Page 65 of Anything but Easy
This was going to be fun.
Henry, more than anyone, was in dire need of some fun for once. His brother could do with some fun as well, but I doubted he’d show up. I’d mentioned it to him in passing a couple of times but had tried not to make a big deal of it. Of course I was proud of organising everything, but he had enough on his plate right now. He didn’t need to have to fake interest in his girlfriend’s personal crusades.
At least that was what I told myself.
Chapter 26
Welcome to the show!
Kira
“Right, Marky Mark,” I said, shaking off the hollow feeling that Barclay’s non-attendance tonight had induced, and pasting a smile on my face. “You said you’d help herd the troops, so let’s get moving. Libby and Millie are meeting us there. If you wanna get your image raped, then now’s your chance.”
“You take the lead, Ki Ki,” Henry said, looking me up and down and giving me a grin. “We’re right behind you.”
I raised one eyebrow, put one hand on my hip and cocked it to the side, flicking my hair back with the other one. I was wearing beat-up skinny jeans and a neon pink, loose wife-beater vest which showed a substantial amount of my black lace bra at the sides. I had a pair of thigh-high black boots on and my hair was loose down my back in red and pink waves. I was ready for battle.
I pivoted on my heel and turned towards the front door. Before I could hesitate and lose my nerve, I pulled it open and stepped out onto the stone steps.
“Yo, people!” I shouted over the questions, blinking against the blinding light of the camera bulbs. “You up for a night on the town, Kira-style?”
That shut them up.
“What?” a BBC reporter asked, tilting her head to the side in confusion.
With Mark, Kim and Danny at my back, and Sam shadowing me in the background, I pushed through the crowd of reporters to the waiting car then turned to face the crowd. “Anyone who wants therealscoop of the night, meet me at The Main Event, in Soho.” Having dropped that bomb into the stunned crowd, I pulled open the passenger door and slid in. Mark was grinning over at me from the driver’s side.
“You are a lunatic,” he said through his smile.
I glanced in the rear-view mirror. Kim was sitting between Danny and Henry. As we pulled away from the pavement she lay her hand over Henry’s which was resting in his lap. It was a show of support for his courage braving the press just now, but I knew it was also more. Kim wanted more, and she was tired of waiting. Henry looked down at their intertwined fingers for a moment, before closing his eyes and taking a deep breath in and out. For the next twenty minutes I kept stealing looks at them, thoughts of the charity event swamped by hope for Henry. Five minutes before we arrived, however, Henry untwined his fingers from Kim’s and returned her hand to her lap, before looking down at his own and turning away from her towards the window. I expected Kim to look hurt or sad – I didn’t expect the anger and determination entered her expression as she stared at Henry’s back.
*****
“Fuck me,” Steve breathed as he looked out at the crowd. “What kind of shit storm have you brought into my club?”
I took a peek out of the backstage door and bit my lip. The whole place was rammed and there were a lot of paparazzi out there, courtesy of me.
“You love it,” I told him, drawing back the curtain and squaring my shoulders. “This will begreatfor business.”
“I don’t need any more business,” he grumbled. “Why did I agree to this crazy plan? You girls will be the death of me.”
Steve wasn’t lying. He really didn’t need any more business. He ran the most successful club in the UK.
“I should just cancel this whole thing before I’m shut down for being filled to over capacity.”
“Steve,” Libby said in a warning tone. She was standing across the dressing room facing us with her hands on her hips and one eyebrow raised.
“Okay, okay, keep your knickers on,” he said. “You know I won’t really. I’ve been bloody well Kira-ed. Why else would I let my club be swamped with people who willnotbe returning customers . . . for free?”
“This is why I love you, Steve,” I told him and stood on tiptoe to give his cheek a kiss (the man was a giant). He grunted and rolled his eyes.
“AndI’m even handing over all the bar takings,” he grumbled, crossing his thick arms and furrowing his grey eyebrows. “Talk about a sucker.”
“It’s a good cause and you know it, you big softie,” Libby told him, planting her own kiss on his other cheek.
“Okay, okay,” he said, putting his hands up and backing away from us. “You don’t have to butter me up anymore. Besides . . .” He rubbed the back of his neck before looking up at Libby with an earnest expression. “Iowethis one.”
Libby shook her head and opened her mouth to speak but he cut her off.
