Hopelessly Devoted to Holden Finn (10 page)

Annabel smiled up at her as she took her mug and Paige did a funny little wrinkle of her nose. Bonnie smiled. She knew the gesture well. It was Paige’s way of saying she wanted to be friends again without actually appearing to back down or show forgiveness in any way.

‘Is this going to help us to sleep?’ Annabel asked as she took a sip.

‘Nothing is going to help us to sleep tonight,’ Paige said over the top of her mug. ‘I bet we’ll get an hour, just before dawn, and then have to get up straight away for the train.’

‘It’ll be a long day,’ Bonnie put in. ‘You should really try.’

‘Oh, Mum, stop being such a…’ Paige frowned.

‘A mum?’ Bonnie replied helpfully.

‘Ha ha. You can’t tell me you’re not just a little bit excited too. After all, we are going to London.’

Bonnie couldn’t deny it. The thought of the day to come made her insides dance, a strange mix of nerves and excited anticipation, and it wasn’t hard for anyone else to see how jittery she was, even Paige.

‘I haven’t been to London for years,’ Bonnie said. ‘I am quite excited about that. Maybe I’ll go off and explore for a bit while you have your meeting.’

‘You’re going to go and leave us?’ Paige asked, looking almost panic-stricken.

‘You’ll be in safe hands, I’m sure.’

‘I know but…well,’ Paige floundered, ‘I’m not that bothered, of course, but what about Annabel? You’re responsible for her too.’

Bonnie smiled. ‘If it worries you that much, I’ll wait in the radio station for you. I’m sure there’ll be a coffee machine or something that I can hang around next to trying to look sophisticated.’

‘I didn’t say it worried me, I just think you should be around, like, so that Annabel’s mum and dad know she’s ok.’ Paige looked at her friend who nodded uncertainly.

‘Ok, I will.’ Bonnie looked at Annabel. ‘Do you have everything you need tonight?’

Annabel picked up a wash-bag from the bed and held it aloft with a grin.

‘And what about your outfit?’

‘Oh, that’s here,’ Paige cut in, removing her dress from the wardrobe door to reveal another outfit behind it. A tiny pink t-shirt and a pair of denim hot pants were draped over a hanger. Bonnie barely held back a groan.

‘What are you wearing?’ Annabel asked brightly, clearly unconcerned by the fact that Bonnie had made no comment at all on her choice of clothes.

‘I haven’t really decided,’ Bonnie lied.

The truth was that she hadn’t been able to find anything right with her leftover Christmas money, and right now, almost every item of clothing she owned was strewn across her bed.

‘You should wear that little black lace dress, Mum, you’ll look really nice in that with your red hair.’

Bonnie looked at Paige thoughtfully. ‘Really? I thought that might be a bit dressy, what with me just running around London and hanging around waiting for you. If I’m only doing that and not really meeting anyone, perhaps I only need to wear my jeans.’

‘No way.’ Paige said. ‘You can dress that down with a pair of opaque tights and your black boots, it’ll look cool and not like you’re trying too hard.’

‘That’s not a bad idea,’ Bonnie mused.

Paige beamed at her. ‘I know.’ Draining the last of her chocolate, she dumped the mug on the windowsill, skipped over to the CD player and turned up the volume. Grabbing Bonnie by both hands, she pulled her into the room and started to jump up and down.

‘Dance with me, Mum!’

Bonnie laughed and swayed self-consciously in time to the music.

‘Come on, better than that!’ Paige giggled. She reached for Annabel and pulled her up too.

All three of them began to laugh as they jumped up and down madly in time to the music. Holden sang to them…

Don’t forget me babe

Don’t ever say we’re done

Tonight I wanna kiss you

Tonight I wanna love you

Tonight I wanna dance

While we wait for the sun

***

The train journey to Euston station had flown by as Paige and Annabel chatted incessantly about what might or might not happen when they finally met their heroes. Bonnie joined in occasionally, and at other times smiled indulgently as she listened, but every so often her stomach flipped with a small excitement of her own. She was so close to meeting Holden herself. And even if she didn’t, she would be in the same building, breathing the same air, a stone’s throw away, and that was closer than many people got.

London was dry and surprisingly mild for the time of year. It would have been a great day for sightseeing, had they not had something far more pressing to get to. Not wanting to risk missing their slot by getting lost on the tube, Bonnie had decided to hail a cab to get them to the venue on time, and at least this afforded a little landmark spotting. However, when the cabbie told her the fare as they arrived, she was hugely grateful that the radio station had agreed to reimburse their travelling expenses as part of the prize.

They pushed open the gleaming double doors to the radio station. The familiar lurid green and blue logo was emblazoned across the wall behind the reception desk and two glamorous looking receptionists juggled phone calls and guests with a practised and cool efficiency.

‘We’re the competition winners!’ Paige announced before Bonnie even had a chance to open her mouth.

The receptionist nearest to Paige smiled patiently. ‘Would that be the Every Which Way competition?’

‘Who else?’ Annabel squealed as she grabbed Paige’s arm for the umpteenth time that morning. ‘Seriously, there’s nobody else in the world worth entering a competition for!’

‘Well,’ the receptionist said, reaching for a couple of clipboards and pens, ‘we’ll need to complete some paperwork before we do anything else.’ She handed the girls a board each and indicated some sections with a scarlet-nailed finger. ‘Just a few bits and pieces about you.’ She looked up at Bonnie. ‘Can you sign a disclaimer for them both?’

‘A disclaimer?’

‘You know, if they get injured or anything on the premises you won’t sue us, that sort of thing.’

‘Oh…’ Bonnie glanced at Paige and Annabel as they huddled together over their forms, giggling. ‘I suppose so, although Annabel is not my daughter.’

The woman waved away the excuse. ‘That’s fine. As long as we have a signature from a responsible adult.’ She handed Bonnie a clipboard too and pointed to a box. ‘If you can sign and date here, that would be great.’

Bonnie took the board and scribbled her name.

‘Thanks.’ The woman took the paperwork from Bonnie. She looked across at the girls. ‘How are we doing? Almost finished?’ Paige and Annabel handed back their
papers with expectant faces. The woman looked them over. ‘Great stuff. I’ll call Raveena to take you through. The boys are just broadcasting at the moment, so you’ll have to wait really quietly outside the studio while they finish, but then you can go in as soon as they’re off air.’

Paige gave a stifled little squeal and Annabel gripped her friend’s arm again.

‘As I don’t have a ticket, do I go and wait with them or stay out here?’ Bonnie asked uncertainly.

‘Ask Raveena when she gets down here,’ the woman replied as she filed the paperwork in a drawer.

They hovered uncertainly for a moment, and then a slim, baby-faced, dark-haired girl with an ID badge on a lanyard around her neck pushed open some double doors at the far end of the room. She looked across at Bonnie and the two girls with a bright smile.

‘Are you guys here for the competition?’

‘Yes!’ Paige and Annabel squeaked in unison.

‘Great. I’m Raveena. I’ll be looking after you while you’re with us.’ She leaned over the reception desk. ‘Paperwork in order, Rosemary?’

The woman who had checked them into the building nodded.

‘Fantastic!’ Raveena said. ‘In that case, follow me.’ She waved a hand to usher them through the double doors and into the working section of the station.

‘Do you need me too?’ Bonnie asked.

Raveena smiled warmly. ‘Why not? The more the merrier. You can wait outside and watch through the studio window while the girls are interviewed with the band on air.’

‘We’re going on air?’ Annabel squealed, practically hyperventilating as she did.

‘We thought it would be nice for their fans to hear your meeting,’ Raveena explained as they followed her. ‘They’re doing an acoustic set, a quick interview, and then we’ll call you in and you can ask them some questions of your own.’

‘OMG that will be epic!’ Paige said breathlessly.

‘I hope so,’ Raveena laughed.

They turned from the narrow corridor into a much wider one, lined with windows that looked into various studio spaces. Most were empty, but one contained an older man and a sound engineer. ‘Newsreader,’ Raveena said, sweeping a hand towards it. The next window along revealed a much larger studio. Bonnie felt her legs begin to
buckle as she saw four fabulously dressed young men sitting on tall stools, singing and grinning at each other like loons.

‘Oh my God!’ Paige squealed.

Annabel just grabbed Paige’s arm and stared.

‘And I don’t need to tell you who is in that studio,’ Raveena smiled. ‘They’re on-air right now; once we get a chance between songs, we’ll slip in and get comfy and you can have a quick word off-air.’

‘Will we be able to hear them sing?’ Paige asked.

‘I’m sure they won’t mind you listening in while they do their unplugged set.’

‘Brilliant!’ Paige sighed as Annabel shot her a huge grin.

They looked towards the booth, where it seemed the boys had stopped singing and were now relaxing on their seats. Raveena pushed open the studio door and the sound engineer waved her in.

‘We’re good to go, guys,’ Raveena smiled. ‘Are you ready to meet Every Which Way?’

Bonnie watched as Paige and Annabel were led through into the studio. Paige turned once with a huge grin and gave her mum a little wave. Bonnie smiled, ignoring the tiny tick of envy deep inside her. She couldn’t remember the last time she had seen Paige look so elated. Bonnie stepped back towards a row of seats outside the studio. She saw one of the boys – Brad, as far as she could remember – nod in her direction and say something to Raveena.

Next thing, Raveena stuck her head out of the door again as Paige and Annabel turned to look at her. ‘Would you like to come in?’ Raveena asked. ‘You’d have to sit and be quiet while the girls chat to the band on air, but you’re more than welcome.’

Bonnie didn’t realise her mouth had fallen open until she noticed how dry it had become.
Go in?
All this time she had been dreaming of meeting Holden, it had never seemed a real, actual possibility – even now as she stood outside a room he was inside. Part of her wondered if she even wanted to meet him. The thought terrified her and excited her all at the same time. What would he make of her? She’d look like a middle-aged idiot, sitting next to two beautiful and lively teenagers and drooling over a gorgeous international megastar?

This inner debate took a fraction of a second, and before she even knew what she was doing, Bonnie had followed Raveena’s beckoning hand. The next moment, she found herself standing in the booth behind her daughter.

‘This is Paige and Annabel,’ Raveena said, indicating the girls in turn. Each boy – Holden, Nick, Brad and Jay – shook Paige and Annabel’s hand. Every time they touched the girls almost collapsed in fits of breathless giggles. Raveena waved a hand towards Bonnie. ‘This is Paige’s mum….’

‘Oh… I’m Bonnie,’ Bonnie said, forgetting to offer her hand and just standing with her mouth slightly open as she gazed at Holden. He was dressed casually, but it seemed that the whole look – from the effortlessly styled hair to the seemingly relaxed wardrobe – had been carefully constructed for maximum sex appeal. The other boys, attractive as they were, seemed to melt into the background of his perfection.

‘Bonnie?’ Holden said, raising an immaculate eyebrow. ‘That’s an unusual name. Are you Scottish?’

Bonnie felt herself blush. She was just wondering whether to tell some romantic sounding story about her name when Paige cut in.

‘Nah. My nan just totally loves Bonnie Tyler.’

Holden turned to her, looking confused now. ‘Er, right.’

‘You know, the eighties singer with huge hair?’ Paige explained.

Holden looked to his band mates for help, but they all shrugged helplessly.

‘I’m sure you’re all far too young to remember Bonnie Tyler,’ Bonnie explained, laughing nervously. ‘I am too, come to think of it.’

‘I’ve got some Bonnie Tyler somewhere,’ the DJ cut in. ‘I could play it for you on-air.’

‘It really doesn’t matter…’

‘It’d be no bother,’ he insisted.

‘It’s not me that’s the fan…’ Bonnie said, her sentence trailing off as she realised that the DJ was already scrolling down a tracklist on his monitor.

Then the engineer wagged a finger at them to indicate the countdown to being back on-air and they all fell silent, the boys watching the DJ expectantly and the girls grinning like maniacs.

‘Right, that was your daily dose of Lily Allen, there,’ the DJ purred into the mic in typically smooth DJ style, ‘and we’re back with the boys of Every Which Way, along with some VIP guests: the winners of our competition to meet the boys…’ he looked down at his clipboard, ‘Paige Cartwright and Annabel Frost.’ He grinned at the girls who both looked as though they might explode at any moment. The DJ continued, ‘we’re going to give Paige and Annabel the chance to ask the band some questions in
a short while, but first, here’s a song specially requested by Paige’s mum, who is lurking in the background here in the studio and is a big Bonnie Tyler fan…’

Bonnie groaned inwardly as the opening bars to
Total Eclipse of the Heart
kicked in. Now she looked like a middle-aged saddo in front of the gorgeous, young, and very far from sad Holden Finn. The DJ gave a gormless thumbs-up to Bonnie as he turned the volume down and took off his headphones. She tried to smile back gratefully but even he must have been aware of just how forced it looked.

‘Ok guys,’ Raveena said to Paige and Annabel, sounding vaguely like a holiday camp entertainer. ‘Have you got your questions ready, because it’s nearly time.’