‘Erm, yeah… yeah, of course. You… you told me this morning.’
She narrowed her eyes as she looked at him. ‘Are you okay? You look tired.’
He ran a hand through his hair and sighed, looking forward to a night on his own with a bottle of bourbon and the TV. He’d be glad of the peace. He needed to think, because there was a lot to think about before he headed off to Vegas.
‘I’m fine, Layla. You just… you just enjoy yourself. Have a good night.’
Layla didn’t take her eyes off him for a few minutes, even when he’d turned away and started gathering together the pile of papers he had strewn all over the kitchen table. She wasn’t stupid. Just the mention of India’s name and his whole demeanour changed. An award winning actor he might be, but he wasn’t good enough to hide his feelings where his ex-wife was concerned.
Layla had long since gotten used to being second best in his life, because to compete with India wasn’t something she had the energy to do anymore. But she wasn’t sure how much longer she could carry on like this. She’d lived in India’s shadow for far too long now and it was quite obvious that Michael wasn’t going to take their relationship any further. But she was only thirty-three. She wanted to get married, she wanted to have a family, and that was never going to happen with Michael. Even though she loved him. Far more than he’d ever loved her.
‘You’re invited you know,’ she said, fastening her watch onto her wrist, still watching him as he packed away his files and papers into his briefcase. ‘To India’s. You can come too, if you like.’
He turned round and looked at her. ‘No. No, I don’t think that’s a good idea.’ He turned away, pushing his chair back under the table.
‘Why not?’
He swung back round at her quick reply, not meeting her eyes because he couldn’t. He really couldn’t look at her and trust himself when talking about India.
‘Because, I… I just don’t feel like it, Layla. Maybe I am a little tired. I could do with an early night.’
‘Do you want me to say hello for you?’
He knew what she was doing, and he couldn’t really blame her. They’d been together for a long while now yet their relationship had all but stagnated. She wanted marriage; he just wasn’t willing to make that commitment to her. She wanted a baby, he just couldn’t go there. It didn’t feel right, because it wasn’t. It wasn’t right at all. Layla was a wonderful, beautiful woman, but she wasn’t India. Nobody was India, and even though he’d tried to stop comparing everyone to her he just couldn’t do it. From the second he’d laid eyes on her almost twenty years ago, when she’d been nothing but a shy and pretty twenty-two-year-old from the U.K., he’d been in love with her. That love hadn’t always been perfect, and he’d made some horrific mistakes that he was more than lucky she’d forgiven him for, but he’d never got over losing her. Not when it had taken him so long to win her love in the first place.
He’d overcome the obstacle of Kenny Ross – major movie star and India’s closest friend. Kenny Ross – India’s first husband, albeit for all of a few weeks. Kenny Ross – a man that would constantly be in her life. A man Michael had always seen as his biggest threat as far as India was concerned. But, when her short-lived marriage to Kenny had collapsed, Michael had been there to pick up the pieces, he’d made sure of that, and she’d eventually made every dream he’d ever had come true by falling in love with him in a way he could never have imagined. And they’d been happy. They’d been so happy, until he’d ruined it all with one act of terrifying stupidity that had caused her to cut him out of her life for so long; too long. And he was lucky she’d ever accepted him back, even if it was only as a friend. She’d done it for the sake of their son, he knew that, he was under no illusion it meant anything else. But he’d never stop hoping. Especially now it looked like her marriage to JJ Foster was coming to an end.
‘Michael?’
Layla’s voice shook him back to reality and he looked at her.
‘Jesus, Michael, you were miles away. I’m going now, alright?’
‘Yeah. Yeah, sure. You go enjoy yourself.’
She walked over to him, kissing him lightly on the cheek, feeling sad at the ever-growing distance between them. ‘Have a good night, okay? And get some rest. You’ve been working too hard.’
He watched her go before leaning back against the table, throwing his head back, sighing heavily as he pushed a hand through his hair. He was relieved she was gone, relieved to be alone.
Pouring himself a large glass of bourbon he went into his study and closed the door behind him, switching on the large TV on the wall opposite his desk, watching as the images flickered into life in front of him. The same DVD had been in the player for months now. He saw no reason to change it. It was something he enjoyed watching, something he could watch time and time again and never get tired.
Sitting back in his chair he swung his feet up onto the desk, taking a sip of bourbon, not taking his eyes off the screen, because there she was – the only woman he’d ever wanted. The most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. His ex-wife. India Walsh. Movie star. Mother of his son. The woman he was still very much in love with.
CHAPTER 3
India quickly pulled on a T-shirt and ran a brush through her hair before zipping up her boots and running downstairs. She was going to be late for her own party at this rate, although, party was probably pushing it a bit. It was just a little get together for a few friends, very informal, and hopefully a chance for everyone to have a good time before they all went their separate ways to shoot their movies or make their music, or deal with whatever business they were currently dealing with. She had friends from that many walks of life it was hard to keep up with what everyone was doing half the time.
‘There you are, Angel! I thought you’d got lost. Mind you, that’s possible in this house, the size of it.’
India smiled as she saw Bobby waiting for her in the large yet cosy kitchen of her Hollywood Hills home. Bobby Castle, her trusted and invaluable P.A., Godfather to her kids, and the best gay friend a girl could wish for. Bobby had worked with her for over ten years now, and without him she’d fall apart, no word of a lie. He kept her crazy world in check, he organised her life, but, most of all, he understood her better than anyone else. She loved him like a brother, and she needed him more than she’d ever care to admit. In a long-term and extremely happy relationship with Miguel – an in-demand mixologist to the stars whom he’d met seven years earlier when the handsome Puerto Rican had been working the bar at a party thrown by India and her then-husband Michael Walsh – Bobby Castle had a life he adored beside a woman he couldn’t live without. And for Bobby to say that, then India really had to be something special. But they were a team. And neither of them would have it any other way.
‘Stunning, as always,’ Bobby smiled, kissing her on both cheeks, holding her at arm’s length as he looked her up and down. ‘But then, you always did know how to rock a T-shirt, Princess.’
She stuck her tongue out at him as she opened the fridge, helping herself to a bottle of beer. ‘It’s a party, Bobby, not a red carpet premiere. And where did you get that shirt?’
‘A yard sale.’
India almost choked on her beer. ‘A yard sale? When did you start going to yard sales? What’s the matter? They shut Rodeo Drive down? And if you need a pay rise you only had to ask.’
He pursed his lips and smoothed down his rather bright and colourful shirt. ‘I’ll have you know this wasn’t just any old yard sale, Missy. It was a yard sale at Mason Forrester’s house.’
Mason Forrester was a hot-shot movie studio owner and extremely successful businessman. India had worked with him a couple of times and always found him to be the epitome of professionalism. His wife, DeeDee, was one of Beverly Hills’ most notorious socialites, always seen with the right people, always hanging out at the right places. She was a regular at Charley’s and India knew her well. Yard sales just didn’t seem her kind of thing.
India took another drink and pulled herself up onto the breakfast bar, resting her feet on the stool in front of her. ‘Get out of here! Mason Forrester? Doing a yard sale? Does DeeDee know he’s flogging half their wardrobe to all and sundry?’
‘It was DeeDee heading the sale, actually. Which was for charity, for your information. And what are you insinuating? All and sundry indeed… All the Beverly Hills housewives were there, I’ll have you know. It was probably one of the campest events I’ve ever been to, if I’m honest. And they served the best Kir Royales I’ve had in a long time, although, don’t tell Miguel that. He’d never forgive me. I told him they were a little bit flat, but…’
‘Yeah, okay, I get it, Bobby. It was a lot more than your average yard sale. It’s still a hideous shirt, though.’
She ducked as he threw a magazine at her, laughing as he proceeded to tickle her mercilessly.
‘Am I interrupting?’
India sat up straight and looked over towards the kitchen doorway, her heart missing that proverbial beat as her soon-to-be-ex-husband, JJ Foster, stood there, leaning against the door post, arms folded.
‘I’d better go see if Miguel’s fully stocked,’ Bobby winked at India, and she couldn’t help but smile at him. Tactful, as always.
‘He doesn’t change, does he?’ JJ said, walking further into the kitchen.
‘No, and I hope he never does.’ India slid down from the breakfast bar, putting her beer down on the counter top.
JJ pushed a hand through his dark hair, looking at her with those beautiful brown eyes that had once managed to draw her in and make her think they could be together forever. But nothing ever worked out the way you thought it was going to. She knew that better than anyone. Now.
‘I’ve come to pick up Ellie.’ He couldn’t take his eyes off her, he really couldn’t. Even though every second he was here was killing him, because he hadn’t fallen out of love with her. As far as he was concerned he still wanted their marriage to work – he still wanted to try.
JJ Foster had met India three years after her very high-profile divorce from Michael Walsh, when they’d begun working together on the hit sci-fi TV series ‘Covert One’. It had taken a while for her to finally fall in love with him, but, once she had, he’d been the happiest man alive. She was this beautiful, incredible woman who could turn him on with just a smile and all he’d ever wanted to do was be with her. They’d had their amazing baby girl, they’d got married in a perfect secret ceremony and he’d thought that, after all of that, nothing could tear them apart. But she’d never really opened up to him. And that had been the problem.
She’d had secrets. Real big secrets. Secrets that, once revealed, had proven too much to handle and he’d taken the coward’s way out by running away when he really should have stayed and talked to her. Secrets that had, ultimately, led to the shattering accident that had nearly killed her and it should never have taken something like that to make him realise how much he loved her. That should never have happened. He shouldn’t have let it.
But, against all the odds, she’d pulled through, they’d re-taken their wedding vows in full view of the world and he’d thought – he’d really thought – that coming through all of that would mean nothing could pull them apart again. But he hadn’t banked on just how powerful Michael Walsh could be. People thought you couldn’t compete with a man who’d had a hold over her for almost twenty years. People thought you couldn’t fight a man like him, a man who’d all but destroyed her, a man who’d broken her down so many times and yet still she wanted him in her life. It was something JJ would never really get his head around. It was something he’d never really understand. But he still believed that Michael was the reason India couldn’t make their marriage work.
India turned away from JJ as she picked up Ellie’s overnight bag, unzipping it and checking – unnecessarily, because she knew she’d packed everything – that all the stuff she needed for a night with her daddy was in there; any excuse not to face the man she’d hurt in a way she’d never meant to. But she hadn’t been honest with herself, so how could she possibly have been honest with him?
‘Ellie’s upstairs, in the nursery. Emma’s just getting her ready.’
Emma was India’s most valuable member of staff, because she was the one who helped her look after the two most precious things in India’s life – her kids. She’d been with India for over seven years, ever since Ethan had been born, and India didn’t think she could trust anyone else to care for her babies the way Emma did. She was an angel, a friend, and India wouldn’t be able to live her life the way she did without her.
‘You can go up and see her,’ India said, finally turning round to face JJ, unable to avoid looking at him now. ‘If you like.’
He kept his eyes on hers, walking over to her and she didn’t move. Even when he was right in front of her, so close she could feel his breath on her cheek. ‘Why are we doing this, India?’
She looked up at him, staring into those incredible dark eyes. She’d never forget looking into those eyes on their wedding day, full of hope that she’d finally found her prince. She’d never forget how happy she’d felt, how handsome he’d looked. How beautiful that amazing day had been. And yet, here they were, on the brink of divorce after less than two years and there hadn’t even been a row, no real reason for them to be separating at all. It was hard to accept, but she knew she couldn’t stay with him. She just knew. Even though there was still a part of her that loved him so much.
He reached out and gently stroked her cheek with the back of his hand, still staring into her eyes. Jesus, why couldn’t things have been different? Why couldn’t she just see how great they were together? They’d been through so much and he couldn’t believe she was willing to throw all of that away for something so uncertain.
‘You don’t have to do this, India. You don’t have to walk away from me.’
She put her hand over his and moved it away, breaking the stare. ‘Yes, Joe. I do.’
The moment was over and JJ knew that. Too fleeting to be able to make anything out of it. Maybe he hadn’t tried hard enough, or maybe it wasn’t even worth bothering because she had her back to him again; a signal that she didn’t want this situation to carry on any longer, and he got the message.
‘I’ll go get Ellie then,’ he said, watching her as she zipped up their daughter’s pink overnight bag, keeping her back to him. ‘I’ll bring her back tomorrow evening, if that’s okay?’
India nodded, staring out of the window. She was all but dismissing him and it made him sad. She deserved to be happy, but it was almost as if she wouldn’t allow anyone in to help her find that happiness. She wouldn’t allow anyone beyond the barriers she put up. And JJ wondered if, maybe now, it was time to stop trying.
***
Dominic MacDonald was thirty-six-years-old, six-foot-one-inches-tall and about as handsome as you could get without it being illegal. He had messed-up, almost scruffy-looking dark brown hair but on him it looked less rock star and more stylish, framing a face that carried the most incredible blue eyes and a smile that could only be described as devastating. Yet, despite all of this, he wasn’t somebody who knew he was good looking and wanted the world to know that, although, he could turn it on when he needed to. When the situation called for it. But, when he wasn’t playing Mr Movie Star he was a modest, almost understated young man. He was naturally charming, very polite, and someone who just happened to be one of the most incredible looking men in the world of movies right now.
With a flair for romantic comedies he was an actor who was very much in demand. He was a lot of people’s first choice for leading man and he played the part like nobody else could, with his natural charm and modesty translating perfectly onto the big screen. Originally from Manhattan, he’d moved to L.A. in his mid-twenties, when the movie offers had started flooding in, and over the years he’d had a steady and successful career, working with some of the biggest names in Hollywood with varying degrees of succ
ess. Because his one downfall was the fact he couldn’t stay away from relationships with his leading ladies. He had a reputation for falling in love with his pretty co-stars then leaving them the second a new movie offer appeared with a new conquest on the horizon. But even he was getting tired of that now. He wasn’t twenty-five anymore. He was getting older.
But, despite that, settling down wasn’t high on his agenda just yet. No, he had quite a few things to sort out before he even began to think about that, because the past year or so had thrown up a few surprises in Dominic’s life. He was still getting his head around everything his mother had told him just before she’d died, only a few months ago. Things she’d waited until her final breath to tell him. Things he’d had no idea about, until now. Things that had messed up his head for a while but he was in control now, it was all in hand. He was coping with the news, and in some ways it made a lot of things in his life make a lot more sense but, well; he’d get there. He knew what he was doing.
Walking over to the bathroom mirror he stared at his tired reflection. Maybe he shouldn’t have stayed up half the night playing poker, not when he should be preparing for this new movie he was due to start shooting any day now.
He looked back out into the bedroom, at the pretty young woman lying naked in his bed, still asleep and not anywhere near as appealing as she had been last night when he’d been blinded by too much Jack Daniels and a box of Cuban cigars. He really had to cut back on nights like that, so maybe heading to Las Vegas – the setting for his new movie – wasn’t the ideal place for him to be going. But, then again, it was also the place he needed to be. He was looking forward to it. For a number of reasons. Who wouldn’t say no to a couple of months in Vegas? Especially when you were going to be working alongside the one actress he’d waited years to make a movie with. The one actress he’d always wanted to meet but, so far, had never managed to get anywhere near. Now, however, he had a reason for wanting to get close to her.
Illusions of Love Page 2
