Total pages in book: 117
Estimated words: 108362 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 542(@200wpm)___ 433(@250wpm)___ 361(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 108362 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 542(@200wpm)___ 433(@250wpm)___ 361(@300wpm)
“I can’t wait for Viola to butt heads with my mother when they come to visit,” Shannon said as we made our way into the venue for my dad’s big comeback show. “She’ll have finally met her match.”
I chuckled and pulled her close, my arm around her waist as I pressed a kiss to her temple. “I’d love to be a fly on the wall for that standoff.”
Shannon smiled, and I took a moment to admire the formfitting dress she wore. It was one of Mam’s designs. She’d finally accepted that Shannon was never going to be the sort of person to wear all the bright, distinctive colours that she normally liked to work with. So she’d made a compromise and designed a dress of black lace over purple silk. The subtle hint of colour peeping through the dark lace was much more Shannon’s style.
I’d dressed up, too, since my dad’s big comeback show was a special occasion. Shannon’s eyes had gotten that dreamy look when she saw me in the dark suit, the slim purple tie to match her dress.
There was a line out the door as people queued to get in, the historic building bringing an air of ceremony and importance to the event. Dad hadn’t performed in over two years, and tonight was the first of a stint of shows he had planned. He’d been busy the last few weeks creating his act and had even roped me into being a part of it. I hadn’t played to a live audience for a few months and was looking forward to flexing that muscle again. I wasn’t nervous to perform, but I was nervous about how everything was going to pan out. Dad and I had worked together on something big for the finale.
Interpol had been busy trying to locate Dixon. Up until very recently, he’d been a ghost. I hadn’t told Shannon yet because I didn’t want her involved. I didn’t want her having any part of it in case we got in trouble down the line. What Dad and I had done was unorthodox, to say the least, but it was a risk we’d taken together.
I just hoped my decision didn’t mess everything up because life hadn’t been this sweet in a long time. It was the simple things that were the best, like sharing coffee with Shannon in the mornings, eating dinner together as a family in the evenings before settling in to watch a movie, or teaching Zara some new songs on the guitar. Each day, I was blessed that Shannon had opened herself up to me, given me another chance, and I intended to spend the rest of my life ensuring she never regretted that decision.
I was also writing music again. My muse had returned, or maybe that was just Shannon. When she was around, I was always full of a million new song ideas. She had a way of sparking my creativity. Of course, most of them were about her. Kami and Angus seemed accepting that we were back together, though I suspected a lot of their positivity was down to the fact that there were songs for a new album.
“I finally told Lotte and Ozzie about Margie last night,” Shannon revealed, and my eyebrows shot up. Her friends had been enquiring about Margie’s sudden disappearance for weeks, but Shannon hadn’t had the heart to tell them that Margie had been lying to them for the entire duration of their friendship.
“How did they take it?”
“They drank a lot more wine than usual, let’s just put it that way.” Shannon blew out a slow breath. “It’s a big shock to find out that a person you thought was your friend really wasn’t. I still can’t believe she’s going to prison.”
Margie had been facing a ten-year sentence, but a deal had been struck. When her parents had found out what had happened, they’d immediately flown over to Canada to plead her case. They’d offered to pay back the money Margie had taken from her ex-employer, and the judge had settled on a two-year sentence, with a plan that she would be sent back to Ireland after serving her time.
I didn’t fancy her living back here any time soon, but Margie did seem genuinely repentant, especially since she’d given us all the information on the catfish victims. All hell had broken loose after I’d posted that video to my social media. Just as expected, the entire internet was rife with speculation, and the online drama had only just started to die down. After tonight, it might just start back up again.
“I think I just spotted the others,” Shannon said as she pointed to a private balcony box where Angus, Kami, and Roan were waiting. “We’re sitting next to them, right?”
“Yeah, my aunt and uncle are with Mam backstage,” I replied, directing us towards the balcony. Zara was staying over at her friend, Rhiannon’s, house tonight, which meant we hadn’t needed to find a babysitter.