Sinners (41 page)

‘And one of them screwing around like Charlie Sheen on a bad day.’

‘You cured him of
that.
’

‘I hope so!’ Nikki said forcefully. ‘The moment he points his dick in another direction, I’m gone.’

‘You’d leave him?’

‘Immediately,’ Nikki said without hesitation.

‘I bet you would,’ Lara said, wishing she had the inner strength her friend possessed.

‘Hey, listen,’ Nikki said, wrinkling her freckled nose. ‘I’d expect him to dump me if I screwed around, so why shouldn’t the same rule apply?’

Lara nodded. ‘You’re absolutely right.’

Why didn’t I do it?
she thought.
Why didn’t I tell him to take a hike the first time I suspected he was being unfaithful?

Because you’re a pushover.

No. I simply believe in second chances.

And third ones and fourth ones . . . Richard hadn’t known when to quit.

They’d met when he’d directed her in her third movie. Although by that time she was a star, she was still impressed at meeting the great Richard Barry – a man with quite a reputation. He moved in on her like a carnivorous snake. She was twenty-four and by Hollywood standards a total innocent. He was forty-six and difficult. Their wedding at her agent’s house in Malibu made headline news, with helicopters hovering overhead and paparazzi lurking in the trees. It was a media circus, which pleased neither of them. The divorce had been even worse.

‘We’re going to Tetou tonight,’ Nikki announced. ‘I hear the bouillabaisse is to die for.’

Lara shook her head. ‘I can’t do it. I have lines to learn and sleep to get, otherwise I’ll resemble an old hag in the morning.’

Nikki raised a disbelieving eyebrow. The irritating thing was that Lara acted as if she looked like any other mere mortal, even though she was certainly the most beautiful woman Nikki had ever seen – a woman who never acknowledged her powerful physical beauty. ‘You’re coming,’ Nikki said determinedly. ‘I’ve already checked – you have a late call tomorrow. It’s about time you forgot about this damn movie and had some fun.’

‘Fun – what’s that?’ Lara said innocently.

‘Exactly how long
is it
since you’ve gotten laid?’ Nikki asked, cocking her head to one side.

‘Too long,’ Lara muttered.

‘It doesn’t have to be a big thing, y’know,’ Nikki offered. ‘How about a one-nighter? There’s some hot-looking guys on the crew.’

‘Not my style,’ Lara said softly.

‘You gotta have a man’s mentality,’ Nikki said, with a knowing wink. ‘Fuck and run. I used to – before I married again.’

Richard was Nikki’s second husband. Her first was Sheldon Weston, whom she’d wed when she was sixteen and he was thirty-eight. ‘I was searching for a father figure,’ she often joked. ‘And I got stuck with an uptight shrink.’ Their daughter, Summer, lived in Chicago with her dad.

‘You’re different,’ Lara said. ‘You can do that and get away with it. I can’t. It has to be a committed relationship or I’m not interested.’

‘Whatever,’ Nikki replied vaguely, not understanding at all. ‘But you’re definitely coming tonight.’

There have been many imitators, but only Jackie Collins can tell you what really goes on in the fastest lane of all. From Beverly Hills bedrooms to a raunchy prowl along the streets of Hollywood; from glittering rock parties and concerts to stretch limos and the mansions of the power brokers – Jackie Collins chronicles the real truth from the inside looking out.

Jackie Collins has been called a ‘raunchy moralist’ by the late director Louis Malle and ‘Hollywood’s own Marcel Proust’ by
Vanity Fair
magazine. With over 400 million copies of her books sold in more than 40 countries, and with some 28
New York Times
bestsellers to her credit, Jackie Collins is one of the world’s top-selling novelists. She is known for giving her readers an unrivalled insiders knowledge of Hollywood and the glamorous lives and loves of the rich, famous, and infamous! ‘I write about real people in disguise,’ she says. ‘If anything, my characters are toned down – the truth is much more bizarre.’

Visit Jackie’s website www.jackiecollins.com, and follow her on Twitter at JackieJCollins and Facebook at www.facebook.com/jackiecollins.