As she entered the pub, she blushed to see that Paddy and Jen had been hard at work promoting the gig next weekend. There, adorning the wall by the menu board, was a huge poster of her from her Swedish tour, hair a more vibrant shade of red than it was now, satin dress and combat boots screaming retro Y2K chic, and the moniker – Isabella Indigo – and ‘Live For One Night Only’ with next Saturday’s date emblazoned in bright orange flamed font that clashed gloriously with her hair colour.
‘Oh, God, is it too late to back out?’ she groaned as Paddy, grinning, hove into view from out the back.
‘I should coco.’ Paddy winked. ‘We’ve sold two hundred tickets, and counting. Who knew we had a bona fide rock star in our midst?’
‘I wouldn’t go that far,’ Bella muttered. She was beginning to wonder if she should skip the country. She had enough cash for a one-way easyJet flight to the Costa del Sol, by her reckoning, and she’d never found fame in Spain.
‘Jason said he’d be in later to talk rehearsals and backing tracks.’
‘Great.’ Luckily, Bella still had digital files of her backing tracks which sounded passable when put through a sound system, so she hoped Jason’s input would be minimal. She was happy to share the stage with him for one night if it meant Purrfect Paws would get the rewards, but a full-on collaboration was way out of her comfort zone. If she did ever decide to go back into music, it would be independently. This little gig in the pub, even if a lot of tickets had been sold, wouldn’t take much prep, and if it raised some money for Purrfect Paws, then it would be worth the stress.
‘Hey, Bels.’ Jason’s charming smile beamed at her across the bar an hour later, as Paddy had promised. ‘Wotcha doing on Friday afternoon? We should get a quick rehearsal in before the big night, dontcha think?’
Bella gave him a quick smile. ‘Sure.’ She pulled out her phone. ‘I’ve sorted a set list, if you want to take a look.’
Jason gave her a wink and took her phone. ‘So long as you’ve put our duet in a decent spot, I’m in your hands.’ He nodded in approval. ‘All looks good to me.’ He passed the phone back. ‘You never know, this could be the start of a beautiful musical friendship.’
Bella laughed. ‘Friendship, maybe, but the collaboration is for one night only. I’ve no plans to become her—’ Bella gestured towards the poster, ‘—ever again.’
‘Shame.’ Jason, whose eyes were usually full of fun, looked more serious. ‘Isabella Indigo was a great singer. Seems a pity to consign her to the past. You’ve got talent, Bella. You ought to use it.’
Bella shook her head. ‘Maybe one day, when I feel like I’ve got something new to sing about, but I don’t like looking back. I’m doing this for Mollie and Purrfect Paws, that’s all.’
‘I’ll cancel the invitations to the producers I emailed, then!’ Jason’s eyes were jovial again.
Laughing, Bella pulled him a pint. ‘I love your optimism, Jase.’
‘What’s life without a bit of hope?’ Jason winked again. ‘Shall we say two o’clock next Friday afternoon, then?’
‘It’s a date.’
Jason shook his head. ‘If only it was.’
Despite everything, Bella’s spirits lifted. Jason might just be a player, in a lot of senses, but he cheered her up. There was so much to worry about, it felt good to be able to concentrate on something positive.
The rest of the evening meandered by, and Bella was soon letting herself back into the cottage. It felt unnaturally quiet without Monty there to greet her. She’d grown accustomed to seeing him slinking out from the shadows of the front garden to welcome her back with a yowl and a curl of his stripy tail. Swallowing back the lump in her throat, she tried to assess if Noah was still up. There was a light on in the living room, but as she pushed open the door, he wasn’t sitting in one of the armchairs. She wasn’t sure if she was disappointed or relieved. If he’d been awake, they’d likely have just gone back over the ground they’d covered this afternoon, and nothing new could come of that. Wandering wearily over to the lamp, she switched it off and then headed upstairs. As she did so, using her phone as a torch, she noticed he’d sent her a text.
I thought I’d head back tonight to give you some space. I’m sorry for everything, Bella. I’ll be back next weekend, if you want me to come back for the fundraiser, as promised, but I’m happy to stay at the pub. You don’t have to move out until you’re ready! X
The sheer ridiculousness of Noah staying away from the cottage he owned almost made Bella smile, but she appreciated his attempt at diplomacy. Although she was surprised he’d chosen to go back to London, she couldn’t blame him. It felt as though they’d said all that needed to be said, for the moment. All the same, as she fell into bed a few minutes later, she couldn’t help reflecting that, with Monty and now Noah gone, the cottage felt a far lonelier place.
55
‘Boss? Earth to Noah Hathaway!’ Ruby’s strident tones cut through Noah’s reverie and he snapped back to reality at the irritation in her voice.
‘Sorry. I was miles away.’
‘Again? At this rate, I think I’d better take over the driving. And the bloody business!’
Noah shook his head and tried to concentrate on the road ahead, but the endless turns into identikit suburban streets weren’t enough to hold his interest. They were on their way to yet another client meeting for yet another expensive house in a part of London where houses sold virtually before they were listed. And where was the fun in that? Where was the challenge? Five years ago, when he’d started Noah Hathaway Estates, this was what he’d dreamed of; easy sales on lucrative properties that would make the business some much-needed turnover in the early days. Now, that didn’t feel as though it was enough for him.
‘How about some music?’ Ruby asked. Without waiting for his response, she fiddled with the sound system, and the title track from Isabella Indigo’s album,Heartbreaker, boomed out of the Tesla’s speakers.
‘Christ, Noah, this is a bit retro. I haven’t heard that song in years!’ Ruby’s laughter died away as they both listened to the track while Noah turned down another road. ‘This takes me back to Interrailing during my gap year. Isabella Indigo was the soundtrack in all the clubs and coffee shops back then, and I even went to one of her gigs. I wonder what happened to her?’
Noah considered telling Ruby but then thought better of it. If Bella didn’t want to be part of the music world any more, then he should respect her privacy and not gossip about her. Something told him that the ambitious and driven Ruby would find it difficult to understand why Bella had stepped away from the spotlight.
‘It’s a great album, though,’ Ruby continued. ‘I wonder if it’s available on TikTok. We could sample a bit of it as the backing track to our house viewing videos.’
