Troy and I have briefly separated. He’s gone to tell his manager that he’s hanging out with me for a while and I’ve just been to tell Mikey that I haven’t found his brother yet, but that he must not let Claire know. He says he’ll cover for us but, come 6 p.m., if Dylan isn’t on the bus they will leave without him. He’s usually very tolerant of his brother’s antics, but the gig tonight is for a charity and he isn’t going to let them down, even if it means performing without a front-man.
As I stroll through the lobby, I spy Troy and he’s talking to a girl. I try and ignore any feelings that may or may not be jealousy. As I approach them, I realise it’s the girl from last night, Dylan’s first conquest, the one who has his phone.
She has a huge smile on her face as she chats to my Troy – that is until she sees me.
‘You again,’ she says rudely. ‘You’re still not getting that phone.’
‘Can I have it?’ Troy asks her, realising who this girl must be. ‘I’ll give you an autograph.’
She nods before handing Dylan’s phone to Troy and in return he scribbles his signature on a piece of paper for her. I am vaguely aware of Mrs Williamson’s eyes on us as we negotiate in her hotel lobby.
‘Laters,’ she says, walking away without a thank you.
We watch her drag her purple suitcase towards the door, tightly clutching Troy’s autograph in her hand.
‘Well that was easy,’ I say as Troy hands me the phone. ‘I should take a celebrity with me everywhere I go – I wish you were with me earlier, I could have kept my dress.’
‘Just make sure the celebrity you drag around with you is a world-famous movie star,’ he advises.
‘Why is that?’ I ask, unsure what he means.
‘She thought I was Orlando Bloom. Quick, let’s get in a taxi before she realises I’m not.’
I smile at him. He’s really gone out of his way to help me these past few hours and I’m not sure what I’d be doing if I hadn’t bumped into him in the bar.
‘Thank you,’ I say as soon as we’re in the taxi and on our way to Groovy Baby.
‘It was nothing. His accent is pretty easy and I knew enough Pirates of the Caribbean quotes to pull it off.’
‘Not just for impersonating a movie star.’ I squeeze his hand. ‘For everything. You’ve made what should have been a nightmare of a night actually pretty fun.’
Troy places a hand on my neck and pulls me close for a kiss.
‘I told you, it’s me who should be thanking you. I never have any fun any more, and I’ve certainly had fun with you. I’ve taken taxis, braved a haunted hotel, I’ve heard a lady old enough to be my grandma chat about self-love, and I’ve met all kinds of different women – a goth, a hippy, a prostitute–’
‘Don’t forget that skank who thought you were a pirate,’ I interrupt.
‘Yes, there’s her. And then there’s you.’
‘Oh dear, what kind of woman am I?’ I ask. As I turn to face him so that he can’t get away with lying to me to spare my feelings, I notice that even the taxi driver is watching our conversation play out in his rear-view mirror.
‘One of a kind,’ Troy says with a laugh, ‘but I like it.’