had. And that was what made Vince nervous. Because it was becoming increasingly obvious to a lot of people working on this movie that a new relationship could be on the cards, and it was the last thing Vince knew Michael would want to see.
His eyes moved over to catch a glimpse of Dominic MacDonald, who was standing on the other side of the set, arms folded, dark glasses pushed down, disguising eyes that were quite obviously looking at one person and one person only – India.
In a way Vince almost felt sorry for him, because fighting Michael over anything concerning India – well, unless you were one hell of a person that was going to be one pretty tough, full-on battle. And Vince wasn’t sure if Dominic was ready for that. Or if he even knew exactly what he might be getting himself into. Vince just hoped that he knew what he was doing because, if he didn’t, there could be one hell of a mess to clear up.
***
‘Okay, everybody! Take half an hour while we set up for the next scene. Back here at ten past!’ Michael turned to India, who was loosening her hair from a particularly uncomfortable ponytail. ‘Shall we let Ethan watch this afternoon? It’s all pretty harmless stuff going on after lunch…’
‘No mummy kissing strange men, you mean,’ India smiled.
Michael couldn’t help smiling back, even though the thought of her kissing Dominic MacDonald wasn’t one he wanted to linger over. Even if it was just for the cameras. ‘No. No mommy kissing strange men.’ He couldn’t help but throw a quick glance over towards Dominic, who was still leaning against the wall, dark glasses covering eyes that Michael knew were staring straight at his ex-wife. It wasn’t his intention to miss a thing, and Dominic needed to know that. He turned back to India. ‘So, what do you say? Shall we let the little guy on set this afternoon?’
India shook out her hair and looked at her ex-husband. ‘That’s up to you. You’re the director. Just don’t forget, he’s only seven-years-old and his attention span isn’t all that great. Not to mention the fact he’s still over-excited at having his mum and dad in the same place for more than five minutes. And I’m still not so sure we should be encouraging that, to be honest.’
‘Encouraging what?’ Michael asked, looking at her as she stood up and stretched out, trying not to stare at this still-so-beautiful woman.
‘Oh, I don’t know. Seeing you and me together, it might be confusing for him.’
‘In what way?’
India looked straight at Michael. ‘He’s seven-years-old, Michael. And, yeah, he might be used to the fact that his mum and dad have never been together for the majority of his lifetime, but that doesn’t mean to say that he wouldn’t love us to get back together. And I don’t want to give him any false hope.’
Michael looked down at the ground, his hands in his pockets. ‘False hope, huh?’
‘It isn’t happening, Michael. I meant what I said, and if you can’t deal with that…’
He looked up at her. ‘And what about Dominic?’
India stared back at him. ‘What about him? He’s a dream to work with, he’s an incredible actor…’
‘Don’t play games, India.’
She couldn’t help laughing, shaking her head as she continued to stare at her ex-husband. Sometimes he made her realise that the decision she’d made to walk away from him had – beyond any doubt – been the right one. And yet, at other times, he made her wonder if second chances really were something she should have taken a risk on. ‘I don’t play games anymore, Michael. But it seems you still do, but, let me tell you one thing, okay? There is nothing going on between me and Dominic, but even if there was, it would have nothing to do with you. I’m going to find our son.’
He grabbed her arm, swinging her round, and she stared at him.
‘Whatever you thought was going to happen when you asked me to do this movie, Michael, forget it. I never gave you any reason to believe there could be some kind of hope so I don’t want you to spend any more time thinking it could ever go back to the way it was. You got that? It’s over.’
‘Is it?’
His blue eyes bored right into her and no matter how much she wanted to break that stare, she couldn’t. She couldn’t even get the words out that she wanted to