This chapter is quite Anna centric and sees quite a big development in their relationship. Hope you like.

Disclaimer: Nothing belongs to me, except Adam perhaps...


Anna carefully took the headphones from her head and placed them on the stand. She looked to the man behind the mixing desk who was smiling and had both thumbs up in the air. She began to walk to the studio door, a slight smirk on her face as her producer stood to greet her.

'Anna, you knocked that right of the park,' he exclaimed in a New York accent.

'Thanks Brody,' Anna replied as she sat beside him.

Brody O'Neill was one of the prominent producers in the industry and owned studios in London and his native New York. Anna enjoyed working with him. Brody was the one who encouraged the record company executives to take a chance on Anna after she sang backing vocals for another of the artists he worked with. It was no lie when she said she owed Brody her career.

'This album is already better than your last,' Brody continued as he fiddled with some buttons on the controls in front of him. 'And we've only recorded three songs. I think we're done for today. '

Ten weeks had passed since she had returned to London, Anna throwing herself into the writing and recording of her new album. It was already half written before she had returned to Yorkshire for her break, it was important to Anna that she have some input on all of the songs. New subjects has arisen to act as her muse, so to speak, so finishing off writing the album on her return hadn't taken too much time at all.

John had wanted to come down and visit, although Anna insisted he remained in the north. She was working and couldn't devote a lot of time to him, plus his work was busy and being self employed, it was a better idea to take the work whilst it was there.

Smiling as she saw a text message on her phone from John, Anna made her goodbyes to Brody before leaving the studio. Waiting until she was outside to open the message, she passed conversation with various people on her way out of the studios until she reached the exit from the building. It was Saturday, and the busy London streets were especially bustling today. Pulling on her hat and sunglasses, she walked a few paces before reading the message.

Hello, just a quick message to see how the recording went today. Really enjoyed our conversation last night, same again tonight? Thinking of you x

Grinning, Anna began to a compose a reply as she continued to walk.

Hey, I enjoyed chatting to you too. I can't tonight unfortunately. Have to attend the album launch of another artist on the label. I can call you tomorrow afternoon though. The recording went great, should be finished in a few weeks then a trip back to the north is definitely on the agenda. Thinking of you, too x

She sent the message before putting her phone in her bag and then began walking more purposefully towards her flat. Her thoughts were suddenly full of John. Since she had been back in London, they had tried to have a telephone conversation at least every other day, if not every day. Although having not revealed it to him, Anna didn't expect she'd be missing him as much as she was.

Their last night together was incredible. In quiet moments of solitude, she would be transported back to that very moment. The feel of his chest hair under her fingertips, the way his hands wandered all over her body, touching her in ways she didn't think was possible. The way he had made her feel. Going back home couldn't happen soon enough.

It didn't take her long to reach her flat. Once inside, the first thing she saw was the red light of her home phone answering machine flashing. Frowning, confused as to why the person who left the message didn't try her on her mobile, she pressed the play button.

'Hi Anna...' the voice began. Anna's breath stuck in her throat. It was Michael. 'How are you? I know we haven't chatted since before you went home for a few weeks but I just wanted to know how you are.'

'Very well after not seeing you for so long, thank you very much,' Anna replied, as if Michael was in the room with her.

'I hear you are going to Tom Anderson's launch party tonight.' Michael's message continued. 'I'll be in the same hotel, a function held by the television station is happening there. Maybe we could meet up?'

'No, absolutely not,' Anna said indignantly towards her machine.

'I'll keep an eye out for you tonight.'

'Please don't.'

The machine clicked off and Anna continued to stare at it. What did he think he was doing? Anna hadn't so much as given Michael a moments thought since she had been back in London. Walking slowly to her machine, she deleted the message and tried to forget about it. Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door. For a split second thinking it was him, she breathed a sigh of relief when she realised who it would be.

'Gwen,' she said out loud.

Gwen was her next door neighbour, a radio DJ whom Anna had become quite friendly with since she moved in to the building. She was to accompany Anna tonight, and Anna suddenly remembered they were getting ready together.

Anna opened the door to be greeted by Gwen with three or four dresses over her arm. 'I can't decide what to wear.'

Anna rolled her eyes as Gwen walked past her. 'Well, we can help each other out then.'

Walking into the living room, Gwen draped her dresses over the back of one of Anna's armchairs as she turned to scrutinise her troubled looking friend. 'What's the matter?'

'Nothing,' Anna shrugged. Gwen narrowed her gaze. Even though they had only been friends a little over a year, she knew Anna better than that. Anna sighed before continuing. 'I got a call from Michael.'

'No,' Gwen gasped. 'I thought you were seeing the charming Dad up north?'

'I am,' Anna replied before shaking her head. 'Or we're thinking about it. It's complicated. But what's for sure is that me and Michael are definitely over with. And he's going to be there tonight.'

'Awkward,' Gwen replied, sitting in the armchair on which her dresses were resting.

'It doesn't have to be,' Anna said, pinching the bridge of her nose. 'We'll just avoid him. Now lets start getting ready.'


John sat on his patio in the garden, watching Adam taking shot after shot into the goal he had set up on the grass. Tomorrow was Adam's first game for his Sunday league team, White Rose, and he was getting in some last minute practice. John smiled as he watched his son, thinking about all the hours they had spent out here together kicking a ball between them. John's attention was diverted by the vibration of his mobile phone. Taking it from the table he was sitting beside, he smiled as he saw the message was from Anna. Upon opening it, a picture began to download. John felt his heartbeat quicken as an image of Anna dressed for her night out appeared. She was wearing a red dress, red heels and had her hair up. She looked breathtaking.

'Will I do?' was the message that accompanied the picture. John's trembling fingers set about composing a reply.

'You look stunning,' was the most cohesive response he could muster.

'Alright Dad?' By now Adam had jogged over to where his father was sitting to take a sip of his drink before sitting down himself.

'Errr... yes son,' John replied as he hit send on his message. 'You're looking good. Excited about tomorrow?'

'Can't wait, Oliver reckons some scouts will be there.'

'Now Ads, don't get your hopes up. You're only thirteen, there's plenty of time for scouts.' John explained before his phone began to vibrate again.

'I know,' Adam sighed. 'But I'm allowed to dream, aren't I?'

'Yes son,' John replied with a chuckle. 'Of course. Just don't expect it to happen overnight.' Adam stood up. 'Where are you off to?'

'Well, it's not going to happen if I sit here chatting, is it?' Adam said with a smirk before running off to retrieve his ball.

'Just don't overdo it,' John called after him before he continued to practice. John looked at his phone and saw he had a reply from Anna.

Thank you, wish you were here with me x


Anna walked into the venue behind Gwen as if Gwen were her bodyguard. Gripping onto Gwen's shoulders as they entered the hotel lobby, Anna peered over her shoulder before whispering. 'Is he here?'

Gwen sighed, looked left and right before replying. 'No. Look, there's the list of what's going on in each room. Let's see where we need to be.' Continuing walking towards a flip chart by the hotel reception, Gwen took Anna's hand from her shoulder and lead her around to stand beside her. 'Here we go, the Richardson Room. 2nd floor is the one we want. Michael is in the Millington Room, which is on the 4th floor. See, there are two floors between you.'

'Phew, let's just get there shall we?' Anna said, panic evident in her tone.


The evening passed without any major dramas. Anna absolutely adored Tom Anderson's album and was honoured when he asked her to duet with him on his biggest hit for the gathered journalists there. This had given Gwen time to be chatted up by one of the record company associates, and she had left around twenty minutes before Anna had decided to call it a night. She made her way down to the hotel lobby. Having had such a great night, she had completely forgotten about Michael until she saw him standing at the entrance to the hotel, pacing the floor. Anna's heart was in her mouth. The last thing she wanted was him to notice her. It was too late. As she made to make a quick exit, he turned and saw her.

'Anna,' he called. Anna closed her eyes and stopped walking as Michael moved towards her. 'Anna, did you get my message?'

'Yes,' Anna sighed. 'I did.'

'You were going to leave without seeing me, weren't you?'

'That was the plan.'

'Please, can we not just share a drink?' Michael pleaded. 'I haven't seen you for ages.'

'Yes, well that is the general idea when you break up with someone,' Anna replied before walking towards the exit once again. Michael took hold of her wrist. Anna met his gaze.

'Please, just here in the hotel bar is all I ask.'

Anna felt her resolve relenting. As she met his eyes all she could remember was the good times she and Michael had spent together, and despite the bad there were some nice memories. John was at the forefront of her mind, however.

Anna looked at her watch before letting out an audible sigh. 'Alright, I'll have a Coke.'


They spent an hour or so reminiscing, talking about some of the times they had spent together. Michael was doing most of the talking, which suited Anna just fine. Although she knew she was over Michael now, she had devoted a lot of her formative years to him. He had been by her side as she became a woman, they had experienced a great deal together. Michael was her first romance. She didn't dare use the word love when describing him. After her time with John, she couldn't be certain she had ever loved Michael, even though she had told him she did when they were together.

'And then we took the champagne and walked straight out of the club,' Michael laughed as Anna smiled at the memory of a night out with her ex boyfriend.

'Yeah, you really didn't care what people thought of you, did you?' Anna replied, taking a sip of her drink.

'I was having a good time, living it up.' Michael replied garishly. 'I was in my early twenties, the star of a well watched TV programme. And with you on my arm I had it all. I miss you, Anna.'

'I was always just a trophy to you,' Anna shook her head. 'And don't try to deny it.'

'Maybe,' Michael agreed. 'In the beginning. But towards the end I realised that you meant much more to me.'

'Even though I am now more famous than you?' Anna said, tongue firmly in cheek. 'You hated that.'

'Yes, I did.' Michael admitted. 'I hated the fact that you were an overnight success, on nights out you'd get more and more male attention. It did my head in.'

Anna snorted as a cynical smile spread across her lips. 'And what about all the girls that threw themselves at you? I was just expected to grin and bear it I suppose.'

Michael didn't reply as he searched for Anna 's eyes. She looked up and he smiled as they made eye contact. 'I was an idiot. I was young and didn't see what I had right in front of me. It's taken these few months away from you to realise. You never know what you've got till it's gone.'

'Where did you get that line from?' Anna asked. 'One of your scripts?'

'The night before you went up north,' Michael began, ignoring what Anna had just said and resting his hand on top of hers. 'It was special, wasn't it?'

'Michael,' Anna exclaimed, moving her hand away. 'All it did was make me realise I deserve better. I think I've found better.'

'What do you mean?'

'It's early days but I met someone when I was in the north. A lovely man.'

'What?'

'Yeah, his name is John.' Anna explained, before looking down at her glass and smiling.

'But what about what we had?' Michael asked. 'We've got history.'

'You were the extent of my experience, Michael,' Anna replied. ' And I'll always remember you. However, John's shown me a different side to being in a relationship. He makes me feel special. He makes me feel all manner of things.'

'What does he do? How old is he?'

'Not that it's any of your business,' Anna began, 'He owns his own garage. He is a mechanic and he is also a single father. And he's older than me, but I don't really notice the age gap.'

'An old single father who comes home every day covered in grease,' Michael said sarcastically. 'Quite a catch.'

Anna sighed before shaking her head. 'I adored you when we first got together. But all you offered me was a life of being made to feel second best. Then I got my moment in the sun and you couldn't handle it. Instead of being happy for me, you resented my success. That is why we could never be together. Not for the long run.'

'I can change,' Michael insisted, taking Anna's hand in his again. 'Come on, Anna. We were good together.'

'I'm sorry Michael.' Anna shrugged, taking her hand away. 'Even if things don't turn out well with John, I can never see us getting back together. I need better. I deserve better. A man who supports me, understands I am living my dream and loves me because of it, not in spite of it.'

'And you love this John, do you?'

'All I know is I've never felt this way before,' Anna replied honestly. 'Ever.'

With those words, Michael stood up and left the bar. Anna watched him leave, he didn't look back once as he left the hotel. It felt as though a weight had been lifted. She had finally told Michael how he made her feel. How worthless she felt when she was with him. And the fact that he knew John made her happier than Michael ever had left her feeling slightly satisfied. As if it was revenge for all those nights he would be chatting up other women as she sat by his side.

It felt wonderful.


John bent down to the mat by the door and picked up his Sunday paper. Looking at the front page, he saw a picture of Anna in her outfit from last night at the top of the page.

'Ads, we're leaving in ten minutes.' John called up the stairs as he walked through to the kitchen. The caption that accompanied the picture intrigued him somewhat.

'Singer Anna in love again? Read all on page 9.'

The first thing he thought was that Anna had let slip about their relationship, that didn't bother him in the slightest. As far as he was concerned, he was just waiting for Anna to decide when it was right for her to make their relationship official. What he wasn't expecting was to see a picture of Anna leaving a hotel, with one beside it of Michael also leaving the same hotel a few moments before. Surely not. He read the article that accompanied the pictures.

'Singer Anna Smith's relationship with Michael Groves may be back on, according to a source at the launch of Tom Anderson's new album last night.'

'What?' John said out loud as sat at the dining room table. He continued to read.

'They were both photographed leaving a hotel where both attended separate functions. They had spent a while together in the hotel bar before leaving, clearly enjoying each other's company, our source observed.'

'Dad, where are my shin pads?' Adam called from upstairs.

'Errr, have you checked your boot bag?' John replied, not able to take his eyes from the article.

'Got them, thanks Dad.'

John's head was whirring. This had come completely from the leftfield. He was sure Anna was serious about things with Michael being over, and that she wanted to carve a future with him. How wrong could he have been? Maybe she wasn't that serious about him, and her words, 'it was a perfect way to say goodbye' had more weight to then than he had originally believed. But their conversation on the doorstep. Wait for me. She had pleaded. She was insistent. Maybe she was a good actress.

'Will I do, then Dad?'

John looked up, frowning before he couldn't help a smile spreading across his lips. His son, in a proper football kit about to play his first proper Sunday league match. John felt his predicament with Anna flow to the back of his mind as he swelled with pride at the sight of his son.

'You look fantastic, Ads,' John beamed. 'I am so proud of you.'

'Thanks Dad.' Adam smiled. John nodded before looking at the paper again, the smile disappearing from his face once more. 'You alright?'

'Yeah,' John replied abruptly, closing the paper and folding it. 'Let's get going shall we? Mary and Robert are meeting us there at half past.'


Adam's debut was going better than he could have imagined. Ten minutes after half time and White Rose were four nil up, Adam having scored two. John couldn't get what he read about Anna out of his mind. He knew Mary had seen it, and she kept trying to chat to him about it. John was finding excuses to change the subject, however this time Robert had gone to the tea bar and it was just the two of them.

'You've read it then?' Mary announced as John watched Adam have a shot that sailed over the crossbar.

'I have,' John replied, not averting his gaze from the match.

'You know the press would have taken something and blown it out of proportion to sell their rag.' Mary explained.

'Really? It looked pretty simple to me.' John hissed before realising he may have sounded a bit harsh. 'Sorry, I know it's not your fault. But they left the same hotel. Within a couple of minutes of each other. And spent time in the bar together.'

'They have history. It means nothing John...'

'To me it means she's still got feelings for him.' John interrupted.

'That is why women are the more intelligent species,' Mary said indignantly.

'Charming,' John half chuckled before meeting Mary's gaze. 'We were never really that serious, anyway.'

'You don't mean that.'

John looked away to see Adam breaking free of the defence. 'Go on, Ads!'

Mary rolled her eyes. 'They didn't even leave together.'

John huffed out loud. 'Of course they didn't. That's what they wanted you to think.'

'Honestly, John...'

'Here we go mate, white, two sugars.' Robert announced as he arrived back with three teas.

'Thanks Rob,' John said as he took the cup from Robert. He looked at Mary. 'She's doing her thing in London. Living her life. She obviously doesn't want me cramping her style. Maybe this is why she is insistent I don't go down there.'

'Come on, John,' Mary groaned. 'You know she's busy.'

'Well, I'm making it easy for her then,' John replied. 'Now can we drop it?'

Mary shook her head before turning back to watch the match.


John walked around his office at home, trying to put the situation with Anna to the back of his mind. It was proving fruitless, however. Taking off his glasses, he pinched the bridge of his nose as he sat as his desk. Looking at his phone, he felt slightly frustrated to have not received so much as a text message from Anna all day. It just cemented his belief that she had something to hide. Almost as if he was telepathic, his phone began to ring. It was Anna. He answered.

'Hello.'

'Hi John,' came her soft reply. He closed his eyes. Despite how he was feeling, it was nice to hear her voice. Closing the door to his office, Adam had since long gone to bed, he waited for Anna to instigate the conversation. 'How did Adam get on today?'

'Great thanks,' John replied. 'He ended up scoring a hat trick and his team won six one.'

'Fantastic,' Anna answered. John had to admit she did seem genuinely pleased. 'How are you?'

John saw this as an opening to bring up the pictures in the paper. He stood up and began to pace the floor again. 'I was fine, until I saw today's paper.'

Silence.

John continued. 'Good catching up with Michael was it?'

'We had a laugh, yes,' Anna replied. 'Then we left separately.'

'Within two minutes of each other,' John added.

'And?'

'A bit suspicious, wouldn't you say?' John realised he was snapping and tried to compose himself as Anna remained silent on the other end of the line.

'Look, John. I can understand how it might have looked, but do I get a chance to tell you what actually happened last night?'

'It seems quite plain to me.'

'Oh my God!' Anna exclaimed. 'John, these journalists are paid stupid amounts to make a story. And you've been fooled hook, line and sinker.'

'So now I'm stupid?'

'No, just a man.' Anna replied.

'Well, why did you even see him in the first place?'

'Like you care, according to you we aren't even serious,' Anna remarked.

'I'm sorry?'

'I spoke to Mary, and before you get angry with her she didn't want to tell me what you said. I made her. And I was shocked. So if that's how you feel, I don't really get why you're so upset.'

This made something inside John snap. He had to tell her why he was upset. It was all flooding out of him before he even had a chance to think about what he was saying. 'Shall I tell you, why I am so upset?'

'Please do. I'm intrigued.' Anna requested sarcastically.

'Do you have any idea what it's like to feel like this? To be so completely and utterly in love with someone? Someone who consumes your every waking thought?'

Silence once again transpired from Anna's end of the line. John was certain he heard her whimper.

'Anna?'

'Can you say that again, please?' Anna replied, her voice breaking. John felt his resolve disappearing as he felt Anna's gentle sobs take over his senses.

'What?' John said as he sat down at his desk once more. 'Anna, I...'

'I didn't know what it was like to feel this way,' Anna interrupted. 'Until I met you. Do you know what I said to Michael? Last night in the bar?'

'No,' John replied softly, Anna's words having almost the same effect on him as his did on her.

'He asked me to give us another go. I point blank refused. I told him that I had met someone who made me feel things I had never even dreamt of feeling.'

'Anna, I'm sorry.'

'John, it's okay.'

'Really?' John asked, rather surprised after the way he had just behaved that Anna had been so understanding. He figured it was because Vera took great pleasure in making John suffer when he was in the wrong, it was all he knew. 'I was an idiot.'

'No, you were just being a man.' John laughed out loud before Anna continued. 'This means too much to let a misunderstanding and a pig headed man ruin it.'

'Thanks a lot,' John laughed again.

'I do love you.'

John swallowed hard before responding with all the sincerity he could. 'I love you too.'

'I meant what I said before I left. Please wait for me.'

'I can't, not anymore.'

'What?' Anna murmured. 'John, I thought...'

'I'm coming to London.' John interrupted. 'Even if it's only for a weekend. I need to see you.'

'I'd like that,' Anna replied.

'And I've made a decision.' John continued. 'This is it for me. If I can't have you, then I don't want anyone else.'

'John, I'm yours.'