giving him a chance to do just that, he felt nothing but a crushing sense of déjà vu.
***
Kenny had no idea why he was in Vegas anymore. India was too wrapped up in Dominic to care about spending time with him, so why else did he need to stick around? When she was the main reason he’d come here in the first place.
Strolling aimlessly through the Amber Palace casino, already busy with the morning’s quota of tourists mixing with those that had probably been there since last night, still trying to win back whatever amount they’d lost, he thought about the stories some of these people could tell. Because there had to be people out there whose lives were crazier than his. A dozen or more movie scripts were probably hanging around that casino, amongst that strange mix of high rollers and housewives.
Hands stuffed deep in his pockets, his eyes very much focused on the ground, he headed into The Pool View Diner, hoping more than anything that he could go unrecognised today, because the last thing he was in the mood for was having to make small talk with people. He would, if he had to, because that’s what Kenny did. Being recognised was all part of the package but today, well, today he just didn’t feel much like being sociable. What he felt like doing was turning the clock back nearly twenty years to the day when a young and beautiful girl from the North East of England had walked through the door of that small screen-test room on a studio sound stage in Hollywood – he wanted to go back there, and do a million things differently.
He slipped into a window booth, briefly taking in the view of the pool outside as it filled up with tourists and those that wanted a day with nothing to do but catch some sun and chill out, turning to smile his thanks at the pretty waitress who quickly filled his cup with fresh coffee, smiled back, then left him alone with his thoughts. Thoughts Kenny wasn’t all that keen on being left alone with, if he was honest.
He turned back to look outside, watching as the pool seemed to grow more crowded by the second, the sun loungers rapidly becoming occupied by people of all shapes and sizes, all having fun in this city that provided just that and more, twenty four hours a day. But he wasn’t exactly having fun himself right now. All he seemed to be experiencing was a major headache, a ton of guilt, and feelings he’d been trying to kick for almost twenty years that just refused to go away.
He sat back in the booth and pushed a hand through his hair, taking a quick sip of far-too-hot coffee. He’d just left Charley, and a situation he’d promised himself he wouldn’t return to. They’d let it happen once, but they’d both been adamant it wouldn’t happen again, yet it had. Just now. Upstairs in his apartment. Two weak people clinging onto each other because neither of them was brave enough to face their own realities head on. But she needed him, and he needed her, although their reasons for needing each other were both dangerous and dubious, and once again Kenny Ross was playing with fire. But he was used to getting his fingers burnt, so he knew that – despite the guilt and the feelings of doubt that still ran riot inside his head – he wasn’t going to step back from whatever it was he’d just walked into. Because he still needed the distraction it was giving him. Even if that distraction was both dangerous, and very, very wrong.
***
Charley hoped she wasn’t going to be disturbed today. She’d shut herself away in her office in the salon with strict instructions to her staff to bother her for no reason other than an emergency, because she just didn’t feel much like socialising. She didn’t feel much like working, either, but she’d given herself no choice. She’d really just wanted to hide away in her and Vince’s apartment and escape all the crap with a day of non-stop reality TV, a day of watching other peoples’ problems unfold and other peoples’ lives unravel, but she had so much paperwork to get through, thanks to her neglect of the salon lately. She was so lucky Vince had sorted everything out over in the Beverly Hills branch of Charley’s because she just wasn’t sure when she could