Two-Faced (29 page)

‘I suppose you’d better,’ he said, laughing softly at the excitement on her face.

Opening her eyes, she said, ‘Oh,’ when she saw that it was a long box, and not the small square one she’d expected. Then, smiling slyly, thinking that he’d probably done it on purpose to trick her, she eased the lid up, sure that the ring would be in there.

‘Like it?’ Steve asked when she gazed down at the diamonds twinkling like ice in the candle-glow.

Recovering quickly, Mia nodded. ‘It’s gorgeous. Thank you.’

Saying, ‘My pleasure,’ Steve reached for the bracelet and looped it around her wrist. ‘The least you deserve for putting up with me for so long.’

‘Don’t be daft,’ she said softly, twisting her arm to admire the bracelet. ‘It’s only been two weeks.’

His eyes suddenly serious, Steve reached for her hand. ‘I know, and that’s why I’m apologising. I was completely out of order earlier, and you had every right to be angry. But I can’t help it if I’ve fallen for you.’ Raising her hand to his lips now, he kissed it before continuing. ‘I thought you felt the same, but I guess I forgot how young you are. I’ve been there; I know how hard it is to take anything seriously. You made a mistake and let yourself get smooth-talked into bed, but I need to know if you meant it when you said you regretted it?’

Feeling guilty now, because he obviously cared about her and she’d hurt him, Mia nodded. She’d been excusing her behaviour by classing their relationship as dating, but she knew that wasn’t entirely true, or fair. Since they’d met, they’d spent every night apart from last night together, and if the shoe were on the other foot and he’d cheated on her, she would be going just as berserk as he had.

‘I’m sorry,’ she said, smiling apologetically. ‘You’re right, I
am
young, and I’ll probably make loads more mistakes before I’m as sorted as you are. But I honestly didn’t mean to hurt you, and I won’t do it again.’

Saying, ‘That’s good enough for me,’ Steve winked at her and reached for the menu. ‘So what do you fancy? How about lobster, for a change?’

Wrinkling her nose, Mia said, ‘Never tried it, and I’m not sure I like the sound of it.’

Assuring her that she’d love it, Steve called the waiter over. He straightened the bracelet on her wrist when he’d made their order and said, ‘Why don’t you bore me with all the details of your show yesterday? But before you start,’ he added, giving her a mock-disapproving look, ‘let it be known that I was
not
very happy to walk into my club this morning to find my staff perving over my lady’s breasts – gorgeous as they are.’

Laughing, because she knew he was just teasing, Mia told him all about Arni Fabrizi, and how he’d pissed her off just one time too many, bringing out the reckless devil in her.

‘I didn’t even think about what would happen afterwards,’ she admitted. ‘But it seems to have worked out all right, because I’ve definitely dominated all the headlines today, and my agent’s had loads of people calling about booking me. And tomorrow I’ll be signing a contract for a catwalk show in Prague – which is incredible, because that’s bound to lead to New York, or Paris, or something fantastic like that.’

‘You’ve done well,’ Steve said softly.

‘I
know
!’ she gushed. ‘And that probably sounds like I’m bragging, but I don’t mean to. I’m just so excited about it all.’

‘So you should be,’ Steve said, sitting back when their starters arrived. ‘Eat up, and when we’ve finished we’ll go and celebrate properly.’

Celebrating properly, Mia soon learned, meant splashing obscene amounts of cash on the roulette table at Steve’s favourite casino in Chinatown, followed by a trip to a nightclub where she danced and drank copious amounts of champagne before floating back to his apartment to drink more champagne and snort heaps of coke before falling into bed and having wild sex until the sun began to rise.

And the celebrations didn’t end that night, or the next. In fact, they just carried on happening, as Steve, obviously still trying to make up for having lost his temper with her, went on a complete charm offensive. Nothing was too much trouble, or too expensive. Whatever she wanted, she could have – and the more she got, the more she wanted.

Slipping easily into the role of Steve Dawson’s little woman, Mia smiled like the trophy-dolly she had become as he paraded her around over the next few months. Vern was always there, but he was so unobtrusive that Mia barely noticed him. And the faces of the other men who drifted in and out of their company all seemed to merge into one, so she was never sure if he was talking to one of Steve’s men or to one of his numerous mysterious business contacts. But she didn’t care. As long as she was being treated like a princess and lavished with gifts, coke and champagne, nothing else mattered.

Life was as near perfect as it could possibly be. She had the provider of her dreams, if not exactly the man. And, under Sammy’s careful control, her modelling was really starting to take off like she’d always known that it would. She’d secured all the offers that had been tabled after the near-disaster of the G-Mex publicity, and she was just a few months away from the Prague catwalk show, which was bound to catapult her to the next level.

But the little bubble of contentment she was floating around in was just about to burst.

Since they’d got together and he’d taken it upon himself to be her protector, Steve had drummed two important tips for survival into Mia’s head: one, she couldn’t trust anybody except him; and, two, under no circumstances should she do coke in a public place.

Given that she spent most of her time with him, the first was easy to follow, because she didn’t have the time or the inclination to confide in anybody else, anyway. And she did so much coke before they went out at night, and more after they got back, that she hardly ever needed a top-up. But on the rare occasions when she did feel like a quick boost, she made sure the toilets were empty before she did it.

The trouble started when Steve decided to take her to Shalimar one Saturday night. Mia hadn’t been there since the VIP party, and she really didn’t want to go now in case it sparked an argument. Steve hadn’t mentioned Jay King since their fight, but she knew it still played on his mind, because she’d catch him sometimes, watching her with a dark, brooding look on his face. And knowing that distrust and insecurity still festered below the charming façade, she didn’t want to go anywhere or do anything to spark him off.

Unfortunately, she couldn’t tell him why she didn’t want to go to Shalimar this night without raising his suspicions and, as he’d already arranged to meet someone there, she had no choice but to go with him. And just as she’d feared would happen, fate stepped in and created a situation that was guaranteed to end in tears.

Just like last time, Laura and Stu were standing in the queue. But this time Darren was with them – looking just as buff as ever, and even more muscular, having dedicated a lot of time to his physique in the prison gym.

Glad that Steve wasn’t the kind of man to be made to queue, Mia tried to pretend that she hadn’t seen them as they walked up to the door. But, as if they were in some crazy time loop, Laura spotted her and yelled out her name.

‘Someone you know?’ Steve asked, immediately putting his arm around her waist and ushering her inside.

Shaking her head, not giving a toss this time if anyone thought she was being ignorant, Mia said, ‘No. Probably just someone who’s recognised me from the papers.’

They went inside only to be told that the VIP lounge had been temporarily closed because of a leak and Mia was dismayed when they were shown to a sectioned-off area in the main clubroom. Heading for a corner table, she jumped into the seat that was closest to the wall and hid herself in the shadows.

But it didn’t take Laura long to find her. Wandering around while Stu and Darren went to the bar, she spotted Mia and waved to her from the other side of the barrier.

Pretending not to have noticed, Mia sipped at her drink and gazed at the floor. But Steve nudged her, saying, ‘That girl definitely looks like she thinks she knows you. Are you sure you don’t know her?’

Forced to look, at which point Laura grinned and raised her hands in an
at last!
gesture, Mia said, ‘Oh, yeah. I went to school with her.’

‘Invite her over for a drink,’ Steve suggested. Immediately amending this when he spotted the men he was meeting as they walked through the door, he said, ‘Second thoughts . . . take this and buy her one.’ Pulling a couple of twenties out of his wallet, he pushed them into her hand.

Mia snatched up her bag and rose reluctantly to her feet. She didn’t usually mind being shunted off while Steve talked business, because they were usually at his club when it happened and she could wander about playing queen of the castle. But if she went and talked to Laura now, it was inevitable that Darren would find them. And, while she had no doubt that she could put him in his place without too much fuss, she dreaded the thought of Steve seeing them together and guessing that they had a past.

‘I thought you were never going to notice me,’ Laura exclaimed when Mia came over to the barrier. Reaching across, she gave her a hug. ‘Amazing, huh? Second time I’ve seen you in months, and both times it’s been here.’

‘Mmm, amazing,’ Mia agreed, her gaze darting nervously out over Laura’s shoulder. ‘You must come here a lot.’

‘Every weekend,’ Laura admitted, rolling her eyes. ‘Stu’s cousin is the DJ, so he won’t go anywhere else. Anyway, look at
you
looking even more gorgeous than last time,’ she went on, giving her a playful nudge as she added, ‘I could have killed you after those pictures came out. Stu wouldn’t stop gawping at them, and I was that jealous! But he’s been behaving since Darren got out. Doesn’t care if
I
object to him lusting after you, but God forbid
Darren
should catch him at it. Talking of who,’ she went on, grinning slyly. ‘He’s here, and he’s dying to see you. Why don’t you come and say hello. They’re around somewhere – probably checking out the talent, knowing them.’

‘Ah,’ Mia murmured, casting a quick look back at the table. ‘That might be a bit awkward. I’m with my fella.’

Glancing over, Laura’s eyebrows rose. ‘Wow, he’s
gorgeous
.’

‘The white one,’ Mia told her, guessing that she was lusting over Vern. Then, clarifying which white man, because the two men who’d just joined them were also white, she said, ‘The one who looks a bit Chinese.’

‘Not bad,’ Laura said, nodding her approval.

Blanching when she saw Stu and Darren heading their way, Mia said, ‘I, er, just need to go to the loo.’

‘I’ll come with you,’ Laura offered annoyingly. Linking arms with her when she cocked her leg over the barrier, she said, ‘Just like old times, eh? Remember how we used to meet up in the loos at school for a fag and a gossip. Subject of . . . I saw Lisa Holgate the other day, and she’s
fat
, man. She’s got a kid now – and by the looks of her, another on the way. She swears she’s not pregnant again, though, so I suppose we’ll just have to wait and see. She was with Jenny. You know she’s at uni in Sheffield now, studying law? Always was the brainbox, though, wasn’t she? And you’ll never guess who she’s seeing? Only that lad who—’

‘Laura,
please
,’ Mia interrupted, a pained expression on her face as she pushed her way towards the toilets. ‘I’m
so
not interested.’

‘How could you not be interested in the old gang?’ Laura asked, giving her a disbelieving smile. ‘We’re the BFLC crew: best friends for
life
, not just Christmas – remember?’

Mia gave her a withering look. ‘We were fifteen, Laura. And now we’re not. At least,
I
’m not,’ she added scathingly.

Narrowing her eyes, Laura said, ‘You being funny?’

‘
No
,’ Mia drawled sarcastically.

‘You are,’ Laura replied coolly, giving her a look that was a mixture of confusion and hurt. ‘Stu said you were being funny last time, but I didn’t believe him. He reckons you think you’re too good for me, but I told him we’re too much like sisters for that. And, all right, so I haven’t seen you for a while, but I thought we were the kind of mates who can just pick up where we left off even if we haven’t seen each other for years.’

Realising that it was going to take bluntness to shake this girl of the belief that they were as close as they had once been, Mia had just opened her mouth to tell her to get a life when Darren and Stu turned up.

Darren was staring at her as if in awe, and he had a smile of what Mia could only describe as shyness on the lips that she still remembered kissing.

‘Told you,’ Stu said, grinning as he nudged him. ‘Looks well good, don’t she? Way sexier than all them piccies you’ve been fantasising over for so long, eh?’

Flashing him a
Shut your stupid mouth!
look, Darren said, ‘All right, Mia. Long time no see. How’s it going?’

He looked even better up close than in the glimpse she’d had of him in the queue outside, and he seemed to have matured, because he wasn’t giving it with the cocky
I am
that he used to be so full of. But Mia hadn’t forgotten the way he’d finished with her, talking to her like she was a piece of dirt in order to keep his bitch happy. And it didn’t matter that it had been Michelle who’d actually taken the shit, he’d intended it for her ears – and hadn’t made any effort to contact her afterwards to tell her that he hadn’t meant it. So he could stand here now, giving her goo-goo eyes because she was gorgeous and famous and he felt like they had something to talk about because he’d taken her virginity, but he
so
wasn’t getting a piece of her.

‘Don’t bother, Darren,’ Laura said sharply, folding her arms. ‘She’s made it quite clear she thinks she’s better than us.’

‘Laura, I never said that,’ Mia told her wearily, sensing that this would turn into a scene if she didn’t put a stop to it now. ‘I just said I wasn’t interested in what Lisa and Jenny were up to. You can’t seriously think I’d still want to be mates with them after the way they turned against me at school when . . .’ Trailing off because she’d been about to mention the time when Sandra Bishop had attacked her, she shrugged. ‘Well, you know what I’m talking about.’