to the open-plan kitchen for some much-needed coffee.
Since the revelation about Dominic and Michael’s relationship, The Amber Palace – not to mention Vegas in general – was teeming with press and media, all wanting that elusive first interview with either of the famous men in question. And India. Although, it was common knowledge that India had fled to Malibu for a few days, and it was more than likely that both Michael and Dominic had followed her. But that hadn’t deterred the press from hanging around in Vegas, safe in the knowledge that filming of their movie was due to resume in just a matter of days. God willing, because Vince was exhausted fielding questions every time he set foot outside his private apartment within the hotel.
‘Charley!’ he shouted, flicking the switch down on the coffee machine and checking his watch. He had a meeting with The Amber Palace casino managers in half an hour and he needed to make sure Charley was around to look after Lily and Ethan. ‘Charley! You there, honey?’
‘Yeah, I’m here. I’m here. What’s the emergency?’ She came running out of the bathroom, pushing a hand through her damp hair. ‘I was taking a shower. Is everything okay?’
‘Everything’s fine,’ Vince replied, retrieving a couple of clean mugs from the dishwasher. ‘Where’re the kids?’
‘Lily’s taking a nap and Ethan’s on his way back to L.A. with Michael. Reece has gone too. They left this morning.’
Vince’s suspicions had been right, then. He’d had a feeling that Michael wasn’t going to let this go so easy, and just the thought of what could kick off next was giving him a headache.
‘Any idea where Dominic is?’ Vince asked, although it was very much a rhetorical question. It was highly unlikely he was still here in Vegas if Michael had followed India to L.A.
Charley shrugged, towel-drying her damp hair before discarding the towel over the back of the sofa. ‘I haven’t seen him since it all happened. Have you?’
Vince shook his head, pouring himself a strong black coffee. ‘I haven’t got a fucking clue what’s going on at the minute, Charley. Anyway, you gonna be around for the next couple of hours? To look after Lily? I’ve got a meeting with the casino managers in a few minutes, not to mention dealing with all this crap that’s going on with the movie.’
‘Why have you got to deal with all of that anyway?’ Charley asked, fastening the towel she’d hurriedly grabbed tighter around her body.
‘Because all this crap is going on in my hotel. And I’m one of the movie’s executive producers, so it’s kinda my job to deal with this shit. Especially as everybody else appears to have fucked off back to L.A. for a few days.’
Charley couldn’t help noticing how tense he was at the minute, and she knew a lot of that had to do with her, and the way she’d been acting lately. But Kenny had really started to help ease some of that fear she’d been feeling, allowing her to relax slightly. Allowing her to let Vince see that everything was okay; because that was the way she needed things to be. Maybe it was akin to burying her head in the sand but sometimes, if she could at least feel as though everything was alright then maybe she could start to believe that one day it might actually be that way. But if Vince ever found out just what it was that Kenny had done to make her more relaxed… Well, she didn’t even want to think about that.
Charley knew she shouldn’t, but she missed Kenny. She missed having him there to calm her, to tell her that everything would be alright, even though nobody knew that for sure. She missed him, but she totally understood why he had to be with India. In any kind of competition for Kenny’s affections India would win hands down. Every time. No contest. And any woman that Kenny ever got involved with needed to know that.
‘You alright?’ Vince asked, breaking into Charley’s thoughts as she started thumbing through the pile of newspapers on the dining room table. ‘You’ve drifted off again.’
‘Hmm?’ She looked up, smiling at him, wishing more than anything that everything could just go back to normal, that Jimmy Cash hadn’t turned up like this; that she hadn’t risked everything she had with Vince – the only man she’d ever truly loved. The man to whom she owed everything. ‘No, I’m fine. Sorry, I was just