No Matter What (35 page)

Vince tilted up her chin so she was looking straight at him.
 
“Don’t ever doubt that he loves you,
India
.
 
Don’t ever,
ever
doubt that because that man is crazy about you.”

“I know,” she whispered, smiling as she watched Michael walk back over to them. “I know he is.”
 
And wasn’t that all that mattered?
 
When all was said and done?

Vince quickly kissed her forehead, squeezing her shoulders.
 
“Maybe it
has
all happened quickly, sweetheart, and I know that after Kenny you’re unsure, and understandably a bit wary, but Michael loves you more than you can imagine, and he won’t hurt you.
 
He won’t.”

“Hey ... is this man bothering you, baby?” Michael smiled.
 
Vince smiled back, giving
India
one last hug and a knowing wink.

“He’s been the perfect gentleman,”
India
smiled back, letting go of Vince and slipping her hand into Michael’s.

“That’d be a first.
 
There’s a ‘phone call from Vegas for you, Vince. You can take it in the study.”

“Ok.
 
Thanks.”

India watched him leave then turned to Michael, looking up into those blue eyes and wishing, just for a second, that they could take a few steps back, just to let her think about things more clearly, while another part of her hoped it really was just the hormones making her feel this unsettled all of a sudden.

“You ok?” he asked, leading her outside onto the patio.

“I’m fine.
 
Really, I’m fine.
 
Can we just stay out here for a bit though?”

“Of course we can, honey.
 
Do you want to go for a walk?”

She smiled, partly at the fact that he was being so kind and partly at the reality that she owned a house with a garden so large that you could actually go for a walk around it.
 
“Yeah.
 
That’d be good.”

“Everybody seems pleased about the baby,” he went on, leading the way down to the small guest bungalow by the other side of the pool.
 
“Even Kenny.”
 
He looked at her out of the corner of his eye, raising one eyebrow.
 
 
She realised then that Kenny had been right.
 
Michael
had
sussed her out.

“Ok,” she sighed.
 
“So I told him this afternoon, I couldn’t wait.”

He laughed, squeezing her hand.
 
“It’s ok.
 
It’s fine.
 
He’s your best friend, of course you’d want to tell him.”

“You don’t mind?”

He pulled her into his arms.
 
“Of course I don’t mind.
 
I don’t mind
who
knows.”

“But not the press, not the public, not yet.”

“No,” he whispered, moving in to kiss her gently.
 
“No, not yet.”

She gave into his kiss, falling against him almost in submission, too tired to fight the feelings that were crowding her head.

“Shall we pay a little visit to the guesthouse and grab a little time alone,” he smiled, slowly stroking the small of her back.

“Why not?” she smiled back, thinking that if anything could take her mind off things then sex was probably it.
 
And in closing her eyes and letting his mouth touch hers again she gave in to everything, and forgot that any doubts existed at all.

***

Kenny walked over to Terry, who was standing alone by the huge Christmas tree in the corner of the room, not sure if what he was doing was totally right, but knowing it might be the only way to stop
India
from getting as involved as she wanted to be in something she shouldn’t really be involved in at all.

“Hey,” Terry said, smiling slightly.
 
His relationship with Kenny still wasn’t anywhere near that of best friends but at least now they got on with each other.

“Hey there.
 
Some news, huh?”

Terry finished his beer and put the empty bottle down on a nearby table.

“Well, I certainly wasn’t expecting it.
 
But
India
seems happy enough.”

Kenny handed him another beer.
 
“Can I have a word?”

Terry looked at him, taking the beer.
 
“About
India
?”

“In a way.”

He explained about Charley, about the initial ‘phone call and the letters and how
India
was determined to find her friend and help her.
 
No matter what anybody said.

“She hasn’t told Michael then?” Terry asked.

“No.
 
And I don’t think
we
should either.
 
He’ll stop it dead, he won’t have her put under any pressure, not now.”

Terry sighed.
 
“Just when you think things couldn’t get any more fucking complicated ...”

“Sorry?”

“It doesn’t matter ... Christ!
 
I thought we’d seen the last of Charley.
 
And I certainly wasn’t planning on re-visiting that part of my life.”

“You don’t have to do anything, Terry, I just thought you should be aware of what’s going on with your sister.”

Terry looked at him.
 
“Of course I’m going to
do
something, Kenny.
 
I can’t just sit back and forget what you’ve told me.
 
I used to love that girl once, and despite everything that went on I can’t ignore the fact that she’s in trouble now.
 
I can’t do that.
 
That’s not me.
 
And then there’s
India
... she needs to have as little to worry about as possible.”

“So, do you want to handle this together then?”

Terry held out his hand and Kenny shook it.
 
“Yeah.
 
We’ll handle it, together.”

Kenny smiled a relieved smile.
 
“Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me.
 
We haven’t done anything yet.”

“We may just have stopped your sister from throwing herself head first into something she should be keeping well out.”

Terry looked at him again.
 
“So, where do we even start?”

Kenny shrugged.
 
“I’ll ask a few questions, speak to a few people, see what they know.
 
You just keep
India
out of this as much as you possibly can.”

“Kenny ... just how much trouble is Charley really in?”

“She’s with Jimmy Cash, that’s more trouble than she needs to be in, believe me.”

“Shit!
 
How the hell did she get herself in this deep?”

Kenny shrugged again.
 
“It happens.
 
She got involved in an unpredictable world.”

Wasn’t everyone’s world unpredictable right now
, thought Terry, as Kenny started to walk away.

“Look, Kenny ... thanks, ok?”

Kenny turned round.
 
“For what?”

“For caring about
India
.”

He smiled.
 
“Now, that’s a job I’ll never get tired of.”

Terry watched him leave and took a long swig of beer.
 
He was beginning to dread getting up in the morning, not knowing what bombshell was going to be thrown at him next.
 
But one thing he did know was that if Charley was in trouble then he’d help her.
 
Everyone deserved a second chance.
 
Even Charley.
 
So he’d find her.
 
He’d find her and he’d make sure the old Charley came home, back where she belonged.
 
With him.

CHAPTER 20

Christmas had been a quiet one and that’s what
India
had wanted.
 
She’d had too much going on in her head, too many things playing on her mind.
 
1997 had just begun and this was a year in which she was going to become a mum, a year in which things would change dramatically, there was no doubt about that.
 
A baby was going to change them all, she couldn’t see how it wouldn’t.

But she was having a very private struggle with the idea of a baby.
 
Once the initial euphoria and excitement had died down her head had become filled with all sorts of doubts and questions she just couldn’t seem to answer.
 
Questions she didn’t want Michael to know about because she didn’t want him to know she had any doubts.
 
She couldn’t.
 
He was over the moon about becoming a father, he couldn’t stop smiling, couldn’t stop talking about it and she loved that, she loved to see it, loved to see him so happy, and she was happy too, of course she was.
 
She just needed a bit longer to get used to the idea.
 
It was so early, just a couple of months into the pregnancy, and she figured that maybe once she started showing it would become more real.
 
When she felt that first kick she might start to believe it was actually happening.
 
Right now, though, she didn’t look pregnant – her stomach was still flat and she’d put on no weight – and she didn’t
feel
pregnant, give or take the odd bout of morning sickness.
 
She just wanted to feel it was real, and then maybe she could deal with the confusion.

She walked over to the window of Michael’s
Manhattan
apartment, looking out at the view of
Central Park
.
 
They were finally taking that much needed short break and it was a relief to be away from
Los Angeles
for a while, apart from the cold weather.
 
After spending so much time in
L.A.
it took a bit of getting used to.

When Michael had suggested
New York
for their few days away she couldn’t have thought of anywhere more perfect, but then, anywhere away from
L.A.
was all she’d really wanted.
 
But this was good.
 
They had privacy, their own space, although they weren’t totally free from the paparazzi.
 
They’d been snapped a few times already but the intrusion was quite mild compared to what they’d been getting over in
L.A.
 
Compared to what they were going to get when news of the baby got out, because she knew it couldn’t stay a secret forever.
 
She just hoped that when the news
did
come out she’d be more used to the idea herself than she was at the minute.

“Everything ok?” Michael asked, slipping his arms round her waist, gently kissing her neck.
 
She leaned back against him and closed her eyes.

“Everything’s fine.”
 
She turned round and smiled at him.
 
 
“Everything’s perfect.”

He kissed the tip of her nose and pulled her closer.
 
“Good.
 
That’s good.
 
So, how do you fancy going out to dinner tonight?
 
I know this great little place with fantastic food, maybe a little bit of dancing afterwards ...”

She couldn’t help smiling again.
 
“Dancing?”

“Not the kind of dancing
you’re
thinking about, kiddo,” he laughed.
 
“
This
kind of dancing.”
 
He started to gently spin her around the room and she threw her head back and laughed, clinging onto him as they fell onto one of the sofas in front of the fire.

“Oh, ok,
that
kind of dancing,” she giggled, opening her legs to let him lie between, pulling her knees up around him as he slowly kissed her open mouth.

“Yeah.
 
That kind of dancing.”
 
He smiled that smile and she felt her heart skip a little beat.
 
She couldn’t work out who she was sometimes, especially since the baby.
 
She only knew that with Michael she felt different, she felt protected, cared for, and loved.
 
She’d never really experienced that before, she’d never had that feeling of security, and it was becoming increasingly obvious to her that it was something she’d always craved.
 
Michael could give her it all, he could give her that love, he could give her that security.
 

“I think I’d quite like to go dancing,” she whispered, making him smile again.