Whatever had happened he was sorry, so sorry he couldn’t begin to explain. But he loved her with every beat of his heart, he knew that now because, if he didn’t, then surely this pain he was feeling wouldn’t hurt quite so bad. Dominic MacDonald had fallen in love for the first time in his life, and now he had one hell of a fight on his hands to win back the woman who’d taken over his life. One hell of a fucking fight.
***
‘He said he was falling in love with me, Kenny. He said that, not ten minutes before we came back downstairs. He said that. And he made me believe, y’know? He made me believe that he was telling me the truth. And when I looked at him, when I looked into those eyes… Jesus, those eyes…’
India sat cross-legged on the bed in Kenny’s apartment on the top floor of The Amber Palace, tears she’d thought she’d wanted to cry still welling up behind her eyes but she was refusing to let them fall. She was still too angry, too confused, and she wanted to stay strong not break down like the weak person she could sometimes be. This time she wanted to stay strong.
Kenny sat down next to her, handing her a glass of brandy which she downed in one.
‘Why couldn’t I see it in his eyes, Kenny? I mean, they’re Michael’s eyes… they’re Ethan’s eyes…’ India stared at Kenny, a look of realisation suddenly passing across her face. ‘Dominic he… he’s Ethan’s half-brother, Kenny. Could this get any more fucking complicated? The man I’ve been sleeping with is not only my ex-husband’s son, he’s also my own son’s half-brother! Why the fuck is my life always like a bloody movie script? Huh? Why? Why can’t anything just be bloody simple?’
Kenny wished he could tell her why, he really could. But even he couldn’t have seen this one coming. Dominic MacDonald, the long-lost son of Michael Walsh – who the hell would have ever thought that? Certainly not him. Out of everything he could ever have envisaged happening that hadn’t even come close to anything he’d imagined.
‘Did you tell him.. ?’
‘Did I tell him what?’ India asked, pulling her knees up to her chest, hugging them against her. ‘That I loved him too? No. I didn’t.’
Kenny looked at her, at the way she seemed to drift off into the distance, the way her eyes clouded over. She might not have told Dominic anything, but it was more than obvious to Kenny that she felt something.
‘You can’t avoid him, you know. You can’t avoid either of them, seeing as you’re in the middle of shooting this movie.’
‘Yeah, I’m very much aware of that, Kenny, thanks.’ She sighed, pushing a hand through her hair, flinging herself backwards onto the bed, throwing her arms up above her head. ‘What a fucking mess! Sorry, make that what another fucking mess!’
He lay down beside her, resting up on one elbow as she turned on her side to face him.
‘How do I do it, huh? How do I always get myself into these situations? My dad’s going to go fucking crazy when he finds out.’
‘Well, knowing Reece, yeah. He probably will.’
She couldn’t help smiling. ‘Shit! What am I gonna do, Kenny? You’re right, I can’t hide out up here forever, but I just want to get away, y’know? For a little while. A few days away from the press party that’s gonna kick off big time when they get wind of this little gem of a story.’ She let out another loud sigh, falling over onto her back again, closing her eyes. ‘I need to get out of here, Kenny.’
He looked at her, pushing her hair from her eyes as he stared down into them. ‘How about I try and take your mind off things for a little while, huh?’ he asked, a smile playing at the corner of his mouth; a smile that was infectious because India couldn’t help breaking into one too.
‘And how do you plan to do that then?’
He cocked his head to one side, his smile getting wider. ‘Remember the old days? Back in the very beginning? When we were the very best of friends – with benefits?’
‘Benefits, huh?’
She knew what he was talking about, of course she did. Back when she’d first arrived in L.A., a naive and shy twenty-two-year-old, she and Kenny had hit it off immediately, forming a bond within seconds of meeting that had lasted