No Matter What (67 page)

“What fucking spell does he have her under?”
 

“Did you say something?” Bobby asked, suddenly reappearing at Kenny’s side.

“No, I didn’t.”
 
Kenny tore himself away from a sight that was only making him feel dead inside, and put his empty glass down on the bar.
 
“I didn’t say a thing.”

***

Reece was more than a little concerned.
 
He knew
India
and Michael had been apart for months, he knew they were obviously spending a lot of time together in a way he didn’t really want to think about, but the way they were with each other tonight unsettled him slightly.
 
The way they were looking at each other, especially the way Michael was looking at
India
; it was too intense for his liking.
 
His eyes followed her everywhere, they followed every step she took.
 
He watched every move she made and whether he’d always done this and Reece had only just noticed or it was something he’d just started doing Reece had no idea, but it didn’t make him feel entirely comfortable.

“What’s the matter?” Vince asked, noticing Reece’s look of concern.

“Michael ... have you seen the way he is with
India
tonight?”

Vince looked over to where Michael was talking to Martha, but his attention was quite obviously on his wife, who was sitting with Kenny.

“Is it because of Kenny?” Reece asked, looking at Vince.

Vince didn’t know if he should share Michael’s concerns about Kenny Ross with
India
’s father.
 
Would it worry him unnecessarily?
 
Was it something he needed to know?
 
Vince decided it was.

“Michael thinks Kenny may still want
India
.”

“And does
India
know he feels this way?” Reece asked, looking back over to his daughter as she held onto Kenny’s arm, laughing at something he was saying to her.

“No.
 
She doesn’t.
 
And I don’t think he wants her to know.”

“I see ... and I suppose this is magnified ten-fold because he’s leaving her here with Kenny.”

“Got it in one,” Vince said.
 
“I’ve tried telling him that he’s got nothing to be worried about but ...”

Reece turned to look at him again.
 
“But what?”

“Just something that happened earlier ... I’m not so sure that Michael’s wrong.”

“What do you mean?”

“I think Kenny still has real feelings for
India
that go way beyond friendship.”

“Oh for fuck’s sake ...” Reece sighed, pushing a hand through his hair.

“You’ll be working with him for the next few months Reece.
 
Just keep your eye on him, ok?
 
Look, did you … did you know that Kenny and
India
… did you know they had an affair?”

Reece nodded.
 
“I caught them.
 
I saw it with my own eyes.”
 
He looked at Vince again.
 
“Michael found out?”

Vince nodded.

“How?”

Vince shrugged.
 
“I have no idea.
 
I didn’t ask him.
 
He just told me he knew.
 
He’s known all along.”

“All these years and he’s never said a thing?
 
Maybe I should talk to him.”

“I wouldn’t bother, Reece.
 
He goes inside his own head sometimes, he has a way of dealing with these things that only he can explain.
 
It’ll be fine.
 
Just keep your eye on him when you’re in
L.A.
 
Make sure he’s ok.
 
Even if Kenny does still harbour any ideas about
India
she won’t go there.
 
She’s in love with that paranoid bastard over there and I can’t see that changing any time soon.”

“She’s my daughter, Vince.
 
Anything concerning her and I’m worried.
 
But yeah, you’re probably right.
 
I’m sure nothing’s going to happen.”

And Reece just hoped that was true because he’d seen behaviour like Michael’s before, he’d seen how it could destroy both people and relationships and he didn’t want that for
India
.
 
She’d been through enough and she needed stability.
 
And Reece would make sure that was exactly what she got.

***

India
looked over at Michael, their eyes locking together, the message loud and clear between the two of them, even across a room full of people.
 
She watched as he walked out of the room, waiting a few seconds until her ‘phone signalled the arrival of a text message, flipping it open and smiling as she read it.
 
Now
.
 
That’s all it said but she knew exactly what it meant.

“Anything interesting?” Bobby asked, trying to extract information out of her.

She looked up and smiled at him, sliding her ‘phone back into her bag.
 
“Not as far as you’re concerned.”
 
She stood up and handed him the bag.
 
“Look after this, will you.
 
I won’t be long.”

“As long as it takes, huh?” he said, but she just smiled again, walking out of the room and heading to where she knew Michael would be.

Looking quickly behind her to make sure nobody saw her, she pushed open the door to the men’s rest-room, checking her face in the mirror first, turning round as Michael kicked open the door of a cubicle from behind, holding out his hand.
 
She reached out and took it and he pulled her inside, shutting the door and pushing her up against the wall, tugging her dress up over her thighs as he kissed her, long and hard.

They’d once acted out a scene just like this in a movie together, and they’d always harboured a secret fantasy of doing it for real.
 
And because Michael had directed that scene as well as acted in it he knew exactly what he wanted to happen and she let him lead the way.
 
Everything they’d portrayed in that movie scene they were now doing for real, but with no cameras in sight.
 
He was touching her for real, touching her so he knew she was ready for him before he pushed himself inside, no simulation and no camera angles to be aware of.
 
This time it was all for real.

And she wanted him to push hard, she wanted to feel every inch of him and she wanted to open her eyes and know he was there, to watch what he did to her because tomorrow he wouldn’t be here and that thought was killing her.
 
Tonight they were being selfish, they were acting like a couple of teenagers on a first date but she couldn’t help it, she couldn’t help her feelings, even if she sometimes felt like they were spiralling out of control.

There was no speaking either, no talking to each other, no words were being spoken but the looks that passed between them said it all.
 
Somewhere, somehow - and she didn’t know when, she couldn’t remember when - their relationship had changed.
 
It had crossed a line and there was no turning back.
 
She needed him to survive, she couldn’t breathe without him, she couldn’t even think straight if he wasn’t around and that both scared and excited her.
 
There’d been a time when the thought of being with Michael like this would have felt wrong; it wasn’t what she’d fallen in love with.
 
She’d fallen for the romance and the violins and all that kind of stuff.
 
This had been the domain of Kenny Ross – the hard sex and wild lovemaking – and there were times when a thought would come into her mind that having sex with Michael like this was a way of exorcising the demons of Kenny, a way of proving that she didn’t need him anymore, that she could have it all with Michael, and when those thoughts appeared she’d push them away immediately, but not quickly enough to pretend they hadn’t been there at all.

His fingers slid between hers and he held her hand tight as he pushed harder and harder, almost slamming her back against the wall, her legs wrapped tight around his waist, his eyes burning into hers all the time and she was unable to look away, she didn’t want to.
 
She only closed
 
her eyes when he kissed her and it all lasted just minutes, a few crazy, almost painfully beautiful minutes, before the inevitable crashing climax had them both crying out loud as everything that had been building up came spilling out.

And when it was over there were still no words spoken, neither of them said anything.
 
She just pulled herself together, gave him one last, lingering kiss and left him with a look that said so much more than any words ever could as she walked out to re-join the party.

Bobby looked at her as she grabbed a drink from a passing waiter and sat back down beside him, crossing her legs.
 
He held out her bag and she took it.

“Your mascara’s smudged and your hair’s out of place,” he said, giving her a knowing look.
 
“To be honest, I’m surprised you’re still walking today.”

“Bobby!”

“Well, I wish
I
had a man like that,” he sighed, finishing his drink and looking around for another one.

“Like what?”

He looked at her.
 
“India, angel, Stevie Wonder could tell what you two have been up to, you have no idea how obvious you are.
 
You might as well have a flashing neon sign above your head saying
‘I’ve just had my husband in the toilets’
.”

She looked at him, but she couldn’t stop the smile spreading across her face. “Jesus, Bobby, it was good.
 
It was very, very good.”

“I knew it!
 
I knew that’s what you were up to!”

She kicked him under the table.
 
“You are so nosy.”

“You offered up the info, honey.
 
I can’t wait to get into that villa with you, we are going to have such a blast!”

“You’re going to spend hours extracting every area of my private life out of me you mean.”

“Try keeping your private life private, princess, and we might not have such a big problem.
 
Shall we get a bottle of champagne to celebrate our moving in together?”

India
laughed.
 
She couldn’t help it.
 
“Why not?
 
We might as well start as we mean to go on.”

She was going to miss Michael like she couldn’t even begin to explain, but she had a feeling having Bobby around might just help her through it, and if anybody could do that it was him.
 
Because Kenny Ross just wasn’t a safe option anymore.

***

Michael leaned back against the cubicle wall as he got his breath back, closing his eyes and re-living every second of what they’d just done.
 
She was his wife, she was his beautiful, perfect, incredible wife but she made him feel so out of control, so ridiculously confused.
 
She messed with his head but he loved her for it.
 
He loved the way she made him feel alive.
 
Which is why he had to do this.

Reaching
 
into his pocket he took out his ‘phone, quickly tapping out a number, peering outside for a second just to make sure nobody else was about.
 
They picked up on the fourth ring.

“Yeah, it’s me, listen ... what we talked about before ... I need you to go ahead as planned.
 
Just do what I told you and let me know.
 
Let me know everything.”

CHAPTER 34

“Are you ok, sweetheart?” Reece asked, sitting down opposite
India
at breakfast the next morning.
 
“I thought you’d be having breakfast with Michael.”

“He’s busy making a few calls and I’m not really hungry,”
India
replied, playing with her wedding ring.
 
“And no, I’m not ok.
 
Today both my husband and my dad are leaving and I’m going to miss you both.
 
Especially Michael.”

“So, not me so much then?” Reece smiled, but
India
didn’t seem in the mood.
 
He reached out and took her hand.
 
“You’ve coped with this before, my darling.
 
You’ve been together for a long time now; you should be used to the separations.”