The Celeb Next Door Read Online Free PDF

paint, not going to a gig or a party. You always look nice, anyway.’
    Yeah, I know, but it’s
Rufus Justice
. I’ve seen a lovely painter’s smock in the market that would be perfect …’
    ‘He might not even be there.’
    ‘He will be,’ I say. He’d better be!
    I’m out of the school gates the second school ends, like a horse starting the Grand National, but with much glossier hair (I’ve been coating it with anti-frizz serum allday) and shorter legs. Vix can hardly keep up with me. ‘Slow down,’ she says. ‘I’m getting a stitch!’
    ‘Sorry, Vix. I’m just dying to talk to Rufus again. And I’ve got to go home, get changed, get over there, help Dad
and
do my homework, all before dinner. Are you sure you don’t want to come?’
    Vix sighs. All right, I’ll come for a few minutes. But I won’t stay. I’m not sure how Rufus will feel about having half the street in his house.’
    ‘He’s used to crowds. He’s a rock star, remember. Don’t be shy, Vix.’
    ‘I’m not shy.’
    It’s true, Vix isn’t shy – not once you get her talking. She’s just quieter than me, or Sky. Less excitable and more thoughtful. That’s one of the things that makes her such a good friend.
    Half an hour later, Sky, Vix and I are all standing on Rufus’s doorstep. I’m wearing my favourite skinny jeans and my birthday party top. It’s already decorated in paint-like daubs of colour, which will act like camouflage if I spill any actual paint on it. And, anyway, it’s time I bought a new one. Sky is in a clingy jersey dress, while Vix has turned up in her sensible school clothes, which annoys me a little bit, although I don’t say anything. It’s just that I don’t want Rufus to think of us as silly schoolkids.
    ‘Here goes, then,’ I say, my finger on the doorbell. Thebutterflies in my tummy aren’t quite as frantic as last time but I feel shaky at the thought of seeing Rufus again. Sky can hardly contain herself. She’s hopping from foot to foot like a toddler who needs the toilet.
    The door opens. It’s Dad. Sky looks disappointed.
    ‘Hello, girls,’ he says. ‘Welcome to Chez Rufus.’ He leads us into the hall. The entire downstairs of the house is covered with dust sheets, and there are paint pots, brushes and rollers everywhere. ‘There’s not much for you to do today,’ he says. ‘You can help me test out some colours on the wall. See what works best.’ He checks out our outfits and smirks. ‘OK, girls, I’ve got some overalls you can wear to protect your clothes.’
    We hear someone padding down the stairs, and Rufus appears. He’s wearing his dressing gown – at four p.m. –and Ugg boots, which looks ridiculous. ‘Everything all right, Bob?’ he asks. Bob? Nobody calls my dad Bob. He’s always Robert, or Robbie, if you’re Grandma.
    Dad nods. ‘It’s all going swimmingly, Rufus.’ He gestures to us. ‘I’d like you to meet my little team of helpers. My daughter Rosie, you’ve met. These are her friends, Sky and Victoria. They also live on this street.’
    Sky gawks at Rufus, open–mouthed. Vix holds out her hand, and Rufus shakes it. ‘It’s Vix,’ she says, smiling.
    ‘Nice to meet you both,’ he says. He winks at me and my tummy does a little somersault. ‘Right, I’ll let you all get on. Have fun, girls.’Then he pads back upstairs again.
    ‘You can close your mouth now, Sky,’ I say. ‘He’s gone.’
    ‘Oh my God,’ she says. ‘That really
was
Rufus Justice.
    He’s even more gorgeous in the flesh.’
    Apart from the Uggs, I think.
    Isabella comes out of the kitchen and pops her head around the door.‘Vood you girls like some dreenks?’
    ‘Yes, please,’ says Sky, gazing up at her in awe. ‘I’ve got a really dry mouth.’
    ‘Hey, let me help you,’says Vix. She follows Isabella into the kitchen.
    About ten minutes later, Vix comes back in, carrying a tray of glasses filled with orange squash and ice cubes. ‘I think I’m going to head home