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on the ground pushed into her head, and for a moment Rhi felt cold with fear at the thought of tomorrow’s exams.
    Maybe I should go home , she thought, hesitating. Maybe Brody is the last person I need to be with just now. But she couldn’t make herself believe it.
    He had been the first person she thought of when she had opened her eyes that morning to the sound of Eve snoring on the pull-out bed beside her. Talking about him to her friends last night had helped sort out a few things in her head. She really liked him, but if he didn’t want anything to happen beyond singing, she would accept that. She wouldn’t sacrifice her music for the sake of a few kisses.
    Thinking about kisses instantly recalled the electrifying kiss she and Brody had briefly shared. It wasn’t a helpful memory.
    Why is it so hard to do the right thing? Rhi thought with a sigh.
    She scrubbed at her eyes, yawning as she walked down the lane towards the Heartbeat. Shading her eyes in the bright morning light, she squinted up at the high attic windows stretching down the street between her and the Heartbeat. Her father’s flat was up there somewhere. He would probably be sleeping, or maybe painting, only a few metres away from where she was standing. The thought made Rhi feel a little sick.
    She suddenly caught sight of herself in a shop window. Her hands flew to her hair in horror. Half of it was stuck to the side of her head, while the rest… She couldn’t even begin to describe the rest.
    Brody definitely won’t fancy you with your hair looking like this , she thought.
    Fishing around in her jacket pocket, she pulled out a ribbon which she used as a headband to keep the most out-of-control bits of hair out of her face. She fluffed up the rest and looked at herself critically in the window. It had helped a little, at least. Then she hurried around the corner and pushed through the Heartbeat Café door, following the familiar sound of Brody tuning his guitar way up in their attic practice room.
    â€œI like the hair,” Brody grinned as Rhi burst into the attic.
    Rhi’s hands flew self-consciously to the ribbon. Not such a good job after all, then. “I know, it’s awful. I was at Lila’s last night and woke up kind of late…”
    â€œDon’t worry about it,” he laughed. “I don’t care what you look like.”
    Rhi tried not to take offence. Brody simply meant that he liked her for who she was, didn’t he?
    â€œWhat do you want to work on today?” she asked.
    â€œLet’s run through the set for Wednesday’s gig,” he suggested.
    They practised the songs they had planned for their regular Heartbeat slot, working through them slowly and carefully to make sure they were all secure. Rhi did her best to sing better than she had at the previous day’s wedding, but she still missed several entries and fluffed the second verse on one of her favourite songs: Brody’s “Fast Lane Freak”. She didn’t seem able to relax into the music today.
    â€œI have a new tune that came to me last night,” Brody said after they’d been practising for a couple of hours. “No title this time. I don’t even know what I want it to be about. I thought I’d let you figure that out for me.”
    Not “ Small Black Box” then , Rhi thought. She had wondered if he would suggest finishing their song about secrets this morning. They’d only got a third of the way through anything resembling a decent lyric yesterday when it had all gone wrong. She felt relieved.
    As Brody started playing, she found herself getting lost in the harmonies he created with his guitar. The new tune had a melancholy feeling that made her nervous. She didn’t feel up to writing a sad song today.
    â€œWhat do you think?” he asked as the final chord died away.
    Rhi’s throat felt tight. “It’s beautiful,” she said. “Your