Page 7

They took a path through the grassed area and up the steps to the pool. Nina paused as the inviting water caught her eye.

Cam studied her. “You can hang out here for a while if you want.”

Nina slipped off a flip-flop to dip her toe in the water. “That would be brilliant.” She glanced over, realising he’d been referring to her alone. “What’re you guys going to do?”

Cam turned to Isla. “I thought we could go hang out in the piano room.”

Isla shrugged. “Sounds cool.”

He smiled. “Do you want a coffee?”

Isla nodded.

He turned to go. Once he’d disappeared into the house, Isla squealed and grabbed hold of Nina.

Although Nina was feeling a lot better, the noise and the jolting did nothing for her head. She squeezed her eyes shut. “Why’re you screaming?”

Isla released her. “He wants to hang out in the piano room.”

Nina stared at her.

Isla rolled her eyes. “It means he wants to start tossing some ideas around.”

Nina still didn’t understand. Wasn’t that the whole point of them being there?

Isla must have read her blank expression because she sat on a sun bed and gestured for Nina to do the same. “Us working together isn’t a given. The label set it up, but he’s been sounding me out since I got here. The fact that he wants to spend time in the piano room means he’s decided he probably wants to work with me and he’s going to see if our ideas gel.”

“Okay…” Nina said, trying to process the vague manner in which the project was shaping up. “When does the studio come into play?”

“Hard to say,” Isla said. “If he likes how it goes today then at some point, we’ll get in there, but there’s still a chance he won’t want to move forward.”

Nina raised her eyebrows. “So he might decide not to work with you and we’ve come out here for nothing?”

“Well, I’m hoping that won’t happen. Someone from the label is here and will check on us intermittently.” Isla put on her sunglasses. “Also, I think it helps that we already know each other.”

Nina shifted to the bottom of the sunbed so that she could dip her toe in the water again. “You’ve met him before?”

“Yeah, of course,” Isla said. “Don’t you remember him?”

Nina met her gaze. “What do you mean?” How on earth would she have met a famous music producer before?

“He was at university at the same time as us,” Isla said, clearly amused at Nina’s confusion.

Nina’s eyes widened. “He was?” She had thought him familiar when she’d first seen him across the bar. But she’d assumed that was because he was a celebrity, that she must’ve seen him on the cover of a magazine or something.

Isla nodded. “A couple of years ahead of us. I used to hang out with him and a few others from their year. You’ve definitely met him at least once.”

Nina racked her brain. Then it dawned on her. She did remember him from a party. But he’d looked so different. “I didn’t even recognise him.”

“I know,” Isla said. “His style’s changed a lot since then.”

Nina remembered his hair being a few shades darker and more of a shaggy style. And he’d had a skinnier physique than his current well-honed form. But she’d still thought him handsome, even during the short exchange they’d shared.

“Anyway,” Isla said. “I’d better head in. See you soon, and can we have a proper catch up? We’ve not had a chance yet.”

Nina nodded. “That would be great.”

Isla disappeared into the house and only then did it occur to Nina that she probably should’ve asked when ‘later’ might be. Perhaps a couple of hours. I can cope with that.