‘This first week has really flown by,’ Danny said as they walked slowly along the wide and beautifully paved street, past a line of stalls selling the most gorgeous, colourful fresh flowers. ‘I can’t believe we’re almost half way through this cruise already.’
Aimee looked at him as he stared straight ahead, his hands in his pockets, his dark glasses back down over his eyes. ‘It still doesn’t feel real, y’know.’
He looked at her, pushing his sunglasses up onto his head. ‘What doesn’t?’
‘You, and the rest of Bon Voyage – being back together, after all these years.’
‘Yeah,’ Danny sighed. ‘Tell me about it.’
‘And me – being with you, talking to you… that doesn’t feel real either.’
They stopped under the shade of a tree, sitting down on an empty bench. ‘Even after everything we’ve done?’ Danny asked, smiling slightly.
Aimee looked down at her hands, a sudden, fleeting shyness taking hold. ‘It’s just – I dunno.’ She shrugged, unable to convey what was really on her mind without her coming across as some star-struck fan. But that’s how she still felt sometimes, and it wasn’t how she wanted to feel, but she couldn’t shake the fact that he was who he was – and she was just ordinary Aimee Anderson, a thirty-something sales assistant who’d just been dumped by the town’s resident hot guy at their very own engagement party. And why the hell had she suddenly started to think about Robbie? Where had that come from?
‘Aimee?’
His voice almost made her jump and she turned to look at him. ‘Oh, God, I’m sorry. I’m such a dreamer sometimes. It’s a terrible habit of mine.’
He smiled that smile again, only this time the killer aspect of it had given way to a far more gentle side of him. Yeah. He really hadn’t been this good-looking back in the day, she was almost sure of that now. ‘So, you like to dream, huh?’
She looked right into his eyes for a second before looking away, turning her attention to the cloudless blue sky and the sun that was streaming through the gaps in the trees above them, shining down on them in bright, golden slivers. ‘It’s beautiful here, isn’t it?’
He looked up at the almost cobalt blue sky, something you didn’t get all that often where they came from. Grey was usually the order of the day there. ‘Yeah. It is. It’s stunning. And so’s the company.’
She heard him say the words and her stomach dipped again, her cheeks burning with a brand new blush, and she couldn’t look at him. What was she supposed to say? Her mouth had dried up anyway so it was probably useless even trying to say anything.
Danny noticed how she avoided his eyes, directing her attention instead at one of those living statues across the street, but he understood why she wasn’t saying anything. Or, at least, he hoped he did.
‘Aimee… ‘
She finally plucked up the courage to turn and face him, still glad that her wide-brimmed hat was keeping most of her face in the shade because the last thing she wanted was for him to see her blushing. ‘I always wanted to live abroad, y’know? And I always wanted to live in Spain.’
She was quite obviously avoiding the opportunity to reply to what he’d said but that was fine, she was shy, it was only natural for her to be quite guarded – given who he was. And that wasn’t him being arrogant, not this time. This time he just knew that someone like Aimee wasn’t the kind of girl to accept compliments lightly – even though she deserved so many.
‘Really?’
She nodded, looking up at the sky again, twisting the friendship bracelets she was wearing round and round her wrist. ‘Yeah. Really. I’ve always had this dream of living in a beautiful little finca out in the countryside with a couple of dogs, maybe a few chickens, and definitely a pool. Even if it’s just one of those little splash pools – that would do. I’ve always dreamt of that, of waking up to sky this colour and to know that another beautiful day in the sunshine lies ahead.’
Danny couldn’t help but smile. ‘Boy. You do like to dream, don’t you?’
She looked at him, smiling too, all those feelings of shyness suddenly dissipating. ‘Well, working in SuperStyle kind of makes you lean towards a tendency to daydream.’
‘They do a great line in hair products though,’ Danny grinned, and Aimee couldn’t help but laugh.
‘Have you never had a dream then?’ Aimee asked. ‘Apart from being famous, that is.’
Danny shrugged. ‘I suppose I always just assumed I’d achieved my dream – being in the band, living the life we had back then… Anyway, this dream of yours,’ Danny went on, diverting the subject away from him and back onto Aimee. ‘Do you intend to live in this Spanish finca alone? Or is there a man of your dreams out there that you want to share it all with?’
Aimee’s shyness returned like a tidal wave, washing over her with the force of a tsunami and she stared down at her hands, fiddling with the silver ring she always wore on her right hand. ‘It’s just a dream,’ she whispered, looking at her watch. ‘Look, shouldn’t you be getting back to the ship? You said you had rehearsals at four 0’clock.’
Danny wished he hadn’t said that last sentence. All it had achieved was to send her scurrying back into her shell and he hadn’t wanted to do that. He’d had such a great time with her, today had really shown him what it was like to be part of a normal couple, to be with someone who wasn’t constantly worried about her hair extensions or her french manicure or her spray tan; it had shown him what it was like to be part of a couple, full stop. Because something else he’d realised today was that a couple was something that him and Davina had never really been – they’d almost led separate lives for all those years, and he’d never even realised. Until now. Just another reason why it felt like the right thing to do, to end a marriage that just wasn’t working for him. He wanted something else now and Davina Black, Queen of the local Z-Listers, just wasn’t it.
‘Yeah. I suppose we should start making our way back,’ he sighed, sad that this afternoon with her was coming to an end because it had sorted a lot of things out in his messed-up head. A lot of things were suddenly quite a bit clearer, that was for sure. He stood up, holding out his hand and Aimee took it, letting him pull her to her feet.
‘Thank you,’ she smiled.
‘What for?’ Danny asked, sliding his arm around her shoulders as they started walking back in the direction of the port.
‘For this afternoon. It’s been… it’s been really nice.’
He stopped walking, pulling her into his arms, taking her a little bit by surprise as he kissed her slightly open mouth. ‘Yeah. It has. It’s been really, really nice.’
She smiled again, this time not fighting the butterflies that had started flying around her stomach. This time she just enjoyed the feeling, because it suddenly felt as though a light had just been switched on inside her head as everything slowly came into focus. But she didn’t want to be the first one to admit what she was feeling. She didn’t want to be the first one to admit that a couple of hours in Barcelona had changed everything. She needed to know that he felt the same way too.
‘I’m not altogether sure this is just a holiday romance anymore,’ Danny whispered, still holding her close on this bustling Barcelona street, yet it felt as though they were the only two people around. ‘Do you?’
Her stomach dipped to the point where she could almost feel it drop to her feet, and her heart was racing so fast it was making her breathless. ‘Danny… I’m just…’
He shut her up with another, slightly longer kiss and she let herself fall against him, his arms tightening their grip around her waist. ‘You’re just Aimee Anderson – the woman I want to spend a hell of a lot more time with. If you’ll let me.’
The smile that she couldn’t seem to wipe off her face grew wider and she had that urge to pinch herself again, just to make sure that she was hearing things right. ‘Yeah,’ she smiled, wrinkling up her nose. ‘I’ll let you.’
He laughed, and she was beginning to realise that
she was probably very much in love with that laugh. That laugh had to be one of the sexiest things she’d ever heard. ‘Good,’ Danny smiled, quickly kissing the tip of her nose before they resumed their walk back to the ship. ‘Because I really like spending time with you, Aimee Anderson. And I mean, really like spending time with you.’
And those words, as far as Aimee was concerned, were music to her ears.
11:00pm
Bon Voyage’s performance that night in the Vegas Show Lounge had had the crowd on their feet. Even those of a slightly older generation who, before this cruise, had had no idea who any of those five guys were up there on the stage, had sang along and danced – and some of the female fraternity had really got stuck into the spirit of the boy band thing, throwing everything from single red roses (probably acquired from that vase that sat on a table just outside The Fontana Restaurant) to teddy bears (acquired from one of the many on-board shops) to items of underwear ranging from pretty, lacy bras and panties to Bridget Jones knickers (acquired from places nobody really wanted to think about). To say there’d been a party atmosphere going on was an understatement, even the Barmy Bon Voyage Brigade had behaved a little less weird, dancing along with the rest of the crowd, teaching some of those less familiar with Bon Voyage the words to the songs and the dance moves that went with them. It had been the best night the Vegas Show Lounge had seen so far this cruise, and the party carried on after the show had finished, with a lot of the holiday makers – led by the Barmy Bon Voyage Brigade, of course – taking themselves off to Revival for more dancing, more singing, more drinking, and whatever else the night had to offer.
‘We were on fire tonight!’ Frankie exclaimed, sitting back in his seat at their table close to the dance floor in Revival. After the night they’d had they thought it only polite to join the party, and anyway, they only had an easy day of light filming tomorrow so why not kick back and have some well-deserved fun? ‘And you, mate…’ Frankie went on, nudging Danny, ‘… you were frigging amazing! I’ve not seen you with that much energy since that night in Germany in 1994 when you copped off with those two identical twins before the gig!’ Frankie looked at Danny, narrowing his eyes. ‘You haven’t…?’
‘Frankie, don’t be bloody stupid.’
‘Well, something’s put you in a good mood,’ Ross said, draining the last of his pint.
‘I wonder what that could be,’ Andy murmured, throwing Danny a look, which Danny ignored. He was feeling way too good tonight to let any problems he had with Andy get in the way.
‘Does it matter?’ Cal asked, quickly deflecting any sniping away before it had the chance to start. ‘All that matters is that Barry got tonight on film and that performance is gonna show everyone that the idea of us getting back together isn’t as ridiculous as some people may have thought. When they see that – when word gets out, we should have record companies clamouring to sign us again.’
‘Here’s to us then,’ Frankie grinned, lifting up his glass, quickly followed by the rest of them.
‘Bon Voyage are back in town!’ they all chorused in unison, clinking glasses and cheering their future comeback success, but Cal didn’t miss the quick look that passed between Andy and Danny. A look that told him there was still some kind of trouble brewing underneath the surface, somewhere. And if this comeback really did stand any chance of being a success, then that trouble needed to be sorted. And fast.
*
‘Why’s your mam gathered us in here?’ Jemma asked. ‘I thought we were going to join Cal and Danny in Revival. There’s a party going on up there without us.’
There was certainly no party going on in the Clipper Bar, with its background piano music and more sedate clientele who came into this particular bar to get away from all the noise, games and music that went on in most of the other entertainment areas. Jemma had nicknamed it God’s Waiting Room because most of the people who frequented it were way over a “certain age” and with the majority of them, it was never that easy to tell whether they really were just asleep.
‘I know,’ Aimee said, wishing she wasn’t there either. She was like a kid at Christmas, really excited to see Danny again after his incredible performance on stage that night. He’d looked sexier than usual, his dark hair falling over his amazing blue eyes as he’d sung his heart out, aiming specific lyrics in her direction that had made her heart skip a million and one beats. So to be delayed by this summons from her mother wasn’t something she was particularly happy with either. But what could she do? They were on a ship, and if whatever it was that Marcie had to say to them – well, if it was that important then she’d track them down somehow, wouldn’t she? And that could be a hell of a lot more embarrassing than taking a ten minute detour to the Clipper Bar. ‘But she sounded really eager for us to be here. She said she had something really important to tell us, so, we hear what she has to say then we take ourselves off to Revival. Okay?’
‘Whatever,’ Jemma sighed, rather too heavily, Aimee thought. But Jemma could really play the drama queen when she wanted to. ‘Hang on, look, there’s Brendon propping up the bar again. Strange. This bar isn’t his usual hang out. He’s usually holding court round the roulette wheel in Caesar’s by this time.’
‘Maybe he’s been summoned too,’ Aimee pointed out, checking her watch for the tenth time in a minute.
‘Oh, here she is! Blimey, Aimee, you’ve really got to do something about your mam’s dress sense. Where on earth does she get those clothes?’
‘She makes them herself. She bought that sewing machine with some of the money she got from the divorce settlement, remember? She ran me up those two lovely little cardigans, the white and pale green ones? She’s a dab hand with a needle is my mam.’ Aimee looked up to see Marcie make her less-than-subtle entrance, dressed from head-to-toe in more colours than a rainbow could offer, flouncing in on the arm of a beige-safari-suit-clad Engelbert, waving to people as though she were the Queen, her various bangles and bracelets jangling like some out-of-tune Xylophone. ‘Oh, Jesus,’ Aimee groaned. ‘I’ve got a bad feeling about this.’
‘Darlings!’ Marcie sing-songed, gliding over to them, leaning over to plant kisses on both their cheeks. ‘Oh, Engelbert, sweetie, go and see if they’ve put that champagne we ordered earlier on ice.’
‘Champagne?’ Aimee asked., slightly surprised. ‘Are we celebrating something? What is it? Have you sold a shed-load of books?’
‘No, no. Nothing as boring as that,’ Marcie said, waving that suggestion away with the sweep of her perfectly manicured, ring-clad hand. ‘It’s something much more interesting. Oh, excellent! Here’s Engelbert with the champagne.’
‘Shall I be mother?’ Engelbert grinned, tearing away the foil from the top of the bottle as a smiling waiter placed champagne flutes in front of them all before retreating quickly back behind the bar.
Aimee and Jemma looked at each other as Marcie giggled coquettishly at Engelbert’s comment, blowing him a kiss that he quickly returned.
‘What the…?’ Jemma mouthed. Aimee just shrugged. She was as confused as Jemma was because, as far as she was concerned, hanging around with her mother on this cruise was like being thrust into The Twilight Zone.
As soon as their flutes were filled, Aimee and Jemma immediately took a long sip of champagne and sat forward in their seats, looking at Marcie intently, hoping that their eager faces would encourage her not to draw this out any longer than was necessary, but Marcie being Marcie – and Marcie loved to be the centre of attention, after all – there was no guarantee that that was going to happen.
‘Engelbert, darling, come sit down next to me,’ Marcie smiled, patting the space beside her which Engelbert quickly settled himself into, and neither Jemma nor Aimee missed the look Brendon gave the cosy couple from across the other side of the room.
‘Do you think he knows something?’ Jemma whispered, nudging Aimee and looking over at Brendon.
‘No idea. But if my mam doesn’t hurry up and get this over with then
I’m off to ask him if he’s got any clue what this is all about.’
Their attention was diverted back to the matter in hand by Marcie coughing loudly, an indication that she was finally ready to make the big announcement. Both Jemma and Aimee turned around to face her, waiting with bated breath for the big reveal, hoping this was going to be quick so they could scoot off down to Revival before the Barmy Bon Voyage Brigade sent the band scuttling back off to their cabins due to the weird and slightly unsettling behaviour some of them exhibited at times.
‘Now, as you know, Engelbert and I only met a few days ago, on this wonderful, wonderful cruise…’
‘You met in the embarkation queue, Mam.’
‘Yes, thank you, Aimee. I’m well aware of where Engelbert and I met. Now, where was I? Oh yes – we may only have met a few days ago but, we’ve both come to realise that we’re soul mates, two people always destined to be brought together…’
‘She’s not going to launch into one of her novel-length speeches, is she?’ Jemma asked, through gritted teeth. ‘Only, that one she made over Christmas dinner almost stretched into tea-time. We nearly missed Eastenders thanks to that.’
‘Sssh,’ Aimee whispered. ‘The sooner she tells us whatever it is she’s about to say, the sooner we can bugger off out of here.’
‘… Two lost souls who’ve been searching for each other all this time… So many wasted years…’
Aimee and Jemma looked at each other, rolling their eyes.
‘… So, when Engelbert asked me to marry him…’
‘Whoa, there!’ Aimee said, suddenly waking up from the near-slumber her mother’s speech had almost resigned her to. ‘Marriage? Are you kidding me?’
Bon Voyage Page 15
