know India’s here, and working with her on this movie it’s… well, apart from all the off-set drama it’s been good, good to spend some time with her. But she’s got Kenny here now, and I know she wants to be with him so, it’s good to have you around. I miss you when you’re not here.’
She smiled up at him. He was still so handsome; a beautiful, beautiful man. She loved him so much, which is why harbouring such an important secret felt so wrong. They didn’t have secrets, they never had. And she wished more than anything that she didn’t have this one.
‘Hey, I miss you too, honey. I really do.’ She reached up to touch his cheek, stroking his face gently with her fingertips as she looked into those blue-grey eyes of his. Eyes that were replicated in his beautiful daughter’s face. ‘It’s been good for you, hasn’t it? Spending this time with India?’
His face broke into a smile at the mention of his daughter, and Martha couldn’t help but smile too. He made her want to smile, that’s why she loved him so much, why she didn’t enjoy keeping things from him.
‘I can’t tell you how incredible it’s been to work with her again. She’s such a professional, and she has this amazing talent… Despite everything that’s gone on she walks out onto that set and lets nothing bother her. Nothing gets in the way. She can just switch it all off and become that person she has to be and I will never tire of watching her do that, Martha. She really does have an incredible talent.’
‘Yeah, and I think we all know where she inherited that talent from, don’t we?’
He pulled her closer, kissing her slowly, loving the fact she made him feel about twenty years younger just by smiling at him. His wonderful wife.
‘I really think we’re getting closer, Martha. Me and India. She’s opening up to me so much more, talking to me about things she never used to. She’s letting me in, and you’ll never know how much that means to me. Oh, I know there are still things she’ll never talk to me about, things I still don’t know, and I don’t think I even want to know anymore. I really don’t. Why dredge all that up again? She’s told me I didn’t need to know, and I’ll respect that.’ He smiled at her, that movie star smile that had broken the hearts of hundreds of women before her. A smile she loved because it was a smile that told her he was genuinely happy. ‘What we don’t know won’t hurt us, huh?’
She looked up into his eyes again, smiling a smile she hoped was as convincing as it had been before. ‘I guess not.’
And, as she watched him walk away, she threw her head back and sighed, closing her eyes. What they didn’t know wouldn’t hurt them. A saying that would be true, and she’d totally agree with him, if she didn’t know. But she did. And what she did with that information was still something she had yet to decide.
***
India walked into the salon and smiled at Maisy – a very pretty dark haired young woman whom India knew had once been a lead showgirl at The Maine Resort, the oldest of Vince’s Vegas hotels. She was tapping away at a computer keyboard behind the large, oversized reception desk but she’d looked up the second India had walked in, greeting her with that incredible smile of hers.
Looking around at the beautiful, almost tranquil surroundings Charley had managed to create, India couldn’t help but feel incredibly proud of her best friend. Her vision of what she’d wanted to create here at Charley’s wasn’t only unique, it was breathtaking. Within seconds of walking into the welcoming reception area it was like a feeling of calm washed over you from invisible vents and India felt her shoulders sag and her whole body feel lighter as she continued to look around, taking in the tropical plants, the bold yet relaxing colours Charley had decorated the place in, and the gentle background music playing from TV screens which carried accompanying images of beautiful landscapes, beaches and sunsets.
India had visited this salon on more than one occasion since it had opened, but every time she set foot inside it, it never failed to impress her. It was so different to the Beverly Hills branch of Charley’s. It was almost as if Charley just knew