India couldn’t help smiling. “I turn around, Bobby ... think about it.”
It took a few seconds but he finally got it and India couldn’t help giggling as he started fiddling about with her hair and straightening her dress, tutting away like some disapproving parent.
“And you could have taken this off,” he said, readjusting the top of her dress, continuing to fuss around her as Michael walked into the kitchen, his hands in his pockets, smiling that movie star smile. India looked at him and her stomach did a little flip that she knew had nothing to do with the baby. She was purely and simply in love.
“It was much more fun with it on,” she said, watching Michael lean back against the kitchen counter, his eyes on hers all the time.
Bobby looked from one to the other and sighed again. “I’ve never met anyone like the pair of you. Do you see what I have to work with here, Scott? And I don’t know where you get your energy from, angel. If I was carrying a bump like that I’d be lying down constantly.”
“She is, most of the time,” Michael smiled and India giggled again as Bobby rolled his eyes, checking his list to make sure everything was in order.
“Are you going to behave yourself tonight then, angel?” he asked, without looking up from his list, his glasses perched on the end of his nose, pen in hand. India had a fit of the giggles she couldn’t control now and Bobby just looked at her, which made her laugh even more.
“Bobby, stop it will you. You’re making me feel like a naughty teenager.”
“Yes, well, act like one and that’s what happens,” Bobby said, looking over at Michael, who was finding this all very amusing.
“Don’t make me laugh anymore, Bobby, please,” India giggled. “I’m gonna wet myself in a minute.”
Michael just raised an eyebrow, which made India giggle again.
“Oh, very ladylike,” Bobby said, putting his list down and checking her over once more as Scott finished re-touching her lips. “There. All done ... again. Right, can we get these two in their car now before someone leaves them alone again? Because they really can’t be trusted anymore.”
She stood up on tip-toes and kissed Bobby quickly as he hugged her. “I love you, Bobby Castle.”
“Yes, and I love you too, honey.” He held her out at arms length and looked at her. “You look gorgeous, angel. Now, just try and stay that way until you get to the theatre.” He hugged her again, handing her a matching baby blue handbag. “Right, your pager straight to Dr Goldman’s in there, just incase you get any problems with Junior ...” He looked at Michael. “Should she really be going out when she’s so near her due date?”
Michael just shrugged. “Do you want to try telling her to stay put?”
“Fair point.” He turned his attention back to India and the contents of her handbag. “Ok ... where was I? Right, your pager, that’s in there, and a bottle of water because you need to keep hydrated, we can’t have you passing out, you’ll take all the attention away from Mr Walsh’s movie if that happens. Are you ready?”
“You tell me.”
“You’re ready.”
Michael came over and slipped his hand into hers, smiling at Bobby. Being at home so much over these past few months had meant he’d seen a lot more of India’s quirky, gay personal assistant, although it was more than evident that he was far more to her than just that. He was her friend, and a very close one who cared a lot about her. Michael liked him. He made India laugh and he looked after her, whether he was around or not, and Michael knew India really wanted him to be a Godfather to their baby, something which he had no problem with whatsoever.
Bobby looked at the two of them, standing with his arms folded, a soppy smile on his face. “You look so gorgeous together. You have no idea ... that baby is going to be so beautiful. Right ...” He clapped his hands twice, springing into P.A. mode again. “... let’s get this show on the road. Come on, into the cars and let’s go. It’s time to launch this movie.”
India and Michael looked at each other and smiled. They knew tonight was going to be fun. They just had no idea what else was on the cards.
CHAPTER44
Layla Boyd loved going to premieres, especially when the movie in question was one she was starring in. Being the centre of attention was something Layla had been used to since she’d been a little girl so nights like this were something she almost craved. She may only have what they called a “supporting” role in ‘Above Board’ but the reviews she’d heard already had been quite positive, and Michael Walsh had been very pleased with her performance. Very, very pleased.
She smiled as she thought about Michael. In the beginning she hadn’t found him in the slightest bit attractive, and the only reason she’d ever made a play for him was because her mother had told her it could be beneficial to her career. Well, she hadn’t been wrong there. He was a very powerful man in this town. He’d put the word out on her behalf and she now had a number of projects lined up but she wasn’t finished with Michael Walsh just yet. He’d been off the scene for a while because his wife was expecting their first baby and that hadn’t exactly filled Layla with joy. It hadn’t been part of her plan for India to get pregnant and take Michael’s attention away for all that time but she was sure, almost positive, that once this baby was born and the novelty wore off, he’d be back. He’d be back to pick up where they’d left off and then India would get what Layla thought she still deserved.
As the car door opened and Layla stepped out onto the red carpet, flashbulbs started popping and the noise of the crowd almost deafened her as people shouted out her name, asking her to turn this way and that to get the best shot they could of her. And she was most definitely dressed to impress in a very short and very tight white dress with very high heels, her hair piled up on top of her head. She looked striking to say the least, and she was certainly getting the attention she so badly wanted as she smiled and waved to the crowd that had gathered outside, waiting to catch a glimpse of the stars arriving. This is where she belonged. Layla was in heaven. Until, almost as suddenly as it had begun, all attention seemed to focus on something else, the cameras turning away from Layla onto something going on behind her and she turned around just in time to see the arrival of Michael and India Walsh. She’d had her five minutes and now the real stars, in the eyes of the media, had arrived.
She stood and watched as Michael helped a pregnant India out of the car, his hand holding tightly onto hers as they walked the red carpet, every photographer in the place clicking away like their lives depended on it, and Layla couldn’t take her eyes off the attention that was focused on the two of them. She hadn’t seen India in months. She’d seen that interview she’d done a few weeks ago, and the photographs of her and Michael that had been featured, but to see her here, in the flesh, looking heavily pregnant but totally stunning, it made Layla feel sick. India was almost thirty- four years old, ten years or so older than Layla, but she looked amazing. And watching the way Michael looked at her, almost over-protectively, Layla couldn’t stand it. She turned away and walked into the theatre, knowing that she’d lost the battle for tonight. But eventually she’d win the war. She’d see to that.
***
Kenny had decided to go to the premiere. Why not? It was a night out and he was curious to see this movie. As much as Michael Walsh was his lifelong competition as far as India was concerned, he’d always admired his work. Or maybe he was just going to see India. Whichever reason, he was going on his own. No plus one for Kenny tonight, he just wasn’t in the mood for a date with someone he wasn’t really interested in. He was going it alone.
He arrived just before India and Michael and he stood on the sidelines, talking to the press, while out of the corner of his eye he watched the arrival of the director and his wife. And just looking at India almost took Kenny’s breath away. Was he ever going to stop feeling this pain every time she was around? It hadn’t happened yet so why should it stop now?
His eyes went down to her prominent bump, noticin
g how she kept one hand almost permanently resting on it as she walked, her other hand holding tightly onto Michael’s as they posed for photographs and talked to people in the crowd. She was smiling constantly, occasionally turning to her husband for a quick kiss and that’s when Kenny had to turn away. He’d accepted it but that didn’t mean he had to enjoy living with it, especially considering what might be at stake here.
He finished talking to the reporter who’d been interviewing him and turned to look at India again. She was still clinging onto Michael, still talking to the crowd, still looking like the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. Pregnancy hadn’t altered that, it had only emphasised it, and India and this baby were being treated like the Hollywood royalty they’d become, that was evident.
Because of her pregnancy, and her obvious need to be with the baby after he was born, the release of their movie, ‘The Wedding Convention’, had been put back a couple of months to give India some time with her new arrival. She wanted to take part in the movie’s promotion, she wanted to do the publicity and attend the U.S. premiere at least, and the studio were only too happy to accommodate her. The fact she was pregnant and having the baby in the first place was already providing more publicity for the film than anyone could have hoped for anyway so nobody was complaining. Not even Kenny. Because, when the time came for that promotion wagon to start rolling, they’d be together again, working closely, promoting the movie they’d made together. Maybe then he’d finally get her on her own. Because standing there, watching her with Michael, seeing how caught up with him she was, that almost protective hand never leaving her baby bump, he knew he just couldn’t compete right now. But that didn’t mean any of it was over. It wasn’t over by a long shot. Infact, once this baby arrived, it was only just going to begin.
***
“Oh, Reece, honey, doesn’t she look incredible?” Martha gasped as they watched India and Michael arrive on the red carpet, and Reece could only agree. His beautiful daughter was commanding more attention than anyone else here and she wasn’t even in the movie. But he could see the reason why everyone wanted a piece of her. He could only watch with pride as she walked that red carpet like the professional she was, breaking away from the press to talk to fans in the crowd who’d gathered to see everyone arriving, all the time holding tightly onto her husband’s hand.
But once the press caught sight of him he knew they’d want that inevitable father/daughter picture that everyone seemed desperate for - he was the star of the movie, Michael was the director and India was the director’s wife and leading man’s daughter, it was movie gold, and in these situations you did what was required of you in order to get the film you were in as much publicity as you could. That was just the way things worked.
India practically ran up to her father as she saw him approaching her, breaking away from Michael for a few minutes to hug Reece, something that caused the paparazzi to go on overload. Only in Hollywood could you have a family reunion on a red carpet premiere in front of the world but India was used to anything after almost twelve years in this business. Nothing surprised her anymore.
“Are you ok?” Reece asked, holding her tightly round her waist, or what waist she had at eight and a half months pregnant.
“I’m fine. Just waiting now, really. Dr Goldman says everything’s going according to plan and both me and Junior here are in perfect condition.”
He kissed her cheek, smiling. “Good. I’m glad to hear you’ve been looked after while I’ve been in Europe. And are you still set on this home birth or has anyone managed to change your mind?”
She looked at him. “Everything’s set up at home so yes, I’m still going through with a home birth. I want him to arrive in a place where he’s going to be safe and happy, dad. I want him to come straight home.”
“Ok, ok, I’ll stop nagging. I don’t know where you get this stubbornness from because it certainly isn’t from me.”
She looked at him again and smiled. “No. Not much it isn’t ... Martha!”
And she was off, running over to her step-mum - although she called her mum these days because that’s how Martha wanted India to think of her - receiving a huge hug once she got there.
Reece turned to Michael. “Is she really ok?”
“She’s absolutely fine, Reece, really. It’s all under control, and half the time, to look at her, you wouldn’t think she was about to give birth. I think I’m more terrified than she is.”
Reece smiled. “Only to be expected.”
Michael looked at his father-in-law. During the making of this movie they’d become quite close and that was good. For India’s sake if nobody else’s.
“I’m going to look after her, Reece. I promise. She is the single most important thing in my life and I’m going to take such good care of her, and our son.” He couldn’t help smiling. “Our son ... I never thought it would happen, y’know. I never thought we’d get this far.”
Reece smiled too, touching Michael’s arm. “Neither did I, if I’m being honest. But we’re very lucky. All of us.”
“Yeah. We are.” Michael looked over at India as she talked with Martha, letting her step-mum touch her bump, both of them laughing as the baby obviously kicked India from inside. “And there’s not a day goes by when I don’t realise that, Reece. Not a day goes by when I don’t realise how very, very lucky I am.”
***
Charley felt like she was living a dream, so different was her life now to how it had been before. And to be here, in L.A., at a real movie premiere with a man she was crazy about was the perfect end to a perfect week.
Her home was now Las Vegas. She lived with Vince in either his private apartment within the Maine Resort Hotel or in the huge, gated house he owned close to the Southern Highlands golf course, but they also spent a lot of time here in L.A. due to Vince’s business interests in the movie industry, which meant she’d been able to spend a lot of time with India while she’d been pregnant.
Having her friend back in her life was the icing on the proverbial cake for Charley, especially at a time like this, with India expecting her first baby. They’d had a lot of catching up to do and, over these past few months, that’s exactly what they’d done. They’d hung out – sometimes with Bobby whom Charley just adored – and sometimes with Michael and Vince, but when they were on their own, that’s when it had started to feel like old times. They’d sat and watched movies from the eighties or danced around and sang along to their favourite old songs, just like they’d used to do all those years ago. They’d had fun, and fun was what Charley had needed.
They’d had one such evening just a few nights ago when they’d watched one of Michael’s really early movies from the eighties, eating popcorn and giggling like schoolgirls over how young he’d looked, and Charley still couldn’t believe that her friend was married to and having the baby of someone as famous as Michael Walsh. Watching them at home together, they looked just like any other ordinary couple, despite the complicated route they’d taken to get where they were now.
And then there was Kenny. Charley still found it hard to understand just what it was that he and India had together. Vince called it ‘complicated’ but she’d already worked that one out for herself.
She held tightly onto Vince’s hand as they walked up the red carpet to the theatre. This week really had been one of the best and she was still re-living it over in her head, even now, as she took in the events going on around her. Because she and Vince had just had an event of their own and she couldn’t wait to tell everyone, especially India. She just hoped they’d be as happy as she was when she told them that she and Vince had just got married.
***
The post-premiere party was busy and noisy and everybody wanted to talk to India. She’d been off the scene for a while and people were obviously curious as to how things were going and she was fine about chatting away to those people that she knew, although Michael would have preferred to skip most of the party and get her back home. She may
think she was invincible but she still needed to rest.
“You doing ok?” Kenny asked, finally managing to get India by herself.
She looked up at him and smiled. “I’m doing fine thanks, Kenny. You decided to come tonight then?”
He shrugged. “Didn’t have anything else planned, and I’m glad I did. That movie was pretty good. Michael’s done a great job.”
“Yeah, he has. Anyone who can make Layla Boyd look like an accomplished actress deserves every accolade going in my opinion.”
Kenny couldn’t help smiling. He’d never heard her be quite so bitchy, it wasn’t like her. She looked at him again, sensing what he was thinking.
“Say anything about my hormones and I’ll hurt you. I’m not joking.”
He held up his hands and laughed. “I’m saying nothing.”
“I just don’t like her, ok?”
“I’d gathered that.” Kenny looked over at Layla as she flirted shamelessly with every male in the room. She was far too obvious for Kenny. Not his type at all.
“Oooh ... now that was a hard kick! That one hurt!”
Kenny swung back round to look at India as she suddenly clutched her bump. “Are you alright?”
She laughed, stroking her bump. “I’m fine. Junior just seems to be extremely active tonight, that’s all. I reckon he thinks he’s missing out on something ... whoa, there he goes again ...”
“Can I, you know, feel that? Can I feel him kicking?”
Kenny had also been told the baby was a boy. He was one of the few who’d been let in on that piece of information. One of the few who could be trusted to keep it quiet.
India smiled again. “Of course you can. Here, give me your hand.” She took his hand and placed it on her bump. “He’ll probably not do it now ... no, there he goes.”
Kenny couldn’t help smiling as he felt the kick against his hand followed straightaway by another, much harder one.
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