The Piano Man Project Page 0,111

minute and tell him to choose you,’ Mimi said, suddenly fierce. ‘Or do you want me to do it for you?’

Honey laughed softly and rubbed Mimi’s arm. She was pretty sure that however fierce Hal could be, Mimi could be fiercer.

‘I think this is one battle I need to fight on my own,’ she said, knowing that Mimi and Lucille were both right in their own ways. She needed to pull up her big girl pants and be honest with Hal about how she felt before he made his decision, or else she might never get the chance to. It would be better to cope with rejection and get over him than to spend the rest of her life wondering what if.

‘I’ll tell him. As soon as today’s over, I’ll tell him.’

Skinny Steve heaped piles of warm sausage rolls onto plates and prepared to go out on yet another food run.

‘Try not to get paparazzied this time, Stevie-boy,’ Billy warned.

Hal grinned. ‘Are you becoming a celebrity out there too, Steve?’

‘It’s not funny,’ Steve muttered. ‘I almost blew your cover earlier.’

Hal paused, hating the fear that prickled the hairs on his arms. ‘Only almost though, right?’

‘Yeah, I only said Hal, not your whole name, before I remembered.’ Steve put the sausage rolls down by the door and rustled in his apron pocket for the reporter’s business card. ‘Alicia Caughton-Black. What kind of a name is that?’ he laughed, picking up the plate again and shaking his head as he headed outside.

‘Fuck.’

Hal scrubbed his hand over his mouth hard. He knew exactly what kind of a name Alicia Caughton-Black was, because he’d met Alicia Caughton-Black on several occasions. A reporter who loved to court the celebrity circuit, she’d eaten in his restaurant; he remembered her well because she’d made a fuss about being vegan every time and asked to see him personally to discuss her choice of dish. He’d known at the time that she was trying to draw gossip from him rather than food facts, but he’d paid little attention because no publicity was bad publicity for the restaurant.

Skinny Steve would have been like Bambi in her lioness paws; the kid wouldn’t have stood a chance of outwitting her.

‘What’s the matter, son?’

Billy.

‘I need to get out of here, Billy,’ Hal said, aware that his voice wasn’t as even as he’d like it to be.

‘You mean you need a breath of fresh air? A ciggie?’ Billy said, sounding doubtful.

‘No. I mean I need you to call me a cab and not tell a soul.’

‘You can’t walk out of here now, son. We need you.’

Savage fury ripped through Hal’s chest, and he kicked the cupboard beside him. ‘Why now?’ he said. ‘Why the fuck right now?’

‘Tell me what’s going on, Hal. I might be able to help you.’

Hal shook his head. ‘The only thing you can do now is call me that cab, Billy. I’ll tell you exactly what you and Steve need to do to keep things going tonight, but I can’t stay here. I’m sorry. I just can’t.’

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

At that moment, Honey, Tash and Nell all sat side by side on the grass outside, their bellies full of Hal’s delicious food and their ears full of the sound of singing. Lucille and Old Don had reprised their roles as choir leaders, starting things off with the opening lines of ‘Morning Has Broken’. Slowly and surely, people had joined them. Residents, family and friends, singing, humming, their faces illuminated by the flicker of the candles as they swayed gently. The parole boys moved things along with a heartrending rendition of the opening verse of ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’; they were no Welsh choir, but they moved the crowd to join in with them come the chorus.

It was a scene that burned itself onto Honey’s heart forever, and was absolute TV gold for the news channels. Troy Masters had once more returned to the site with his cameraman, and they watched as he filed a piece to camera on the unfolding events.

‘I still think you should have a crack at him, Honey,’ Tash said, her eyes on his pert backside. ‘You’re practically a celebrity in your own right now. You could be one of those cute TV couples who host This Morning.’

‘Piss off,’ Honey said, knocking Tash in the ribs with her elbow.

‘I don’t think she needs us to set her up anymore,’ Nell said. ‘Do you, Honey?’

Honey had known that her friends were too perceptive to miss what was going on under