Champagne Kisses by Amanda Brunker Read Free Book Online Page B

regular spot we could gauge what talent was where. Today, though, I couldn’t care less about trying to impress anyone. I needed to be focused on London. I was a woman on a mission.
    I wanted a man.
    I
needed
a man.
    Tonight, I was gonna fall in love.
    He’ll be rich.
    He’ll be famous.
    I’ll walk into this party and he’ll instantly fall for me. I’ll be the most fascinating and captivating person he’s ever met. And we’ll live happily ever after in a mansion in Chelsea, with weekend apartments in Dublin and New York and a getaway summer retreat in the South of France.
    Ahhh! I felt better already. There’s nothing like a mini pep talk with myself while sipping on a Bellini at the Four Seasons, surrounded by beautiful people, to give you a boost of confidence.
    Looking good and feeling sexy was always half the battle. Today I was going to be militant in my approach to finding my hero. By next week I would be standing on a beach in Cancún wearing nothing but a white bikini like Pamela Anderson. I’d be sipping cocktails once again, while my Tommy Lee says ‘I do’ in a sexy, gravelly voice.
    As I started to drift off into daydream land about the beautiful children we’d make, Anna and Maddie strutted through the door looking like extras from
The Rocky Horror Picture Show
pulling their little trolley-dolly cases.
    Parker had text-demanded ‘B on 4 seasons 4 court @ 2 on sat EXACTLY.’ So of course we arranged to meet at one o’clock to discuss wardrobes and to generally snoop around the hotel to see what stars were hiding out.
    ‘Well, are we hot or wot?’ demanded Maddie.
    ‘I think we’re FAB-U-LOUS,’ declared Anna, before giving me a chance to comment. ‘I’d wanna get with us … Tonight, Eva, we’re going to be every girl’s nightmare. Tonight is our night.’
    Laughing at their dogmatic self-belief, and their brazen ability to wear Madonna-inspired corsets and miniskirts at lunchtime – in
February!
– I called over one of the cute barmen and flirted. ‘Can I have two of your best Bellinis for my shy and retiring friends please, Colin. They need something to elevate their mood.’
    When their drinks arrived Maddie proposed a toast. ‘OK ladies, cheers to London. Here’s to flying in some fella’s private jet, fair play to him. Cheers to the Pink Panther for organizing it. And most of all here’s to getting the spirits down to get the spirits up, first class all the way, baby.’
    ‘Cheers.’
    ‘Cheers.’
    ‘Cheers. Let the games begin!’
    By 1.45 I had started to get worried about Lisa’s whereabouts. She wasn’t normally late, and strangely her phone was switched off.
    I was just leaving my fourth message for her when I lost the power of speech. David Barron’s wife, Annette, had entered the bar, and she was charging in my direction.
    She was immediately eye-catching because of her trademark blonde bob, but was unusually dressed in a casual tracksuit.
    She looked emotional.
    She was looking for me.
    Despite quickly turning my face and sheltering behind Maddie, I knew that she had spotted me.
    ‘Shit. Shit. Shit.’
    Oblivious to the situation a giddy Maddie screamed, ‘What’s wrong with you?’ In such sterile marble surroundings, her voice could be heard by every patron as it pinballed around the room.
    With that, a somewhat dishevelled Mrs Barron came storming over to us, put her hand on Maddie’s shoulder and pulled her out of the way. Maddie let out a ‘Hey?’ before she realized who had butted in.
    In complete shock the three of us just stared at her, frozen.
    Afraid to take a breath we waited for her to speak, but instead she just stood there looking frazzled. Momentarily it felt as if the entire bar had come to a standstill. Everyone was silent. Everyone was fully aware of the situation. But most of all, everyone was waiting for the best gossip to happen in front of their eyes.
    Who would triumph? Would it be the spouse or the temptress?
    Could the scorned wife