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‘Time to teach.’ Sophie returned her unused tea bag and mug to the cupboard.
‘Wait. Before you go, you won’t have seen this.’ Kate pulled her phone out of her pocket and waved it in front of Sophie’s face. ‘Your mum’s on Facebook.’
‘Oh God.’ Sophie took the phone from Kate and swiped through June’s profile, already inundated with posts.
Her mother, who had only recently learnt about social media, let alone started to use it, had already posted three times since nine o’clock that morning. Once with a real-life story of someone who her charity had helped and two pleas for fundraising events and donations.
Sophie swallowed a lump of guilt. She’d expected cat videos and misspelt musings about breakfast foods, but June had used her profile to promote the charity and extend her reach. Sophie sighed. Without Lulu to sing the solo, the Christmas concert may not go ahead and she wouldn’t be able to raise the funds her mother needed – and expected – from her. And even if it went ahead, their big named star wouldn’t be there to drive sales. Sophie already knew how to solve the problem and she knew she’d need to step up and take the solo, even if it made her feel a bit sick.
Chapter Eighteen
‘Mr Hawthorn.’ She could see Liam at the front gate, and Cassie hadn’t made it out of the classroom yet. She took her chance and hurried across the car park.
‘Soph … Miss Lawson,’ Liam said, turning to see her racing towards him. ‘What have you done to your face?’ He lifted his hand towards the graze on her cheek before lowering it again, without following through with the gesture.
‘Nothing, I’m fine,’ Sophie said, brushing his question away. There was no way Liam would ever find out that she fell into the brook – worse still, sat down in it to avoid being caught by him. ‘I’m sorry about the rehearsal last night.’
‘That’s OK. I know I sprang it on you. I didn’t mean to—’
‘I’ll do it,’ she interrupted him. She was breathless, the freezing air rouging her cheeks in the cold.
‘You will?’ A smile spread across his face.
‘I will,’ Sophie said, returning his smile. ‘I’ll just need a bit, or rather a lot, of practice.’
‘That’s no problem.’
‘But we’ve only got a couple of rehearsals left.’ Sophie bit her lip. ‘Do you think we can make it work?’
‘What if you came over to the farm at the weekend for an extra rehearsal?’ He looked away.
Sophie felt her stomach twist and her heart do a double beat.
‘Cassie won’t be there,’ Liam added.
Surprised at the invitation, Sophie said nothing for a second. Liam was inviting her to his house. OK, perhaps it was just for a rehearsal; it was business, if you like, but nevertheless, Liam Hawthorn had invited her over to his house. In fact, he’d said ‘farm’, hadn’t he? She pictured him sitting next to a log fire or perhaps riding horses over the fields with Cassie at the weekend.
Liam took the decision out of her hands. ‘Look, I have your number. Let me give you mine and you can text me to let me know later.’
‘I haven’t got a phone at the moment,’ Sophie said quickly. Actually, he didn’t have her number. He had the fake one that she’d given to him at the end of their terrible date. He’d already used it once, and it hadn’t worked.
‘Oh.’ He glanced at her bruised face again and narrowed his eyes as he looked to be connecting the two.
Sophie would be surprised if he guessed right.
‘Are you sure you’re OK?’
‘I’ve got a new phone coming tomorrow and my number will be different. Here.’
She took a pen out of her pocket and wrote down the number – her real number – on a scrap of paper. Liam tore a bit off and scribbled his own on it before passing it back. Thankfully, this way, he’d never know she’d given him a fake number to escape their original date. It was a silver lining in an odd sort of way. Thank goodness she’d fallen into the brook.
‘Think about it and text me later this week if you think you’ll have the time at the weekend. No pressure,’ Liam said.
It wasn’t the time she was worried about. It was the singing – and the being alone with Liam – that terrified her. She blushed and couldn’t take her eyes away from his for a moment. There were so many reasons why it wasn’t a good idea. The fact he was so very good-looking and a wonderful father and a musician weren’t one of them.
‘I’ll think about it,’ Sophie said, putting Liam’s number safely inside her coat pocket.
Liam smiled. ‘I’ll speak to you tomorrow.’
