I followed Sam back to his car in bare feet, dodging the smashed Champagne bottles on the ground. Light was starting to break on the sleepy town. My phone buzzed and I was seized with fear that it might be Carter, but when I saw it was just Phoenix, I didn’t know whether to be relieved or disappointed. I poured out the whole story of the wild night, from our kick-ass performance to the talent scout from Beatnik to the kiss with Carter to the hurried catastrophe that followed.
Phoenix made sympathetic noises in all the right places. But while I thought they would be desperate to dissect the whole Carter situation, they dismissed it right away. ‘I’m much more interested in this meeting you’re going to tomorrow.’
‘I’m not going to the meeting. My flight’s in three hours.’
They levelled their gaze at the screen. ‘Liliana. You have an opportunity for a record deal here. A record deal with Addie Marmoset’s label. Don’t tell me you’re going to turn that opportunity down.’
‘They probably won’t offer us a record deal. No-one gets record deals anymore, Phoenix.’
‘Well, they definitely won’t offer it to the boys without you there. Don’t you think you owe it to them to give it a shot?’
I bristled. ‘I don’t owe Carter anything.’
‘Sam, then. And Richie. But more than anything, don’t you owe it to yourself?’
I looked at Sam, who glanced at me and smiled. ‘If we don’t leave now you’ll miss check-in,’ he said, and I said goodbye to Phoenix. I got into the front seat and wriggled into my jeans. Using my jumper as cover, I removed Tish’s camisole and put on my own T-shirt. It smelled clean and fresh, the opposite of how I felt.
‘Tish is going to be gutted she didn’t get to say goodbye to you,’ he said as I stuffed her clothes into the tote bag and tossed it into the back seat. He glanced at the clock on the dashboard. ‘There’s no time to stop, though.’
The bridge was still closed; cleaners in high-vis vests were picking up after the street party. Sam took the back route out of Henley and I looked out the window as the sun came up on the neatly tended fields.
‘Look, we don’t have to talk about it, but I want you to know I think Carter was well out of line. It doesn’t matter that you’re leaving, he shouldn’t have treated you like that.’
At Carter’s name, my shoulders tensed. ‘I don’t want you to hold it against him,’ I said. ‘It’s the most important meeting of your life today. Don’t sabotage it out of some weird loyalty to me.’
He threw me a sideways look. ‘You’re joking, right? I’m not going.’
‘Sam! It’s Beatnik!’
‘I’ve been thinking about this all night. Richie’s right – they’re not going to sign us if you’re not there. It’s you they want, not me or Carter, and definitely not Richie.’
‘You can get another singer. And even if they don’t sign you, you might still make a contact. And what if they do sign you? It’ll be a dream come true.’
His hands tightened on the wheel. ‘I don’t know if that is my dream. I think it’s your dream, which is why it’s so ridiculous that you’re turning your back on it. I’ve taught a lot of people and you’re the most talented guitarist I’ve ever seen.’
I smiled at the compliment, but said, ‘I’m not turning my back on it. I have to go home.’
He didn’t say anything, just focused on the motorway.
‘You think I’m turning my back on it?’
‘You’re the one who wants to be the next Addie Marmoset. This is the chance of your life. It’s freaking Beatnik.’
‘My flight –’
‘You can delay your flight.’
‘My dad would never let me.’
‘So don’t ask permission.’
I worked my thumbs through the frayed holes in my tartan jumper and imagined Dad waiting at the airport for a daughter who never arrived.
‘Turn to Heathrow coming up,’ said Sam.
I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. ‘Go straight.’
His grin split his face as the exit whizzed past.