coffee when her intercom buzzed. She wasn’t expecting anyone and was surprised to look in the viewfinder and see Andrea downstairs.

  She buzzed her in and went to find a clean mug from the kitchen to pour coffee for Andrea.

  Yesterday, she had been visited by Hannah and Sofia. They had each come under the guise of apologising to Rosalie. Hannah apologised for the way she broke the news of Andrea’s affair with Hunter. Sofia apologised for, essentially, being Andrea’s sister and thereby determining that implicitly, she had wronged Rosalie.

  In truth, Rosalie hadn’t needed their apologies, she was simply grateful that they obviously missed her, too. She told them as much and over two pots of English tea, the women resolved to always be open and honest with each other and not to let things come between their friendship.

  Rosalie had told them about her wardrobe and life cleanse, how she was looking into turning her passion for interiors into a business and how she and Seth were intending to date. Sofia filled her in on Jay leaving and how, even though she was hurting, she knew it was going to be the right thing for them both in the long run. Hannah told her how she was looking for a new job, one that might be more flexible, and how she had opened up to Rod after all their years together, about how she needed his support.

  In all, Rosalie couldn’t have been happier for her friends and to have them back in her life. But, she explained, things couldn’t go back to how they were because they would never be three best friends and a little sister again.

  After that, Hannah and Sofia had explained a few things to Rosalie. Now, as she filled a mug full of coffee for Andrea, she wondered if Andrea had come of her own accord, or whether she had been sent by Hannah and Sofia.

  She had left the door ajar but Andrea tapped gently and called her name before coming inside.

  ‘I’m in the lounge,’ Rosalie called from her seat in the window. She had opted to sit, unsure how she should greet her old friend.

  Despite it being a work day, Andrea wasn’t dressed in her usual corporate attire. She wore jeans and a T-shirt, with flat-soled sandals. Her hair was roughly tied up and she looked pale, tired and… sad.

  She hovered on the threshold between the lounge and the hallway, holding her handbag in front of her with both hands as she looked at Rosalie.

  ‘Hi,’ she said, not bold and confident like Andrea usually was but uncertain.

  Rosalie had wanted to be stern and guarded but seeing Andrea this way was not what she wanted at all.

  She thought about the baby Andrea had been carrying just days before and the tragedy of having lost the baby. She had cried when Hannah and Sofia had told her about it, even though she was still furious with Andrea. Because she loved her. Though she wished she didn’t because she would be able to move on much easier if she didn’t, the fact was, Andrea was one of Rosalie’s best friends. Not of the Clarissa, Kaitlin or Madeleine ilk but of the real kind.

  ‘I poured you coffee,’ Rosalie said.

  Andrea took the invitation and came to sit in the high-back chair opposite Rosalie, each of them looking out of the window at the view across Central Park.

  ‘Rosalie, I know there’s nothing I can say or do to ever make up for what I did. It was shameful and disgusting and I will forever be sorry for all the hurt I caused, to everyone, but mostly to you.’

  Rosalie looked at her now and saw a stream of water running down Andrea’s cheek. Andrea who never cried or got emotional about anything. Stoic Andrea.

  It broke Rosalie’s resolve.

  ‘I’m sorry about the baby.’

  Andrea’s jaw tensed and she turned back to the window for a moment before glancing back to Rosalie. ‘Thank you.’

  ‘Was it…?’

  ‘I don’t know,’ Andrea said, her voice catching. ‘It’s possible. I hoped it was Tommy’s.’

  Rosalie thought about that. About the fact that the baby could have been her family, too. Then she remembered what Hannah told her, that her father had thrown his credit card at Andrea and told her to get rid of it.

  ‘He should never have told you to abort the pregnancy,’ Rosalie said. ‘I’m sorry he did that.’

  Andrea let out a short, sad laugh. ‘You have nothing to apologise for, Rosalie. This is all on my shoulders. I knew what I was doing. I knew how much it would hurt you… your mom, too. Yet, I did it.’

  Andrea’s voice broke and her shoulders shook as she started to cry. ‘I miss you. I know I have no right to say that but I do and I hope that, one day, we could be friends again. You’ll never know how truly sorry I am, Ros. For everything.’

  Seeing Andrea broken as she was, Rosalie’s own tears spilled from her eyes. She clenched her fists to stop herself from reaching out and comforting Andrea.

  ‘I don’t know if I can ever forgive you, Andi. And I will never ever forget.’

  She wipe
d the tears from her face.

  ‘But I miss you, too. All of you. So… I’m willing to try.’

  Her words turned Andrea’s cries to sobs and this time, Rosalie could not stop herself from putting her arms around her friend’s shoulders.

  It would be a long, long time before Rosalie could ever trust Andrea again. But she knew she wanted to, one day.

  About One Year Later…

  TOMMY DAWSON

  World Tour

  Supported by

  Seth Young

  Gates: 7 p.m.

  The arena crowd roared when Seth played the first chord of his latest single that was still sitting at number 1 on the country Billboard chart.

  The track had a killer opening sequence and Seth loved to play it. Rosalie loved to hear it. As she stood in the wings of the stage, her heart rate soared when Billy brought in the bassline then Frankie kicked up the beat on the electric guitar.

  As Seth’s newest session player pummelled the drums and Seth began to sing, Rosalie could see that he was in his element. He had never needed or expected the fame he had received and when they were lying next to each other in bed, or sharing breakfast over the view of Central Park from Rosalie’s – their – apartment, Seth was still just the guy who wore scruffy boots and lumberjack shirts. And though Rosalie had managed to get him in a suit once or twice in their six months together, actually, he had been a bigger influence on Rosalie’s style. She loved that she could tap her feet in the sneakers she wore with her jeans and T-shirt without feeling any pain at all. And now that she was busy with her interior design business, she was on her feet a lot. These days, heels were reserved for awards events and fancy dinners with Seth or her best friends, only.

  Tonight was the last show of Tommy’s world tour. Since Tommy had decided to buy Jay’s share of Sanfia Records and bring Andrea back to the label to produce again – the way things used to be, the way she loved – Tommy, Andrea and Sofia had worked hard as a team to make Seth a star. Though Seth may have been the supporting act, the combination of Tommy and Seth had led to sell-out concerts on every night of the tour. And they were all planning to go out on a high, playing with more energy than ever for their home crowd in New York.

  Seth sang about the woman he loved, how her hips could wreak havoc on a man, how her mind was as genius as it was a pain in the ass, how only a superhero could handle her. And he sang with a smile. A smile that filled Rosalie’s heart because just nights ago, he had told her, ‘If someone had asked me if I would have ever smiled again when I’d left the services and lost my fiancée, I would have said no. Yet, here I am, one year after meeting a girl I had misunderstood entirely, feeling like I hold the world in my hands. And damn it, you make me smile every day, Ros.’

  The guys kicked into the chorus and Seth jogged to Billy, singing through his headset as he went, then they rocked out like they had never rocked out before, as if no one was watching, like they were young kids with the whole world to live for.

  Rosalie swung an arm around Sofia’s shoulders where she stood beside her and they sang out the song together – not at all pitchy – swinging their hips and their hair.

  Because that was how Seth had made Rosalie feel, like she was just a girl, loved and in love, with the whole world to live for.

  Seth ended the set as he always did, taking a beat to soak up the crowd and the atmosphere. Forever humble. His most admirable trait.

  Then he glanced to the side of the stage and his eyes met Rosalie’s. He winked and told her through his microphone. ‘I love you.’

  * * *

  Andrea clapped and watched as Tommy congratulated Seth and the guys when they came backstage, sweating and on a high.

  Then Tommy walked back to the dressing room sofa where he had been sitting with Andrea. He leant down and kissed her temple, then kissed her rounded stomach.

  ‘There’s nothing quite like that feeling of coming off stage, the audience screaming your name and chanting for more,’ Tommy told her recently as they shopped for a car seat and a pushchair. ‘But there are other incredible feelings too. Like feeling your baby kick for the first time in the tummy of the woman you love.’

  ‘Knock ’em dead,’ Andi said, as she always did before he went on stage.

  ‘Since you told me to,’ he replied with a cheeky grin, making her smile. ‘Daddy will be back soon, kid,’ he directed to her bump.

  Some things hadn’t changed about Tommy – he was cheeky, a great musician and an incredible lover. Other things had changed in the best way – he was a wonderful husband, already a loving father, a fantastic producer alongside Andrea and Sofia, and, it turned out, quite happy to give up on four a.m. parties every night.

  Making Andi happy had become his favourite thing to do. His purpose in life, he said. She had become his muse, when they were making music together in the studio, and when they were making love together at home, so he said. For Andrea, Tommy, her unborn child, Sofia, Hannah and Rosalie, were her whole world. Making music again, the way she had for so many years, back with her sister and now her husband, completed the picture of her imperfectly perfect life. She had never felt happier or more complete.

  Tommy’s entourage led him into the corridor of VIP fans as his band was already warming up the crowd. Andrea watched on a television monitor as he was hooked up to a microphone stage-side, and as he closed his eyes, rolled his neck from side to side, then stepped onto the stage, where he was deafened by a packed-full arena.

  Tommy the rock star belonged to his fans for two hours, then Tommy Dawson would be all hers again.

  * * *

  Hannah could tell from Rod’s body language that he was batting back wisecracks, no doubt football related, with Billy and Frankie at the small bar that had been set up in the communal dressing room.

  ‘Are you boys talking football?’ she asked, leaving the sofa where she had been sitting next to Sofia and crossing the room.

  ‘No, ma’am,’ Billy said between swigs of beer as Rod draped an arm around Hannah’s shoulders. ‘I was relaying a story of a delightful blonde with really big boobs, whom I believe is called Belinda, who threw some very pretty panties at me on stage.’

  Hannah laughed. ‘You know sex addiction is a real thing, Billy.’

  ‘I’ve heard it’s only a problem when you’re not having it,’ he countered with a wink, making Hannah laugh harder as she rolled her eyes.

  ‘Could one of you gents do the honours?’ asked Rosalie as she appeared in the middle of the group holding a chilled bottle of champagne.

  ‘Give it here,’ Rod said.

  He popped the cork with too much vigour and the fizz started to bubble out of the top.

  ‘Don’t waste that!’ Hannah said, thrusting a glass under the falling bubbles.

  ‘That’s my girl,’ Rod said. ‘Not one to waste the good stuff.’

  He pinched Hannah’s butt, receiving a feisty growl in return and welcoming it, Hannah could tell from his boyish grin.

  Armed with a glass of champagne, Hannah walked into his arms, holding his chin firmly between her fingers and wiggling it from side to side, the way she did with the kids.

  ‘Can’t you ever behave yourself?’ she asked him.

  He looked her up and down, unashamedly, scrutinising her legs in unusually high heels and the advantage of her cleavage in the fitted black number she was wearing to take full advantage of a child-free date night.

  ‘When my woman is looking like this? No chance.’

  She pouted playfully and wiggled her ass as she went back to the other side of the room with Rosalie, moving to sit on the two leather sofas where Andrea and Sofia were already seated.

  Hannah had been right to call Rod out on his flaws last year. Since they finally started to really talk to each other, Rod had been doing everything to show her that he would try never to take her for granted again. He said he wanted her to have more in her life than him and the kids. Whatever made her happy. Because when he saw people failing i
n marriages around him, he refused to be one of them.

  He slipped sometimes. Feet on the furniture, beer bottles on the coffee table and, yeah, sometimes he still forgot to leave the toilet seat the eff down.

  But Hannah was happy with his progress and happier generally. She was working as a band manager, spending two days a week in the city and three days working from home. The kids were doing great. Luke had even started college and was playing ball.

  Her life with Rod was as hot, as entertaining and as good as it ever had been.

  Rod was her forever guy and Hannah was his forever girl.

  And she smiled at her man as she took her seat as one of three best friends and their little sister.

  Some things would never change and she didn’t ever want them to.

  Acknowledgements

  I have to start by thanking my husband, Sam, for being patient with me when I’m lost in the world of my characters and for the hours (even the ones when you’re just pretending to listen) spent beach walking and talking (mostly me) about my books. And by thanking Rocky, for being the best writing companion and furbaby I could have ever wished for. I love my boys immensely.

  Thank you to:

  Little Jenny, for being happy to traipse around Williamsburg with me and for hours spent listening to country music when we’re getting ready to out, whether you want to or not (keep rollin’ and strollin’).

  Jenny P, for sharing our crush on Elvis and for all the giggles in New Orleans, Memphis and Nashville, despite the snow (and for eating as much BBQ food as me without judgment).

  Helena, for totally getting my obsession with The Beatles and not moaning about the snail pace at which we walked around The Beatles Story.

  Nicola, Katie, Clair, Jen and Jenna, for sharing tales of your children’s blunders, and to your gorgeous babies for giving you stories to share with me.