Authors: Michelle Betham
Dominic got up and moved round the table so he was sitting opposite her, blocking her view of the pool and she knew it would look totally childish now if she turned her back on him.
And it would only draw unnecessary attention in their direction anyway, which was something they could both do without.
She sighed, removing her sunglasses, sitting back in her chair.
‘What do you want me to say, Dominic?’
‘I just want you to talk to me.’
‘I’m talking to you now, aren’t I?’
He looked at her with those ice-blue eyes of his, staring right at her, and she swore she felt her heart flip over, causing her to take a deep breath as she briefly turned away from him, looking over towards her bodyguard who raised his eyebrows, silently asking her if she was alright.
She nodded, throwing him a small, reassuring smile.
‘Is he really necessary?’ Dominic asked as she turned back to face him.
‘At the minute he is, yes.
I don’t particularly
want
him following me around all day but it’s that or be bombarded by paparazzi and reporters wanting to know what’s happening between you and me.’
‘And what
is
happening between you and me?’
She stared at him, unable to tear her eyes away from his.
‘I really don’t know.’
He sat back, still looking at her, which made
India
feel slightly uncomfortable for some reason.
A little on edge.
‘Let’s get out of here,’ he said, his eyes still fixed on hers.
‘I don’t know…’
‘Please,
India
.
Just give me a chance to explain.’
She sighed heavily, throwing her head back.
‘I don’t know if I want to listen to any more excuses, Dominic.
This is really hard...’
‘And you think I’m having it easy?’
She looked at him again.
‘I didn’t say that.’
‘Don’t I deserve just a little of your time?
To explain things?’
She stood up, pushing her chair back and sliding her sunglasses down over her eyes.
‘There’s nothing to explain, really.
Is there?
I think we all know exactly what happened, why you did it…’
He stood up too, desperate not to let her get away from him, not this time.
He was tired of the way things were, tired of only being close to her on set, tired of sleeping without her.
He’d got too used to it, too used to her being around and he needed her back.
He needed her, and he wasn’t going to stop until things were the way they’d used to be – before all this crap had happened.
‘Okay… okay, but…
India
, baby, please.
I need you to just listen to me.
I really need that.’
‘You’re Michael’s son, Dominic.
No matter which way you look at it, you’re Michael’s son.’
‘And that isn’t my fault, honey.’
She fixed him with one last look, trying to ignore the huge dip her stomach took as she did so, the feeling of a million butterflies flying loose.
‘No, it isn’t.
But how you handled it is.’
And, as she turned and walked away from him, Dominic knew this fight was going to be a whole lot harder than he’d first anticipated.
He was a link to Michael Walsh, and any link to that man was a barrier for
India
.
But a barrier he’d overcome, because if Dominic MacDonald had inherited anything from his father it was the determination to get what he wanted.
No matter what.
***
Martha stood by the huge wall of windows that lined one side of the suite Reece was staying in at The Amber Palace, her arms folded as she looked out over the sprawling view of
Las Vegas
and the desert beyond.
She’d joined Reece in Vegas for the final few days of filming.
It hadn’t been planned – she’d had other things to do in reality, new projects to talk about, meetings to go to – but the way things were here, the whole Michael/Dominic/India scenario, Martha was worried.
She was worried about Reece’s reaction if anything got out of hand.
She was worried about what might come out.
But, more than anything, she was concerned about the fact she was keeping secrets from him.
Big secrets, secrets that he’d never been privy to, but secrets he maybe should have been aware of right from the start.
India
had told her everything in confidence, even though Martha suspected she’d never meant to tell her anything at all.
But this wasn’t just something minor, some little white lie, something that didn’t matter, because it
did
matter.
It mattered because it was the whole reason
India
had been unable to move on in all this time.
It had happened seven years ago but the repercussions were still being felt now, and even Reece could see that.
He just didn’t know the real reason why.
‘Everything okay?
You look miles away.’
The sound of Reece’s voice made her turn around and fix a smile on her face in record-quick time.
She wasn’t one of the best character actors around for nothing.
She was good.
‘I’m fine, honey.
I’m just fine.’
‘Look, I’m due on set soon, but, you can come with me, or you can stay here and relax.
Maybe visit Charley down in the salon, go shopping…’
‘Reece, sweetheart, I think I can amuse myself, okay?
I’ll be fine.’
He smiled, walking over to her, sliding his arms round her waist and pulling her close, kissing the tip of her nose.
‘I’m really glad you’re here.
I mean, I know India’s here, and working with her on this movie it’s… well, apart from all the off-set drama it’s been good, good to spend some time with her.
But she’s got Kenny here now, and I know she wants to be with him so, it’s good to have you around.
I miss you when you’re not here.’
She smiled up at him.
He was still so handsome; a beautiful, beautiful man.
She loved him so much, which is why harbouring such an important secret felt so wrong.
They didn’t have secrets, they never had.
And she wished more than anything that she didn’t have this one.
‘Hey, I miss you too, honey.
I really do.’
She reached up to touch his cheek, stroking his face gently with her fingertips as she looked into those blue-grey eyes of his.
Eyes that were replicated in his beautiful daughter’s face.
‘It’s been good for you, hasn’t it?
Spending this time with
India
?’
His face broke into a smile at the mention of his daughter, and Martha couldn’t help but smile too.
He made her want to smile, that’s why she loved him so much, why she didn’t enjoy keeping things from him.
‘I can’t tell you how incredible it’s been to work with her again.
She’s such a professional, and she has this amazing talent… Despite everything that’s gone on she walks out onto that set and lets nothing bother her.
Nothing gets in the way.
She can just switch it all off and become that person she has to be and I will never tire of watching her do that, Martha.
She really does have an incredible talent.’
‘Yeah, and I think we all know where she inherited that talent from, don’t we?’
He pulled her closer, kissing her slowly, loving the fact she made him feel about twenty years younger just by smiling at him.
His wonderful wife.
‘I really think we’re getting closer, Martha.
Me and
India
.
She’s opening up to me so much more, talking to me about things she never used to.
She’s letting me in, and you’ll never know how much that means to me.
Oh, I know there are still things she’ll never talk to me about, things I still don’t know, and I don’t think I even
want
to know anymore.
I really don’t.
Why dredge all that up again?
She’s told me I didn’t
need
to know, and I’ll respect that.’
He smiled at her, that movie star smile that had broken the hearts of hundreds of women before her.
A smile she loved because it was a smile that told her he was genuinely happy.
‘What we don’t know won’t hurt us, huh?’
She looked up into his eyes again, smiling a smile she hoped was as convincing as it had been before.
‘I guess not.’
And, as she watched him walk away, she threw her head back and sighed, closing her eyes.
What they didn’t know wouldn’t hurt them.
A saying that would be true, and she’d totally agree with him, if she
didn’t
know.
But she did.
And what she did with that information was still something she had yet to decide.
***
India
walked into the salon and smiled at Maisy – a very pretty dark haired young woman whom
India
knew had once been a lead showgirl at The Maine Resort, the oldest of Vince’s Vegas hotels.
She was tapping away at a computer keyboard behind the large, oversized reception desk but she’d looked up the second
India
had walked in, greeting her with that incredible smile of hers.
Looking around at the beautiful, almost tranquil surroundings Charley had managed to create,
India
couldn’t help but feel incredibly proud of her best friend.
Her vision of what she’d wanted to create here at
Charley’s
wasn’t only unique, it was breathtaking.
Within seconds of walking into the welcoming reception area it was like a feeling of calm washed over you from invisible vents and India felt her shoulders sag and her whole body feel lighter as she continued to look around, taking in the tropical plants, the bold yet relaxing colours Charley had decorated the place in, and the gentle background music playing from TV screens which carried accompanying images of beautiful landscapes, beaches and sunsets.
India
had visited this salon on more than one occasion since it had opened, but every time she set foot inside it, it never failed to impress her.
It was so different to the
Beverly Hills
branch of
Charley’s
.
It was almost as if Charley just knew how to pitch both her salons to the right clientele.
She had Beverly Hills down to a tee with the glamour and glitz that her mainly socialite clients demanded, whilst here in Vegas she had it spot on, with just the right amount of slightly-over-the-top kitsch combined with a touch of the Hollywood edge
Charley’s
was known for.
‘Have you got an appointment?
Because, I’m not sure we can fit you in, we’re so very, very busy these days, y’know.’
India
swung round to see Charley standing there, beautiful and business-woman-smart in a pair of black tailored trousers, white shirt and extremely high black heels, her dark hair piled up on top of her head.
She looked calm, in control, but
India
knew that, inside, she must be feeling anything but.
The stories of her past seemed to keep coming every day, matching the stories coming out concerning
India
, Dominic and Michael.
Together they were keeping the gossip columns on red alert, and it was hard.
But even harder for Charley, because she had so much to lose.
And it was what happened if she lost it all that concerned
India
.
‘You mean, you can’t squeeze me in?
Me?
A
Hollywood
movie star?
Don’t you know who I am?’
They both burst out laughing, hugging each other tight.
‘You haven’t come here for any treatment though, have you?’ Charley asked, holding her friend out at arm’s length, taking in her stunning outfit of a simple short white dress that showed off her lightly tanned skin to perfection, and wedge-heeled ankle boots, her long blond hair pulled back into a loose and messy ponytail.
She looked every inch the movie star, and a long way from the tomboy who’d started out on this journey two decades ago.