Page 14 of The Missus
Alanna shook her head in amazement at her new flatmate and took another sip of good coffee. Who the hell was Keira Evans? In all of Alanna’s life, she’d never once consideredanyonea sure thing. But Keira knew without a shadow of a doubt that by the evening's end, a virtual stranger would want to go to bed with her. Astonishing.
Eight
Keira woke, a little fuzzy. Her head felt thick with what could only be the remnants of a boozy night. And she only drank when… she turned over. Yep. There she was, sexual partner du jour. The details began to fill themselves in. Kim. Personal Trainer. Owner of a pug. In possession of a divorced mother who was getting remarried in a few weeks and had made Kim her maid of honour. Keira didn’t know what Kim could have said about her as Kim had done all the talking, but that suited Keira fine.
Keira sat up slowly, wanting to get her clothes on before Kim awoke. But just as she had her bra on, Kim snorted, sat bolt upright, and declared, ‘I’m not wearing a puffy sleeve!’ She blinked, and her eyes focused on Keira. ‘Oh, sorry. I was dreaming.’
Keira slid into her robe. ‘Sounded like a nightmare.’
Kim blew out a breath and slid out of bed. ‘You’re not kidding. I was wearing lime-green polyester.’ She began to look for her clothes. ‘I’ll be out of your hair soon, don’t worry,’ she vowed to Keira.
‘Take your time,’ Keira said, relieved. Maybe she wouldn’t need to send Alanna the text?
Kim began to slip into her jeans. ‘Hey, err, I was wondering… I kind of need a date for the wedding.’
Alanna was now officially in play.
‘I’m busy,’ Keira said apologetically.
‘I haven’t told you when it is yet,’ Kim frowned.
‘When is it?’
Kim put her top on. ‘Saturday.’
‘Yep. Busy.’
‘Are you sure? I know you’re a free agent and everything, and I respect that. I just need a date,’ Kim said with a childish pout that Keira found far from charming. Keira didn’t believe a word of Kim’s assertion that she appreciated Keira’s single status. She was trying to sneak herself into Keira’s life. Keira could smell it. Kim wasn’t the first to attempt a trojan horse.
‘Well… Oh, wait. Is that my phone beeping?’ Keira grabbed her silent phone and began to search her contacts. Alanna’s number wasn’t there. What the fuck? Keira had watched her put the number in. Where the hell was it?
‘So, it’s at a country estate, and the food and drink are gonna slap,’ Kim went on.
Keira nodded and smiled, still searching, running down the numbers one by one. It was a few hundred, so it was going to take a minute. She needed to delete a few of these. She didn’t need the number for a hairdresser from ten years ago that gave her that disastrous pixie cut.
‘I mean, my mum is going to be Satan in an A-line, but…’ Kim droned on.
Hold on a second. Who the hell wasthis? The Missus? It had to be Alanna’s idea of a joke. Keira texted the number, ‘SOS,’ and prayed it was going to the room next door.
She heard a small thump from the living room and just as Kim started to talk about the dress code, Keira said, ‘Hey, how about a coffee?’
‘Cool,’ Kim smiled, and Keira led her out of the bedroom like a lamb to the slaughter.
The living room was empty, and Keira thought she was screwed. Then the front door opened, and Alanna walked in from the hall. In her pyjamas. ‘Who the hell is this?’ Alanna yawned at Kim with very obvious bedhead.
‘Who the hell areyou?’ Kim asked back, confused.
‘I’m Keira’s girlfriend,’ Alanna shot back, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, jabbing a thumb at Keira.
‘Really?’ Kim asked.
‘You think I don’t know who I am?’ Alanna asked. It seemed like she was trying to say it angrily, but it just came off confused.
Kim’s eyes narrowed. ‘Where did you come from?’
Alanna blinked. ‘A conference.’
Kim didn’t buy that for a second. ‘But you’re in your pyjamas. Were you in here the whole time?’ Kim asked. Kim was no genius, but it didn’t take a bloodhound to smell the bullshit in the room.
