had of keeping her that close. He’d never managed to get it back. No matter how hard he’d tried.
So he’d had to get used to having her in his life as the closest friend he’d ever had and he knew he should be grateful for that, but it still hurt to see her with anyone else. Although even he was sad to see her marriage to JJ Foster on the brink of divorce, because all he’d ever really wanted was for India to be happy.
‘Hey, you. You ignoring me?’ India smiled, sitting down next to him, handing him a salt-rimmed glass of something vivid green. ‘Here. Try this. It looks vile but it tastes great.’
He looked at her. They’d come so far, and he still found it difficult to understand why they’d never made a life together because things could have been so different. They really could have been.
‘What’s the matter?’ she asked. ‘Have I got a piece of olive stuck in my teeth or something?’
He broke the stare and took the glass from her, looking down into the transparent green liquid. ‘No. It’s just, y’know, you look good tonight.’
She smiled again, leaning over to kiss his cheek. ‘All thanks to Charley and her fabulous team over at the salon. I had a facial this afternoon that’s worked wonders on my tired, middle-aged skin.’
Kenny looked at her again, smiling too. ‘You? Middle-aged? Come on, India. You’ll never be middle-aged. Neither of us will.’
She laughed, snuggling into him as she took the drink back from him, taking a long mouthful. ‘Much better if you down it quickly, actually.’
Kenny slipped his hand into hers as she leant back against him, both of them so used to being this close, this intimate with each other even though, at times, the lines could become blurred and the boundaries between friends and lovers were crossed. Yet those were the times Kenny dreamed of. To have her that close for just a few minutes, to touch her in that way even though it never led to anything more, he would take it. He had done in the past and he’d do so again in the future. That had been his life for twenty years – taking anything he could get to be close to this woman. That would be the way his life was forever. His choice.
‘How’s the movie going with Layla then?’ India asked, playing with his fingers. ‘You must be almost finished shooting now.’
Kenny was busy working on a romantic comedy of his own alongside Layla Boyd. They’d once been a couple, years ago, when Layla had been a little-known new actress on the block with nothing more than famous parents and an average talent. But she’d grown up, learnt to stand on her own two feet, and she’d become quite the star.
She and India had more than a bit of a past; they hadn’t always got on, although, to say they’d been enemies could be exaggerating slightly. They hadn’t always been friends, but India’s accident had put a lot of things into perspective and they’d grown to respect each other, sharing a not overly close but steady friendship, mainly because of Layla’s involvement with Michael Walsh. Anyone who was involved with Michael would be close to their son, and India was fiercely protective of her soon-to-be-eight-year-old little boy.
‘Yeah, we’re almost done now,’ Kenny replied. ‘It’s going okay. It’s good.’ He squeezed her hand as she knelt up in front of him, cocking her head on one side as she looked at him. ‘Now who’s staring?’ he laughed.
‘I’m gonna miss you when I go to Vegas.’
He leant over and kissed her quickly, and just that briefest touch of his lips against hers made his stomach flip over. ‘You’ll be fine. And when I’m done here I’ll be straight over to see you, you know how much I love Vegas.’
She kept staring at him, only too aware that Vegas was where Casey lived, where Casey would be. On a permanent basis now her relationship with Kenny seemed to be all but over. ‘Are you alright, Kenny? I mean, this business with Casey…’
‘It was never gonna work, honey. Not really. She needed to be in Vegas, I didn’t want to leave L.A., and I’m not good with long distance relationships.’
‘It’s Las Vegas, Kenny, not the other side of the world.’
He looked down at their still-joined hands. ‘It just wasn’t going anywhere, India. Simple as that.’ He smiled at her, not wanting to get into a deep