The Rock'n'Roll Romance Box Set (Pam Howes Rock'n'Roll Romance Series) Read Free Page B

closer.’
    ‘I can’t sleep with him. I just want to go
home. Why has he done this, Sam? We’ve hardly been speaking, never mind
anything else. And how the heck did he clear it with Mum? I told her I’d be
home tomorrow.’
    ‘He told Roy he's done it to try and save your
relationship. And he hasn’t cleared it with your mum. She thinks you're staying
the weekend at his place with his mother. He says you’ve been acting weird
since New Year and he doesn’t know what he’s done wrong. He’s trying to put
things right.’
    ‘Shit!’ Jane sighed. ‘He hasn’t done anything
wrong, well – except for being a possessive so and so, always telling me what
to wear, and his mother being a pain in the arse.’
    ‘Bloody hell, Jane, that’s enough to put any
girl off.’
    ‘It’s not just that - getting that lovely card
from Ed at Christmas really unsettled me.’ Jane sniffed, tears springing to her
eyes. ‘Now I can’t stop thinking about him.’
    ‘I’m not surprised,’ Sammy said softly. ‘But Ed
shouldn’t have sent it. He’s so fed up with Angie, he’s not thinking straight.’
    ‘He’s as unhappy as I am.’ Jane ran her hand
across her face. ‘We’re both trapped. But it’s worse for Ed because of little
Jonny.’ She thought back to the morning, just before Christmas, when Eddie’s
card was delivered to the record shop where she worked. Satin-covered, with a
picture of a robin, the words, To Someone
Special printed across the front. Inside, he’d written that he missed her,
still loved her and would never forget their last night together. She didn’t
respond to the card, but from that day her feelings for Mark changed. Now she
was desperate to speak to Eddie, to tell him that she still loved him, too.
    ‘Come on,’ Sammy said. ‘Let’s go downstairs.
Throw a couple of glasses of wine down your neck and you might relax a bit. Roy will moan if I leave him alone with
Mark for too long.’
    Jane nodded, crossed to the mirror and dabbed
at her mascara smudges. She linked arms with Sammy as they strolled down the
thickly carpeted corridor.
    ‘It’s a beautiful hotel,’ Sammy said. ‘Very
generous of Mark to treat us.’
    ‘It is lovely,’
Jane agreed. ‘If you’re with the right man, that is.’
    ‘Ah, at last,’ Mark said as they took their
seats at the table. ‘You’ve been ages. How long does it take to find a bloody
lipstick?’
    ‘We were having a chat,’ Jane said. ‘You’re
always clock-watching. Why can’t you relax? What’s the hurry anyway? The
waiters look rushed off their feet.’ She glanced around the busy dining room
that was decorated with Valentine’s hearts and balloons; each table lit with
red candles in silver holders, encircled with red roses.
    ‘Choose something to eat,’ Roy said, passing around menus. ‘I’m starving.’
He caught the eye of a waiter who hurried over. ‘Another bottle of House-Red,
please.’
    ‘Another?’ Jane said as the man dashed away.
    ‘There’s not much left.’ Roy split the remains of the bottle
between Sammy and Jane. ‘We had to do something to pass the time while we
waited for you.’
    The waiter brought more wine and took their
food orders. Roy topped up his and Mark’s glasses and smiled.
    ‘Happy Valentine’s Day,’ Mark said. He clinked
glasses with Jane.
    ‘Same to you.’
    ‘You okay?’
    She nodded. ‘Bit tired.’
    ‘Maybe we should have an early night.’ He
leered at her cleavage.
    She realised he was drunk and looked at Roy . ‘Have you two had something to
drink as well as the wine?’
    ‘A whisky, while we were waiting to be seated,’ Roy said.
    ‘A double,’ Mark slurred as the waiter brought
the food to the table.
    Jane frowned and toyed with her meal. Mark was
always argumentative when he’d been drinking. Great. That was all she needed.
She stared at him, as he tucked into his prawn cocktail, and wanted to cry.
    ***
    They said goodnight to Roy and Sammy outside
their room and carried