Illusions of Love

chapter 13



Charley had just put Lily in her room for a nap in the huge Penthouse apartment she and Vince shared within The Amber Palace when Vince walked in, a smile immediately spreading across his face when he saw his wife.

Throwing his jacket over the back of a nearby chair, he held his arms open as Charley ran into them and he picked her up, swinging her round.

‘Hey, baby! It’s great to see you. I’ve missed you so much!’ he said, putting her down and tilting her chin up, kissing her mouth. ‘So f*cking much.’

She couldn’t help but smile back. Just a few seconds with Vince and she already felt better, but it was a false sense of security, an uncertain feeling of calm, and she knew that. Deep down she knew that. And she also knew that, at some point, she’d have to tell Vince about Jimmy because he wouldn’t go away. Jimmy Cash never started anything without seeing it through to the end, but right now she just wanted to enjoy being with her husband, enjoy being a family again. Enjoy catching up with India before she had to face up to the nightmare that had now been forced upon her.

‘I’ve missed you too,’ she smiled, looking into his eyes. She loved him so much, she really did. He’d saved her had Vince Maine. He’d come into her life at a time when she’d really needed someone like him. And he’d given her a life she could only have dreamed of before so it scared the hell out of her to think that Jimmy Cash could destroy all of that, in ways she didn’t even dare think about.

‘Is everything okay?’ Vince asked, stroking the hair from her eyes and she tried to look happy, tried to look as though nothing was on her mind because she couldn’t face that conversation just yet. Not yet. ‘You look a little pre-occupied. Is the show still on your mind?’

She almost breathed a sigh of relief. She hadn’t even thought of hiding behind the fashion show for a few days, pretending she was recovering from the stress of all that. It was the perfect smoke screen. But a flimsy and weak one, and something she wouldn’t be able to hide behind forever.

She smiled again, standing up on tip-toes to kiss him, loving the feel of his arms around her, the safety that could give her. But she wasn’t sure they could keep her safe from what was happening now, from a threat she couldn’t even begin to contemplate.

‘I’m just tired, sweetheart. It’s been a busy week, and I guess I really needed this break. I really needed to see you.’

‘Well, you got me now, kiddo. And I’ll make sure you have the best time, I promise. Now, where’s that gorgeous daughter of mine. I’ve got presents for her.’

‘She’s in her room. And she’s dying to see you.’

Charley stood back and folded her arms, watching as Vince grabbed a handful of wrapped boxes and headed off to Lily’s room. She waited until he was safely inside before she leant back against the wall, closing her eyes, breathing a heavy sigh.

Her little family was perfect. But how long was it going to stay that way?



***



‘You and Layla Boyd? Again?’ India gasped, staring at Kenny as they shared a beer outside in the grounds of the stunning Bel Air home where the video shoot for Black Rock Diamond’s new track Dangerous Day was taking place.

‘Yeah. Who’d have thought, huh?’

India looked down into her drink, a sudden feeling of confusion washing over her. Was Layla with Kenny purely because she thought Michael didn’t want her? Because she thought that her and Michael were back together?

It was almost as though Kenny could read her mind and as she looked back up at him, her head wasn’t exactly feeling any clearer about anything as he asked her a question she knew he’d wanted to ask the second she’d arrived there that morning.

‘Are you going back to him?’

She didn’t have to ask who he meant. It was obvious he meant Michael. ‘No. I’m not.’

‘So, why split from JJ?’

‘Joe and I aren’t divorcing because I’m seeing someone else, Kenny. Michael is totally irrelevant to that whole situation…’

‘You sure about that? So, you’re telling me that being there in Vegas with him… You’re telling me that nothing’s happened? He hasn’t tried to go near you?’

‘He’s my director.’

‘You know what I mean, India.’

She wasn’t really in the mood for this kind of inquisition from anyone, least of all her best friend, who was starting to sound suspiciously like her father now.

‘I can’t deal with this, Kenny, okay? Not from you. I came to L.A. to get away from what’s going on in Vegas so I don’t appreciate the interrogation.’

‘I care about you, India.’

‘I know you do,’ she sighed, reaching out to take his hand. ‘I know you do, and quite honestly, Kenny, I can’t believe you still put up with me after all these years because I really don’t deserve a friend like you. I really don’t. But, you don’t need to worry about me and Michael, okay? There’s nothing going on… nothing. Not with Michael, anyway…’

She stopped talking, realising she was now voicing thoughts she’d never meant to say out loud as the memory of Dominic’s kiss filled her head; how he’d felt when he’d held her against him – how he’d tasted.

‘Are we talking about Dominic MacDonald here?’

Kenny’s voice broke into those thoughts and she stared at him, unable to get the words together to say anything, so she was grateful for her phone ringing and a much-needed diversion from a conversation she didn’t really want to get into. Even though she knew she was going to have to, at some point. She couldn’t avoid it forever, Kenny wouldn’t let her. Not now.

Looking down at the caller ID she smiled – Dominic. She couldn’t even remember giving him her number but she must have done, and she surprised herself with how happy she felt at the fact he was calling her. A dangerous sign maybe, but she was beginning to think Dominic might be just what she needed right now. An all-important distraction.

‘Someone you’re keen to talk to?’ Kenny asked, letting go of her hand, not missing the look on her face – a look he’d seen so many times before. A look that signalled she’d found that distraction, that someone new. Someone that was going to take up all her time and use up all her energy. Someone that meant that he was going to miss her more than he already did. And once again Kenny just wished that, if she really did want a distraction, then why couldn’t she just choose him?

India looked up, putting the phone to her ear, that smile still on her face but she said nothing, just turned and walked away from him. Leaving Kenny with that all-too-familiar feeling of dread.



***



‘Hey! Everything okay?’ India asked, sitting down on the edge of the huge turquoise-blue swimming pool they were filming around, watching as the crew set up for the next shot.

‘Everything’s fine.’ Dominic’s soft voice came clear down the line and India couldn’t seem to wipe the smile from her face. ‘I just wanted to hear you… I wanted… What the hell. I’m here, okay?’

‘Here? In L.A.?’ India wrinkled her nose in confusion. What was he doing in L.A.? Wasn’t he needed in Vegas?

‘Yeah. Here, in L.A. They’re shooting scenes with Reece for the next couple of days so I’m surplus to requirements, and I hate hanging around. Hate being at a loose end. Boredom kills me.’

‘You’re telling me that a man your age was bored? In Vegas? With free time on your hands?’

She heard him laugh, a deep throaty laugh that reminded her so much of JJ. And how much she’d loved his laugh. How much she’d loved him, and look where they were now.

‘Well, you weren’t in Vegas so, yeah. I was bored.’

She was smiling again, a ridiculous fluttering feeling going on in her chest – this was crazy! She wasn’t fifteen, and she should really know better. Especially after everything she’d been through in the past, the mistakes she’d made because of feelings like this. But there was something about Dominic MacDonald – something that made her want to get to know him better. She was drawn to him in some strange way, there was some kind of a connection there, she felt it. She couldn’t say what it was; she couldn’t explain why she felt it, she just did. And anyway, surely now she knew the pitfalls of jumping into relationships so quickly, didn’t she? Especially when she was on this almost permanent rebound from Michael. So, she could avoid them happening all over again, couldn’t she? God knows she could do with a bit of fun. Nothing serious, that wasn’t on her agenda for the foreseeable future. But fun? Yeah. She could do with a bit of that.

‘So, where are you?’ she asked, her eyes fixed on Kenny as he talked to Black Rock Diamond’s front man Mark Cassidy across the other side of the pool. She hadn’t missed Dominic as such since she’d left for her short stay in L.A., but now she knew he was here she suddenly just wanted to see him. Something had happened back in Vegas – that kiss, it was the beginning of something she couldn’t ignore, and she wasn’t even sure she wanted to. Even though she knew she should.

‘I’m on the Strip. At the SunsetTower, do you know it?’

‘Yeah, I know it. Me and Kenny have stayed there quite a few times.’

‘I thought, maybe, we could meet. Later. I mean, I know you want to see your daughter, and…’

‘Ellie’s here.’ India dipped her fingertips in the cool water of the pool, idly moving her hand backwards and forwards, watching the ripples it created as though they were the most fascinating sight in the world. ‘Emma – her nanny – she’s brought her here to the shoot…’ She suddenly sat up straight, pulling her hand out of the water. ‘Does Michael know you’re here?’

‘He’s my director, India, not my security guard. He told me I wasn’t needed for a couple of days but I have absolutely no idea if he’s aware I’m in L.A.’

He’d be aware. India had no doubt about that. It was Michael’s job to be aware of the movements of any man that came near her, she knew that only too well.

‘So, he actually told you you weren’t needed for a couple of days?’ She pulled herself up from the cool concrete and started walking back to the shade of the table she’d been sitting at.

‘Yeah… What’s the problem, India?’

She sat down, shielding her eyes from the sun as she looked over towards Kenny who was indicating to her to come over. ‘There isn’t one.’ Whether that was the truth or not she didn’t know, and she obviously didn’t have the time to explain anything to Dominic. Not when she didn’t really know what was going on herself. ‘Look, I should be finished here around eight, so, I’ll meet you at the hotel? In the bar?’

‘I’ll get the beers in, huh?’

She leant back in her chair and smiled, laughing quietly. ‘You know me so well.’



***



It was Dominic’s intention, to know her well. To know everything about her, to make sure he had everything he needed before he moved on to his endgame. But even he had to admit that it was harder than he’d ever imagined it would be, playing this game.

It had started out as nothing more than him wanting to prove something to Michael Walsh; to show him that he couldn’t control everything, that he wasn’t the only man who could make India love him, and that plan was going just the way Dominic had wanted it to. And soon it would be time for him to reveal exactly why he’d been playing this game – and why he had anything to prove to Michael Walsh at all, because he had reasons. Oh, he had reasons.

But what Dominic hadn’t really planned for – and this was a speed bump he really didn’t need – were the feelings he was starting to experience. They’d been there, in the background, for a while but he’d tried to shake them off, tried to forget they were there because acknowledging their presence represented a weakness, and he didn’t need that. There wasn’t time for that. But they were getting stronger, they were gathering speed, and it was getting harder to ignore them. Had following her to L.A. been the best move? Probably not. But that one kiss, just touching her like that, it had set something going – a trail of events that was to lead to a revelation that India couldn’t even begin to imagine.