those kisses she’d been missing since the second she’d left him in L.A., just a couple of days ago.
‘You look pretty, Mommy.’ He smiled at her, and India couldn’t help but notice that the bigger he got, the more like Michael he became. Those same blue eyes, that same smile. Her beautiful baby boy.
Bobby sat up and looked at India, raising an eyebrow. ‘You’ve got him trained.’
She stuck her tongue out at him again, and Ethan did the same, making her laugh out loud.
‘You’re your mother’s son alright, Ethan Walsh,’ Bobby sighed, sliding down from his stool and going over to the coffee machine to make a fresh pot.
‘Can I see Daddy soon, Mommy?’ Ethan asked, climbing up onto the stool she’d vacated, looking at her with wide, hopeful eyes.
‘Of course you can see him, baby. But he isn’t here.’ She looked at Reece out of the corner of her eye as he stood by the French Windows that led out onto a private terrace and pool, his arms folded as he watched her intently. He was waiting for her reaction, but he wasn’t going to get the one he might be expecting. ‘He’s next door, in his own villa.’
‘Come on, Munchkin,’ Bobby smiled, lifting Ethan down off the stool. ‘I’ll take you to see your daddy. I know how much he likes a visit from me early in the morning. It’s his guilty pleasure.’
India looked at Bobby and smiled, mouthing ‘thank you’, watching as Ethan happily followed his Godfather out of the kitchen, talking excitedly about everything he’d been doing back in L.A.
‘He misses his dad,’ Reece said, walking over to her, absent-mindedly picking up the printed-out information on Dominic MacDonald.
‘Yeah, well, he sees him more than most other kids of divorced parents see their fathers. Especially in Hollywood.’
Reece fixed her with a stare. ‘Do you?’
She stared back at her famous father through narrowed eyes. ‘Do I what?’
‘Miss Ethan’s father?’
She laughed, a slightly cynical laugh. ‘I’m not even gonna answer that question.’
But Reece hadn’t missed the brief, fleeting look that had passed across her face. It spoke volumes without her having to say a thing. ‘So, being here is okay, is it?’
‘What are you getting at, Dad? It’s way too early for this kind of cryptic conversation.’
‘You and Michael…’
She fixed him with an even harder stare, looking right into his eyes, just so he got the message loud and clear because she was tired of feeling like she had to prove it time and time again. It was becoming exhausting. ‘There is no me and Michael. Okay? If you must know, I saw him last night, he tried to make a move, and I walked away. I walked away, Dad, because I felt nothing. He was right there, so close to me, telling me he wanted me back, and I felt nothing. So, there is no me and Michael. Not anymore.’
Reece didn’t know whether to breathe a sigh of relief or feel nervous that this was just the beginning of a long road ahead, but if she was telling the truth then she’d at least proved one thing to herself – that she really was a stronger person now.
He decided not to push the subject. She seemed to have a grip on things – for now – so making something out of it wasn’t the wisest thing he could do.
‘So, what’s this all about then?’ He handed her the sheet of paper he was holding and she looked down at the picture of her soon-to-be-new co-star.
‘Research, Dad.’ She put the piece of paper down and reached up to kiss his cheek, smiling at him. ‘And you should know how important that is. I’ve got to go get ready now, okay? I’ll see you on-set.’
His beautiful daughter with the damaged past. He could only hope that, this time, she really had put it all behind her and was ready to move on. But even if she had, he wasn’t sure he’d ever stop worrying about her. And, looking down at the picture of Dominic MacDonald, he couldn’t help wondering if this really was nothing more than just innocent research, or if it was the start of something more than that. He didn’t know. Was Dominic MacDonald a distraction for his daughter? Was that what she was looking for? Something – someone – to take her mind off Michael? Reece always thought the worst, even when there was no evidence to prove anything otherwise. But at least, this time, he was