See You at the Show (53 page)

“Well, Johnny’s over in the
U.K.
at the minute so, how would you like him to turn up at your birthday party with your present?
 
Would that be ok?”

“You serious?”

“Yeah, of course I am.
 
Johnny said he’d love to come,
and
he said he might even play a bit while he’s there, if you’d like that.”

“Jesus, Stevie, are you kidding me?
 
My mates are gonna freak when they hear this!
 
You’re the best mum in the whole fucking world!”

“Hey, watch your dad doesn’t hear you using language like that.”

Luke smiled.
 
He knew Stevie was cool about stuff like that.
 
She was cool full stop.
 
Johnny Jackson coming to his birthday party?
 
How many of his mates could say they had a real-life rock star coming to
their
eighteenth?
 

“What you up to over there?” he asked, trying to put off what he really wanted to ask her for just a little while longer.
 
        

“Well, I think me and Mark may have just bought our new home here in
L.A.
 
That’s where we are now, sorting everything out.
 
It’s incredible, Luke!
 
It’s got a pool and a gym and even a small private cinema!
 
And when you come to stay you won’t believe the room I’ve got lined up for you.”

“Where is it?”
 
Luke really hoped it was close to
Hollywood
.
 
His mum was marrying a rock star, and if they’d found a place near where all the action was it would be perfect!
 
Movies and music were Luke’s world.
 

“
Beverly Hills
.
 
Not exactly rock ‘n’ roll but the house is currently owned by a really big rock star, and believe me, Luke, you are gonna love it!”

Luke paused for a second.
 
It was now or never, and she could only say no.

“Stevie?”

“Yeah?”

She looked around as she waited for Luke to speak.
 
The view of the perfect gardens that stretched out beyond an ice-blue oval-shaped pool was incredible, and it could soon be hers.
 
And the thought of that was still somewhat crazy.

“You know you said I was a natural?
 
When I was over there, and I helped you backstage and everything…?”
 
He was tripping over his words, his nerves getting the better of him.

“You
are
a natural, Luke.
 
Come on, what’s up?
 
You sound as if you’ve got something you want to tell me.”

“I want to be a roadie, Stevie.
 
Just like you.”

She didn’t know what to say.
 
She knew he was at college studying Performing Arts but she’d had no idea he’d harboured any ideas of following her career path, and maybe he hadn’t.
 
Until he’d met her.
 
She wondered how Connor felt about all this.

“Have you spoken to your dad?”

“Yeah.
 
He’s ok about it.
 
Really, he is.
 
I want to do this, Stevie.
 
I want to be around rock stars and gigs and…”

“Luke, baby, slow down will you?
 
Please.”
 
She looked back towards the house.
 
Mark was outside smoking a cigarette while the realtor talked to him, occasionally pointing things out in the surrounding area.
 
Mark even looked vaguely interested, which Stevie found quite amusing.
 
At thirty-six was Mark Cassidy finally starting to grow up?
 
“So, you want to be a roadie?
 
You want to live in this crazy world of mine?
 
Are you sure about that?
 
Really
sure?
 
Because it’s not always as much fun as it may look, and it certainly isn’t glamorous.
 
Not behind the scenes.
 
It can be bloody hard work.
 
Late nights, early mornings, sometimes no real sleep for days on end.
 
It’s a tough job, Luke.”

“I’m really sure.
 
I’ve never been more sure about anything.
 
I’ve thought about it a lot, Stevie, I really have.”

She sighed, leaning back on the lounger.
 
He was a sensible boy; she knew he meant it when he said he’d thought about it.
 
So she believed him.

“Ok.
 
Well, you’re not a kid anymore and if you’re anything like me, when you set your mind on something you won’t stop until you get it anyway, regardless of what anyone else says so, listen.
 
If you really want to do this, if you
really
want to get started in this business then I’m gonna help you.
 
You got that?”

Luke couldn’t help smiling.
 
This was all going perfectly.
 
She was going to help him and he was going to learn from the best.
 
One more thing his mates were going to be jealous of.
 
“I’ve got it.”

“So listen to me, ok?
 
I’m gonna have a word with Colin – you remember Colin don’t you?
 
He works with me and the band and he’s over there in
London
at the minute working with another band for a few weeks.
 
I’m gonna arrange for you to go down to
London
and stay with him for a while, as long as your dad agrees.
 
He can show you the ropes, give you a little bit of background training, introduce you to a few people who’ll also be able to help you.
 
How does that sound?”
 
        

Luke thought it sounded amazing!
 
Colin was almost as cool as Stevie, but his ultimate goal was to be with her, over there in
L.A.
 
His ultimate goal was to work with Black Rock Diamond alongside rock’s most beautiful roadie.
 
His mum.

“That sounds brilliant…”

“But?
 
Come on, Luke.
 
What else is on your mind?”

Luke took a deep breath, turning his iPod over and over in his hand.
 
“I want to work with
you,
Stevie.
 
I want to learn from
you
.
 
I want to work with the band…I want to be with you, I want to…I want to be with my mum.”

Stevie felt tears prick the back of her eyes as he said those words.
 
Words she didn’t deserve to hear from him, she really didn’t, but just hearing him say something so simple - she couldn’t believe how happy she felt.
 
She had an amazing boyfriend, they’d just found their dream home, and now her son wanted to be with her.
 
Was she finally hurtling towards that last and most important piece of the jigsaw?
 
A happy ending she could never have predicted?

“Stevie?
 
Are you ok?
 
Are you crying?”

“No…yes.
 
Jesus, Luke, finding you must have woken my hormones up.
 
I’m fine, really.
 
It’s just…ok, listen.
 
You want to work with me, right?”

“Right.
 
Are you sure you’re ok?
 
Have I upset you?”

“No, baby, of course you haven’t upset me.
 
Completely the opposite, in fact.
 
So, if you want to work with me and learn from me then you’re gonna have to live near me so…look, I’m gonna have to talk to your dad about this remember, and he might not agree to it, you have to realise that, but,
if
he’s ok with it – and that’s a big ‘if’ Luke – but if he’s ok with it, how do you feel about moving to L.A.?”

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

“Angus…glad you could find the time to see me.
 
I know you’re very busy.”

Angus closed the door of Daniel’s office behind him, putting his briefcase down on the sideboard by the door.

“I was on my way to a meeting.
 
Is it urgent?”

“You could say that.”
 
Daniel leant forward, staying seated behind his desk, clasping his hands together in front of him.
 
“Did you talk to Stevie?
 
While we were together I mean?
 
Did you…I don’t know if threatened is the right word but, did you warn her off, shall we say?”

“Did
she
tell you that?”

“I just want to know what you said to her, Angus.
 
I want to know if you deliberately set out to ruin what we had, because we could have protected her, you know that.
 
We could have kept her past a secret…”

“It would have come out eventually, Daniel.”

“No, Angus.
 
We could have protected her.”

“I did it as your friend, Daniel.
 
I care about you, you’d just become Prime Minister…she wasn’t right for you…”

“And what gave
you
– what gave
anybody
the right to make that decision
for
me?”
 
Daniel stood up, walking around the front of his desk, leaning back against it and folding his arms as he looked at his Deputy.
 
“I loved her, Angus.
 
Like you will never understand, I loved that woman.
 
But you took it upon yourself to take control of my life and I’m not sure I can ever forgive you for that.”

“I did it for all the right reasons, Daniel.
 
Samantha was the one who should have been with you; she was the one who could have helped you…”

“Helped me?
 
With my career?
 
Is that what you mean?
 
Because, you see, I don’t really
want
any help in that department.
 
I actually believe I’m more than capable of handling all of that by myself.
 
No, what I really wanted was someone I could come home to after a day of God knows what, after trips to heaven knows where.
 
I wanted someone who could take my mind off it all, not someone to discuss the events of the day with, not someone who’s going to make me go over everything all over again.
 
That’s
what I wanted.
 
Not someone who could
help
me with it all.
 
Stevie, she…she took my mind off everything, Angus.
 
She gave me that release, that escape, and I really needed that.
 
I really needed
her
.
 
But you made sure that could never happen.”

“She wasn’t fitting in.
 
She admitted that herself, didn’t she?
 
It would have ended
without
my help.”

“But you never gave us the chance to find out otherwise, did you?
 
Maybe we could have worked through it if that was all we had standing in our way, but everything else…
that
became a problem.
 
That put the seal on it all, and that was because of you.
 
Nobody else.
 
So I’d like you to go please, Angus.”

Angus looked at him, narrowing his eyes.
 
“Go?”

Daniel’s expression was stoic, emotionless.
 
“I’d like you to leave my cabinet.
 
Call it by mutual consent.”

“You don’t mean that, you’re still…”

“Fucking angry, Angus, that’s what I am.
 
The official statement I’m going to release will say you left to concentrate on back bench politics.
 
You want to spend more time with your family.
 
A nice little cliché but it always goes down well.
 
And I’d like this to happen with immediate effect.
 
After today you will be neither a part of my cabinet, or my team.”

“This is ridiculous, Daniel.
 
You’re not thinking straight.”

“Do you know something Angus?
 
For the first time in months things have never been clearer.”
 
Daniel stared at Angus, one last look just to let him know who was really in control here.
 
“Now, I trust you can find your own way out.”

And with that, Daniel turned away, dismissing Angus without another word being spoken.
 
And there wasn’t a thing Angus could do about it.

***

The sun beat down on the
Beverly Hills
home of Mark Cassidy and Stevie Stone on the day of their rock star wedding.
 
Bikers mixed with rock stars outside in the grounds as loud music thumped out of huge speakers situated all around the gardens.
 
A large and imposing stage had been set up for gigs that were going to be played later on in the evening, several bars were housed in various marquees, motorbikes were strewn all over the place and barbeques were being fired up everywhere you looked.