Kenny Ross. It seemed as though more and more of Charley’s friends were beginning to gather here in this city, which was good. That suited Jimmy just fine. He just hoped they stuck around long enough to see just what it was he had planned because, as far as he was concerned, the more friends Charley had around her, the better.
Watching her body language intently he could see she was on edge, nervous, anxious. Good. He couldn’t have asked for more. This was just what he wanted. And he’d continue to let her feel on edge for just a couple more days. He enjoyed the notion that she was spending every day looking over her shoulder, not knowing if he was near or not. Well, she’d find out soon enough.
He stood up and walked away from the bar as Charley and Kenny started walking towards it. He didn’t want her to see him just yet, not yet. Just a couple more days then he’d let her know exactly what it was he intended to do. For starters.
***
India stood at the side of the set, leaning back against the wall as she read through her script, the searing Las Vegas summer sun beating down on her bare shoulders. She wasn’t required on set until after lunch and she needed to catch up with a couple of last minute script changes, so she’d found a quiet spot away from the main action to read through the bits she wasn’t yet familiar with. And she was surprised to see that a relatively low-key love scene between her and Dominic – that was initially to have stopped before it got anywhere near the bedroom – had now been extended to incorporate them actually making love, and that confused India slightly. Michael was directing this, and she knew how he felt about anyone coming near her, especially someone like Dominic. So why change a scene like that to show them so intimate with each other when it hadn’t originally been that way?
‘You avoiding me?’
She looked up at the sound of that New York accent, and she couldn’t stop the smile spreading across her face. ‘No. Any reason why I should be?’
‘Well…’ He moved closer, his blue eyes fixed firmly on hers, ‘… we haven’t really said all that much to each other – outside of this movie set – since that incredibly entertaining flight over here on your father’s private jet.’
‘Entertaining, huh?’
He laughed, taking the script she was holding out of her hands, throwing it down on the floor.
‘Hey, I was reading that!’
‘Not anymore.’
She looked right into his eyes, her stomach somersaulting like an over-active acrobat, her heart starting to beat ten-to-the-dozen; she could feel it hammering hard against her ribs. Was she breaking out in a sweat? What was this man doing to her?
‘We’re making love this afternoon, India. You do realise that, don’t you?’
He was referring to the script change, of course. And she’d be lying if she said she wasn’t nervous about it, how could she not be when both her father and her ex-husband would be looking on? Jesus, one of them was going to be directing her! And she was going to be so close to a man who was bringing her out in goosebumps just by thinking about him. Even the thought of pretending to have sex with him was making her feel dizzy. When the hell had this happened? When had Dominic MacDonald suddenly become more than just her co-star? It was crazy! And not something India was particularly comfortable with, because she felt slightly out of control of the situation at a time when she’d actually started to feel as though she was gaining some control back in her life.
‘I know we are. And have you got any idea why they’ve suddenly changed the script?’ She reached out and gently stroked his rough chin as she spoke, an almost involuntary action, watching her fingers as they ran over his jaw line.
‘No. But I’m not complaining. Any excuse to be near you, I’ll take that.’
She couldn’t help smiling again. ‘We’re not really making love, y’know.’
‘Well, we could shake things up a bit, if we wanted to.’
India frowned slightly. ‘How do you mean?’
‘We could get so close that they ain’t gonna be able to tell whether we’re pretending, or whether it’s really happening.’
She felt her stomach flip over again, that tingling sensation down below signalling the start of something she knew they’d have to finish, for the sake of