touch shy, looking down at her hands as they fiddled with the stem of her champagne flute.
‘Does it feel, y’know, uncomfortable? Doing scenes like that with your ex-husband directing?’ Dominic asked.
She looked up at him. ‘No. Why should it?’ She was aware she’d sounded slightly defensive there and she sat back in her chair, trying to relax, but she couldn’t help feeling a little on edge, for some reason. As if something was about to happen that she couldn’t quite predict.
He sat back too, holding up his hands. ‘Hey, it’s okay. I didn’t mean to ask anything personal. I just wondered, that’s all. I guess it’s because I’ve never been in the position of working so closely with someone I used to be married to.’
She sighed, sitting forward again, taking a long drink of champagne, because she needed it. She needed something to help her relax. She suddenly felt quite anxious, and she had no real idea why. ‘I’m sorry, Dominic. I think the day’s just caught up with me, that’s all. Filming, looking after Ethan, fending off a disapproving father at the age of forty-two… it’s bloody tiring.’
He gave that laugh again and she couldn’t help laughing too. ‘I really like you, India. And, well, you and I – we’ve got a lot more in common than you think.’ He looked right into her eyes. ‘A lot more.’
She was about to ask him what, exactly, when that unpredictable situation she’d been half-expecting suddenly happened. ‘Oh, Jesus, what’s he doing here?’
Dominic turned around, following India’s gaze. ‘Who?’
‘JJ Foster. My husband.’
She finished her glass of champagne and stood up, pushing her chair under the table as Dominic stood up too. ‘I’m sorry, Dominic. Maybe we can do this again, another night?’
‘How about dinner? Tomorrow?’ Had that sounded slightly desperate?
She smiled and nodded. ‘That’d be nice. Look, I’d better go see what he wants. I really am sorry.’
But not as sorry as Dominic was. Because, when India found out just what it was that they had in common, this whole game was about to change. Big time.
***
Charley had the best team of stylists behind her. They were some of the most talented and sought after in L.A., many of them having defected from rival salons to work for her as Charley’s reputation continued to grow. And this fashion show they were working on needed the very best stylists she could get because the list of names taking part was becoming bigger and more important as each day went on.
They’d now not only be styling the hair of the models taking part, they’d also be working with some big celebrity names from the worlds of TV, music and movies that had agreed to hit the runway in the name of charity. But Charley was no stranger to the world of celebrity. She had many big-name clients who used Charley’s on a regular basis, but some of these names taking part in the fashion show were huge. And she didn’t want to let anyone down. So, she’d gathered together the absolute best team she could, with stylists and colourists at the top of their game, ready to do work that could put both of her salons right on the map and, maybe, help get her that New York-based salon she’d started to dream of. She hadn’t thought it possible when she’d first started out, but now it was very much within her grasp. She just needed to work that little bit harder.
‘Who’s got the hairpieces?’ Charley asked as her team set up for yet another meeting with Candice at her Brentwood studio.
The models were due to arrive within the next hour and she couldn’t find the blond and red hairpieces that she’d laid out back at the salon. She’d assumed somebody had picked them up and brought them with them, but she should have been more on the ball and checked herself. Her fault, really.
‘Nobody? Great. I’d better go back to the salon and get them then.’
‘Ring Brad,’ Callie smiled. She was the youngest of the stylists on Charley’s team, but incredibly talented none-the-less. She was examining one of Candice’s dresses from the collection she was debuting at the show and Charley was just pleased to see that at least one of her team had thought to look over the garments with a view to matching the hair and make-up. Candice had a brief, but she also wanted any ideas Charley’s team were willing to put forward. ‘He could get someone to bring them