Three's a Crowd by Sophie McKenzie Page A

nine and you have to get ready in your beautiful dress.”
    She stood up.
    “I’ll come too,” I said.
    Alejandro shook his head. “There is no need for you to do that,” he said. “I will look after your girl.”
    Eve rolled her eyes. “Excuse me,” she said. “I don’t need looking after.” She leaned down and whispered in my ear. “You stay here for a bit,” she said. “I don’t go on for the first half an hour and you know you don’t really like the music.”
    I nodded, hating the fact that if I said I wanted to go back with her now she would just think I was being jealous.
    I watched them walk off together, an uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach.

 
12
Missing Eve
    Over the next week Eve spent more time with Alejandro than she did with me. It wasn’t anyone’s fault. Apart from Jonno’s, of course.
    Anyway, what with my homework, our separate work shifts and her having to spend large portions of the afternoon and evening hanging around for rehearsals and performances, there were some days when we hardly saw each other.
    Alejandro, on the other hand, had no calls on his time other than the same rehearsals and performances Eve was involved in. He helped her a lot. He kept the temperamental pianist away as much as he could and he gave her advice and encouragement the whole time.
    That first night, Eve was so nervous I thought she was going to be sick. She was standing backstage in her shimmery dress, clutching her stomach and shaking.
    “Why is my Dad making me do this?” she wailed. “I can’t do it. Not with all those people watching. I can’t remember the words. I can’t remember when to come in. I can’t do it.”
    I stared at her, my heart pounding, not knowing what to say.
    Alejandro gripped her shoulders. “You know the song, Eva,” he said. “Just do it like earlier. If you forget your cues the band will follow you. If you forget the words, sing ‘la, la, la’ or the last verse over again. And smile. Smile at the audience. Especially in the bridge. Do no forget. They want to like you.”
    Jonno gave her a big introduction. He was very clever with it. He made sure the audience didn’t expect a professional – spinning this big line about Eve helping him out and hoping they wouldn’t mind hearing her for just one song.
    Eve got through it okay. She always sounded good to me. But when she came off stage it was Alejandro she turned to – his praise meant the most and his suggestions for improving were what she wanted to hear.
    I hated it. But there was nothing I could do. I never once saw Alejandro look at or speak to Eve like he was was interested. And yet I was sure he must be. How could any guy not be?
    After a couple of days I suggested that Eve stopped doing her other jobs, in the crèche and waiting tables.
    “Surely your dad must realise how hard you’re working with the band?”
    Eve shook her head. “I can’t stop. I’m the boss’s daughter. No-one will talk to me if they think I’m arsing about, not working.”
    I frowned. “But what about me? I never see you.”
    Eve snapped that I was being selfish. “It’s not easy for me,” she said. “Why don’t you understand? Alejandro does.”
    Things got worse when Alejandro’s dad turned up for a few days. He and Jonno had long business meetings every evening, then took Eve, Alejandro and Lola out for late meals. For three nights I didn’t see Eve at all after her nine-thirty and ten-thirty songs at the nightclub.
    I went to the Garito with Ryan and Chloe. I chatted to Marco and his friends. I even got into some harmless flirting with Catalina. She’d developed this jokey habit of running her hands through my hair and saying it was getting blonder and blonder in the sun. Which it was. Then she’d give it this playful little tug and narrow her eyes in that hard, sexy way of hers. It was fun.
    But even while I was soaking up Catalina’s attention, Eve was always at the back of my mind. She and Alejandro never got