tea, she wandered through it, sipping. If she did buy it, remodeling
would be essential. There was a room off the kitchen that could be
enlarged for a studio. The light was good. Or was, she thought, when
there was sun.
There were three bedrooms upstairs, all large and lofty. An impractical
amount of space perhaps, but she liked having it. She could make it her
own. Thoughtful, she glanced at her watch. It would be worth a call to
the real estate agent. Before she could pick up the phone, it rang.
"Emma?"
"Dad." She sat on the arm of the sofa.
"I just wanted to see if you'd gotten there."
"Everything's fine. How are you?"
"A little crazed at the moment. We're recording. We'll be breaking off
to come out to the Coast."
"Dad, I told you, I'm fine. It really isn't necessary for you to come
all this way."
"I'd like to see you for myself, plus we're up for three Grammys."
She broke off her objections. "Of course. Congratulations."
"We figured we'd show up in force. You'll come along, won't you?"
"I'd love to."
"I thought you might like to ask Michael. Pete's arranging the
tickets."
"I will." She remembered the way he'd looked when he'd strapped on his
gun. "He may be busy."
"Check it out. We'll be coming in at the end of the week for
rehearsals. Pete got a request for you to be one of the presenters. He
asked me to pass it along."
"I don't know."
"It would mean a lot to me, Emma, having you make the announcement if
Johnno and I cop song of the year."
She smiled. "And if you don't, I can read your names anyway."
"That's the way. You'll take care of yourself, won't you?"
"Yes, and that's something I wanted to speak to you about." She shifted
the phone to her other ear. "Dad, I don't want the bodyguard. I fully
intend to take care of myself, so call him off."
"What bodyguard?"
"The one you hired before I left London."
"I didn't hire anyone, Emma."
"Look I-" She broke off. He often hid things from her, but he never
lied. "You didn't arrange for someone to follow me, look out for me?"
"No. It didn't occur to me that you'd need it. Has someone been
bothering you? I can break off earlier and come out-"
"No." Sighing, she pressed her fingers to her eyes. "No one's been
bothering me. Marianne was right, it's just paranoia. I guess I
haven't gotten used to coming and going as I choose, but I intend to."
To prove it, she made her decision quickly. "Tell Pete I'd be delighted
to be a presenter at the Grammys. In fact, I'll start hunting up a
dress tomorrow."
"Someone will contact you about the rehearsals. Keep a night free. Bev
and I would like to take you and Michael out to dinner."