Illusions of Love (72 page)

Taking another long swig of beer he noticed
India
arrive, hand-in-hand with Dominic.
 
She was all smiles, and she looked amazing in a simple yet stunning outfit of skinny black jeans, skyscraper-heeled ankle boots and a white sleeveless off-one-shoulder top, her blond hair piled up on top of her head in that messy-yet-styled look that was practically her trademark.
 
She looked like a beautiful rock chick –
his
beautiful rock chick.
 
Or that’s what she should’ve been, anyway.
 
If he’d been strong enough to fight for her almost twenty years ago.

He shook those thoughts from his head as he saw her run over to him, putting his beer down on the ledge behind him and opening his arms for her to run into, picking her up and swinging her round.

‘Hey, sexy!
 
How’s the Queen of Rom Coms doing tonight then?’

She straightened her top as he put her down, leaning over to kiss him quickly on the lips.
 
‘I’m doing fine.
 
You heard about Michael and Layla?’

‘The baby?
 
Yeah, Reece told me.
 
Is that…’
 
He looked at
India
as she started fiddling with her leather wrist cuffs.
 
‘Is that,
good
news?’

She looked at him, a small smile playing at the corners of her mouth.
 
‘Yeah.
 
It’s good news.
 
Come on, Kenny.
 
If these past few weeks have taught me anything it’s taught me that the past really does have to be laid to rest now.’

‘All of it?’

She looked at him again, leaning back against the wall beside him.
 
‘No.
 
Not
all
of it.
 
You know which bits I’m talking about.’

‘Yeah.
 
I do.’
 
He looked over towards the bar where Dominic and Reece were talking.
 
‘So, is everything okay then?
 
With Mr Movie Star over there?’

She looked over to where he indicated, saying nothing for a few seconds as she watched Dominic.
 
He truly was one of the most incredible-looking men she’d ever laid eyes on, but did she love him?
 
She’d told him she did, but did she
really
love him?
 
And did it actually matter, in the grand scheme of things?
 
After all, look where love had got her in the past.
 
Maybe she’d just gotten sucked in by everything that had happened here in Vegas over the past couple of months, let her feelings run away with her.

‘Everything’s fine,’ she replied, not entirely comfortable with the fact she was feeling a touch unsettled all of a sudden.
 
Maybe she just needed a drink to relax her.

‘Just ‘
fine
’?
 
You mean, you’re not hearing those violins or experiencing ridiculous stomach somersaults every time he looks at you?’
 
Kenny was aware he was being slightly flippant, but he hadn’t been able to stop himself.
 
He could read
India
like a book, and he was just curious to see if he could gauge anything from her reactions tonight.

‘Maybe,’ she said quietly, still looking at Dominic as he threw his head back and laughed at something Reece said.
 
Her handsome co-star.
 
Her ex-husband’s son.

Kenny took her succinct yet vague reply as a glimmer of hope that maybe all was not the moonlight and roses he’d thought it was in this Walsh/MacDonald relationship, and then mentally reprimanded himself for wishing yet more confusion on his best friend.
 
‘I just want you to be happy,
India
.’

His voice shook her back to reality and she turned to look at him – the one man who’d been there for her through thick and thin, the one man who always
would
be there, no matter what.
 
No matter what.
 
‘I know you do, Kenny.’

‘It’s all I’ve ever wanted for you.’

She smiled, playing with the collar of his jacket.
 
‘You look good tonight, has anyone told you that?’

And he did look good, but then, Kenny always looked good.
 
He always had done, and, despite being the wrong side of forty-five now, he still looked incredibly sexy dressed in dark jeans, black T-shirt and scruffy jacket.
 
His dark hair was growing longer, the beard was back, and
India
couldn’t help staring at him.
 
He was one hell of a great-looking guy, Kenny Ross.
 
One
hell
of a great-looking guy.

‘What’s the matter?’ Kenny asked, his eyes locking onto hers, a million wishes flying through his head, but he only really wanted one of them to come true.

‘Nothing’s the matter.
 
I’m just looking, that’s all.’

In what was an almost involuntary action, Kenny reached out and touched her cheek, stroking it with the back of his hand, looking into her eyes, until she brought the moment to an end by taking his hand and moving it away.

‘I’d better get back to Dominic.’

‘Why?
 
What’s the rush?’

She looked at her very best friend, trying to work out exactly what was going on here.
 
‘There
is
no rush, Kenny, I… I just want to get back to him, okay?
 
I mean, we’re the two leads in this movie, aren’t we?
 
Me and Dominic.
 
We’re supposed to be mingling.’

‘Then go mingle,’ Kenny said, indicating the room with a sweep of his arm, taking a swig of beer as he did so.

India
frowned slightly.
 
What had just happened there?
 
Why had his mood suddenly changed?
 
It was like he’d just flicked a switch or something.
 
‘I’ll see you later, Kenny.’
 
She didn’t really feel like sticking around to analyse his behaviour.
 
She just wanted to get back to Dominic.
 
So, winding her way through the growing mass of people, stopping briefly to say hello to more than a few of them, she walked back over to Dominic, sliding an arm around his waist as she leant up to kiss him quickly.
 
‘My dad gone, then?’

‘Gone to find Martha, yeah.
 
Is Kenny alright?’

India
shrugged, sliding a hand round the back of Dominic’s neck, smiling as she pressed herself against him.
 
‘I don’t want to talk about Kenny.
 
In fact, I don’t really want to talk about anything; I just want to enjoy myself tonight.
 
If that’s okay with you?’

He smiled – that movie star smile, that killer smile, that smile that sent a million and more female hearts racing whenever they watched him up there on the big screen.
 
‘That’s fine by me, baby.’

India
briefly turned back to glance over at Kenny, but he was gone, and she couldn’t help feeling a small stab of disappointment.
 
She hoped he hadn’t left, hadn’t bailed early, because she knew Kenny – if things weren’t going his way he’d just shoot off and find something else to do.

‘You okay?’ Dominic asked, his voice making
India
jump as she swung back round to face him.

‘Yeah… yeah, I’m fine’’ she smiled, sliding her hand into his.
 
‘Just a bit overwhelmed, to be honest.
 
This whole experience – it’s been a bit of a rollercoaster.’

He pulled her towards him, lowering his mouth down onto hers in a longer, slower kiss, a kiss that gave
India
no choice but to go with it, to fall against him and let him take control.
 
A kiss that told her, somehow, the rollercoaster was still running.
 
And she had no idea when it was going to stop.

***

Pulling his Stetson down over his eyes Jimmy leant over the balcony of his terrace, draining his glass of the last dregs of whisky as he watched the lights and the lasers in the distance, listened to the sounds of a party in full swing.
 
It was time.
 
Time to go and do exactly what he’d come here to do – teach Charley
Maine
a lesson she’d never forget.
 
Once upon a time he’d controlled her, owned her; loved her.
 
Yes, Jimmy Cash
had
loved Charley, in his own warped and twisted way.
 
And deep down inside he still did, but she didn’t deserve this life, not after what she’d done to him.
 
He couldn’t let her carry on thinking that this was where she belonged, that she could go through the rest of her perfect, privileged life thinking that everything was forgotten.
 
This wasn’t her world.
 
It didn’t suit her.
 
It wasn’t who she was and she needed to know that.
 
She was nothing more than some cheap little English porn star, and she always would be.
 
But that’s what Jimmy had liked about her.
 
That’s what Jimmy liked about
all
his girls.
 
He liked that Charley had done things that would rock her peaceful, pointless, perfect world to its core.
 
And he missed the days when he’d controlled every aspect of her life, controlled everything she’d done from the minute she’d woken up to the second she’d fallen asleep.
 
He missed that power like a drug.
 
A power
she’d
taken away from him.
 
She’d humiliated him, made him look like an idiot, and that was something Jimmy would never forget.
 
But she was very much aware of that now.
  
She was once more living her life looking over her shoulder, which pleased him.
 
But she wouldn’t have to do that for much longer.

Putting his glass down on the table behind him, Jimmy walked back into his large and spacious suite within The Amber Palace.
 
He smiled to himself as he threw his jacket down on the king-size bed, opening the wardrobe door and selecting a new jacket from a line of perfectly pressed ones that hung in grey to black colour co-ordinated unison.
 
Vince Maine may think he had the tightest security that
Las Vegas
could offer, but Vince Maine wasn’t quite as clever as he thought he was.
 
Did he know that Jimmy had managed to acquire this rather well-appointed suite within his brand new flagship hotel without anyone asking any questions?
 
No, of course he didn’t.
 
And did he know that at least half of the security he’d hired tonight were actually working for Jimmy?
 
Although, to be fair, they had no idea just what Jimmy’s motives were for gate-crashing this party, they just knew to let him through when he arrived.
 
Well, that’d teach Vince Maine to be so trusting with his delegation.
 
Maybe he needed to take a long hard look at his security staff because one or two of them had had their heads turned way too easily with just the promise of a few extra dollars.

Slipping on a freshly dry-cleaned black jacket he looked at his reflection in the mirror as he checked his pockets, making sure he had his cigars and his hip flask.
 
He was sure he’d need a drink at some point tonight and he was almost certain that, after what he planned to do, he wouldn’t be welcome at the bar.
 
Far wiser to bring his own refreshment.

Finally, everything was set.
 
He had everything he needed to proceed.
 
It was going so perfectly it almost scared him, but then, in reality, nothing scared Jimmy Cash.
 
Nothing.
 
And nothing ever would.
 
Because, if Charley thought that him killing Terry had been an horrific payback that could never be repeated, she was wrong.
 
And she was about to find out just how wrong she could be.

***

Michael sat by the bar, downing his bourbon far faster than he should have been.
 
In fact, he shouldn’t really have been downing it at all – doctor’s orders.
 
Lay off the alcohol, the saturated fat, the sugar… Jesus, was there anything in the way of fun left for him to enjoy?
 
He looked over towards Layla who was talking to one of the assistant directors, beautiful and positively glowing in a pale green dress, her blond hair loose around her shoulders.
 
Yeah, of course there were still things out there to enjoy.
 
A new beginning, that’s what.
 
Another chance to begin again with a woman who’d proved that, on more than one occasion, she wasn’t going to give up on him without a fight, and he’d be stupid to ignore that.
 
Again.
 
He’d be stupid to ignore that just so he could waste time concentrating on something that was never going to happen.