Page 31 of Wild Tonic
“One of her former co-stars.” Parker hesitated to inform Poppy that Tommy had also been Lexi’s lover. “He, um, has some compromising pictures of her and he’s threatening to take them public if she doesn’t hand over thousands of pounds. She came to me, asking if I could lend her the money.” He neglected to mention that Lexi had also tried to kiss him when he’d agreed to help. There were some things that Poppy was better off not knowing.
“Did she show you?” asked Poppy. “I mean, it wasn’t a ruse to get you into a hotel room.”
One of the pictures floated through his mind and he quickly shook it away. “Yes, she did. They aren’t exactly the sort of thing that goes with her image.”
Poppy was silent as she digested everything Parker had told her. It was as if she were weighing up the truth in his story. “And that’s it? You’re not seeing her again?”
“No, of course not. It’s her business, nothing to do with me.” Underneath the counter, Parker crossed his fingers, hoping that Poppy wouldn’t ask him again.
“Good. I wouldn’t want to see you get involved with her again.” Poppy gave him a brief kiss. “I couldn’t compete.” She stood up again and headed towards the door. “I’ll see you upstairs.”
When she had gone, Parker slid his phone out of his pocket. There were a couple of messages. One from Nate, thanking him for the chat earlier and one from Lexi, telling him she had arranged to meet Tommy and would he come with her as back up.
He tapped his chin with his finger. He didn’t like lying to Poppy.
Some things she was better off not knowing.
Chapter Twenty
The cityscape gave way to rolling hills as the train made its way along the route towards Westbourne. Nate spent most of the journey staring out of the window, trying to stay awake. The band had pretty much been up all night to get one last track down properly. He had barely slept.
There was a small part of him that wished he’d declined Clem’s offer now.
He could have done with a couple of days chilling out at home
His idea of music festivals was more in line with the Wilde Park Festival or Download or even Reading. Not some tiny town festival with about four acts that no-one had ever heard of. Then he told himself to put it into perspective. Everyone had to start somewhere and if he thought back to some of the places Blood Stone Riot played before they scored the deal with Numb Records, the crowds amounted to little more than a couple of friends and the stalwart drinkers who always went to the pub on a Wednesday, regardless of what entertainment was on.
Nate turned his mind back to the present and Clem waiting for him. He barely knew any of Clem’s friends and he was pretty sure that she’d mentioned her ex was going to be there. Even though she’d reassured him that there was nothing between them anymore, being in an unfamiliar place with a bunch of people much younger than him had him jigging his legs up and down, his fingers beating out a fast tune on his knees.
Clem and another girl he vaguely recognised were waiting at the station for him. He grinned wide as soon as he saw her.
“Nate!” Clem threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck.
“I see you missed me then, babe.” Nate hugged her back, his hands sliding down around her arse.
“Ugh, please! Some of us singletons don’t want to witness a love fest.” The other girl pretended to stick her fingers down her throat. “I’m Leona, by the way.”
“Hi, Leona, nice to meet you. Clem talks about you all the time.” He let go of Clem and went over to Leona, kissing her on both cheeks.
“Not as much as she talks about you.” Leona rolled her eyes. “Can we go back to the house now? I’m dying for a drink.”
Clem led the way to the car. Nate tossed his bags into the boot and settled into the backseat, leaving the girls up front. Even if he wanted to make polite conversation, he was tired enough that he couldn’t string a coherent sentence together. With the sun beating through the window, he closed his eyes and drifted off.
Nate was awoken by the car pulling to a sharp stop. He blinked, slowly getting his bearings. His mouth almost dropped open as he took in the building in front of him. The three-storey period house with its sweeping driveway looked even bigger The Blacker Lodge, and had stunning views over the river. Nate almost pinched himself.
“Pretty nice, huh?” asked Clem, as she opened the boot and hefted his stuff out. “Welcome to Waterfront Lodge!”
Nate shaded his eyes from the sun and let out a low whistle. “I hope you’ve nabbed us the best room.”
“Of course!”
He followed Clem and Leona inside into the impressive entrance hall that went right up to the roof, a chandelier hanging from the ceiling.
“We’re going to go upstairs for a while,” Clem told Leona. “Tell the others we’ll be down later.”
Their room was on the second floor, overlooking the river. A huge wrought iron king size bedstead dominated the room. There were two large, comfy-looking armchairs angled by the window to take full advantage of the impressive vista, a large dresser and ensuite with a claw foot bath and separate waterfall shower. Nate’s body ached at the thought of standing underneath the cascades.
As he looked out of the window, Clem came up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist, moulding her body to his. She placed a trail of featherlight kisses along his shoulder blades, coming to rest at the back of his neck.
