The Rock'n'Roll Romance Box Set (Pam Howes Rock'n'Roll Romance Series) (50 page)

  
‘What the hell are you
doing?’ he said as she closed the door. ‘Supposing one of the others saw you
coming up here?’ But Livvy wasn’t listening; she reached up and pulled his face
down. His lips responded and he crushed her in a bear hug. ‘What am I doing?’
he moaned, almost to himself.

  
‘I love you, Roy,’ she
said. ‘I overheard Jane telling Ed you would be late and why. Can you imagine
how sick that made me feel after this morning?’
                                 

  
‘Sorry,’ he said. ‘But in
all fairness, I have to make love to Sammy occasionally, or she’ll think
something’s wrong. Look, I love you, I really do, but I love Sam, too. All this
is doing my fucking head in. I’m so confused. I’ll have to go. They’ll think
I’ve fallen asleep on the loo. I’ll call you tomorrow, I promise and I’ll come
over.’

  
‘I’m working tomorrow.’

 
 
‘Shit! Can’t you pretend you’ve got a
doctor’s appointment?’
  

  
‘I’ll think of something.
I’ll call you after nine to let you know what I’m doing. Will Sammy have gone
to work by then?’

  
‘She goes out between
eight and nine. Anytime after that will be fine. I must go.’ He kissed her on
the lips, dashed downstairs and out to the Jeep.

  
Eddie peered closely at
him. ‘
You
were a long time.’
   

  
‘My zip got stuck!’
Roy
fibbed, marvelling at how easily
the lie came out.
 

***

The headwaiter at Rozzilo’s greeted them warmly. He showed them to
their usual table in a quiet alcove.
  

  
Roy
grinned at the tubby little
man.
 
‘Alright, Benito? Menus and a
carafe of our favourite red, please.’

  
Benito waddled away and
was back within seconds. He handed round the menus and hovered with the carafe.
‘For everyone?’

  
‘Half a glass for me,
please,’ Jane said.
                                 

  
Benito tutted and shook
his head. ‘You drive again, Miss Jane? You should let one of these men do the
driving for a change.’

  
‘Oh yeah, and that’ll be
the day,’ Jane said, grinning.

  
‘Now there’s a title for
a song,’
Roy
quipped, looking up from the menu.

  
‘What?’ Jane looked
puzzled.

  
‘Oh dear, Jane, wake up.
It was your favourite way back when.
That’ll be the
Day
,’ he
said, speaking slowly as though to a child.

  
‘Oh, of course. Sorry,
Roy
, not with it. I’m very tired.’ She
sipped her wine and smiled at him.

  
‘It’s so nice to be out
together.’ Sammy raised her glass. ‘Cheers, everyone.’
  

  
Roy
clinked his glass against hers and
nodded. ‘It’s lovely, but
I,
like Jane, am knackered. Sammy’s worn me
out. Haven’t you, my love?’ He squeezed her hand affectionately.

  
‘I haven’t finished with
you yet, Cantello,’ she said. ‘You wait until we get home. I’m taking tomorrow
morning off, too. We can spend it doing whatever takes our fancy.’ Before
Roy
could reply, she continued, ‘You
have Jane to thank, because
she
was going to spend the morning with Ed.
She’s offered to take Wednesday instead.’

  
Roy
gulped at his wine and choked,
splattering it down the front of his jacket.
   

  
‘Oh shit, now look what
I’ve done.’ He rubbed at the red stain with his napkin.

  
‘Leave it; you’ll make it
worse,’ Sammy said. ‘I’ll take it to the dry cleaners. It spends more time in there
than it does in the bloody wardrobe.’

  
Roy
nodded, his mind working overtime.
Livvy would be phoning him in the morning and Sammy would be home. Shit! It was
all getting just too complicated. Livvy would be upset if he couldn’t see her
tomorrow, but maybe it was no bad thing. What use would he be to a young woman
after Sammy had finished with him? Once Sammy got the urge she was certainly a
go-er and tonight she was
raring
to
go. Her hand under the tablecloth roaming freely around his groin told him
that.

  
Following the main
course, Jane and Sammy took themselves off to the ladies and
Roy
looked at Eddie. ‘You’ve gotta
help me.’

  
‘Bloody hell, what’s up
now?’

  
‘You heard what Sam said.
She’s taking the morning off. Livvy’s phoning me about nine.
She’s
taking time off work tomorrow,
too. Try and get her alone before she goes home. Tell her not to call me. I’ll
catch up with her later.’

  
Eddie sighed. ‘I’ll do my
best.’

  
Roy
’s hand shook as he re-filled the
glasses. ‘I’m a nervous wreck. This adultery lark’s not doing me any
good.’
 

  
‘Well it’s your own daft
fault for getting involved. You’ve pinched my morning of lust with Jane to
boot. You’ve had more sex in two days than I’ve had in a week, so don’t
complain to me,’ Eddie said, grinning at
Roy
’s pained expression.

  
‘It’s not all through
choice, believe me. These things happen. Anyway, you’ve got Wednesday morning.
So what are
you
moaning about?’

  
‘The cleaner co
mes
on Wednesday. We can’t act out our
sexual fantasies in front of her; she’d have a coronary.’

  
‘Get her to change her
day, or go to
Norman
’s Woods.’

  
Eddie’s eyes lit up. ‘Now
there’s
a thought.’ He knocked back
his wine and caught Benito’s eye.

  
‘More wine, Mr Eddie?’

  
‘Please, Benito, and can
you bring the dessert menu for the girls.’ He looked at
Roy
. ‘If you have a dessert you can
tell Sammy you’re too full to perform. She might let you off if you’re lucky.’

  
‘She won’t, but I’m
having a dessert anyway.’

***

Livvy put Katie and Dominic to bed and read them each a story. She
said goodnight and closed their doors. She wandered into the music room and
looked at the memorabilia of
The Raiders
heydays.

  
Gold discs, awards and
framed photographs were neatly arranged in groups on the walls. She walked over
to the mixing desk and picked up a framed black and white photograph. She
reckoned it was one of the very first publicity photographs, taken when the
group was still a trio. The threesome looked so young and full of hope.

  
She could see that even
in youth
Roy
had been blessed with striking
good looks and not a pimple in sight. With his thick dark hair, high cheekbones
and smouldering eyes, he bore a striking resemblance to a young Elvis.
Come to bed
eyes, she thought.
 

  
She traced a finger over
his pouting lips. Those same lips had been on hers earlier, had been all over
her in fact. Livvy sighed dreamily and put the photo down. She walked out of
the room and closed the door. She’d never met anyone like
Roy
before. She loved him totally and
wished he felt the same about her. He said he loved her, but he couldn’t leave
Sammy.

  
Maybe he would in a month
or two. Livvy had a scary feeling she might be pregnant, but then again, maybe
she wasn’t. She’d forgotten her pill on a couple of occasions. It seemed to have
mucked up her cycle. Perhaps she was worrying over nothing and it was normal to
skip a period when your body was getting used to taking the pill. She wasn’t
going to bother
Roy
at this stage with her worries
or
keep mithering him about leaving Sammy either. She didn’t want
him to think she was being needy. She checked her watch and went downstairs.
Lennon was waiting patiently by the kitchen door. He whimpered apologetically.

  
‘Oh, Lennon, I’m sorry.
Go on, wee laddie, do your stuff.’ She opened the door and he ran outside,
stopping briefly to cock his leg against
Roy
’s sixteen spoke alloy.

  
Livvy made a cup of tea
and took a seat at the table. She looked around the comfortable family
orientated room, which was dominated by a huge pine dresser. Photos, swimming
certificates and paintings done at school by Dominic and Katie, hung on the
walls. Livvy envied Jane and Sammy and all they had. How wonderful it must have
been during the sixties, knowing that almost every woman in the country fancied
your man. But also to have the security of knowing it was
you
he came home to,
you
he loved.

  
Livvy had never
experienced love in her life before
Roy
had taken her into his arms. Now
she felt loved and safe, even though she shared him. He was the father figure
she’d never had. She often wondered about her own dad. What he was doing and
did he ever think about her. Did he regret giving her away? She could never
give a baby away and she hugged her hands protectively around her middle.

  
She hardly ever thought
about her mum, well only someti
mes
. But whenever she thought about her real parents at all it was
her dad she tried to picture in her mind. He'd be thirty-eight now, as he’d
been sixteen the year she was born. He was even younger than
Roy
. What on earth would he think; his
daughter with a lover older than he.
Roy
had everything in life that a man
could ever want. He’d travelled the world; had money in his pocket and still
had his looks and talent. He also had two sons who were her friends and would
be horrified to learn that she and their dad were lovers.

  
All she’d ever wanted
from life, before she met
Roy
, was to be a singer. She thought she’d found her niche with
The Zoo
, but it wasn’t going to work.
Well,
she’d
show them all. With
Roy
planning to manage her solo
career, she was determined to steal Jess’s thunder in the singing stakes.

***

‘Do you two want desserts and coffee?’ Eddie asked Jane and Sammy.

  
‘Tiramisu and a
Cappuccino for me,’ Sammy said. ‘No doubt
Roy
will have the same. Jane’s
suggested the four of us go to
Brittany
for the first two weeks of
September. There’s been a cancellation at the farmhouse. She’ll keep it free if
we fancy it. What do you think,
Roy
?’

  
‘Brilliant love; we need
a break. You and Jane especially. You’ve both been working really hard lately.’

  
Eddie nodded. ‘If we go
away then, we’ll be back a few weeks before Pat and Tim arrive home. That
should fit in nicely with our plans to re-form the band. More wine, anyone?’

  
‘When are they back?’
Roy
asked, pushing his empty glass
across the table.

  
‘Middle of October,’ Jane
replied. ‘The flights are booked. By the way, talking of holidays, did you get
a post card from…?’ She got no further as Eddie dropped the wine carafe onto
Roy
’s empty glass, shattering both and
spilling the wine over the white tablecloth.

  
‘Ed, you clumsy so and
so!’ Jane signalled to Benito who ran over with a handful of tea towels.

  
‘I’m sorry, it slipped,’
he apologised, looking meaningfully at Roy, who raised a grateful eyebrow in
response as Jane and Sammy helped Benito mop up the wine.
    

  
Roy
asked Benito for the bill, paid
it, tipped the little man generously and then joined Eddie in the gents. ‘I owe
you one big time, mate, thanks.’ He patted him on the shoulder.

  
‘Well let’s just hope
Jane doesn’t remember what she was telling Sammy while we’re in here or on the
way home,’ Eddie replied.

  
‘I’ll keep Sammy
occupied, don’t worry,’
Roy
muttered. They rejoined their wives and said goodnight to Benito,
who was sweeping up shards of glass into a dustpan.