Baby Be Mine

me. ‘It was good.’ She grins. ‘Amusing reading about you in there.’
    ‘I wasn’t in it that much.’
    ‘Not as much as you should have been,’ she says with a knowing wink at my tummy. ‘Open up the fridge,’ she instructs. ‘No more thinking about the bad stuff. You need more champagne.’
    I don’t disagree with her.
    The after-show party is being held nearby at a trendy new rooftop bar. We take the lift up to the top floor and relieve the hunky, bare-chested kung-fu serving staff of a couple of champagne cocktails. I’m feeling tipsy again after a top-up in the limo, but I’m not here one hundred per cent. One eye is always scanning the room for Christian.
    ‘Canapés!’ Kitty chirps, eagerly reaching for a tray of mini-spring rolls. I follow her lead. They’re delicious.
    ‘God, I miss this,’ I exclaim suddenly.
    ‘Do you?’ She beams at me.
    ‘I do!’
    ‘I missed you when you left,’ she confides. ‘It’s so cool that you’re back.’
    ‘Do you still go out a lot?’ I ask.
    ‘Sometimes. But it gets a bit tiring after a while. Same old people again and again. I’d rather hang at home.’
    ‘Are you seeing anyone?’ I forgot to ask her this the last time we caught up – we were too busy talking about my eventful past.
    ‘No,’ she replies. ‘It’s all too hard. I live with Rod so I can hardly bring men back. Living with a famous actor kind of stuffs up your love life.’
    ‘Aren’t you lonely, though?’
    The corners of her lips turn down. ‘I’m kind of getting used to it.’
    ‘When was the last time you had a boyfriend?’
    ‘Oh, God, it was years ago.’
    ‘You realise that you’ve been with Rod longer than any of his wives have?’
    ‘Don’t tell me that!’ she cries.
    ‘You may as well be married to him,’ I point out, giggling.
    ‘Jeepers creepers.’ She shakes her head in horror.
    I try to ignore the fact that she just said ‘jeepers creepers’. Nope, I can’t.
    ‘Did you really just say, “jeepers creepers”?’
    ‘Yes, why?’ She looks confused and I start to laugh. ‘Should I say “bollocks” instead?’ Her English accent is truly terrible and we both burst into laughter.
    ‘Having fun?’ A sexy, bare-chested waiter interrupts us. He’s wearing nothing aside from black kung-fu style pants and a bandanna across his brow.
    ‘We’d have more fun if you left us the whole tray.’ Kitty indicates the vast array of dim sums in front of us. The waiter grins at her. ‘On second thoughts, you can stay,’ she adds with a smile.
    ‘I wish I could,’ he replies flirtatiously.
    ‘Well, maybe we could hook up later,’ she suggests with a raised eyebrow.
    ‘Maybe we could.’ He winks at her and moves on.
    ‘Bloody hell!’ I exclaim. ‘That Rod comment must’ve really got to you.’
    ‘Marriage is far from my mind. But a night of hot sex really wouldn’t go amiss.’
    ‘Well, as long as you don’t say, “jeepers creepers”, you could be in luck.’
    We laugh again. ‘Ooh, prawn toasts!’ she cries, running after a tray.
    I suddenly sense someone standing beside me and I whip around, expecting it to be Christian. It’s not; but my relief is short-lived.
    ‘Meg Stiles.’
    ‘Hello, Charlie.’
    Charlie used to be a CPA back when I worked for Johnny. I disliked her the moment I met her – which is unusual for me. She’s shorter and skinnier than me, and her long, dead-straight chestnut hair has been cut into a bob. She’s wearing tight black leather leggings with heels, and a black and white asymmetric top. She has a sprinkling of freckles around her nose and cheeks and would be considered pretty, but there’s something unpleasant about her eyes – there always has been.
    ‘I didn’t know you were back in LA,’ she says. ‘Who are you working for?’
    ‘No one,’ I reply, trying not to give anything away in my facial expressions. ‘I’m here for pleasure, not business.’
    ‘Oh?’
    Kitty returns, her face falling when she sees who has joined us. ‘Hello,’ she says unenthusiastically.
    ‘How’s Rod?’ Charlie asks.
    ‘Fine.’
    ‘Still married?’
    ‘Yes.’
    ‘That’s a novelty.’ She sniggers before returning the subject to us. ‘I wasn’t aware you two had kept in touch.’
    We both nod indifferently. Kitty will know that the last person I want finding out about Barney and Johnny is standing right in front of us.
    ‘Does Johnny know you’re back in town?’ she asks pertinently.
    My heart