Page 98 of Any Kind of Life

Edie pulled back, eyeing Paige before she turned her attention to Juliet again. “Do you think Paige will sing?”

Juliet snorted. “Try and stop her.”

“Oh, my God. Really?” Edie’s eyes widened.

“I’m sure of it. Maybe a little later when you and your friends have eaten and done some dancing.” Edie didn’t know that Soraya would be joining them yet, but she would find out soon enough. She was due in the next few minutes.

“Okay.” Edie held her mocktail as though she’d been drinking them for years and turned back to her friends.

Juliet stepped away from the bar and made a beeline for Paige, Hannah, and Caz. They spoke amongst themselves, laughing and joking with one another, the air this evening electric. It was nice to see some life back inside The Hideout.

Caz turned to Juliet. “Juliet, could you send us an invoice for what we owe you? I’ve asked Paige plenty of times, but she won’t give me a bloody answer.”

“There is no invoice. This party is from Paige and I. You two have enough expenses just keeping Edie in clothes. I swear she’s grown another foot since I last saw her.”

Hannah stepped in. “No, that’s far too much. We love you both for everything you’ve done, but we’d like to contribute.”

“Not necessary.” Juliet heard the familiar sound of the security system. She looked over to Henry who was squinting towards the monitor, rolling her eyes as she laughed and excused herself from the group. “Have you always needed glasses, H?”

Henry’s head shot up. “You can’t tell me you can see who the hell is outside the door without glasses. That screen is tiny, Jules!”

Juliet peered down at the screen, recognising the face immediately. It was Soraya with her band, and Juliet was impressed by the fact they had shown up at all. They surely had better things to do than spend an hour in a bar with a group of screaming sixteen-year-olds. “It’s okay. You can let them in.”

Henry pressed the door release and got back to cleaning behind the bar. Since Paige had shown him what went where, he rarely left a thing out of place.

“Paige! She’s here!” Juliet spoke over the noise of the DJ as she motioned towards the stairwell. “You’d better prepare yourself for whatever the hell is about to happen in here. Edie is going to lose her mind.”

“Yep. She certainly is.”

Soraya stepped into the bar, and the place fell silent. Edie and her friends stared, mouths agape, frozen in place.

“Or that.” Paige laughed as she took Juliet’s hand. “She’s shocked, but I guess that’s better than high-pitched screaming. I know which I prefer.”

“At least she’s not performing. That would have brought the ceiling down with this lot.” Juliet lifted a hand and waved in Soraya’s direction. Soraya had already explained to Paige that there would be no songs from her tonight—she had recently had a bout of laryngitis and was still recovering—but just her presence was sure to be enough for Edie.

Paige beamed a smile when Edie rushed towards her, flinging her arms around Paige’s shoulders and almost dragging her to the floor. “I can’t believe Soraya is here! How did you do that?”

“Well,” Paige said as she took her phone from her back pocket. “I used this little device to make a phone call.”

“You two are seriously the best ever!” Edie looked to Hannah and Caz. “You have the most amazing friends.”

Hannah tipped her wine glass slightly. “You’re not wrong, kid. Now, go and enjoy yourself with your friends. Get plenty of pictures!”

All four of them breathed a sigh of relief when Edie rushed towards Soraya and started chatting away to her. Could Juliet finally enjoy the night now that everything had gone to plan? Damn right she could. “Henry, I’ll have a large whiskey. And pour yourself one.”

Paige threw herself down into Juliet’s office chair, far more tired than she thought she would be from hosting a sixteenth birthday party. Edie and her friends had been great, but God, they knew how to neck mocktails faster than some men drank pints of beer. Still, it had been the perfect birthday for Edie, and it had been the perfect opportunity to reopen The Hideout. Juliet had been right. This had been ideal when it came to moving on with life.

She held the arms of the chair, closing her eyes as she rested her head back. Did they really have to take care of the cleaning up tonight? Couldn’t they just come in a little earlier tomorrow and get the place ready then? Paige eyed the clock on the wall. It was almost midnight. Maybe tomorrow was a better idea.

As Paige crossed her legs, taking a moment or two to catch her breath for the first time tonight, Juliet came strolling through the office door. “Remind me never to say yes to a sixteenth again!”

Paige grinned, eyeing Juliet where she stood. “Tired, babe?”

“Tired? I think I’ll sleep for a week after that.”

Paige got it. Even though Juliet looked the picture of health on the outside, she did still have moments of anxiety, the odd sleepless night, and really…her body was still healing. “You want to head home? I’ll come in tomorrow morning and take care of everything else.”

“Yes. That sounds like a good idea.” Juliet stalked towards Paige, leaning down as she braced her hands on either side of her. “You’ve done an exceptional job tonight.”

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