No Matter What (59 page)

She closed her eyes as his mouth lowered down onto hers in a deep, slow kiss, a kiss they’d both dreamed about for weeks, just enjoying the feel of each other again. This was always the thing that made up for being apart so much – the getting back together.

“I love you, Mrs Walsh,” he whispered, his mouth still touching hers as he untied her bikini top, throwing it aside, his fingers lightly stroking her breasts.

India
caught her breath, the touch of him sending shivers right through her.
   
“And I love
you
, Mr Walsh ... so ... can I have my presents now?”

He smiled, playing with the tie-sides of her bikini bottoms.
  
“Which one would you like first?”

“You,” she breathed, as his lips covered her neck in soft, tiny kisses.
 
He was driving her crazy and not five minutes through the door.
 
“I want
you
.
 
Right here, outside.”

“Right here, huh?”

“Right here, right now.”

He was still smiling, turned on like crazy despite the long flight.
 
“Well, it
is
your birthday, and what the birthday girl wants the birthday girl gets.”

He pulled her bikini bottoms away, and, as he pushed her back down onto the lounger, he knew that this particular birthday present was one they were both going to enjoy.

CHAPTER 30

Charley Miles walked the familiar route through the lobby of the hotel, smiling at people she knew, people who’d become her friends.
 
People who knew about her past and who hadn’t judged her.
 
They’d accepted her.

For a long time after Terry’s death she’d become almost a recluse, hiding away from a world she’d begun to hate because she’d blamed herself for everything.
 
If she hadn’t got herself into the mess that she had, if she hadn’t become involved with Jimmy Cash, if she hadn’t tried to stupidly take Kenny Ross away from
India
would any of the horrific things that had followed have happened?
 
If she hadn’t gone to
India
for help then Terry would never have become involved and maybe, just maybe he would still be alive today.
 
But she’d had nobody else to turn to.
 

For months afterwards Charley’s life had been full of those ‘what if’s’ until she’d realised that living her life like that was never going to work.
 
It had dragged her down, thrown her into a deep depression, and she’d needed to pull herself out of it before it overtook everything.
 
Charley had wanted to start again, to try and put the past behind her as best she could.
 
She owed it to Terry.
 
She owed it to herself.

Casey, one of the girls she’d worked with before Jimmy had come on the scene, had given her a room in her apartment and that had been the lifeline she’d been looking for.
 
If Casey hadn’t have taken her in then Charley knew she’d have disappeared into a downward spiral she’d have found it very hard to get back out of.

Casey had helped Charley come off the drugs.
 
She’d been through it all herself so she’d been only too aware of the rough road Charley had had ahead of her, and she’d been there for her every step of the way with much needed friendship and support.
 
She’d been there for her during the days when it had all been too much, and then finally for the days when the corner had eventually been turned.
 
The nightmares had sometimes been harsh and draining, and Charley would never stop blaming herself for what had happened, especially when she’d heard that
India
had lost her baby on the night that Terry had died, but she’d learnt to live with everything that had gone on - and the subsequent consequences.

She’d watched - via TV, magazines and newspapers – as India got stronger, got her life back on track and Charley had hoped that, maybe, one day, she’d try and get back in touch, because she really wanted to talk to her, just to tell her she was sorry, but that day had never happened.
 
Yet.
 
Because Charley never lost faith that it might.
 
One day.
 

It was sad, but Charley knew that the world she lived in was not the same world as
India
’s, not anymore.
 
Their lives had taken completely different paths and she just had to deal with that.
 
She knew she had to close the door on that part of her life and move on with the new one she was creating for herself.
 

Off the drugs, and with a bit of weight back on, her hair back to it’s natural dark colour and her skin looking healthier than it had done in years, she and Casey had left L.A. for Las Vegas, both of them having grown closer over the years, forming a bond that had made them more like sisters than best friends.
 
They’d both wanted to move on and make a new start in a
new city
and Vegas had seemed as good a place as any.

They’d found work as waitresses in a diner when they first arrived, scraping money together for the rent on their small but clean apartment.
 
They’d saved up to visit the hotels and see the shows they’d talked about seeing from the minute they’d set foot on the strip.
 
They’d wanted to experience the city and everything it had to offer, and it was the spectacle of these shows that had caught the attention of Casey and Charley.
 
The colours and the music and the showgirls.
 
Especially the showgirls. And so their new dream had been born.
 
They’d wanted to be showgirls too; they’d wanted to be out there, night after night, wearing those amazing costumes and being part of something so vibrant and exciting.

It was while they’d been in the bar of one of the hotels one evening that they’d got talking to someone who worked backstage on one of the shows.
 
She’d told them they were auditioning for new showgirls that week and Charley and Casey hadn’t needed any more persuading.
 
On the day of the auditions they’d been there bright and early with their best smiles, something a showgirl definitely had to have, and within a fortnight they were both embarking on their new adventure and loving every minute of it.
 
It was hard work, with every girl having to do their own make-up and get themselves ready every night, and the costumes, although fantastic, could sometimes be quite uncomfortable, especially the head dresses which could be extremely heavy at times.
 
But once out on that stage it was a blast, and it paid far more than their waitressing jobs ever had.
 

Charley was finally moving forward into a whole new world and she was the happiest she’d been in years.
 
Almost ten years, if she was honest.

She and Casey had been working on the same show for almost two years now. They’d managed to find a bigger apartment, closer to the strip, and had slotted right into the Vegas lifestyle, and as far as Charley was concerned, she couldn’t think of anywhere else she’d rather be.

“Have you seen this?” Casey said, as she pulled herself up onto the stool next to Charley at the bar, ordering an orange juice.

“Seen what?” Charley asked, waving at someone at the other end of the bar.

Casey pushed the paper she was looking at in front of Charley.

“They’re looking for lead showgirls, over at The Maine Resort.”

Charley scanned the advert.
 
They’d both been in the chorus for a couple of years now and both of them had always harboured that dream of being out there in front, of being one of the lead showgirls.

“We have to go for it, Charley.”

Charley knew that The Maine Resort was one of the largest and most exclusive hotels in
Las Vegas
, the one that most of the girls they knew wanted to work in.
 
And she also knew that the guy who owned it, Vince Maine, was one of
India
’s closest friends.
 
Charley had met him a couple of times, years ago when she’d first come over to
L.A.
 
When she’d been with Terry.
 
When she’d still been close to
India
.
 
He’d always seemed like a really nice guy, and she knew he was a very important and much respected man as far as Vegas was concerned.

“What’s the matter?” Casey asked, seeing Charley had gone a bit quiet.

Charley shook herself out of the memories, putting the paper down on the bar.

“Oh, nothing.
 
It’s nothing.”
 
She looked at her friend and smiled.
 
“Of course we should go for it.
 
We’d make fantastic lead showgirls.”

Casey smiled too, clinking glasses with Charley.
 
“That’s decided then.
 
Do you fancy grabbing some food before we hit the casino?”

Charley nodded.
 
Her life really had moved on so much.
 
She had a lot to be grateful for.
 
Another challenge would be good for her and to be lead showgirl in a place like The Maine Resort would be a dream come true.
 
A dream she was now determined was going to happen, because if there was one thing Charley never took for granted anymore it was the fact she was in control of her own destiny again.
 
It had taken a lot of pain and a lot of heartache to get here but she wasn’t going to waste another minute of her life.
 
Finally, Charley Miles was going to make something of herself.
 
And who knew what else was around the corner?

***

Reece sat back in his chair, slipping his dark glasses down over his eyes as the bright sunshine continued to beat down.
 
It was something he never got tired of feeling.
 
He loved the heat and the warmth.
 
It made him feel good, and today he felt very good.
 
Yes, he was a very happy man today.
 

He smiled as he remembered his morning with
India
, his beautiful daughter.
 
He’d got to spend a wonderful few hours with her on her birthday, just relaxing out in the garden, swimming in the pool and talking about anything and everything.
 
He was so proud of her.
 
They’d all come such a long way since that terrible night five years ago but she’d come out of it stronger and more determined not to waste a second of her life.

At first he’d been extremely worried about her.
 
The news of Terry’s death, losing the baby, and then the revelation that he was her father all hitting the headlines at the same time had caused her to almost go right back into herself, and when she and Michael had disappeared off to Vegas for those couple of months he’d felt like he’d almost lost her again, even though he knew they’d needed that time alone.
 
Without it they wouldn’t be together now, he’d seen the strain it had put on them before they’d taken the decision to go.
 

Part of being there for her had been to let her get through it the only way she could but it hadn’t been easy.
 
It had taken until her return to
L.A.
before he’d finally been able to talk to her, to find out how she was and really start being the father he’d wanted to be for so long.
 
But now they had a relationship he could only have dreamed of before.
 
They were extremely close, and he loved her with an intensity he couldn’t really explain.
 
She was his life, and that’s the way he always hoped it would stay.
 

He was fiercely proud of her and the way she’d handled herself over the years, because she’d come such a long way.
 
They both had.
 
They’d made a movie together, the first real big project that any of them had undertaken since that night, and working with her again had been not just a dream, but a privilege.
 
Since then she’d gone from strength to strength, and he couldn’t help but marvel at the amazing, talented young woman she’d become.
 
He’d sat in award ceremony after award ceremony watching her up there, giving her acceptance speeches, thanking him - her father - and he could never quite explain how that felt.
 
On those nights he often thought about the girl he’d seen that night in
Newcastle
because she was still in there, she was absolutely still there.
 
And that was what made
India
special.
 
She hadn’t lost her roots, hadn’t lost the girl she truly was, even though she’d lived in this town for ten years now.
 
He may have given her this chance but she’d made something of it.
 
She’d shown the world how talented she really was, and Reece knew she still had so much more to give.