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her agent, and everything.’
    ‘Who the hell’s Darren when he’s at home?’
    ‘My boyfriend.’
    ‘Since when?’
    ‘Since last night. And I’m meeting him in town in a bit, so I’ll need to tell him when I can get the money.’
    ‘What money?’ Kim couldn’t keep up with this.
    Mia tutted irritably. ‘Money for the photos for the portfolio I’ll need. God, if I knew you were going to be this awkward about it I wouldn’t have bothered telling you. I’d have got the money off Darren instead.’
    ‘And how old is this Darren?’ Kim demanded, instantly suspicious. ‘’Cos if I find out some old man’s trying to pay you to strip off, I’ll—’
    ‘Don’t be so stupid.’ Mia cut her off tartly. ‘He’s sixteen , if you must know. And you can ask her if you don’t believe me.’ She jerked her head up towards the ceiling. ‘Anyhow, are you going to get me the money or not? I’ll need to let Darren know so he can tell his cousin to set up the meeting with her agent.’
    ‘No,’ Kim muttered, looking around for her cigarettes.
    ‘Mum, I need it,’ Mia moaned. ‘And you’ll get it back, ’cos Darren reckons I’ll make a fortune. And you can’t say I’m not pretty enough, ’cos you know I am.’
    ‘I never said you weren’t.’
    ‘Well, there you go then.’
    Kim sighed wearily and looked up at her daughter. Mia was stunning, there was no denying that. And she had more than her fair share of personality, which, irritating as it could be when she was arguing the toss, was perversely one of the things that Kim was most proud of her for, because she recognised her younger feistier self in her. So, if she was serious about this, was there really any harm in giving it a go?
    ‘How much is it going to cost for these photos?’ she asked, trying to make it sound casual so that Mia wouldn’t think she already had it in the bag.
    Mia knew her too well. Grinning widely, she yelped, ‘Thanks, mum! I knew you’d let me do it!’
    ‘I’m only saying I’ll think about it,’ Kim told her. ‘But don’t rush me or I’ll change my mind. And I’ll want names and numbers before I make any decisions, ’cos I’ve heard about the scams these people pull on kids like you, and I’m having none of that. Not when it’s my money getting used.’
    Knowing full well that these were just words, Mia bounded across the room and kissed her mother, gushing, ‘Thank you, thank you, you won’t regret it.’
    Forcing herself not to look as pleased as she actually felt by this rare show of affection, Kim said, ‘I still need to know how much we’re talking about.’
    ‘Not much,’ Mia said gleefully, oblivious to the instant look of horror on her mum’s face when she added, ‘Darren reckons it’ll only be about three hundred.’
    ‘God, that’s a lot . How the hell am I supposed to get my hands on that kind of money?’
    ‘You can’t back out now you’ve said I can do it.’ Mia’s face darkened in a flash. ‘I know it sounds like a lot, but it’s not that much really. And I’ll pay you back as soon as I get my first job.’
    ‘That’s not the point,’ Kim countered reasonably. ‘Honest to God, Mia, there’s just no way I can afford it.’
    ‘Oh, that’s just great, that is,’ Mia complained. ‘You don’t have any problem when you need booze and fags, do you? You just don’t want to put yourself out for me – that’s the truth of it.’
    ‘That’s not fair. You know I’ve always done my best by you.’
    ‘So do this for me, then. You’re always saying I’m way prettier than the girls on America’s Next Top Model , and if they can do it, so can I – and better . A year from now you could be living in a mansion, with your own swimming pool and maids and everything.’
    Kim flapped her hands and sighed. Mia was right; some of those top models earned a small fortune. She was always reading about them jetting about with their Prada shoes and their Gucci bags. And God knew none of