No Matter What (48 page)

“Just start at the beginning, Reece.
 
Please.”

So he told her every detail, everything he’d been through, every emotion he’d felt in this struggle to get to where they were now and she listened, never once looking away from him, and as he spoke he saw her eyes fill with tears again –
his
eyes in the face of the most beautiful woman.
 
His daughter.
 
Somebody he’d been kept away from for so long, because if he’d known …

“I should have told you the minute I found you, back then in
Newcastle
, that night I approached you.
 
I should have told you then.”

She squeezed his hand.
 
“I don’t think we should dwell on should haves and what ifs, Reece.
 
What’s done is done.
 
And anyway, if you
had
told me that night I’m not sure I would have believed you.
 
I already thought you were crazy, that little piece of information wouldn’t exactly have made me think any different.”

He looked down at their hands joined together, the diamond solitaire engagement ring on her finger glistening in the sunlight streaming through the huge windows.
 
“Can you forgive me,
India
?
 
For what’s happened?”

She squeezed his hand again and he looked at her.

“There’s nothing to forgive.
 
We all do things we regret and we all have situations we know we could have handled differently. God knows I could reel off a few of my own.
 
The main thing is ... the main thing is that you’re here now.
 
You’re finally here.”

He felt tears start to burn the back of his eyes as he leaned forward to gently wipe away hers.
 
This beautiful, beautiful woman was his daughter and he loved her more than he could ever have imagined.

“And I’m never going away again,” he smiled.

She smiled too, a smile so reminiscent of his own.
 
“Good.
 
That’s good, because this little one in here is going to need a granddad.”

He laughed, leaning forward to hug her again, an action so small but something he’d dreamed of doing for years, and nobody would ever know how much it meant to him.

“I’ve finally found my dad,”
India
whispered, fresh tears streaming down her cheeks as she buried her face in his shoulder.
 
“I’ve found my dad.”

Hearing her say those words was like finally being able to wake up from a dream he’d been trapped in for so long.
 
No more secrets, no more lies.
 
There’d be a media frenzy, of course, but they’d deal with that when the time came.
 
All that mattered right now was that they were sorting things out, together.

She pulled away and snuggled back up into the corner of the sofa.
 
Reece leaned forward, clasping his hands between his legs, looking down at the floor.

“You and Kenny. ..”

“It’s over.
 
That’s what was going on when you arrived ... it was a mistake.”

He looked up at her, seeing the pain in her face that she was trying so hard to hide.
 
“Do you want to talk about it?”

She shook her head, knowing that if she did she’d only start crying again.
 
Her hormones were all over the place at the minute and there was far too much emotion flying around for her to cope with as it was.

“I just want you to be happy,
India
.”

She smiled.
 
“I
am
happy.
 
I am, honestly.
 
Michael he ... he’s my life.
 
I know he’s not that much younger than you and some people think he’s not right for me but ... I love him, Reece.”

“There’s a big difference between loving somebody and being
in
love with them.”

“I know that.
 
But it’s Kenny I’m not sure I was ever in
love with.
 
Everything with him is so complicated.”

“And with Michael?”

She couldn’t help but smile.
 
As this strange and tiring day wore on it felt as though everything was slowly falling into place and she suddenly just wanted to be with her fiancé, to get back what they’d had in New York, to go back to that wonderful point when he’d danced her round the room and asked her to marry him and she’d felt just like a princess.
 
She’d almost ruined that and she needed to get it back.
 

Reece couldn’t help but notice the look on her face change at the mention of Michael’s name, and that was all he needed to see to know that his daughter had found her man.
 
The age difference and every other doubt he’d had before meant nothing as long as she was happy.

“With Michael it’s so much more clear cut.”
 
Her hand went back to her stomach.
 
“We’ve got this little one on the way and a wedding to plan.
 
And I can’t imagine life without him, Reece.
 
Not now.”
 
Mention of the wedding suddenly made her realise one thing, one very important thing and she looked at Reece, her smile getting wider.

“What?” he laughed.

“I was always going to ask you to give me away at my wedding, that was never in question.
 
You were almost like a dad to me for all these years anyway, but now ... now you really
can
walk me up the aisle as my father, can’t you?”

He felt the tears return and he wiped his eyes with the back of his hand.
 
“Of course I can, angel.
 
And you won’t see a prouder man that day.”

His world was suddenly fitting together just the way he’d dreamed it would.
 
His daughter had accepted him, she’d found the man she wanted to spend the rest of her life with, she had a successful career and, in a few months time, she was making him a granddad.
 
And now they’d found each other he’d make sure nothing and no-one ever came between them again.
 
He was going to be there for her the way he should have been all her life but he’d make it up to her.
 
If it took him every year he had left to live he’d make it up to her.
 
Of that he had absolutely no doubt.
 
1997 was going to be a year to remember.
 
For all of them.
 
Just maybe not for the reasons any of them expected.

CHAPTER 25

“Hollywood stars Michael Walsh and India Steven began 1997 by not only announcing their engagement, but also by telling the world that they’re expecting their first baby.
 
Actor, producer and director Walsh, 45, proposed to his 28 year old English girlfriend during a New Year’s break in
New York
...”

***

Michael put the newspaper down on the floor and turned over onto his side, resting up on his elbow and India smiled at him, knowing he was happy it was now all out in the open.
 
They’d made a decision to announce both the baby and the engagement at once, mainly due to the fact that the biggest bombshell of all – that she was the daughter of Reece Brogan – was yet to come.
 
In an ideal world she’d wanted to wait until she was at least three months pregnant before telling the media about the baby but circumstances had changed.
 
Just a bit.

It felt a little strange, everyone knowing she was pregnant, especially as, for the past few weeks, she’d really struggled with the idea of having this baby and she’d only just come to terms with it herself, if she was honest.
 
Now she was about to spend the next few months more in the spotlight than ever before but that was something she’d resigned herself to.
 
She was just going to have to deal with it.

“That’s it then,” Michael said, sliding the sheet slowly down
India
’s thigh as she lay facing him.
 
“Everybody knows.”

She was still smiling at him.
 
After all that had happened in that short time since Christmas she felt as though she was falling in love with him all over again, and it was nice.
 

“Cue the paparazzi on our backs morning,
noon
and night though,” she said, pulling the sheet back up over her hip.

“We’ll deal with them.
 
We always do.”

“And when the news finally breaks that Reece is my dad?
 
That’s not going to be something they’ll let go of in a hurry, is it?”

“I know, baby, but it’s better if you and Reece announce it yourselves before anything leaks out.
 
That’d be a whole lot worse, you know that.”

She knew he was right.
 
They’d planned to give it a week or so, let the dust settle on the pregnancy and engagement story before giving everyone the real big one, but she wasn’t looking forward to it.
 
At this particular time in her life, with everything that was happening, she could do without constant press attention, but it came with the territory.
 
She knew that all too well now.

“I still can’t believe you’re pregnant,” Michael went on, gently stroking her arm.

“So, you choose to ignore the fact that I was throwing up at 5am this morning then?”
 

“You know what I mean. Your body ... it’s incredible!”

“That’s probably because I’m only a few weeks gone.
 
There isn’t that much to show just yet, which is just as well because I’ve got a photo shoot for that perfume ad today and that requires most of a bikini.”

He raised an eyebrow.
 
“
Most
of?”

“Bottom half.
 
Oh, get that look off your face will you, my hands are going to be covering these.”
 
She put her hands over her breasts and he looked at them.

 
“Yeah, well, as long as they’re
your
hands and nobody else’s.”

She stuck her tongue out at him as he slipped the sheet down again, revealing more of her naked thigh.

“I didn’t see you complaining last year when I took it all off for ‘Viper’.”
 
She turned onto her back, throwing her arms above her head, drawing one leg up.
 
He moved closer, gently running a hand over her flat stomach.

“That was different.”

She pushed herself up onto her elbows and looked at him, laughing.
 
“How was that different?
 
I really hope we’re not going to get into one of these ‘
now we’re engaged it’s for my eyes only’
situations, Mr Walsh, because I don’t play those games.”

He leaned over and kissed her.

“What are you doing Michael?”

“Kissing you.”

“Why?”

“Because I want to.”

“No, I’m still waiting for an answer.
 
How come I can get it all out for ‘Viper’ and you don’t bat an eyelid, but I’m half naked with nothing on show for a perfume ad and you’ve gone all moody on me.”

“I’m not moody.”

“Yes you are.”

He put a hand on her waist and gently turned her over to face him again.

“I love you, that’s all.
 
I don’t mean to get all possessive I just ... I get scared of losing you.
 
I mean, look at you.
 
I’m a middle aged man and you’re this amazing, sexy twenty-eight year old who’s young enough to be my daughter and there are men out there who would stand in line to be where I am now.”

She put a hand to his face and stroked his cheek, leaning forward to kiss him slowly.
 
“But who’s here, Michael?
 
You
are.
 
I want
you
, I’m marrying
you
, I’m having
your
baby, so pack it in with the insecurity, ok?
 
And you’re only
just
old enough to be my father.”

He couldn’t help but smile as she turned over again, stretching out and arching her back and he couldn’t take his eyes off her.
 
He wanted her so badly sometimes it physically hurt.

“Hormones making you all bossy, are they?” he said, but he was finding it quite a turn on.

She closed her eyes and smiled, stretching her arms up above her head.
 
“You love it really.”

He couldn’t help laughing.
 
“Yeah, I suppose I do.
 
Like I said, though, I love you, that’s why I act like this sometimes, that’s all.
 
Because I love you.”

She smiled at him as she drew her legs up, her arms still up above her head.
 
“I know you do, and I love you too, ok?
 
I-love-
you
.”
 
She opened her legs and his eyes automatically looked down there.
 
Jesus!
 
He loved mornings like this.
 
“Now get between these and make your pregnant fiancée a very happy woman.”