Authors: Michelle Betham
‘But you’re gonna get to
kiss
him, Princess!
Oh-my-God!
You are gonna get to
kiss that mouth
!’
He sat down on the stool next to her, grabbing the script from her hands and fanning himself with it.
‘I have no idea how you can be so nonchalant about this, Angel.
How can you be so cold?’
She couldn’t help laughing again, jumping down from her stool as her seven-year-old son ran into the room, followed by her father.
‘What’s the matter with
him
?’ Reece asked, indicating Bobby who was leaning back against the breakfast bar still fanning himself with her script.
‘He’s learning to cope with his recent crush on Dominic MacDonald.’
She crouched down and hugged her little boy.
‘Hey, kiddo!
Come give your mum a big cuddle.
I’ve missed you!’
He put his arms round her neck and hugged her tight, giving her those kisses she’d been missing since the second she’d left him in L.A., just a couple of days ago.
‘You look pretty, Mommy.’
He smiled at her, and
India
couldn’t help but notice that the bigger he got, the more like Michael he became.
Those same blue eyes, that same smile.
Her beautiful baby boy.
Bobby sat up and looked at
India
, raising an eyebrow.
‘You’ve got
him
trained.’
She stuck her tongue out at him again, and Ethan did the same, making her laugh out loud.
‘You’re your mother’s son alright, Ethan Walsh,’ Bobby sighed, sliding down from his stool and going over to the coffee machine to make a fresh pot.
‘Can I see Daddy soon, Mommy?’ Ethan asked, climbing up onto the stool she’d vacated, looking at her with wide, hopeful eyes.
‘Of course you can see him, baby.
But he isn’t here.’
She looked at Reece out of the corner of her eye as he stood by the French Windows that led out onto a private terrace and pool, his arms folded as he watched her intently.
He was waiting for her reaction, but he wasn’t going to get the one he might be expecting.
‘He’s next door, in his own villa.’
‘Come on, Munchkin,’ Bobby smiled, lifting Ethan down off the stool.
‘I’ll take you to see your daddy.
I know how much he likes a visit from me early in the morning.
It’s his guilty pleasure.’
India
looked at Bobby and smiled, mouthing ‘
thank you
’, watching as Ethan happily followed his Godfather out of the kitchen, talking excitedly about everything he’d been doing back in
L.A.
‘He misses his dad,’ Reece said, walking over to her, absent-mindedly picking up the printed-out information on Dominic MacDonald.
‘Yeah, well, he sees him more than most other kids of divorced parents see their fathers.
Especially in
Hollywood
.’
Reece fixed her with a stare.
‘Do
you
?’
She stared back at her famous father through narrowed eyes.
‘Do I what?’
‘Miss Ethan’s father?’
She laughed, a slightly cynical laugh.
‘I’m not even gonna answer that question.’
But Reece hadn’t missed the brief, fleeting look that had passed across her face.
It spoke volumes without her having to say a thing.
‘So, being here is okay, is it?’
‘What are you getting at, Dad?
It’s way too early for this kind of cryptic conversation.’
‘You and Michael…’
She fixed him with an even harder stare, looking right into his eyes, just so he got the message loud and clear because she was tired of feeling like she had to prove it time and time again.
It was becoming exhausting.
‘There
is
no me and Michael.
Okay?
If you must know, I saw him last night, he tried to make a move, and I walked away.
I walked away, Dad, because I felt nothing.
He was right there, so close to me, telling me he wanted me back, and I felt
nothing.
So, there
is
no me and Michael.
Not anymore.’
Reece didn’t know whether to breathe a sigh of relief or feel nervous that this was just the beginning of a long road ahead, but if she was telling the truth then she’d at least proved one thing to herself – that she really was a stronger person now.
He decided not to push the subject.
She seemed to have a grip on things – for now – so making something out of it wasn’t the wisest thing he could do.
‘So, what’s this all about then?’
He handed her the sheet of paper he was holding and she looked down at the picture of her soon-to-be-new co-star.
‘Research, Dad.’
She put the piece of paper down and reached up to kiss his cheek, smiling at him.
‘And
you
should know how important that is.
I’ve got to go get ready now, okay?
I’ll see you on-set.’
His beautiful daughter with the damaged past.
He could only hope that, this time, she really
had
put it all behind her and was ready to move on.
But even if she had, he wasn’t sure he’d ever stop worrying about her.
And, looking down at the picture of Dominic MacDonald, he couldn’t help wondering if this really was nothing more than just innocent research, or if it was the start of something more than that.
He didn’t know.
Was Dominic MacDonald a distraction for his daughter?
Was that what she was looking for?
Something – some
one
– to take her mind off Michael?
Reece always thought the worst, even when there was no evidence to prove anything otherwise.
But at least, this time, he was close enough to see just what was going on.
If anything
was
going on.
But he was going to make it his job to find out.
CHAPTER 7
Charley loved what she did.
She loved the noise and the chaos and the whole atmosphere of being surrounded by creative people from the worlds of fashion and modelling and heaven knows what else.
It was where she belonged.
The days of being stuck behind a desk at ‘Wheatman and Rogers’ – the firm of solicitors that she and India had worked for back in their old home town of Newcastle-upon-Tyne all those years ago – it seemed like another lifetime away.
She had been due to leave for Vegas soon but, out of the blue, she’d been contacted by Candice Coley, one of L.A.’s top new young designers, who’d asked Charley to work with her at a big charity fashion event taking place in Beverly Hills, and it was a chance Charley hadn’t been willing to turn down.
Her
L.A.
salon was quite obviously gaining popularity by the week, and to expand out into fashion shows and events was something she’d only ever been able to dream of before.
But she had a chance to make it a reality now, and Vince understood that.
He was busy with the movie anyway; he wouldn’t really have all that much time to miss her, and if she had a successful time here then who knew what else might come of it?
Her life was so perfect right now, and she was more excited than she had been in a long time because everything felt as though it was finally starting to fall into place.
She’d just spent a very busy and extremely tiring day going over hair and make-up ideas for the show with Candice and, although she was shattered, it had been one of the best days.
Candice loved her ideas, and they worked well together.
The contacts she could make here could prove to be invaluable and Charley was on a ridiculous high, excited for the future and all it could bring her.
A future she’d worked hard to achieve.
Gathering together her brushes and combs, sliding them back into their wrap and putting them in the cupboard by her work station, she stood up and folded her arms, looking around her beautiful, and now empty salon.
Without Vince she wouldn’t have any of this and she smiled at the thought of her wonderful husband.
He was so proud of her, and that meant a lot to Charley because, for a long time, she hadn’t been very proud of herself.
She sighed, turning to look in the mirror, running her hands through her long dark hair.
She didn’t look too bad, considering she’d been on her feet all day.
A bit tired maybe, but that was only to be expected.
All of a sudden something made her swing round, a sudden noise that seemed to come out of nowhere and she quickly scanned the quiet, empty salon.
She had a weird feeling of someone watching her, even though she knew she’d checked the place over before she’d locked the doors.
There was nobody else inside but her.
It didn’t stop her from feeling slightly uneasy though.
Walking over to the huge expanse of glass that fronted the salon she peered out onto the busy street.
Then she shook herself; she was being stupid.
There was nothing there, nobody was watching her.
She’d had a long day, that was all.
She was imagining things.
This was a large salon and when it was empty and quiet like this of course it was going to feel a little weird, maybe even a touch creepy, especially when it spent most of its time full of noise and chatter and music.
She was just being paranoid.
But that didn’t stop her from checking the salon over one last time before she left, making sure every room was empty and every door was locked.
She wanted to call Vince.
She really felt like a long chat with her husband because she had so much to tell him, but rather than call him from her office here at the salon she decided to wait until she got home.
It really had been a long day.
It was time to go home, open a bottle of wine and chill out in a bubble-filled bath while she called Vince in Vegas.
Sliding her bag up onto her shoulder she closed the doors of
Charley’s
behind her and locked them, making doubly sure they were shut tight and, looking around her once more as that feeling of unease crept briefly back, she walked to her car, the thought of that bubble-filled bath and hearing Vince’s voice making her smile, everything else forgotten.
Because, as far as Charley was concerned, her life was perfect.
There was absolutely nothing to be worried about.
***
He pulled his hat down further over his eyes and watched from across the street as she closed the salon doors behind her, stopping for a few seconds to quickly look around before walking to her car.
A nice little car.
Just what he’d imagined she’d drive, really.
Looking in his rear-view mirror he smiled to himself, covering his eyes with his dark glasses, starting the engine of his inconspicuous Ford.
She’d never for one second imagine him to be driving something like this but that’s exactly what he wanted.
He wanted to be inconspicuous.
He needed to blend into the background, be invisible.
For now.
But that wouldn’t last forever.
He switched on the climate control and turned the radio on, cranking up the volume on a country music station as he pulled away, driving off in the opposite direction to her.
His work was done for one day.
It wouldn’t do to rush things just yet.
He had all the time in the world now, and if he wanted this to play out the way he’d planned then taking his time was the best way to go.
Soon enough the excitement would begin.
Soon enough Charley Maine’s life was about to change, all over again.
***
Dominic had forgotten how boring making a movie could be sometimes.
All the sitting around and waiting.
And for these first few days of filming that was pretty much the way it had been.
His scenes had been few and far between but he’d kept himself very much occupied by watching Michael Walsh in action.
As a director he had a very specific way of doing things that seemed to work for everybody, both cast and crew.
He was a very amiable, very friendly guy and he’d been nothing but polite and professional with Dominic.
Which was good.
That was a good start.