Page 40 of Hard
‘Absolutely. And I’m fucking Rihanna.’ He bumps the tip of his index finger against my nose. ‘Catch you crazy kids later.’
The front door slams as I slide my butt down the sofa arm, facing Chas.
‘I’m guessing you’re off to meet your hot kilt-wearing stud from the wedding?’
‘You guess correct.’ Leaning over, I steal a little popcorn from her bowl. ‘Keir.’
‘What?’
‘Keir. That’s his name.’ Though without the ability to roll my r’s, it doesn’t sound the same.Keirrrr. Like roarrrr!
‘What else do we know about this Keir, apart from he wears a kilt, and he sent you an offensive text?’
Ah, so that’s what this is about.
‘That was a misunderstanding.’ Leaning forward, Chastity places the bowl on the table, then turns to face me as she crosses her legs. ‘And you already don’t like him.’
‘It’s not for me to like or dislike,’ she answers.
‘Okay, so you worry about me. You think I’m super naïve.’
She shrugs a little reluctantly. ‘You seem to know what you’re doing. You just need to decide what you want from this.’
‘Fun. I want a little fun. A few dates. Maybe hot sex. Nothing heavy.’
‘And that’s all well and good, so long as you keep that in mind.’
‘Chas, look. I like him. He seems genuine, and he’s... fun.’
‘Genuine doesn’t—’ she begins, but I cut her off.
‘It was a text message sent by his stupid friend!’ I say, a little exasperated. I didn’t want to worry her, but it looks like I need to go there. ‘Look, I didn’t tell you, but Robin cornered me and was pretty rough with me the night of the wedding.’ She opens her mouth, a million questions written across her expression, but I hold up my hand. ‘He grabbed me. In the hotel. Called me a bunch of names and threatened me. Then he sort of shook me a bit, and I banged my head.’
‘That little fucker,’ she growls. ‘I will literally twist off his balls and feed them to him.’
‘No need. Keir was there. He headbutted him.’
‘Good,’ she says, nodding. ‘I’m glad. I’m going to get a Robin Reed lookalike and use him as a gimp in one of my films.’ I laugh, but it trails off quickly. ‘Why are you grimacing?’’
‘Because I’ve seen him out on the street. At least, I think I have.’
‘You think he’s following you? Stalking you?’ Her expression darkens, her brow drawing in as her lips thin to one flat line. ‘You should go to the police, Paisley.’
‘And say what? I think my ex-boyfriend is following me? Only, it might not be him because he can’t walk around without a disguise. You know, because he’s famous. Famous, and everyone and their grandmother’s favourite. Can you hear how mad that sounds?’
‘Something is telling you it’s him. You should always listen to your intuition, you know. Trust it.’
‘My instinct is telling me Keir might be a good distraction.’
‘Just a distraction?’
I consider her question for a moment, and it really is only a moment. ‘We hooked up at a wedding. That’s the extent of our connection.’
‘That’s it?’ she asks doubtfully.
‘I mean, I can tell he’s a good man. He did squash Robin’s nose all over his face on my behalf. And I am mostly the non-violent kind—’
‘I’m not,’ she almost growls.
