smile.
‘Is he really necessary?’ Dominic asked as she turned back to face him.
‘At the minute he is, yes. I don’t particularly want him following me around all day but it’s that or be bombarded by paparazzi and reporters wanting to know what’s happening between you and me.’
‘And what is happening between you and me?’
She stared at him, unable to tear her eyes away from his. ‘I really don’t know.’
He sat back, still looking at her, which made India feel slightly uncomfortable for some reason. A little on edge.
‘Let’s get out of here,’ he said, his eyes still fixed on hers.
‘I don’t know…’
‘Please, India. Just give me a chance to explain.’
She sighed heavily, throwing her head back. ‘I don’t know if I want to listen to any more excuses, Dominic. This is really hard...’
‘And you think I’m having it easy?’
She looked at him again. ‘I didn’t say that.’
‘Don’t I deserve just a little of your time? To explain things?’
She stood up, pushing her chair back and sliding her sunglasses down over her eyes. ‘There’s nothing to explain, really. Is there? I think we all know exactly what happened, why you did it…’
He stood up too, desperate not to let her get away from him, not this time. He was tired of the way things were, tired of only being close to her on set, tired of sleeping without her. He’d got too used to it, too used to her being around and he needed her back. He needed her, and he wasn’t going to stop until things were the way they’d used to be – before all this crap had happened.
‘Okay… okay, but… India, baby, please. I need you to just listen to me. I really need that.’
‘You’re Michael’s son, Dominic. No matter which way you look at it, you’re Michael’s son.’
‘And that isn’t my fault, honey.’
She fixed him with one last look, trying to ignore the huge dip her stomach took as she did so, the feeling of a million butterflies flying loose. ‘No, it isn’t. But how you handled it is.’
And, as she turned and walked away from him, Dominic knew this fight was going to be a whole lot harder than he’d first anticipated. He was a link to Michael Walsh, and any link to that man was a barrier for India. But a barrier he’d overcome, because if Dominic MacDonald had inherited anything from his father it was the determination to get what he wanted. No matter what.
***
Martha stood by the huge wall of windows that lined one side of the suite Reece was staying in at The Amber Palace, her arms folded as she looked out over the sprawling view of Las Vegas and the desert beyond.
She’d joined Reece in Vegas for the final few days of filming. It hadn’t been planned – she’d had other things to do in reality, new projects to talk about, meetings to go to – but the way things were here, the whole Michael/Dominic/India scenario, Martha was worried. She was worried about Reece’s reaction if anything got out of hand. She was worried about what might come out. But, more than anything, she was concerned about the fact she was keeping secrets from him. Big secrets, secrets that he’d never been privy to, but secrets he maybe should have been aware of right from the start.
India had told her everything in confidence, even though Martha suspected she’d never meant to tell her anything at all. But this wasn’t just something minor, some little white lie, something that didn’t matter, because it did matter. It mattered because it was the whole reason India had been unable to move on in all this time. It had happened seven years ago but the repercussions were still being felt now, and even Reece could see that. He just didn’t know the real reason why.
‘Everything okay? You look miles away.’
The sound of Reece’s voice made her turn around and fix a smile on her face in record-quick time. She wasn’t one of the best character actors around for nothing. She was good. ‘I’m fine, honey. I’m just fine.’
‘Look, I’m due on set soon, but, you can come with me, or you can stay here and relax. Maybe visit Charley down in the salon, go shopping…’
‘Reece, sweetheart, I think I can amuse myself, okay? I’ll be fine.’
He smiled, walking over to her, sliding his arms round her waist and pulling her close, kissing the tip of her nose. ‘I’m really glad you’re here. I mean, I