how much she’s grown already. She looks more like a young lady than the bouncing four-year-old I saw at Christmas. “Bella! When did you get so big?” I say, unable to keep the astonishment from my voice. “Hi, Sadie Lee!” I can hear Sadie Lee’s warm laugh in the background as she gently pulls Bella away from the screen.
“Now, honey, Noah and Penny can see us much better when we’re sitting down nicely,” she says in her slow Southern drawl. Then she turns her twinkling brown eyes—the Flynn family trait—on me. “How is Berlin, my two shining stars?”
“I’m just about to hit the stage, G-ma!” says Noah.
“That’s great, Noah!” But then Sadie Lee’s eyes fill with concern. “Penny, I heard about what happened in Brighton. Are you being looked after now?”
My cheeks turn pink and I nod vigorously. Noah pulls me tight towards him with his free hand, the other one still holding the phone at arm’s length. “Penny’s going to sit just on the side of the stage and stream my set for you, so I’ll know all my favourite girls are watching.”
Sadie Lee laughs. “Why, Noah, I don’t think I’ve been called a girl for at least thirty years!”
He winks. “You know what I mean.” He looks up as Dean calls his name. He passes the phone to me, blows Sadie Lee and Bella a kiss, and kisses me on the cheek for real, then runs out to join the rest of his band.
I’m left holding the phone and, for a moment, I’m flustered. But then I stare straight into the friendly gazes of Sadie Lee and Bella and I remember that I have a job to do.
“Did you bring Princess Autumn with you?” asks Bella.
“Princess Autumn had to stay at my house, Bells—I didn’t want to bring her on tour in case she got lost!”
Bella nods sagely. “Oh, good. I don’t think she would like being on tour. It’s too busy for the princess.”
“I know what you mean,” I say with a bigger sigh than I intend.
Bella smiles and disappears off to find one of her toys to show me. Sadie Lee’s eyebrows have risen so high that I feel the need to explain: “I just don’t want to be a burden on Noah and Dean and everyone else . . .”
Sadie Lee slowly shakes her head. “Now you listen to me, honey. I know something very important that you might not realize: Noah needs you there as much as you need him. I promise you that. I’m glad you’re there looking after him—not the other way around.”
“But Dean—”
“Oh, don’t worry about him, darling. Dean is there to work for you both , and if he isn’t doing his job he’s going to have me to answer to.”
“Thanks, Sadie Lee.” I hear the roar of the crowd and Ileap to my feet. I feel a surge of excitement and am so excited to have the chance to press the reset button on my experience of Noah’s set. “Here we go, ladies!” I say to the screen.
I jog to the side of the stage, where Noah is waiting, jumping from foot to foot, pumping himself up. When he sees me, his face lights up with a huge smile, and I make sure the camera on the phone is pointed straight at him so Sadie Lee and Bella have a great view.
“OK, I’ve had my friend Jake place these boxes here so you can sit and see from the wings.” He lifts me up onto the boxes just as the lights dim, ready for his onstage appearance.
“Good luck,” I whisper in his ear, and he waves to Sadie Lee and Bella on the phone. Then, the confident, rock-god-tastic boy I know takes a deep breath and walks out onto the stage.
Chapter Eighteen
I’m grateful that I have the distraction of making sure Sadie Lee and Bella see the whole show, because any nerves I might have had completely disappear. I realize that I know all the words to every song in Noah’s set by heart, but it’s incredible to hear the audience joining in on the big choruses.
“Hey, guys,” he says to the crowd, after forty-five minutes of energetic performance. “This is my last song.” He’s forced to pause for a moment while the
“Now, honey, Noah and Penny can see us much better when we’re sitting down nicely,” she says in her slow Southern drawl. Then she turns her twinkling brown eyes—the Flynn family trait—on me. “How is Berlin, my two shining stars?”
“I’m just about to hit the stage, G-ma!” says Noah.
“That’s great, Noah!” But then Sadie Lee’s eyes fill with concern. “Penny, I heard about what happened in Brighton. Are you being looked after now?”
My cheeks turn pink and I nod vigorously. Noah pulls me tight towards him with his free hand, the other one still holding the phone at arm’s length. “Penny’s going to sit just on the side of the stage and stream my set for you, so I’ll know all my favourite girls are watching.”
Sadie Lee laughs. “Why, Noah, I don’t think I’ve been called a girl for at least thirty years!”
He winks. “You know what I mean.” He looks up as Dean calls his name. He passes the phone to me, blows Sadie Lee and Bella a kiss, and kisses me on the cheek for real, then runs out to join the rest of his band.
I’m left holding the phone and, for a moment, I’m flustered. But then I stare straight into the friendly gazes of Sadie Lee and Bella and I remember that I have a job to do.
“Did you bring Princess Autumn with you?” asks Bella.
“Princess Autumn had to stay at my house, Bells—I didn’t want to bring her on tour in case she got lost!”
Bella nods sagely. “Oh, good. I don’t think she would like being on tour. It’s too busy for the princess.”
“I know what you mean,” I say with a bigger sigh than I intend.
Bella smiles and disappears off to find one of her toys to show me. Sadie Lee’s eyebrows have risen so high that I feel the need to explain: “I just don’t want to be a burden on Noah and Dean and everyone else . . .”
Sadie Lee slowly shakes her head. “Now you listen to me, honey. I know something very important that you might not realize: Noah needs you there as much as you need him. I promise you that. I’m glad you’re there looking after him—not the other way around.”
“But Dean—”
“Oh, don’t worry about him, darling. Dean is there to work for you both , and if he isn’t doing his job he’s going to have me to answer to.”
“Thanks, Sadie Lee.” I hear the roar of the crowd and Ileap to my feet. I feel a surge of excitement and am so excited to have the chance to press the reset button on my experience of Noah’s set. “Here we go, ladies!” I say to the screen.
I jog to the side of the stage, where Noah is waiting, jumping from foot to foot, pumping himself up. When he sees me, his face lights up with a huge smile, and I make sure the camera on the phone is pointed straight at him so Sadie Lee and Bella have a great view.
“OK, I’ve had my friend Jake place these boxes here so you can sit and see from the wings.” He lifts me up onto the boxes just as the lights dim, ready for his onstage appearance.
“Good luck,” I whisper in his ear, and he waves to Sadie Lee and Bella on the phone. Then, the confident, rock-god-tastic boy I know takes a deep breath and walks out onto the stage.
Chapter Eighteen
I’m grateful that I have the distraction of making sure Sadie Lee and Bella see the whole show, because any nerves I might have had completely disappear. I realize that I know all the words to every song in Noah’s set by heart, but it’s incredible to hear the audience joining in on the big choruses.
“Hey, guys,” he says to the crowd, after forty-five minutes of energetic performance. “This is my last song.” He’s forced to pause for a moment while the
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