The Rock'n'Roll Romance Box Set (Pam Howes Rock'n'Roll Romance Series) (66 page)

  
An impatient tooting from
behind made her realise the lights had changed. She set off, head whirling.
She’d have to phone
Roy
, get him to come to the house later. They would need to talk
seriously now. As far as she was concerned, this well and truly put the tin hat
on their ailing marriage.

***

Eddie had been packing Katie and Dominic into the Jeep for the
school run when a thought had occurred to him. He’d some running around to do
this morning, but he could meet Livvy for lunch, before picking
Roy
up later for the viewings. He told
the kids to fasten their seatbelts and dashed back into the house. Jane was
drying her hair and Jess was still in bed. He quickly dialled Livvy’s number
and, giving her no time to speak, told her of his intentions then hung up,
frowning. Had he dialled the right number in his haste? It didn’t sound like
Livvy saying bye. Ah well, never mind, he’d call in the shop anyway and see if
she was free. He rushed back to the Jeep and set off on the school run,
oblivious to the fact that he’d just spoken to Sammy.

***

Following Sammy’s departure, Livvy tried to calm down. All this
upset wouldn’t be good for the baby. She dreaded the day ahead. Sammy would be
sure to tell Jane of her suspicions and then what? All hell would break loose.
She’d have to warn Eddie at lunchtime and give him the opportunity to get his
story straight before Jane confronted him. Poor Eddie, all he’d tried to do was
help her and he’d got unwittingly caught up in the middle of the
mes
s. If only she knew where
Roy
was staying, she would pluck up
the courage to call him and tell him about the baby; after all it was
his
mes
s too. She looked at her watch, it
was after nine and she would be late into work now. Sean wouldn’t be very
pleased about that.
           

***

Roy
lay on his bed in his luxury hotel
suite staring at the ornate ceiling. He was depressed and felt he had nothing
to live for. He’d been awake ages and was showered and dressed. He’d drunk
himself into a stupor last night, smoked the last of his dope and been
violently sick in the bathroom.

  
Earlier in the evening
he’d toyed with the idea of calling Livvy then decided against it and phoned
Sammy instead. She’d been polite, but cool, answering with a yes and a no as
necessary.

  
He swung his legs off the
bed and decided to pay his parents a quick visit. No doubt his mother would
give him earache when he told her he’d left Sammy, but he could probably
weather that. He just needed to see a familiar face and who better than his own
mum. She’d been devastated by Nick’s death and he knew that it was only right
he explain to her what was going on before someone else told her.

  
The phone rang as he was
about to leave the room. It was Sammy, asking him to meet her later at Jasmine
House. She needed to talk urgently, she said. He told her he had a couple of
flats to view this afternoon and could they meet tonight instead. She agreed and
said come after six. He wondered what she wanted to talk about that was so
urgent. Maybe she wanted him back? But pigs might fly, he thought as he left
his suite.

  
‘I’m just popping out. If
anyone wants me I’ll be back around lunchtime,’ he informed one of the
receptionists.

  
‘Okay Mr Cantello, we’ll
see you later.’ The red haired girl smiled at him. As he left the desk he heard
her say to her blonde colleague, ‘Bloody hell, he’s still a dish. I wouldn’t
mind jumping
his
bones tonight!’

  
‘
Sharon
, he’ll hear you and then what will
he think?’ the blonde replied with a nervous giggle.

  
Roy
smiled to himself. Girls were so
forward today, not like when he was younger and you really had to be an expert
in the art of chat up and persuasion. Not that he’d had much luck until Sammy
and it had taken a few cracks of the whip before she’d finally succumbed to his
charms.

  
‘Oh, Sammy, what have I
done to us?’ He climbed into the car and put his head on the steering wheel.

***

Livvy found herself making one mistake after another that morning.
When a second customer complained about being short changed Sean put his hands
on her shoulders and ordered her to take a break. She went willingly as he
shook his head after her. She’d told him she’d overslept which was why she’d
been late in. Every time the phone rung she expected it to be Jane and had
managed to avoid answering it so far. She sat in the staffroom sipping a glass
of water, wishing she’d never set eyes on Roy Cantello.

  
Jon popped his head
around the door moments later. ‘Want to talk, or would you rather be on your
own? I’m due a break for ten minutes if you need an ear to bend.’

  
She nodded, glad of his
support.
 

  
He sat down opposite her.
‘Fire away; you’ve been a nervous wreck all morning. Are you having second
thoughts about the baby? Only you haven’t got very much time to change your
mind. You’re almost too far gone now to get rid.’

  
‘I still want it,’ she
said. ‘Sammy came to see me this morning. She guessed I’m pregnant. Your dad
called me while she was at the flat and she overheard half the conversation,
put two and two together and came up with five. Then he called back and she
actually picked up the phone. He thought it was me and told her he’ll take me
out for lunch so we can talk. She hung up without saying a word to him other
than bye, so he won’t have realised it was her. But she went crazy with me. She
thinks your dad’s the baby’s father.’

  
‘For fuck’s sake!’ Jon’s
mouth fell open. ‘Why didn’t you tell her it was
Roy
’s? It can’t be Dad’s anyway. He’s
had a vasectomy, Sammy must have forgotten. But if she says anything to Mum,
she’ll
realise he’s been in touch with you and all hell will break loose.’

  
‘I know and I feel awful.
Eddie’s only trying to be supportive. I made up a tale that I’ve got a new
boyfriend and that it’s his baby, but Sammy didn’t believe me. I couldn’t tell
her it was
Roy
’s. She came round to warn me off him. She told me he’d moved out
so that they could have some space.
 
How
could I drop a bombshell like that on her? I promised her if
Roy
gets in touch I’d send him away.’

  
‘I’m going to have to
call Sammy and tell her not to say a word to Mum, if she hasn’t already.’ Jon
rushed back into the shop, pushed past Sean, grabbed the phone and dialled the
factory, muttering that it was an emergency. He got straight through to Sammy.

  
‘It’s Jon, is Mum there?’

  
‘
No Jon, she’s on the factory floor talking to Ruby
.
What’s wrong, you sound agitated
?’

  
‘Livvy just told me you
called round this morning and you think the baby is Dad’s,’ he gabbled. ‘Dad
had a vasectomy ages ago. Don’t tell Mum he’s helping Livvy, please. She’ll go
ape-shit with him for keeping secrets.’

  
‘
Jon, calm down, love. On the drive back to work I remembered about your
dad’s vasectomy. I’ve already worked out why he’s helping Livvy. It’s because
the baby’s
Roy
’s.
’

  
‘Yes,’ Jon said. ‘It is.’

  
‘
I knew it. I presume
Roy
knows she’s pregnant and wants nothing to do with it?
’

  
‘No, he doesn’t have a
clue.’

  
‘
Really? So, Eddie’s offer of help is to protect
Roy
?’

  
‘Yes, he thought it best
not to tell him if she wasn’t going ahead with the pregnancy, but she is. She’s
too scared to tell
Roy
though.’

  
‘
Right. I’ll tell him tonight. He’s a big boy, Jon, and an idiot, but
he’s got to face up to his responsibilities. I’m not happy about all this, I
can tell you, but to be honest I’m past caring and Livvy won’t be able to cope
on her own without financial help. I take it there’s no one close, no family
she can turn to?’

  
‘She has no one.’

  
‘
Okay. Well, tell your dad when he collects her at lunchtime that I know
about the baby and that Roy and I will take over the responsibility, and you’d
better tell Livvy as well. I think I scared the life out of the poor kid this
morning and she doesn’t need that in her condition. How far gone is she? I need
to know for when I present his lordship with the facts later.’

  
‘Nearly four months,’ Jon
replied. ‘Sammy, you’re being unbelievably calm about this.’

  
‘
It’s the calm before the storm. I’m in shock, but I’m trying to think
practically. Your mum’s on her way back into the office; I can hear her talking
to my mother. Don’t worry, Jon, I won’t say a word. Bye, love.’

  
Jon put the receiver down
and looked at Sean who was shaking his head in disbelief.

  
‘Bejeezus! Is that right?
Sammy thought it was Eddie’s kid. Fucking hell, talk about tangled webs!’

  
Jon nodded. ‘I’d better
tell Livvy that Sammy now realises the baby is
Roy
’s.’

  
‘Better than any bloody
soap opera this.’ Sean grinned. ‘I tell you, Jon, since I started working with
your mother back in the sixties I’ve never been short of entertainment where
your family and their friends are concerned! But this little drama takes the
biscuit.’

  
Jon smiled wearily.
‘You’ve heard nothing yet. Dad told Jess the saga of himself, Mum and Angie
yesterday.’

  
‘Oh, I know most of that
one, I told you some of the tale myself. It caused quite a stir back then.
 
But at the end of the day your dad’s one of
the best, so he is. Never forget that, Jon.’

  
‘Thanks, Sean; he’s the
best all right. That’s why I feel guilty about going to see Angie’s family
tonight. It hurts him. He thinks they abandoned me because of him, but maybe it
was because they felt it best to let sleeping dogs lie. I doubt Dad was very
approachable at that time and it was Jane who brought me up. He was always on
tour or doing something with
The Raiders.
Maybe Angie’s family felt they would be interfering or something. Anyway,
let me go and tell Livvy that
Roy
is to be told about the baby.’

  
Livvy took Jon’s news
with a certain amount of relief. ‘Thank God for that. Although I know
Roy
will go crazy with me for getting
into this
mes
s in the first place.’

  
‘It takes two, Liv; you
didn’t do it on your own.’

  
‘I know, but
Roy
specifically told me that he
didn’t need this sort of complication in his life.’

  
Jon put his arm around
her shoulders and pulled her close. ‘Well, it’s too late for recriminations.
You’ll both have to face up to it.’

***

Over lunch, Livvy told Eddie the events of the morning.

  
He shook his head and
sighed. ‘Trust Sammy to get hold of the wrong end of the stick! Ah well, we’ll
let
her
tell
Roy
.
 
She knows him better than
anyone, so she’ll approach it the way she thinks best.’ He looked at Livvy who
was pushing her pasta around her plate. ‘Come on, Liv; eat up. You're feeding
two now.’

  
She smiled. ‘Thank you
for everything; you’re a wonderful man. Jon and Jess are so lucky to have a
father like you.’

  
‘And thank
you
.’
Eddie swallowed the lump in his throat. ‘Have you ever thought of trying to
trace your natural parents, Livvy?’

  
She nodded.
‘Occasionally, but I wouldn’t know where to start. All I know about them and my
past is that I was born in
Glasgow
, my parents were called Gina and Peter and they were both sixteen.
My adoptive grandmother knew Gina’s family. She told me that after the adoption
they moved to
Canada
and Gina went with them. I presume
she’s still there, I know nothing of Peter’s whereabouts. I just wish they’d
kept me. What I went through was far worse than being brought up by penniless
teenagers.’

  
Eddie sighed, twiddling
the stem of his wineglass. ‘There were so few options in those days. You either
married the girl, as I did Angie, or the baby was given up for adoption. I’m
sure they wouldn’t have parted with you willingly.’