Temptation Island Read Online Free PDF Page B

could sort Jenna out, too.
    Outside, the cameras lunged at her. In seconds her car was brought round and she jumped in, switching the ignition. Fuck. She was out of her head, shouldn’t be driving, probably. But no one told her so. No one ever told her so.
    She’d been on Sunset for a minute, maybe two, when she started feeling properly like shit. She’d done too much: her eyelids were heavy, her limbs shutting down.
    I’m going to pass out , she thought. Car horns blared.
    The last thing she remembered was her head hitting the wheel, hard, painfully. Then everything went black.

6
Stevie
    Bibi Reiner was a firework. She was tiny, everything about her compact, with this amazing scrawl of frizzy auburn hair and huge, wide green eyes. Since welcoming Stevie at the door of her apartment over a month ago, she had barely stopped talking.
    ‘You and me are gonna have such a blast!’ she’d gabbled as she led Stevie through her place on West 54th, at once assuming their living together was a done deal, something Stevie found incredibly friendly. They were at the top of an impressive redbrick with views over Central Park, and inside were bright white walls, spotlights and parquet flooring. Stevie’s room was spacious, light and airy, with tons of storage and a luxurious king-size bed. Over the summer it had been occupied by Bibi’s brother, like her an aspiring actor, but he’d since relocated to LA, leaving the room free. Stevie had called at the right time. She couldn’t believe her luck.
    ‘How was your flight?’ Bibi had chattered. ‘What’s going on in London? I love London. What do you do? What do you eat? I’m a vegan, which means I don’t eat meat or dairy, but I will have a hot dog once a year because I love them. Also, I’m a Buddhist. I don’t drink alcohol but I do drink champagne. I have to get nine hours’ sleep every night otherwise I don’t function and my skin turns to crap. Your skin’s amazing, what do you use? You’re so pretty, far prettier than me. I’d love to have hair like yours; it’s so straight. Mine’s a total mess. Don’t you think? I’ve tried everything. Go on, be honest, it’s too much, isn’t it? I should dye it. Red? Or pink. I was thinking pink. And I want to get a tattoo on my back, here, of a butterfly.’ She’d reached awkwardly around, failing to get to the exact spot and laughing at herself. ‘Just a little one because they’re cute. But my agent says I’m limiting roles. I just wanna stand out, ya know?’
    Bibi didn’t stop. But she was lovely, she was funny; she was sweet and she was kind. And for Stevie, who only talked when there was something to say, she was in many ways the ideal person to share with. The girls were different but they clicked instantly. Bibi thought Stevie was the most gorgeous creature she had ever seen because she had this air of calm and wisdom, something Bibi had always coveted in others because she herself was a ditz: things popped into her head and she just blurted them out, pouf!
    Despite the fact that Stevie had moved in five weeks ago, she was still struggling to find work. Her rent was fair, in fact it was better than fair, but she was already scraping the barrel of her savings. It wasn’t for lack of trying—she’d walked the city till her feet gave in, leaving her CV anywhere that looked as if it might need staff—but in honestyher lack of progress was more down to the fact that Bibi was constantly suggesting lunches out, parties, shopping and coffee with her friends so Stevie could be introduced. She was infinitely generous, with everything.
    It was a Thursday. Stevie was lying on her front on the bed, intermittently yawning, her chin resting in the cup of one hand while the other tapped aimlessly through job sites. She didn’t even know any longer what she was looking for. Every time she landed on one that seemed suitable, she’d spot that the closing date had already expired, or she had to be based in a different