Page 76 of Musical Games
He turned back to Donnie. ‘Sorry, think what?’
‘This is your ticket out of here. See the world. Get paid for doing what you love. Live the dream, Jamie.’
He shrugged. ‘I don’t think that’s my dream.’
Donnie looked at him askance. ‘Then you need your head examined, mate.’ He drained the bottle. ‘Come on, you’re up next.’
When it was justhim and Sam playing their music, it was powerful but intimate. But in such a big space with the ceilidh band, it was immense. The crowd roared when Sam strode onto the stage. Brad hadn’t been told they would be performing and he absolutely lost it, jumping up and down and whooping.
Jamie couldn’t help but grin. Brad was like a kid on Christmas morning who’d already worked his way through an entire selection box and the liqueur chocolates meant for Grandma. His enthusiasm was infectious and soon everyone was stamping on the wooden floor, cheering and clapping.
Sam was incandescently bright. Whether singing or talking, she whipped everyone higher and higher. They played ‘The Heart of Scotland’ three times at the end with everyone joining in. Jamie looked around, trying to take mental snapshots of what he knew would be a once in a lifetime experience. The stuff of legends and tall tales. A story you told your kids and grandkids. His heart pinched. Or the stories he would tell Liam and Liam’s kids. Without Sam, a family was a path he knew he would never take.
They all stayedup till the sky was turning pale as if trying to deny the night its closure. He passed out in his bed and Sam slept for a few hours in Fiona’s old room. By the time he woke with his throat scratchy, Sam’s hire car was outside the back door, her suitcases inside.
Zoe, Fiona and Morag were tired and emotional, hugging Sam goodbye and crying. He stood in the doorway watching, rubbing at the bristle on his chin. She broke away and put her arms around him. He patted her back awkwardly.
‘See you in a couple of weeks?’ she asked.
He pulled away and nodded. ‘Safe trip home.’
She smiled and got in the car. He stood with the others, his hand raised as she drove away. Sam Adamson was gone and his life would never be the same again.
21
Sam closed her eyes as his hands came to the back of her shoulders. He kissed her neck. She repressed a shudder.
‘Babe,’ he said huskily. ‘I’m gonna light your fire.’
She froze. What was she meant to say? There was an awkward pause, then she shook Ian off and looked up.
‘Sorry, Tamsyn. Can you just give me a minute?’
‘No worries. Okay, everyone, quick break. Don’t run off anywhere.’
Sam turned away from the crew and sat on a sofa, looking out a window with a painted view behind it. Ian slumped next to her, manspreading. She crossed her legs away from him.
‘How’s your granny?’ he asked. ‘Is she dead yet, or do you need her to hang on until you’ve finally banged Brad Bauer?’
‘bIjatlh ‘e’ yImev, Hab SoSlI’ Quch!’
‘Eh? Is that Scottish or more bloody Klingon?’
‘It means “shut up, your mother has a smooth forehead”.’
‘That’s true. I pay for her Botox. You should try it. Brad might have given you a go if you weren’t such a sour-faced old cow.’
‘Eat shit, Berresford.’
He stretched his arm along the back of the sofa.
‘I’m going to be kissing shit in a minute,’ he replied. ‘If you remember your lines, that is.’
Being backin London was jarring. She’d lost her mojo and even the ability to fake it. Her flat was too quiet and lonely and the set ofElm Tree Lanetoo busy and loud. Sam missed the distant rumble of Morag’s snoring, her soft hugs and her laughter. She missed Zoe and Fiona. But most of all, she missed Jamie.
It was a pain she tried to ignore. They had no future. She was an actress and he was an electrician. Her life was in London and his was in the Highlands of Scotland. After they’d recorded the music for Brad, they’d nowhere else to go together. What was the point in even thinking about him?
Still, she kept checking her phone for messages. She’d rung Jamie’s boss and explained who she was and that she’d pretended to be a nurse. They’d actually had a lovely conversation. It was clear Gregor thought the world of Jamie.
