Illusions of Love

by Michelle Betham

  ‘You’re doing that smooth-talking thing again and I’ve told you, it’s so not necessary.’

  He opened her robe, slowly sliding it down over her shoulders, looking at her almost naked reflection in the mirror. ‘Jesus… I just want to fuck you forever,’ he groaned, slowly running his hands over her waist, down to her hips, making her gasp out loud. And it was true – he really did just want to spend an obscene amount of time in that incredible body, with everything it could do to him.

  ‘This really isn’t a great idea, Dominic. Not when we’ve got to go out there and…’

  ‘Have sex…’

  ‘I was going to say, act.’ She turned round to face him, sliding an arm round his neck, closing her eyes as he kissed her, slow and sexy, causing every inch of her body to break out in goosebumps.

  ‘I’ve told you, baby, we don’t have to do no acting.’

  ‘Jesus, Dominic, can you stop saying that, please? My dad’s out there.’

  ‘Then he’s gonna see his little girl like he’s never seen her before.’

  ‘Dominic! Come on…’

  He smiled at her – that movie star smile that caused her stomach to turn a thousand somersaults – and she couldn’t help but smile back as he moved his mouth closer, almost touching hers. She thought she was going to pass out with the intensity of it all. She honestly had no idea how she was going to get through that afternoon’s filming.

  ‘You’re not serious, though. Are you, Dominic?’

  ‘About what?’ he asked, pulling her closer.

  ‘You know what. Can we be professional about this? Please?’

  He looked at her, raising an eyebrow.

  ‘Oh, whatever,’ she sighed, rolling her eyes and he laughed, throwing his head back, his fingers lightly running up and down her back, causing her to breathe in deep – and want him more. ‘Okay, come on. Behave yourself.’ She’d suddenly turned on “Mommy Mode” and she couldn’t help laughing too. ‘You’re too horny for your own bloody good you are,’ she smiled, pulling her robe back around her as Michael approached them.

  ‘Whoa, here comes the ex-husband,’ Dominic smirked, his hand still on India’s back, and he had no intention of removing it. Why should he? Who was Michael Walsh anyway? Somebody who didn’t deserve India, that’s who. And he’d tell him that, one day. Soon.

  Michael looked at India, noticing the way she hurriedly tied her robe back up, the way Dominic’s hand lay lightly in the small of her back, and it tore him apart inside. Especially because of what he now knew. It had hurt before, of course it had, it would never stop hurting, seeing India with another man. But seeing her with this man hurt more than anyone could ever imagine. More than seeing her with Kenny or JJ had ever done.

  ‘We’re ready,’ he said, a stoic tone to his voice that he found hard to control, but he had to. He couldn’t let Dominic see any weakness.

  Dominic looked at India, lowering his mouth down onto hers in a kiss that India couldn’t help but respond to, even though it wasn’t really the time or the place.

  ‘I’ll see you on set, beautiful,’ he smiled, slowly letting go of her, leaving her alone with Michael.

  She watched him leave, her body aching to have him again and she wasn’t sure that was such a good feeling, considering the scene they were about to shoot.

  ‘So, Dominic MacDonald snares yet another leading lady,’ Michael said, looking right at her, his arms folded, the cap he always wore when he was directing pulled down over his eyes. ‘I really thought you would have known better. At your age.’

  She stared at him. ‘It isn’t like that.’

  He gave a small, cynical laugh, stroking his beard. ‘Yeah. You believe that, honey. But I think you’ll find I know a lot more about him than you might think.’

  She narrowed her eyes, pushing a hand through her hair, her stomach lurching slightly at the tone of his voice. She and Michael had moved on from a lot of the pain and heartache in their past, but he still had the ability to make her feel nervous when he loaded his sentences with meanings she couldn’t quite understand. ‘Do you want to tell me what you mean by that?’

  ‘I don’t mean anything by it.’ He couldn’t afford for her to be suspicious just yet. He still wanted to make sure he was good and ready before he outed Dominic MacDonald for who he really was. And would India still want him then? When she knew the truth?

  ‘Then don’t speak like you’re trying to hurt me, Michael.’

  She turned away from him, running her hands through her hair as she looked back in the mirror.

  ‘I’d never hurt you again, India.’ And he meant that. He would never, ever hurt her again. All he wanted to do was love her, like he had done before. That’s all he wanted. And without Dominic MacDonald he was almost certain that would have happened, that she’d be back where she belonged – with him. He’d just needed time to win her round. But now that job had just got a whole lot more complicated, bringing her back to him had just taken a longer route, but Michael would win. Because nobody could ever love her like he could. Nobody. Least of all Dominic MacDonald, the man with a secret that he was almost certain India would never feel comfortable with.

  She turned round and looked at her ex-husband. He was a lot older now, there was no getting away from that, but he still had that something about him; still had that quirkiness, that smile, and those blue eyes that could almost see right into your very soul. It was just that none of it even came close to Dominic. Not anymore. ‘You never meant to hurt me the first time, Michael.’

  He couldn’t say anything to that, and he wasn’t in the mood to re-live the past, not when he was far too busy planning his future.

  ‘You look beautiful.’ And that wasn’t just a way of deflecting her away from a conversation he had no intention of having – it was the truth.

  She ignored his comment. ‘Look, Michael, why are we doing this scene, exactly?’

  ‘It’s in the script.’

  ‘Come on, Michael. Dominic and I, we were supposed to kiss, that was all, that was the original script. Now all of a sudden you’ve got us doing all of this…’

  ‘Are you objecting?’

  She narrowed her eyes again, confused by his behaviour. Something was on his mind. She’d been with him long enough to spot the signs.

  ‘No. I’m not objecting to anything. I just don’t understand…’

  ‘Five minutes, India. Then I need you out there.’

  And he turned and walked away, leaving India more confused than ever.

  ***

  It wasn’t often that Vince Maine experienced paranoia but he was feeling it now, and he didn’t like it. But Charley was acting very strange, almost distant at times, and it wasn’t what he’d been expecting when she’d arrived in Vegas. He’d imagined her all smiles, desperate to spend time with him, wanting to talk to him about the salons and the fashion show she’d been such a big part of in L.A.

  But that wasn’t the way it had turned out. Instead she was quiet, withdrawn even, up and out of the apartment before he was awake most days, and he was an early riser, so heaven knows what time she was waking up.

  She spent most days out by one of the hotel’s many pools with Lily, or in her salon located within The Amber Palace, checking on how the Nevada end of the business was doing. Oh, he knew he was busy himself what with three hotels to run in Vegas, not to mention the restaurant in Beverly Hills, and the fact he wanted to keep an eye on filming while it was going on – he was an executive producer after all – but he’d thought that Charley would have at least tried to get him away from it all for a few hours at some point. But she hadn’t. In fact, she seemed almost relieved when he had to shoot off for any reason. She hadn’t even spoken to India all that much, which was strange, considering she’d told him she’d been desperate to catch up with her best friend.

  He stood at the side of the set, arms folded, watching India steal a kiss from her handsome co-star before he whispered something in her ear that made her lau
gh out loud. His wife’s movie star best friend, yet Charley hadn’t once been on set to watch her at work.

  ‘Looks like he’s got her twisted right round that little finger of his.’

  Vince turned round to see Kenny arrive by his side, hands stuffed deep in his pockets, his eyes immediately locking onto India as Dominic slipped his hand into hers, swinging her round into his arms, stealing a longer, deeper kiss.

  ‘And she never did care who was watching,’ Kenny went on, still staring at his beautiful best friend as she fell against a man with a reputation she should have been far more wary of. Dominic MacDonald had left so many young actresses in his wake, and India was old enough to know better.

  ‘Have you spoken to Charley since you arrived in Vegas?’ Vince asked, also looking straight ahead, but this time at Michael, not missing the way he watched his ex-wife with a co-star Vince knew Michael had never been comfortable with.

  Kenny didn’t miss a beat. ‘I’ve said hi. Why? Is something wrong?’

  Vince turned away from the goings-on happening on set and looked at Kenny, who was still watching India. ‘I don’t know. She just seems… she just seems different, somehow.’

  Kenny turned to look at him, hoping his face didn’t give too much away because, whilst half of him still thought Charley should talk to her husband about the reappearance of Jimmy Cash, the other half knew it was probably for the best that as few people as possible knew about it. For now. For as long as they could keep it that way.

  ‘She seemed fine when I saw her.’ She’d seemed anything but fine, but what else was he supposed to tell Vince? Jesus, it was like that whole terrifying, crazy nightmare was coming back to haunt them all over again and Kenny didn’t know if he was anywhere near ready for that. Jimmy Cash was a dangerous man – did he really think he could do this all on his own?

  Vince just stared at Kenny, as if hoping that looking at him for long enough would give him the answer he was looking for, but why would it? Why would Kenny know anything?

  ‘She didn’t say anything about… about me?’

  Kenny looked confused now. ‘About you? In what respect, Vince?’

  ‘Jesus, Kenny, I don’t know, do I? She’s just been so distant since she arrived in Vegas. When I spoke to her in L.A. she couldn’t wait to get here and see me, she was so excited about everything that had gone on over there – the salon, the way word was spreading about how it’s becoming the place to be seen… I just don’t get it.’

  ‘Do you want me to talk to her? See if there’s something on her mind? Or… or I could get India to have a word. She’s her best friend, after all.’

  Vince looked back over at India who was now being attended to by Scott, her make-up artist and hair stylist, while Dominic looked on, still making her laugh with whatever he was saying to her. ‘I think India’s a little tied up right now, don’t you?’

  Kenny followed Vince’s gaze. ‘Yeah. It certainly looks like it.’ He turned back to face Vince. ‘Do you want me to talk to Charley?’

  ‘I just need to know that it’s nothing to do with me, Kenny. Because I can’t lose her. That’d kill me.’

  And that, Kenny realised, was the whole reason Charley was keeping him out of it. Because losing Charley wouldn’t really kill Vince. But getting involved with Jimmy Cash just might.

  ***

  Reece had been banished from the set that afternoon – along with all other unnecessary cast members and crew – and he understood the reasons why. Watching his daughter getting so intimate with a man – even if it was just for the cameras – wasn’t something he particularly wanted to witness anyway, especially now he knew it was a relationship that had spilled over into real life. Seeing them together, even though it was all pretend, would still be an uncomfortable experience, given that he knew they were doing it for real behind closed doors. But it wasn’t India he really wanted to watch. It was Michael.

  Along with a great many others – both cast and crew – he couldn’t understand why Michael had suddenly extended this scene when he couldn’t really deem it necessary. And it wasn’t like Michael to waste time, to do something that was neither useful nor appropriate, and that’s what concerned Reece. Because he knew, somehow, that it all came back to India.

  ‘Hey!’ he called out as Dominic MacDonald walked past, wearing just jeans and that movie star smile. ‘Can I have a word?’

  ‘Reece… what can I do for you? I thought you weren’t sticking around this afternoon?’

  ‘Plans change.’

  Dominic laughed, sticking his hands in his pockets. ‘You really want to watch me making love to your daughter?’

  ‘Well, you’re not actually making love to her, Dominic. Are you? So quit with the cocky attitude and listen to me. I don’t really have any idea what’s going on with you two, but whatever it is, you just take care of her, okay? Because she has been through more shit than either you or I could possibly comprehend, and she doesn’t deserve any more. You got that?’

  Dominic held up his hands in surrender, backing away from Reece slightly.

  ‘You hurt her… Listen to me… you hurt her, and believe me, you won’t know what the fuck hit you, Mr MacDonald.’

  ‘Jesus, you really get off on protecting your little girl, don’t you?’

  ‘She’s my world, Dominic. You’d do well to remember that.’

  Dominic just smiled at him, before turning and walking away.

  Reece leant back against the wall and closed his eyes, sighing heavily. He had no idea what the hell was going on here, but he had a bad feeling that, whatever it was, it was about to kick off big time. And it was about to kick off soon. And Reece wasn’t sure there was anything he could do to stop it.

  ***

  India sat down on the bed, pulling her knees up to her chest, hugging them tight as she stared up at the lights above her, trying to block out the sounds of a movie set as she waited for Dominic to join her.

  She hadn’t spoken to Michael since she’d arrived back on set, other than to get the direction she needed for the scene, and that was fine with her, because his behaviour was unsettling; it reminded her of times she’d rather forget. Something was going on, she could sense it, and having no idea what that was wasn’t a feeling she’d been in a hurry to revisit. Especially where Michael was concerned. Was this all part of some game he was playing? She just couldn’t work it out, and that was the worrying part.

  ‘You okay?’ Dominic asked, sitting down next to her, his naked body covered only by a small white towel tied tight around his waist.

  India had to smile as she looked at him. He really was the most confident actor she’d ever worked with in this situation, because this wasn’t the first time she’d shot a scene like this. Far from it. It was just the first time she’d had to shoot one with someone she felt so attracted to. With someone as hot as Dominic MacDonald. With someone she’d had sex with not half an hour ago.

  ‘I’m fine. I could do without all of this, but that’s the nature of the job I suppose.’

  ‘You telling me you’re not looking forward to being with me? To having me touch you right where I know you like to be touched…’

  He slid his hand under the robe she was wearing, his fingers gently brushing her thighs until she smacked his hand away. ‘Pack it in, Dominic!’ But she couldn’t help laughing, although, that was probably caused partly by nerves. ‘Jesus, this is hard enough without you making it worse.’

  Michael watched from behind the monitor as Dominic and India laughed together, revealing a closeness he hadn’t really been prepared to see. But all that did was make it all the more important for him to get this scene in the can, and then think very carefully about confronting a man who’d walked into their lives and given Michael a bigger headache than he could ever have anticipated.

  Dominic MacDonald had become a threat Michael just hadn’t been prepared for, but that was fine. It was okay, Michael could deal with him. Even though he’d never had to deal with a situat
ion quite like this one before.

  Taking a deep breath he called for action, watching the monitor as the scene took shape. He watched as Dominic slowly pulled the robe away from India’s now naked body, running his hands over her breasts, down over her hips and thighs, his eyes scanning every inch of her as she bit down on her bottom lip, her arms thrown up above her head which only served to accentuate everything Michael missed every day of his life, and a pain like someone stabbing his heart and twisting the knife cut across his chest, forcing him to briefly look away.

  Knowing she was with another man was hard enough, but actually seeing her like this was something else, and now it was happening – pretend or not – it was the single-most painful thing Michael had ever experienced. Had he made a mistake by creating this scenario? No. It had needed to happen, to make him realise how much he needed India back in his life. To make him realise how much he still loved her.

  He’d given them free reign of this scene, letting them go for it without too much help from him. His main job was to direct the cameras, make sure the angles were right, that not too much was shown, but what did it matter anyway? It was more than likely that none of this would make it to the final edit anyway. This was all for Michael, a personal crusade to mess up his own head and then spur him on to bring Dominic MacDonald down. To make sure he knew the score, because Michael didn’t really care who he was. That didn’t matter, and it should – but it didn’t. Because all that mattered to Michael was getting India back. And that meant Dominic had to lose. Everything.

  ***

  Reece hung around in the open doorway of the hotel room they were using for this scene, watching from a distance, but close enough to be able to see Michael’s reaction to what was going on. And it was just as he’d feared. Michael Walsh was once more on a mission, and the target was quite obviously his daughter. The past was once again rearing its ugly head and Reece felt his stomach dip at the prospect of what might happen next, because Michael was nothing if not unpredictable. And whatever was going on, it concerned India and Dominic, Reece knew that for certain.