Page 28 of Love Me Till Wednesday

Pete started tapping on the phone. She was curious about what he’d selected. As he drove out of the station car park, the familiar opening chords of the first track of the Sapphire Stars album came through the speakers.

An interesting choice. ‘Isn’t it a bit vain to listen to our own music?’

‘I thought it would get us in the mood,’ Pete said.

Lisa tensed. What did he mean by that? Had Mel been right about him planning to seduce her?

He must’ve sensed her discomfort. ‘For songwriting, nothing else.’

Of course, he’d meant that. She better explain. ‘Sorry. I know you said that in London but it’s something Mel said made me worry you might have got the wrong idea.’

‘She’s still up to her old matchmaking tricks then?’

‘No. Actually, she warned me off you.’

‘Charming,’ he laughed.

‘I think she’s worried I’ll disappear up here, never to be seen again.’

‘Well, there’s no chance of that.’ Pete sounded down again. ‘I’m not sure how long I’ll be able to stay up here myself.’

‘I thought you loved it here.’

‘I do. But I’ve had no luck on the job-hunting front. I’m thinking of moving down south again. There’s more session work down there.’

‘But you said you’d had enough of that.’

‘I have, but I need to pay my way somehow. It’s either that or bar work, and I don’t fancy that at my age. Beggars can’t be choosers.’

‘Where will you move to?’

‘I don’t know yet. A cheap one-bed flat somewhere on the outskirts of London, I guess. I haven’t started looking.’

‘So you’re going to sell your house?’

‘No, I’d rather rent it out. Then, I can come back when I’m in a better financial position. I should make some decent money from it as a holiday let.’

Lisa thought for a moment. ‘I guess you could move in with me. I’ve got a spare room now. And I’ll still have one when I move.’

Pete looked surprised. ‘I wasn’t angling for that.’

‘I know. You don’t have to sound so horrified. But it would make sense. I won’t charge you rent then we can concentrate on the songwriting. Just keep the house tidy while I’m out at work. We can write in the evenings and at weekends.’

The more she thought about it, the more it seemed like a good idea. After all, they’d lived together before.

‘I’m not being an ungrateful sod,’ he said. ‘But we better see how we get on this weekend first. You might hate the sight of me by Sunday lunchtime.’

‘Or you might get fed up with me.’

‘As long as you don’t spend hours in the bathroom washing your hair like you used to, I’m sure we’ll get on fine.’

‘Cheeky bugger! You used to take ages gelling and drying your hair.’

He laughed. ‘It doesn’t take as long now. Anyway, I wasn’t that bad.’

‘I think you’ll find you were. You’ll have your own en-suite, so we can both spend as long we like without bothering one another.’

‘It might just work then,’ he grinned.

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