No Matter What (84 page)

“I’m ok for a while,”
India
smiled, sitting back down opposite Charley. “Bobby’ll let me know when they need me.
 
So, you and Vince, huh?”

Charley looked up, putting the magazine back down on the table.
 
She smiled.
 
She always seemed to smile whenever anyone mentioned Vince.

“Yeah.
 
Me and Vince.
 
Who’d have thought?”

“Come on then.
 
I want to know all about it.
 
How did that happen then?”

Charley told her everything, from the drug addiction and her move to Vegas, to her career as a showgirl and everything that had led to her relationship with Vince, and India found herself really happy that they’d found each other.
 
Genuinely happy.
 
Charley needed a steadying influence, someone to really love her, and Vince had needed to find a woman he could finally settle down with.
 
That they’d found each other was a perfect coincidence.

“Anyway, enough about me,” Charley smiled, desperate to know all about her famous friend’s life.
 
“What about you?
 
Reece Brogan is your
dad
?
 
How mad is
that
?”

India
smiled too.
 
“Yeah, tell me about it.
 
It’s a long story, Charley, but I’ll tell you everything later, I promise.”
 

“And Michael Walsh ... how the hell did that come about?”

India
pushed a hand through her loose blonde hair and looked down into her coffee.
 
“He was there for me after my divorce from Kenny and, you know, he was like this amazing person who just listened to me and let me go on and on about everything I was feeling and he never once judged me or lectured me or … well, one day you just find yourself in love with somebody.”
 
She looked up at Charley.
 
“And one day I found myself in love with him.
 
With Michael Walsh.
 
My husband.”

Charley had watched her almost visibly flinch when she’d mentioned Kenny.
 
Just for the briefest of seconds, but Charley had seen it.
 
Maybe their relationship was more complicated than anyone really knew.

“So, what’s it like being married to someone as famous as Michael?” Charley asked, keeping the subject well away from Kenny.

India
looked up again and smiled.
 
“He’s incredible, Charley.
 
He’s so funny sometimes, just like he used to be in his early films, the ones we used to watch, remember?
 
But he doesn’t act like he’s famous.
 
He cooks, he makes coffee, he cleans up the bathroom after a shower, it’s all pretty mundane, really.”

“What?
 
Even the premieres and the parties?”

“Not all they’re cracked up to be.
 
Sometimes we both just want to curl up on the sofa and watch television like any other ordinary couple, and we do that, of course we do, just not as much as we’d like to.”

Talking to Charley now, it felt as if they’d never been away from each other, like the past hadn’t happened, and there was so much India wanted to tell her.
 
There was so much going on in her head that she couldn’t talk to Kenny or Bobby about and having Charley around would make things so much easier.
 
But maybe it was too soon for all of that just yet.

“Is everything ok?” Charley asked.
 
It might have been a long time since they’d sat down and talked like this but Charley still knew her best friend.
 
She could still tell if something was wrong.

“Everything’s fine.”
 
India
looked down into her coffee again.

“How’s Kenny?”
 
Charley hadn’t been able to stop herself from asking the question.
 
She was too curious about
India
’s reaction.
 
And the question made
India
look up sharply.
 

“Kenny?”

Charley nodded.

“Kenny’s fine.”

She looked distracted now.
 
As good an actress as she was there were some things she couldn’t hide.

“Do you want to talk?” Charley asked.

“About what?
 
Honestly, Charley, everything’s fine ... listen, how do you fancy coming over to the villa tonight?
 
We can have a proper catch-up.
 
Unless you’ve got other plans?”

Charley shook her head and smiled.
 
“No.
 
I’ve got no plans.
 
And I’d love to come over.”

India
smiled back.
 
“Great.
 
That’s sorted then.
 
I’ll get Bobby to organise dinner and make sure the bar’s are re-stocked.
 
How does champagne sound?”

Charley couldn’t help laughing again.
 
“Christ, we’ve come a long way since our anything-we-could-afford-from-the-corner-shop days.
 
Champagne
sounds just perfect, thanks.”

“Then champagne it is.
 
Got a bit of a taste for it myself, for my sins.”
 
India
got up, and Charley followed her as they went back outside.
 
“Come on then, Ms Miles.”
 
She linked her arm through Charley’s, pulling her close.
 
“Let me show you round this movie set and introduce you to Bobby, my personal assistant and extremely close friend.
 
You’re going to just love him ...”

***

Vince hadn’t gone straight to his meeting, he’d hung around because he’d seen
India
approach Charley without her realising and he’d needed to see that outcome.

They’d disappeared into India’s trailer for about twenty minutes and he’d waited, wanting to see what happened when they came out, but when they did they were both laughing like nothing had ever happened, arm in arm, looking just like the friends they’d used to be and Vince breathed a sigh of relief that came straight from the heart.
 
Because knowing Charley was happy was all that mattered to him these days.
 
He’d known how much she’d wanted India back in her life and it seemed like that was now very much back on track.
 
There’d be stories in the press, of course, there were bound to be, people knew they had a past, but they’d deal with that.
 
They’d dealt with worse.

And now all of that seemed to be sorting itself out, Vince could finally move onto another problem that was preying on his mind.
 
One that still involved
India
, but one that she must never, ever know about.
 
He still wasn’t entirely sure if he was right about what he thought was going on but it had now become a priority job for his security team to make sure his fears were confirmed before he did anything about it. He had to be sure.
 
He couldn’t just go on in there all guns blazing without knowing the facts.
 
But once he had those facts he’d make sure it ended straightaway.
 
It was his right to put a stop to anything he didn’t want going on inside his hotel, and whilst he really had no right to prevent anything going on outside of it, he was making it his right with this.
 
People were going to get hurt and more lives were going to be damaged if he didn’t, and that included those of his two closest friends, and he was going to do everything in his power to stop that from happening.
 
He had to.
 
As soon as he knew what was going on he was calling Michael Walsh.
 
And telling him everything.

***

Layla had almost forgotten just why she was supposed to be making a play for her director because she’d now become almost entirely consumed with a passion to hurt his wife.
 
She didn’t like India Walsh, and it was quite apparent that
India
didn’t like
her
.
 
Well, that was her problem.
 
India
thought she had everything; the fame, the career, the famous husband.
 
Layla didn’t like the way she’d almost looked down on her, the way she’d made smart remarks.
 
But she’d show her.
 
She’d take the things that
India
loved away from her, and she could do that.
 
Starting with her husband.
 
Because Layla Boyd got everything she wanted and she wanted
India
to hurt.
 
But Michael Walsh was proving to be a very hard case to crack, he just didn’t seem to go for girls like Layla and yet, she couldn’t see why.
 
She wasn’t so different to
India
, was she?
 
She was a good few years younger though, and that had to be a plus.

So Layla Boyd had a new mission in life.
 
She wasn’t used to being put down, and she wasn’t used to not being liked, especially by people like India Walsh.
 
In her opinion
India
needed a reality check, she needed to realise that, as perfect as people may think she was, Layla thought otherwise.
 
So she’d continue to get closer to Michael, she’d continue to do everything her mother had told her to do, but Layla had another plan, a back up incase all else failed.
 
There was no reason for her to carry it out other than the fact she didn’t like an actress who had everything she wanted, but it had become something Layla needed to do.
 
And if Michael Walsh wouldn’t fall for her very obvious charms – and she was sure he would if she pursued him enough – then the next best thing was to make his wife think that he had.

CHAPTER 42

Michael was getting ready to fly to Vegas after what had felt like the longest week of his life.
 
The days had been tiring and long but it was all worth it because everything was coming together just how he wanted it to.
 
They were ahead of schedule and on track to finish earlier than planned if they carried on like this, which was why he was taking some time out to visit
India
.
 
He was tired but he was happy and, unusually for him when he was making a movie, he was relaxed.
 
Even Layla had dropped the diva act, which had made him a touch suspicious at first but he’d decided not to question it.
 
As long as she was doing what was required of her that was all that concerned him.
 
The fact that she was actually starting to be a pleasure to have around was a bonus.
 

He was packing up his things in his trailer when there was a knock at the door.

“Come in.”
 
He picked up his car keys and put them in his pocket, looking up as Layla walked in.

“I just wondered if you fancied a drink,” she smiled, producing a bottle of vodka from behind her back.
 
It was almost three-quarters empty and by her demeanour it was obvious she’d had the majority of it herself.
 
“It’s been a long day and I noticed you were still here.”

“I thought you’d left hours ago,” Michael said.
 
“And I’m driving.”

“I’ve been in my trailer, preparing for next week’s filming.”
 
She began pouring some drinks, handing a small glass to Michael.
 
“And surely one tiny glass won’t hurt?”

Michael took the glass from her, slightly wary of what was happening here.

“I’m glad you’re so motivated, Layla.”

She smiled at him again, taking a sip of her neat vodka.
 
“Oh, I’m very, very motivated, Michael.”

Michael leaned back against the wall, looking at her.
 
She was pretty, there was no denying that.
 
She was no
India
, nowhere near, but she was pretty, in an obvious kind of way.
 
She was also quite a nice person when she dropped the spoilt little rich kid act but he’d been down this road before and it had only led to trouble. Temptation had been a problem for Michael in his past, hence three ex-wives, and he was determined it wouldn’t happen again.
 
He had a beautiful woman waiting for him in Vegas who wanted his baby and he wanted that future, this situation wasn’t going to happen.
 
He’d learnt his lesson on that score.
 

“Layla ...”

She moved closer to him, taking the drink out of his hand and putting it down on the table.
 
“Don’t you find me attractive, Michael?”