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Charlie wasn’t looking forward to the conversation looming with AJ. They had to talk about Trevor and Rodney at some point. The story ran constantly in the media, with new details and speculation every day. How much longer until the press were sick of it and moved onto some other scandal? Not soon enough.
Charlie figured out it was the taxi driver who leaked the story. Especially when he learned the guy peppered his mum with a dozen more questions, and she was too stressed and upset to think about being careful.
There were many things Charlie had to apologise to Daisy for, and he intended to spend the rest of the tour making it up to her. She was too good for him, and that would never change, but he’d enjoy things while they lasted. And who knew? Maybe he was capable of long term after all?
The house in Plimmerton had been checked over and declared to be fine. There was some minor damage, with things falling off shelves, but the cleaning staff tidied everything, and it was hard to believe there’d ever been an earthquake.
Charlie sprawled in a reclining chair on the sunny deck, a beer at his side. With his chest and shoulder strapped up, his movements were restricted, but it just meant he had to be creative in bed with Daisy. Everything else worked fine.
There were two weeks until the next concert, and that was plenty of time to rest up. Life was pretty good at the moment, and he was thankful for every day.
“Hey.” AJ dropped into the recliner next to him. “Got a minute?”
“Going nowhere, mate. s’Sup?”
AJ took a swig of his own beer. “It’s going to be busy later, with the barbecue Jordan’s planned, so I wanted to catch you while it was quiet.” He paused and examined the label on the bottle in his hand. “I haven’t come to terms with what Dad did. I don’t know if I ever will.”
Charlie admired AJ’s honesty, but the blunt words hit him like a hammer dropping on his toes. He didn’t know what to say, so for once, he kept his mouth shut.
AJ looked up at him. “Shit, that came out wrong. It’s no reflection on you. You had no idea either. We were both lied to, by people we trusted.”
“Yeah, that’s what Daisy said.”
“I knew she was smart when I hired her.” He smiled, but then it disappeared again.
Charlie braced himself for an interrogation about Daisy. Whether he’d stop behaving like an asshole? Whether he’d treat her right?
“I’ve no clue what to do about Joni,” said AJ. “I mean, I promised her I wouldn’t press charges if she brought him back, and she did. It wasn’t her fault we had an earthquake and everything that happened after. I told Frankie I’ll discuss it with Syl and talk to him later. Joni’s staying with him in Wellington at the moment, and he’s taken her passport in case she tries to skip town.”
“Joni has serious issues, man. If anyone needs help, it’s her.”
“I know. When I think how different this could have turned out, it gives me chills.”
“Me too.”
AJ studied his drink, a frown on his face. “When we were in the water, I swear there was someone else with us.”
Huh? The change in direction was confusing. “What?”
AJ leaned closer and met Charlie’s gaze. “Lucky didn’t believe me, but someone pulled my head out of the water. He shouted to me. He said, come on, Rock God. You’re not quitting now. I didn’t imagine it. When I opened my eyes, I saw you going face down, and I grabbed you.”
Ice trickled down Charlie’s spine. He could do without the reminder of how close they came to dying in that fuckin’ river. He never wanted to see it again. “Okay. So who was it?”
AJ’s gaze was steady. “I think it was Rico. He saved me once before, in the car crash last year. We used to joke that he was Syl’s guardian angel, but you know, I kinda believe in that stuff now.”
Charlie stared back. “Or you imagined it?”
“Maybe. It doesn’t matter now. We made it. Still here.” He held up his bottle to chink against Charlie’s.
“Still here,” Charlie echoed. And he wanted to make the most of every last minute.
*
Juli spent a long time talking to Jordan. She wanted to explain her strange behaviour with Yanni, and the way he’d been manipulating her and playing mind games with her. They also had a de-briefing session with Aiden—currently on crutches—and Tanner, where they talked about the earthquakes.
They’d no idea if the device failed or had been destroyed. They still didn’t know where it had been located. Most of the damage to the region was caused by landslips, made worse by the storm.
Yanni’s prediction that Wellington wouldn’t be damaged was right, but Juli bet this was more due to good luck than anything else. There were no deaths, and the only quake-related injuries—apart from people in Aiden’s car—were minor.
As for Yanni, they could only speculate on where he might go next. Juli told them all she could—that he planned to go to Auckland and charter a boat, maybe head toward Fiji or Tonga. She couldn’t add anything else.
Her biggest question, one nobody could answer, was painfully simple. Where could she find Jack? He’d disappeared again, gone undercover to try to flush out Yanni or find proof of his death. And since she was flying back to the UK at the end of the week, it seemed most likely she’d never see him again.
Jordan didn’t insist she stay at the house with them, and she was grateful for it. She wanted to spend time with her parents, and she found them a nice country hotel on the Kapiti Coast. She booked a room there too. She needed to talk to Philip. She had some difficult things to tell him.
*
Daisy knew a few people were invited to Jordan’s barbecue, but the house was packed out. They ended up drifting from the deck down onto the sands, and enjoying the late afternoon sunshine while the children played together.
Jordan turned off the music and rattled a knife against a champagne bottle, to get everyone’s attention. He stood on the edge of the deck, holding Kate by the hand.
He smiled around at everyone, and Daisy followed his gaze. Charlie, holding her hand. Alex and Sylvie. Mick and some of the roadies. Aiden, Tanner, Darcy, Lucky. Louisa and Marcus. Jon, Anita, and Mindy. Lara and Nick. Kate’s sister with her husband. A tearful looking Juli with her parents. And a whole bunch of people Daisy didn’t know. Quite a gathering.
The only one missing was Jack. Where had he gone? On assignment, according to Tanner, but he wouldn’t be drawn into saying anything else.
“I’m really glad you could all come today,” said Jordan. “It’s a special day for us, and I have a major surprise for Kate.” He smiled at her and eased her closer to him. “Our wedding was a very small and rushed affair, and I wished we’d done it differently. So today, I’m going to renew my wedding vows to Kate, in front of all the people that matter, and tell everyone how much I love her.”
Kate blushed bright red. Her eyes looked bright and damp.
Jordan looked at Alex. “It’s not a proper wedding ceremony, so I don’t have a best man, but I need Alex for a moment.”
Alex walked onto the deck and dug in his pocket. He pulled an agonised face to the crowd, and pointed to his pocket, before shrugging. He was hamming things up, like he did on stage. He patted each pocket in turn as though searching for something, and then—with a huge grin—alighted on a small box, which he handed to Jordan. It was the right size to hold a couple of rings.
Everyone was silent, as Jordan opened the box and slipped a ring onto Kate’s finger. He handed her a second ring, which she slid onto his finger. The hint of tears gave way to a full-blown torrent, but she had a smile from ear to ear.
“Kate,” said Jordan, his voice ringing out, “I promise to love you forever, to stand by and protect you and our growing family, and to thank you for making me the happiest man alive.”
Tears blurred Daisy’s vision, and she squeezed Charlie’s hand. They all listened as Kate hesitantly gave a vow back to Jordan, and then they aahed as he swept her into his arms and kissed her.
As the sun slid down into the sea, they partied, and celebrated life, love, and happiness.