Jason gave her a broad smile. ‘Yeah. Should have mentioned it before, shouldn’t I?’ He gave her a squeeze. ‘Does that mean you’re on for an official collab?’
‘Let me sleep on it.’ Bella turned to him. ‘Do you mind if I mix up the set a little bit? I’ve got this new song I want to try out.’
Jason tipped the brim of his hat. ‘Be my guest. I’m off for a quick pint before we get mobbed by hordes of adoring fans.’ And with that, and a cheeky grin, he left the stage.
‘Thank you so much,’ Bella said as she turned back to the crowd. ‘I’m so grateful to you all for coming out tonight to support me, and the Purrfect Paws Rescue Centre. I know the centre, and its charity shop, have been a huge part of this village for so long, and it means a lot to me, personally, that you’ve put your hands in your pockets and donated to make sure it can keep going for longer. I’d like to quieten things down now, with a new song I wrote very recently.’
Cheers roared around the pub’s garden again, and Bella waited for them to die down before she spoke. ‘Those of you who followed me will also know that I stepped away from music a fair few years ago. Sometimes, the dreams you have when you start a career don’t always pan out the way you expect. I had a good following, but not quite good enough to keep me on the road and writing music. But when Purrfect Paws was in danger of closing, it was the motivation I needed to give it one last go. There may not be any more gigs after this, but I’ve loved every minute of this one. And so, here’s my gift to you for coming tonight.’ She paused and looked out at the sea of expectant faces. She could see Noah’s face, and nodded very faintly in his direction. ‘It’s a bit rough around the edges, but I’ve called it “Real Love”.’
Taking a deep breath, and sitting back down on her stool, Bella reached for her guitar.
You told me that this was real love,
You held my hand in yours all night,
We took our chances, went against the odds
And now I won’t give up the fight.
I held you close as you broke down in tears,
We held each other for all time,
I knew that this would be the make or break of me,
But then our feelings crossed the line.
Real love, oh baby,
this is real love.
But do you feel love,
oh baby, do you feel love?
I need it real, love…
A hush descended across the crowd as Bella continued to sing, and she felt the old, tingling magic that used to wash over her when she was sharing something new. She couldn’t look anywhere but out across the garden, to the fields beyond the pub as she sang; if she caught sight of Noah again, she wasn’t sure she’d make it through the second half of the song. But she knew he was watching her. She could feel his gaze.
As she came to the end of the song, with a final flourish of the guitar strings, there was the briefest pause before the audience erupted with appreciation. It was only then that she dared to seek Noah out again in the crowd, but, to her shock, he was nowhere to be seen.
63
Bella gave herself a mental shake as she focused back out on the expectant crowd. Three more songs to go, and then the night was over. As she glanced behind her to signal Jason to cue up the backing tape, she noted with relief he’d returned from the bar and was sipping a pint and was good to go. The opening bars of one of her well-known tracks from her first and only album began, and for another ten minutes or so, she was lost to the melodies and the music, all thoughts of Noah’s disappearance driven from her mind.
And finally, it was time for the finale – her own, high-octane version of ‘Heartbreaker’ that would certainly close the evening with a bang. Night was falling softly upon the garden and the surrounding countryside, and as she glanced up at the sky, she could see the first stars gently poking through the velvet grey. It was time to go for it. To hell with Noah. If he hadn’t stuck around, then sod him.
The cheering and singing along of the crowd was so loud that Bella could hardly hear herself as she gave the last chorus everything she had. As she reached the last few bars, she looked out at the crowd again and realised that she had missed this experience more than she’d realised. It was so good to be onstage again, and with Jason supporting her, it felt like a triumph.
‘Thank you, Lower Brambleton!’ she shouted into the mic as the song died away. She turned around again and gestured to Jason, who, looking surprised, made his way back onstage. ‘And thank you to Jason Flyte for twisting my arm to do this. Without him, and without the motivation to raise money for Purrfect Paws, this evening would never have happened.’ She put her arm around him again, and they both took a bow, which became several when the applause kept coming.
‘Fancy an encore, Bels?’ Jason murmured as they straightened up again.
Bella shook her head. ‘I’m done. But you’re more than welcome to, Jason. I meant it. I wouldn’t have been up here without you.’
Jason grinned. ‘What are mates for?’ He reached for his guitar, plugged in the amp again and then turned back to the crowd. ‘Let’s hear it for Isabella Indigo, folks! And with her kind permission, here’s a little number of my own…’
Bella smiled, bowed, and then left the stage. Jason deserved his turn in the spotlight. As she did, she noticed a figure standing off to the side. The thumping of her heart when she saw the way he was looking at her nearly made her lose her footing on the paved path, and she drew in a sharp breath as, almost on automatic pilot, she walked towards him. Stopping a couple of feet away, she regarded him warily.
