Illusions of Love

chapter 19



‘Hey, stranger!’ India smiled, sitting down opposite Charley who was having a quiet coffee in the Terrace Breakfast Restaurant, her dark glasses down over her eyes as she sat under the shade of a canopy, out of the already blazing early morning Las Vegas sun.

Charley looked up at her best friend, pushing her sunglasses up onto her head and smiling, although she felt like doing anything but. If it wasn’t for Kenny she honestly thought she’d have lost it by now, but knowing he was around and that she wasn’t alone made her feel just that little bit safer. ‘Hey back. How you doing?’

‘That should be who’s she doing,’ Bobby sniffed, sitting down next to India, pushing his reading glasses down onto his nose as he consulted his ever-present diary.

Charley threw a puzzled look in India’s direction.

‘He means Dominic MacDonald,’ India sighed, sitting back in her chair and accepting a glass of orange juice from a waiter who quite obviously had some kind of crush on her, made obvious by the way he looked at her with a ridiculous smile on his face.

‘She’s like the Pied Piper,’ Bobby said, not looking up from his diary. ‘Except, instead of rats she attracts toy boys…’ He looked up, throwing India one of his disapproving expressions. ‘Actually, on second thoughts…’

‘For Christ’s sake…’ India sighed again, slightly heavier this time, pulling her hair back into a loose ponytail.

Charley was still looking puzzled. ‘Am I missing something here?’

‘Oh, haven’t you heard?’ Bobby gasped, leaning forward and adopting his “I’m about to let you into some gossip” stance.

‘Heard what?’ Kenny asked, appearing at the table, kissing India quickly before sitting down opposite her, throwing a smile in Charley’s direction.

‘Madam here, and her latest young stud,’ Bobby replied, pursing his lips in a mock-disapproving manner. ‘On set, yesterday.’

‘Bobby…’ India started to protest, but then gave up. What was the point? It was practically common knowledge anyway.

‘The gossip is rife around here, believe me,’ Bobby went on, waving his arms about in an over-dramatic fashion, completely ignoring India.

‘What gossip?’ Kenny asked, looking at India who just looked away, focusing on the busy restaurant where a mixture of tourists and businessmen were having breakfast on yet another beautiful Vegas morning.

‘Well, my little English Princess here, and the rather hot Mr MacDonald, shot a sex scene yesterday. And, apparently, the word on the movie set is that there was no acting involved.’

Both Kenny and Charley looked straight at India, but she just shrugged. ‘What?’

‘Is that true?’ Kenny asked.

‘Y’know, Bobby, that mouth of yours is going to get you into trouble one day,’ India said, throwing him a look that spoke volumes.

‘It’s hardly a secret, Angel. Everybody’s talking about it. I wouldn’t be surprised if it was on Entertainment Tonight before the end of the week.’

‘Is it true?’ Kenny asked again, still staring at India.

‘We had sex – for the cameras. It was a movie scene, okay?’

‘Real sex?’ Charley gasped, unable to believe India could have done something like that.

‘As opposed to what?’

‘Acting, Missy,’ Bobby replied crisply, his attention now focused back on his diary.

‘Believe what you want to believe,’ India sighed. ‘I’m really not bothered.’

‘Evidently,’ Bobby said, under his breath.

‘Have you not got work to do?’ India asked, crossing her legs and pushing her dark glasses down over her eyes.

Bobby stood up, gathering his things together. ‘I know when I’m not wanted,’ he sighed, leaning over to kiss India on the cheek. ‘Make-up in ten minutes, Princess.’

As he flounced off in the direction of the hotel’s gardens – where most of that morning’s filming was taking place – India turned her attention to Charley and Kenny, not missing the little glances that were passing between them, the reassuring smiles Kenny kept throwing in Charley’s direction.

‘Everything okay?’ she asked.

Charley’s expression changed far too quickly for India to think anything other than it wasn’t, but she wasn’t going to push it. Not yet. Whatever Charley told her she’d accept. For now. She had enough crap of her own going on anyway.

‘Everything’s fine,’ Charley replied, smiling a smile that even India could see didn’t reach anywhere near her eyes. ‘I’m just a bit tired. I guess everything’s just caught up with me.’ And never a truer sentence had been spoken. A lot was catching up with Charley, and none of it was welcome. None of it was going to go away easily, and that’s what she was scared of. But, as much as she loved India, she couldn’t bring her in on this. She couldn’t let anyone else know about this. It was just too dangerous.

‘Okay,’ India said slowly, turning her attention to Kenny who was fiddling with a coaster in front of him. ‘I just haven’t seen all that much of you since you arrived in Vegas.’ She looked back at Charley, who’d joined Kenny in staring at the table.

‘We’ll have to make time to have lunch,’ Charley smiled, quickly looking up, her eyes meeting India’s. ‘We obviously have a lot to catch up on.’

‘Yeah. We do.’

‘Okay, look, I’ve got to go rescue Vince from babysitting duties, let him get to work. I’ll call you later, India. We’ll sort something out, have that lunch.’

India just nodded, watching Charley as she almost ran off in the direction of the hotel before turning her attention back to Kenny. ‘What’s going on?’

Kenny threw her a confused look. ‘Huh? Shouldn’t I be the one asking you that?’

‘Look, I’m sleeping with Dominic MacDonald, so what? I don’t know what everyone’s so bothered about. You were all half expecting it to happen anyway.’

‘F*cking him in front of an entire film crew though, India?’

‘It wasn’t an entire film crew, Kenny. It was a closed set. And anyway, what happened – or didn’t happen – on that film set is still very much a rumour. Remember?’

‘You see, you’re being flippant again. It’s a terrible habit of yours when you’re on the defensive.’

‘Jesus, when did you turn into my dad? Can we forget about me and Dominic for a minute and concentrate on Charley? Is she okay?’

‘Why you asking me?’

‘Because there seemed to be something going on there, Kenny. Little looks, reassuring smiles… Has something happened between her and Vince?’

Kenny sat back, trying to adopt a casual stance, one arm slung over the back of the now vacated chair Charley had been sitting on. ‘India, I don’t know. Quit with the questions.’

She sat back too, pushing her dark glasses up onto her head. ‘Right back at ya, Kenny.’

He couldn’t help smiling, and neither could she. ‘Shit, India… tell me you didn’t really f*ck Dominic MacDonald in front of the cameras. The last thing you need is a freakin’ sex tape doing the rounds.’

‘I didn’t really f*ck Dominic MacDonald for the cameras,’ she smiled, getting up and pushing her chair back under the table, looking right at Kenny. ‘Or, maybe I did. You’ll just have to watch the movie and make your own mind up, won’t you?’



***



Jimmy watched from his position by the slot machines as Charley walked briskly through the casino, dark glasses covering her eyes, her head down. She had a right to look nervous. She had every right, because it was time to move out of the shadows now. Oh, not literally. Jimmy wasn’t going to show himself any time soon, not yet. It was too early for that. But it was time to show her that he hadn’t gone away. It was time to make his presence felt.

It was time to let the countdown begin…



***



Dominic lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, his hands clasped together over his chest as he thought about everything that had happened over the past couple of weeks. And how none of it had exactly gone to plan. Although, yesterday had been something of a bonus, shooting that scene while India’s ex-husband had looked on, filming every second. What a freakin’ turn on that had been.

India Walsh – now firmly under his skin, filling his head, mixing up every f*cking emotion he’d ever felt. And it hadn’t been in his game plan, he hadn’t even considered it might happen. Sure, she was one hell of a woman, but she’d only ever originally been in his sights as a way of getting back at a man who’d once hurt someone very close to Dominic. Now she was someone he wasn’t sure he could be without.

Okay, so all they’d really done so far was sleep together, but he felt something, right there in the pit of his stomach, every time he looked at her. He felt something. But what that was, exactly, he had yet to work out.

Closing his eyes he slid his hand down under the covers. Just thinking about her was making him crazy and she wasn’t here so he was going to have to take care of business himself.

A real-life movie star fantasy she could turn him on with just a smile, tell him what she wanted him to do to her just by looking at him a certain way and he threw his head back and groaned, keeping his eyes closed as he remembered just a few hours ago when she’d put on a private show for him behind closed doors, stripping like a hooker, taking it all off slowly, making him sit there and watch with his hands behind his back while every inch of him had wanted her with an ache so bad it had physically hurt. She’d played with his head, messed with his mind, and then given him the ride of his life wearing nothing but killer heels and a smile.

Jesus, what was this woman doing to him? He groaned louder as the memories of her naked body wrapped around his filled his head, bringing him to a solo finale that would have to do – for now.

Lying back against the pillows he opened his eyes, waiting for his breathing to slow down, his chest rising and falling with the exertion he’d just put himself through. And still it hadn’t been enough to push thoughts of her from his mind.

He sat up, pushing his hands through his hair, sighing heavily. Things had just got a whole lot more complicated now, and he was sure he could stop this if he really wanted to. The problem was that he didn’t. But he still had a job left to do here, no matter what was happening between him and India. The game was still playing out, but maybe now it was time to end it. Maybe now it was time to confront the one man he’d come here to play against. His father.



***



Michael watched India sign autographs at the barriers set up around the perimeters of the set where crowds were gathering to catch a glimpse of a real-life movie being made – and the stars who were taking centre stage.

He watched as she chatted to people as though she’d known them all her life, having photographs taken, kissing men who probably dreamt about her every night on the cheek, sending them back to their hotel rooms with a hard-on and a memory they’d keep for years.

She looked incredible, and she hadn’t even been into make-up yet. Dressed in white denim shorts, a tight black AC/DC T-shirt and biker boots, her hair pulled into a loose ponytail, she looked a good decade younger than her forty-two years. And Michael loved her just as much now as he had done when he’d first laid eyes on her almost twenty years ago. It was never going to go away, and he couldn’t accept that she’d never be his again, he just couldn’t do it. Because, deep down inside, he knew she’d never forget what they’d had together either – the most intense, the closest of relationships. They belonged together. Michael and India Walsh – one of Hollywood’s most powerful couples. And he hadn’t come this far just to let a kid he hadn’t even known he had take the one most important thing in his life away from him. That wasn’t going to happen.

His eyes met India’s as she turned around, walking over to him, smiling that smile that still made his heart skip that proverbial beat, even though it meant nothing to her. She was smiling at him because she smiled at everybody. And that realisation still cut through him like the sharpest of knives.

‘Was Ethan okay last night?’ she asked, slightly distracted by the arrival of Dominic on set, a large group of female fans making their presence felt in the most obvious of ways.

‘He was fine. We watched a couple of DVD’s, had some take-out, cracked open a bottle of bourbon…’ She quickly swung back round to look at him and he raised an eyebrow. ‘Just checking you were actually listening to me.’

‘Of course I was listening to you. Why wouldn’t I be?’

He looked over her shoulder and she followed his gaze, watching Dominic as he laughed along with his “fan club”, draping himself over them for photographs as they screamed and clung onto him.

‘What happened yesterday, India?’

She turned away from Dominic and started walking towards the make-up trailer. Michael fell into step beside her, pulling his cap down further over his eyes. ‘You threw in a scene that didn’t need to be there, Michael.’

‘Was it real?’

She stopped for a second and looked at him. ‘Haven’t you watched it back?’

‘Oh, countless times, honey. And you still look incredible, but then, you always did look beautiful when we made love.’

She said nothing, just started walking away again.

‘There are things you don’t know about Dominic MacDonald, India. Things that, maybe, you should know.’

She stopped walking again and swung round to face him. ‘Like what?’

‘Can you trust him?’

‘What are you trying to say here, Michael?’

‘I’m asking if you can trust him. So, can you?’

‘I don’t know him well enough to have those kinds of feelings for him. What is this, Michael?’

He moved closer to her, reaching out to gently touch her check, stroking it with the back of his hand. ‘I just don’t want to see you hurt, India.’

She looked up into those blue, blue eyes of his. ‘Nobody’s going to hurt me.’

He gave a small laugh, pulling his hand away, still staring at her. ‘I’ll see you on set.’

There was no point in telling her anything just yet. Hopefully he’d sown a seed of doubt, planted something there in her mind that would prevent her from getting any closer to Dominic MacDonald, and then when this man – this uninvited guest – finally tripped himself up and the truth came out, India would back away from him faster than he could ever anticipate. And Michael would step in, play the shocked and stunned long-lost father confronted with this son he never knew he had – he’d play the innocent victim, and make sure that Dominic looked like the liar he was. A man who’d kept this big secret from India, when he really should have told her everything. But he hadn’t. And that was his first mistake.



***



‘She suspects something, doesn’t she?’ Charley asked, pulling her knees up to her chest as she sat on the sofa in Kenny’s apartment within The Amber Palace. She felt drained and exhausted with the effort it was taking to pretend everything was alright, when it was so far from that.

Spending her life looking over her shoulder, jumping at every random noise, every shadow, every time she heard footsteps behind her; it was wearing her down. And not being able to share any of it with Vince, having to shut him out of her life almost until she knew exactly what was going on, it was so tiring. Even Lily could tell something wasn’t right with her mum, and that was the worst thing of all.

‘India isn’t stupid,’ Kenny said, sitting down next to Charley, handing her a mug of coffee. ‘Well, not when it comes to things like this she isn’t, anyway.’

Charley looked at him. ‘Does this thing with her and Dominic bother you that much?’

He sighed, pushing a hand through his hair. ‘It doesn’t bother me at all, Charley. Not really. I just worry about her, that’s all. I love her like crazy, y’know? And I’m just scared that she’s getting herself into something with Dominic that she doesn’t really understand. It’s like… it’s like she always has this need to be with someone when I wish she’d just take a step back and spend some time getting her head together. The last thing she needs at the minute is some mixed-up relationship with her co-star. Especially one with a reputation like his.’

‘She doesn’t really know him all that well, does she?’

‘No. She doesn’t. But you know India. She has a habit of jumping into these things without thinking anything through first. I just don’t trust him.’

Charley smiled at him. ‘You don’t trust anyone she gets involved with, Kenny.’

He couldn’t help smiling back. ‘No. I don’t suppose I do.’

Charley stared into her coffee. The only time she felt safe was when she escaped up here to Kenny’s apartment. She didn’t even feel safe at home, with Vince, because she couldn’t talk to him about any of this, she couldn’t be herself, she couldn’t get things off her chest, and that was hard. But Kenny made everything seem so much easier to cope with because she could open up to him, let it all out. Tell him how she really felt. ‘I’m scared, Kenny.’

He gently took the coffee out of her hands, placing it on the table in front of them. ‘Come here, come on.’

He pulled her into his arms for a hug and she clung onto him, grateful for the warmth and security that something so simple could give her right now.

‘I know that me constantly telling you it’s going to be okay isn’t really helping but, I will try and make sure that it is okay, Charley. I promise you that.’

She held onto him tight, her arms around his waist as he kissed the top of her head. She just wanted to close her eyes and forget any of this was happening. She just wanted to stay there, and forget.

‘But what if it isn’t, Kenny? What if this all goes wrong… what if Jimmy’s after some kind of sick revenge?’

‘Hey, come on.’ He tilted up her chin so she was looking right at him, her tired and frightened eyes meeting his. ‘You can’t think like that, honey. You can’t…’

And he hadn’t intended for what happened next to happen, neither of them had, but it was like something was pushing them together, some invisible force they had no control over. And as his mouth gently touched hers she responded as though it was the most natural thing in the world, an action that had almost always been on the cards from the second she’d told him about Jimmy’s reappearance.

It was a slow, gentle kiss, a kiss that had now transcended that barrier between friendship and whatever else was there on the other side, because neither Kenny nor Charley were entirely sure what that was. All they knew was that they needed each other – for different reasons, maybe, but they needed each other. And whether those reasons were right or wrong, neither of them really cared. Charley needed the safety that Kenny could give her, and Kenny needed the distraction that Charley could provide. And together, that could only spell out one hell of a lot of trouble.