know. It’s over. For India’s sake, this is over. Finished. She’s with me now, okay? And I’m going to love her like she deserves to be loved. I’m going to keep her safe; I’m going to make her happy.’
Michael stood up too, facing Dominic. He was right. This was over. It was all over. He wasn’t going to fight it anymore. He was ready to finally let her go, even if handing her over to his son felt like the wrong thing to be doing. It was just something he was going to have to deal with.
‘Take care of her, okay?’ Michael’s voice was quiet, the air of defeat hanging heavy in the atmosphere, tears he hadn’t expected to cry welling up behind his eyes. ‘You… you just take care of her, do you hear? Because… because she deserves someone special. She deserves that.’
‘Yeah. She does,’ Dominic said, looking at Michael one last time, right into those piercing blue eyes. ‘She really does.’ And then he just walked away, leaving Michael with nothing but a feeling of confusion and painful emptiness. And there was nothing he could do to change that.
***
Jimmy watched from his seat at a secluded table in the Patio restaurant as a busy lunchtime service got underway. He watched as Vince and Charley walked around the huge oval pool, hand-in-hand, and although he could still sense a slight air of tension hanging over them, they appeared to be back together, and that was all that mattered to Jimmy.
He watched as India had lunch with Kenny Ross and Dominic MacDonald, laughing and smiling and looking every inch the beautiful, successful movie star that she was.
He watched as Michael Walsh walked into the restaurant with his much younger girlfriend, TV presenter and actress Layla Boyd, looking like a couple who’d just embarked on some kind of new and exciting relationship. The famous director seemed the most relaxed he’d ever been, despite his recent heart attack, and who wouldn’t, with a woman as pretty as Layla by his side. Jimmy was almost disappointed she’d given up her short-lived glamour model career when she had because he could have made her a star – in his world. Just like he’d made Charley a star. And maybe Layla would have shown more appreciation for what he could have given her, shown him far more respect than Charley had ever shown him.
He watched as Reece Brogan and Martha Turner joined their daughter at her table, Reece leaning over to kiss India, ruffling her hair and making her laugh before they sat down, picking up their menus, signalling to a passing waiter who seemed more than happy to deal with this table full of famous Hollywood faces. And why not? He was probably guaranteed one hell of a hefty tip this afternoon.
Everyone was happy, or getting there, at least. Everyone seemed to be settled and smiling and getting on with their privileged and successful lives, and that was exactly what Jimmy had wanted.
Sitting back in his chair, tipping his Stetson down over his eyes, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone, quickly punching in a number. Things had worked out perfectly. He couldn’t have wished for anything more. Everyone was in one place, which is just what he’d needed. Everyone was in one place right now, and tonight they’d all be in one place for one last time. One last time…
CHAPTER 39
Vince looked around the club as it started to fill up with cast and crew – everyone from producers to casting agents, movie stars to make-up girls, all of them excited and ready to enjoy the wrap party for a movie the making of which hadn’t exactly been plain sailing.
Epic @ The Amber Palace was – as its name rightly suggested – the biggest club within the hotel complex. It was a place that was both contemporary yet somehow cosy, despite its size, and it was a club that was fast becoming one of the ultra-fashionable places to be seen in Vegas. With its brown, cream and dark red colour scheme interspersed with elements of chrome and black, oversized sofas and mirrored walls, Vince had managed to mix modern with “old school” to create a place that attracted both the young and the not-so-young – people who just wanted a good time with a great mix of music that spanned the brand new to the classics, hip-hop to disco, rock to romantic ballads, depending on the mood. But he had