No Matter What (83 page)

“Tell me you didn’t feel anything,
India
.
 
Go on, tell me.”

She didn’t say anything, keeping her back to him.

“Tell me,
India
!”
 
His voice was louder now.
 
“Look at me and tell me you felt nothing there.
 
Be brave enough to do that because you can’t.
 
Can you?”

She finally turned around and looked at him.
 
“I’m going to have Michael’s baby, Kenny, and you can’t stop me.”

“Why are you doing this to yourself?
 
Why are you denying what you feel for me?
 
Why are you doing that?
 
We were always meant to be together, from the very first day we met I knew that, I felt that and so did you and that’s never changed.”

“I need him, Kenny.”
 
She was trying to stop the tears from falling again, trying to stop the confusion building up in her head but, at the same time, she knew it was too late for that.

“And
I
need
you
,” he said quietly.

“I’m going to have his baby.
 
He’ll be here at the weekend and we’re going to continue trying and it’ll happen.
 
It’ll happen, Kenny.”

He shook his head again.
 
“Don’t do it,
India
.
 
I’m begging you, please, don’t do it.”

Kenny wanted, needed, to stop her from doing this.
 
He wanted her to sit down and think hard about what it was she was getting into but what could he do?
 
She was as stubborn as hell and there was no getting through to her.

“I have to,” she whispered.

Kenny had no choice but to admit defeat.
 
He’d tried everything.
 
What else could he do?
 
“Then ... just don’t shut me out.
 
Please.
 
Don’t shut me out.”

“I was never going to, Kenny.
 
I just need you to stand by me and accept what’s happening.”

He’d never do that.
 
He’d never accept that what was happening here was right, that it was anywhere near the sensible thing to be doing but he couldn’t ever turn his back on her.
 
There were no guarantees she was pregnant yet, there might still be hope that she could start thinking straight.
 
One day she’d see sense and he needed to make sure he was there when she did.

“You know I could never walk away from you,
India
.
 
Never.”

No matter what happened, no matter what mess they were in, neither of them could stay away from the other.
 
And both of them were blind to the fact that that was where the entire problem lay.

***

Charley knew
India
was back in Vegas, she’d seen the fuss that had surrounded her arrival back at The Maine Resort, she’d seen the paparazzi spring back into action and the media frenzy start up all over again.
 
Most of it was because she was making her first movie with Kenny Ross – her very high profile ex-husband – in over a decade and people were desperate to see if they still had that on-screen chemistry that had been so obvious during that first movie they’d starred in.
 
Everyone knew they’d remained close friends, everyone knew their history, and neither Kenny nor
India
were exactly making it difficult for anyone to get a picture of them together while they were here.
 
They were always hanging out together when they weren’t filming, either in the hotel or out and about in Vegas.
 
They were a paparazzo’s dream at times.

But what people were really interested in, what the movie world really wanted to know and was waiting to see, was how everything they’d been through over the years translated onto the screen.
 
And that included Charley.
 
She’d always been somewhat fascinated at how they’d stayed so close, even a little jealous of their obviously very special relationship, a relationship that made them instantly at ease with each other, and it was so evident now as she stood on the sidelines, watching them together on the set of this much anticipated movie.

She probably shouldn’t have been there.
 
It probably wasn’t fair to
India
to have her hanging around but she was trying to keep out of sight.
 
She just wanted to see what was going on, yet part of her secretly wanted
India
to see her, she wanted her to know that she was here and she wanted to talk.

“Charley?
 
Come on, honey, you shouldn’t be here,” Vince said, taking her hand and leading her away from the set.

Charley followed, although slightly reluctantly.
 
Apart from the fact her friend was there, a friend she wanted to see so badly, she was enjoying the whole atmosphere of being around real movies being made.
 
It was so unlike the films she’d been used to making.
 
This was
Hollywood
.
 
This was the real deal.

“She’ll come to you in her own time,” Vince smiled at Charley, sensing she’d have been quite happy to stay there all day but he didn’t want to risk
India
seeing her before she was ready.
 
That wouldn’t help Charley at all.

“Vince ... when you spoke to Kenny, did he say she’d definitely speak to me?”

“It’s her first day back filming, sweetheart, you’ve got to let her get back to her routine first.”
 
He stroked her cheek and kissed her quickly.
 
“Don’t get your hopes up that you’re gonna be best friends from the word go though will you, Charley?
 
I don’t want you to be disappointed.”

“I just want to speak to her, Vince.
 
Anything else is a bonus.”

He smiled and squeezed her waist.
 
“Ok, look, if you promise to stay well back you might as well hang out here.
 
I’ve got to get to a meeting but I’ll see you on the terrace for lunch?”

She nodded and smiled.
 
“I’d like that, yeah.”

She watched him leave, smiling, because she loved her life right now.
 
Vince Maine was just perfect.
 
He’d come into her life and made it worth all the pain she’d gone through before, because if that hadn’t have happened, she wouldn’t be here now.
 

She was so busy watching him walk away that she didn’t see someone come up beside her, and when she turned round she let out a little shriek.

“Oh my God!
 
India
!”

India
smiled, an action which instantly put Charley at ease.
 
So different to the last time they’d met.
 
“I noticed you watching from the sidelines.
 
Listen, I’ve got a bit of time before I’m needed again so ... come on, let’s go to my trailer.
 
I’ll get us some coffee.”

Charley’s stomach was in knots as she followed
India
to her large on set trailer, sitting down on one of the sofa’s as
India
switched the coffee machine on.

Charley had never been in a real movie set trailer before, and judging by the size of this one
India
was most definitely up there on the A-list.
 
At one end there was a large living area with a full kitchen, the size of which was bigger than the entire ground floor of the apartment she and Casey had shared when they’d first moved to Vegas.
 
She could see the door to one room left open and inside it looked like it was set up as a salon with huge mirrors, make-up and hairdressing equipment lying around and a massage table in the centre.
 
There were more closed doors leading off the living area that Charley could only assume were a bedroom and bathroom.
 
It was huge!

“You could live in it, couldn’t you?”
India
smiled, handing Charley a mug of coffee and sitting down opposite her.

Charley just nodded, still somewhat surprised that she was here, and slightly apprehensive of what was going to happen next.

 
India
looked at her friend, noticing her obvious nerves, her hands shaking slightly as she held her coffee.
 
“Charley, it’s just me.
 
I’m no different to the person I was all those years ago, really, I’m not.
 
All of this, none of it changes who I am.”

“Doesn’t it?”

India
shook her head.
 
“Not really.
 
No.”

Charley looked at her, taking a deep breath as she put her coffee down on the table next to her, not trusting herself not to spill it.

“I’m sorry,
India
.
 
I am so, so sorry.
 
For everything that happened, for Terry ...”

“We both loved him, Charley.
 
He was willing to do anything for you because that’s the kind of person he was but, it’s over.
 
It happened, and I miss him every day of my life but it’s over, and we’ve all had to move on.
 
I want us to put it all behind us now, everything that happened … let’s just move forward, ok?
 
Me and you, let’s just move forward.”
 
India
looked down for a second.
 
“And I’m sorry too.
 
I should never have said what I did, I should never have blamed you, that wasn’t fair.
 
I’ve done a lot of thinking lately, and ...” She looked up at Charley’s expectant face, “… can we start again?
 
Are you up for that?”

Charley breathed a sigh of relief that
India
must have heard because she smiled, laughing slightly.

“Jesus, Charley, were you that scared of me?”

“You have no idea how nervous I was.
 
You’re such a big star now and I haven’t seen you for so many years … all I knew about you was what I read in the magazines and saw on TV.
 
I didn’t know if you were the same person anymore because … because so much has happened.”

“Yeah, you could say that,”
India
said, still smiling.
 
She was as relieved as Charley was if the truth be known, because she’d had no idea what she was going to say to her until she’d opened her mouth, but it had suddenly been so easy.
 
What was there to gain in bearing grudges?
 
It didn’t get anyone anywhere.
 
They’d been best friends once, who’s to say they couldn’t be that close again?

Charley looked at
India
and they suddenly both started laughing, all those years of not speaking to or seeing each other just disappearing as they laughed like they’d used to back when they’d shared that small but comfortable little flat in
Newcastle-upon-Tyne
.
 
Back when they’d had nothing and could only dream about things that were happening to both of them now.

“Shit,
India
!
 
I can’t believe you’ve won all those awards, married a Hollywood actor, our idol is your
best friend
, you own loads of huge bloody houses and make movies for a living!
 
It’s crazy!”

India
just smiled, putting her own coffee down and getting up, dragging Charley up too, giving her a huge hug, holding onto her tight as she tried not to cry.
 
She finally had her old friend back, and she’d never known how much she’d needed that.
 
She’d never really known, until today.
 
“I’ve missed you so much, Charley.
 
I didn’t realise how much until now.”

Charley thought she was dreaming.
 
She’d have been happy just for
India
to acknowledge that she was around but for this to have happened, this was more than she could have hoped for.

“I’ve missed you too,
India
.
 
I’ve really, really missed you.”

India
wiped her eyes as they stupidly started filling up with yet more tears.
 
She was so emotional these days, it was ridiculous.
 
“Ok ... how long have I got ... hang on a second, Charley, I’ll just give Bobby a call.”

While
India
called Bobby, Charley picked up a magazine that was lying on the table next to her and flicked through it.
 
It was one of those celebrity filled magazines that they’d always used to pick up on the way to work all those years ago and read on the bus.
 
Only this time
India
was in them, this particular one being no exception.
 
She was featured a couple of times; once with Michael – a picture of them on the set of the movie he was directing in L.A., smiling at each other and quite obviously in love - and another picture of her here in Vegas, with Kenny.
 
It was a paparazzi shot of them leaving a bar, his arm around her shoulders as they talked.
 
Their relationship was such a strange one for anyone else to understand because they said they were just friends, but then pictures like that one could well be interpreted otherwise.