Page 95 of The Last Love Song
Silence hung between them, broken by a sudden roar and surge of applause from the room outside. Finally, Sorcha made a move towards the door. ‘Well, I must go back.’
‘Of course. Well now, it’s nice to see you again.’
‘Yes. You look good, Helen,’ Sorcha said, trying to avoid gritting her teeth.
‘Thank you. You do too. I think we’ve all changed a lot since Ballymore.’
‘Yes. Con and I are married.’
‘I heard. Congratulations to you both.’
‘You heard?’ Sorcha could not hide her surprise.
‘It’s amazing what a small town London can be. And life is full of coincidences, isn’t it?’
‘Yes. Well, goodbye, Helen.’
‘Goodbye, Sorcha. I’m sure I’ll be seeing you again.’ Helen offered her a smile that seemed to exude genuine warmth. Given the last time the women had seen each other Sorcha had been ready to strangle Helen, she was somewhat taken aback.
Offering Helen a stilted smile in return, Sorcha hurriedly left the ladies’.
She arrived back at the table desperate to speak to Con, but he’d been surrounded by a television crew.
‘Great news, Sorcha.’ Freddy caught her by the arm. ‘We’ve just heard on the grapevine that the single’s gone to number one, although it won’t be confirmed till tomorrow.’
Sorcha tried to collect herself. ‘That’s wonderful, Freddy.’
‘It is, isn’t it?’ he said smugly. ‘Con and Todd can take most of the credit for penning such a great ballad. In a few moments I’m going to get the boys to sing. Then the night is yours.’
‘Sorcha, Sorcha, isn’t it grand?!’
Con was by her side. The television crew had moved on to Todd.
‘Yes, it is, Con. Grand.’ Sorcha’s attention had been caught by the sight of Helen McCarthy being guided through the crowd by Brad towards their table. ‘Con, look. Look who it is! I just met her in the loo. I told you I thought I’d seen her in Carnaby Street.’
Con followed Sorcha’s gaze. His elation was replaced by nerves.
‘Jesus, Mary and Joseph,’ he whispered.
They watched transfixed as Brad and Helen arrived by their side.
‘Con, Sorcha, can I introduce you to Helen McCarthy?’
‘As a matter of fact, Brad, the three of us have met before. Nice to see you again, Con, and congratulations,’ Helen interjected.
‘Thanks, Helen,’ Con managed. ‘And, er, how exactly do you fit into this scene?’
‘Oh, didn’t you know? Helen’s the other director of Metropolitan,’ said Brad. Con’s eyes nearly extricated themselves from their sockets. ‘She looks after the financial side. We don’t let her out of her cubbyhole upstairs very often, so that’s probably why you’ve never met! I suppose you could say she’s the power behind the throne. Be nice to her,’ Brad warned, half jokingly. ‘She’s the one that holds the purse strings.’
‘Yes. Be nice to me, Con.’ The words were said with a smile, but Helen’s eyes were fixed on him.
‘Have you met the rest of the band?’ Brad asked.
Helen shook her head. ‘No, I don’t believe I have.’
‘Come on then, let’s remedy that.’
Helen held out her hand to Con. ‘It looks like we’ll be having quite a bit to do with each other in the future, Con. I look forward to it.’
