Three Words: A Novella Collection Read online

  After feeding Marsha a bottle and eating a breakfast of toast and raspberry jam with coffee, Daisy glanced at her watch. Eight o’clock. Avery would be awake now, getting ready for her ballet class. That was another reason why Daisy and Jack had forked out for the expensive boarding school. Avery was a talented dancer. She’d been handpicked for a junior ballet scholarship at the Grad but couldn’t attend because she lived in the country with her parents. By enrolling in the private school, she got the best of both worlds. And the school was more than happy to support her interest and help nurture her talent. The housemother had even agreed to drive her to all her lessons until she was old enough to take the train alone.

  Picking up her phone, she dialled Avery’s number.

  “Morning, Honey.”

  “Hi Mum, how did your date end up?”

  “It wasn’t a date, Avery.”

  “It looked like one from the photo you sent. Hawk was kissing you.”

  Daisy ignored the comment. “You liked the photo, then? Henry has left you his baseball cap too. He signed it ‘specially for you.”

  Avery squealed. “Oh my God! What does it say? Tell me, tell me.”

  Daisy walked over to the bookshelf where Henry had left the cap. She picked it up and read. “It says, ‘To Avery, the most beautiful girl in the world. Love Hawk Moon. Kiss, kiss, kiss.’ And there’s a big love heart drawn around your name.”

  “That’s awesome. Hannah will flip when she sees it. Can you send it up in the post?”

  “I thought I might hand deliver it, next weekend.”

  “You’re coming to Perth?” Avery sounded shocked, as well she might. Daisy’s trips to the city had been few and far between when she and Jack had been together, nonexistent since then. Daisy hated driving in the city. People had no manners. “Geez Mum, what did Hawk do to you last night?”

  “Nothing! I just feel … well, I think it’s time I started living my life again. So I’m coming to stay next weekend. I thought I might get my hair done. Would you like to go to the movies, too?”

  “Sure.”

  “And maybe out for dinner in a nice restaurant?”

  “You bet.”

  “Okay. I’ll see you next Friday then. Bye, Honey. Love you.”

  “Bye, Mum. And don’t forget the hat.”

  Daisy looked at the hat in her hand. Even if she wanted to forget about last night, there was no way she ever would. It was like her eyes were open again.

  *****

  Later that morning, while Daisy was washing the wine glasses and coffee mugs, she heard the crunching sound of tyres on the gravel driveway. Rex was barking madly in greeting and more than likely choking himself on his chain in the process, so it couldn’t be anyone she knew. Leaning over the sink to look out the window, Daisy saw the back end of a sleek black car driving around the corner of the house. It couldn’t be, could it? Suddenly, her pulse was pounding in her ears.

  Pulling her hands out of the sink and wiping them on a tea towel, Daisy smoothed her hair and went to the front door. She opened it just as the person on the side was about to knock. A rather large fist stopped only millimetres from her face.

  “Oh dear. I’m so sorry, M’am.” The strange man put his hand down and smiled. He had friendly blue eyes that twinkled in the morning sun and a round face. His close-cropped brown hair looked rather like a doormat on the top of his head. “I didn’t mean to use your face as a door knocker.”

  “That’s okay. You missed. No harm done. What can I do for you?”

  The man leant down, picking up a large brown paper bag that had been sitting on the porch at his side.

  “Are you Daisy Darling?”

  “Yes.”

  “My name’s Joseph Wright. I’ve got a delivery for you, from Mr. Moon.” He handed Daisy the bag. “And a message.”

  “Yes?” Daisy’s hand began to shake so much she couldn’t open the bag; though she assumed it was the clothes she had lent Henry. What could Henry want to tell her? Maybe he’d sent this man to collect the things she’d washed? He’d left so suddenly the previous evening, he’d totally forgotten to take his dry clothes with him. This was worse than being seventeen again!

  “Mr. Moon wanted to thank you for your hospitality last night and to tell you he had a lovely time,” the man relayed, without a hint of embarrassment at the personal nature of the missive. He probably did it all the time. “He also wanted to ask, if you’re free tonight? By way of thank you, he’d like to invite to attend his concert, as his guest. There’s a party after.”

  Daisy’s mouth fell open. Henry was inviting her to be his guest. At his concert. AND a party after! This was beyond awesome, as Avery would say.

  “Well, um well, thank you,” she stammered. “I don’t know what to say.”

  “You can say ‘yes.’”

  Daisy rolled her eyes. There was no question that she was saying ‘yes’ but it was such a shock. And how would she get to the concert? Where would she park? How would she find Henry? Well, obviously she would see him on the stage, but after? And then, where would she stay the night? It was too far to drive back to the farm by herself in the middle of the night. She may have felt like starting a new chapter in her life but she was positive it didn’t need to involve long car journeys in the dark. Not yet anyway. She bit the corner of her lip. The logistics of this whole thing were suddenly quite overwhelming.

  The man seemed to sense her worry. “Mr. Moon has instructed me to wait for you to get ready. I’ll drive you to the concert and take you in. Then, whenever you’ve had enough and are ready to come home, I’ll be at your disposal. You only have to say the word.” He pulled out a VIP lanyard and handed it to her. It had a large picture of Henry’s face on one side and the concert logo on the other. Daisy stared at him. This was real. She was going to see Hawk Moon. Live.

  “I need to get changed,” she said, aware that her old around the house clothes wouldn’t cut the mustard.

  The man glanced at his watch. “Not a problem. How about I come back to get you in an hour? That’ll still give us plenty of time to get back to Margaret River before the concert starts.”

  “Are you sure this isn’t causing any trouble? I don’t want to put anyone out.”

  Joseph smiled. “It’s my job. And it’s no trouble at all. Not for a pretty young thing like you.”

  Smiling at the compliment, Daisy ran to the bedroom. Thank God she’d plucked her eyebrows.

  Chapter 6

  Three hours later, Daisy found herself standing outside a large grid mesh gate. A beefy security guard was standing sentinel beside it and as she approached, he glanced down at the lanyard she had around her neck and back to her with a welcoming smile. “You must be Daisy.”

  “Yes.” How did all these people know her name? It was like she was the Queen or something, not plain Daisy Darling from Wagtail Farm.

  Seeing her confusion the security guard chuckled. “It’s okay. Hawk told me to look out for you. He gave me a description, though I have to say he didn’t mention how pretty you are.”

  Daisy tried not to blush but it was pointless. Her cheeks were instantly pinker than two newly ripe apples. Twice in one day someone other than her mother had called her pretty. She couldn’t remember the last time anyone had said something nice about the way she looked and if someone had it certainly wouldn’t have been Jack. Not unless saying ‘you look okay, considering what you’re working with’ counted. Any more compliments and she might start to believe they were true.

  Standing a little taller, Daisy asked, “Where do I go?”

  “Through that black curtain over there. Then turn left and walk straight ahead until you reach the marquee marked VIP. Georgia’s down there. She’ll show you backstage and where you can stand to watch the show. Have a nice night.”

  Daisy’s heart sank. Great. In all the excitement of coming to the concert and finding an outfit that was semi-suitable enough to wear with five minutes notice, she’d completely forgotten about
Henry’s dragon girlfriend. Let’s hope she was in a better mood than last night, though what would it matter if she weren’t? She wasn’t Daisy’s friend. They were never going to see each other again. Holding her head high, Daisy set off. It wasn’t her problem if Georgia had her knickers in a twist. Henry had invited her. She would just ignore the other girl’s rudeness.

  As she walked over to the curtained door, Daisy noticed a few other people with VIP tags around their necks. Her shoulders relaxed at seeing they were wearing jeans and tops similar to her own. Though no one had a vintage blue velvet jacket like Daisy’s she was satisfied that she wasn’t going to be labeled as the dork from the country. Paired with a simple white t, a strand of blue and red twisted beads around her neck, denims and her high-heeled boots, she looked very ‘rock chic’ indeed. Well, that’s what Avery had said when Daisy sent her a picture before leaving. And from the looks that others were giving her, it looked like she’d been right.

  When Daisy reached the VIP tent, she spotted Georgia standing in the entrance checking people’s names off on a clipboard. The other girl was dressed in black ~ it seemed to be her trademark ~ and she had a pleasant smile plastered on her face. Not at all like the scowl she’d greeted Daisy with the night before. Maybe it had been a bad day? Daisy certainly wouldn’t have been happy if Jack had rung for a lift from across the countryside in the middle of the night. In the early days, before her spirit had been dented, she would have told him to find his own way home, especially if he’d been out with his mates. It was possible she’d misjudged the other girl.

  Daisy watched as Georgia made polite chit chat with patrons, her high-pitched laugh sounding like the tinkle of fairy bells. It was easy to see why Henry would fall for a girl like that. She really was very glamorous, with a tight black Hawk Moon t-shirt emblazoning her chest, black skinny jeans and a pair of the heels the size of the AMP building in the city ~ which she appeared to have no trouble at all walking in. She’d curled her long dark hair too, holding it back with a huge black jet clip to reveal the biggest dangliest black earrings Daisy had ever seen. A sweep of eyeliner over silver glittered shadow enhanced her round doll eyes completing the look.

  At last Daisy reached the front of the line. Georgia looked up from her clipboard.

  “Well, hello. Daisy, isn’t it? How nice of you to come.” From the way her mouth had morphed from over-enthused to irritated in the blink of her lash extensions, Daisy guessed she wasn’t that happy about her being there at all. The smiles had all been for show.

  “Henry invited me.”

  Georgia’s lips pressed together. She sighed as if having to organise one extra person for the tent was the trial of a lifetime. “Yes. I know. Now, why don’t you pop inside? Refreshments and dinner are being served. Henry will be along in ten minutes or so to sign autographs and such. Please don’t expect that he’ll have any time to talk to you. He’s here to say thank you to his fans, not to hang around with you.”

  Daisy opened her mouth to say she was one of Henry’s biggest fans, had been since his first single ‘Love Like This,’ but she held her tongue and walked into the tent.

  *****

  It was half an hour of torture before Daisy got to see Henry again. Standing next to the bar while she waited, she felt extremely out of place despite the fact that she was dressed ‘appropriately’. Some of the other women were wearing Hawk Moon t-shirts from his last Australian tour and one die-hard had his name tattooed on top of her arm, just near her shoulder. They were all slim and very good looking, as if they’d been picked from a model agency to make Daisy feel self-conscious. Which she did. Daisy hated being in crowds especially when she didn’t know anyone. Though living on the farm was her choice, she had to admit she’d lost touch with the real world. She felt as if everyone was looking at her, wondering how the hell she could even afford to pay for the VIP package. Still, it was worth it if she was going to see Henry again and watch his show.

  After a little while, Daisy struck up a conversation with two girls who had travelled from the top end of Western Australia ~ three hours by plane and then another three by car ~ just to attend the VIP function. They were like two playful kittens both talking at once and giggling over what they were going to say when they met Hawk, how hot he was and how much they were looking forward to the concert.

  “You don’t seem that excited,” one of them said to Daisy. “My heart’s beating so freakin’ fast I think I’m going to have a heart attack if he doesn’t come out soon.”

  “God knows what she’ll do if he touches her,” the other gushed.

  “Probably wet myself. Do you think I should tell him about that dream I had?”

  “Not unless you want to scare him to death before he goes on stage.”

  “Don’t be such a cow.”

  “I’m not. It’s a fact of life that Hawk Moon would never, in his right mind, date someone as normal as us. He’s merely our fantasy man.”

  Daisy said nothing. Inside she was a bundle of nerves but she was trying to keep a lid on it. She realised Henry wasn’t interested in her. Like the girls she was talking to, Daisy was merely another fan, a normal girl. Not one who had a rock star for a boyfriend. She would have to be content knowing that Henry had invited her even if it was only to say thank you.

  As if by remote, the tent went silent and though Daisy was facing the other way she knew Henry had entered the room. It wasn’t the fact that everyone was silently agog at his charisma. She could smell his aftershave. Hints of the bush after a rain wafted around the room as he circulated, greeting his guests and signing autographs. It was exactly the same as the smell on his shirt the previous evening. Well, the part that wasn’t covered in sheep wee.

  “Oh. My. God. I think I’m having an orgasm,” the first girl said.

  “Sooo hot,” whispered the second.

  From behind her champagne glass, Daisy’s eyes widened at the man who had put his arm around her last night. He was hot ~ sizzling like a hotbox in a sauna, in fact ~ there was no other word to describe him. Imagine what the girls next to her would do if they knew Henry had been at her house!

  Henry looked like a different person from the man she’d met the previous evening. His hair was gelled and spiked towards the ceiling in twists. A diamond stud decorated his ear and a large cross tattoo, the symbol on the cover of his first album, stood out on his bicep. He wore a black vest with no shirt under and a pair of black leather pants that were so fitted nothing was left to the imagination. He was all ready for the performance. He was his alter ego, Hawk Moon.

  At last, Henry reached Daisy’s side of the room. His face lit up when he recognised her. That was the man she’d met, the real Henry.

  “Daisy.” Coming to stand beside her, Henry leant over and kissed her cheek, leaving a burning imprint behind.

  Two mouths dropped to the floor. “You know each other?”

  Daisy glared up at Henry. Why had he had to draw attention to her like that?

  “Ah, yeah.” She gave an embarrassed shrug. “Sorry. I should have said something when you started going on about his body but I didn’t know how to without sounding like I was dropping names.” And she didn’t know Henry that well. Even if it felt like she did.

  The girls began to laugh. “God, how embarrassing. Here we were gushing and you said nothing. What is he? Like your cousin or something?”

  “Daisy and I are friends,” Henry replied. “We have a common interest in sheep and red wine.”

  He pulled her towards him for a hug. Daisy’s pulse began to pound. Her heart started flip-flopping. Oh dear. There it was again. That spark of electricity. Surely, he could feel it or maybe she was just getting carried away with the whole rock star adoration thing.

  After a second, Henry pulled back and gave her a dazzling smile. “It’s so great to see you again.”

  The girls looked at each other, confused. It was obvious they weren’t convinced that Daisy and he were only friends. After all, why would Hawk Moon b
e interested in sheep? It was about as believable as the moon being made of cheese.

  Henry talked to the girls for a minute or two and had Daisy took photos of them together. Then, after signing their t-shirts with a white marker, he made an apology and pulled Daisy to a corner of the bar that was empty.

  Finally, they were alone. Well, as alone as they were going to be in a tent with two hundred gawking fans staring at them. Wondering.

  “What are you doing?” Daisy hissed. “You have guests. You can’t ditch them.”

  “I’ve already done the rounds besides I’m Hawk Moon, remember?” he chuckled. “I can do whatever I like and I wanted to tell you that you look nice tonight without the addition of an audience. I like that jacket.”

  A warm feeling spread through Daisy’s body. Last night Henry’d told her how important the fans were and now he was blowing them off to talk exclusively to her. Could it be possible that Henry did like her? As more than a fan? Enough to brave the wrath of Georgia, who was at the minute working her way towards them brandishing a pair of sunglasses like a sword?

  It was beginning to seem that way.

  “Thank you so much for inviting me and organising it all. You didn’t have to. I didn’t even want the clothes back. You should have thrown them out.”