No Matter What (126 page)

He could still make
India
laugh at the drop of a hat and she hugged him again.

“It’s just like a fairytale, angel.
 
It’s your very own fairytale.”

She looked over at Reece as she felt tears start to fall down her cheeks.
 
She couldn’t help it.
 
She was ridiculously happy and Bobby was right.
 
Marrying JJ was her very own fairytale happy ending.

“Oh God, I’ve started you off now,” Bobby said, dabbing at his eyes and shoving his handkerchief back in his pocket.
 
“I’d better go get Scott for a touch up job before you go out there.”

“Bobby, it’s fine.
 
It’s ok,”
India
smiled.
 
“I think I can manage to sort this out myself.
 
Really.”

He smiled too, kissing her quickly.
 
“Then I’ll leave you to it, and the next time I see you you’ll be gliding up that aisle like some beautiful ethereal angel.”

“Get out of here,” she laughed.
 
“And tell Joe I’m on my way.”

He blew her another kiss and left her and Reece alone.

She turned and looked at her father as he took her hands in his and smiled at her.
 
He’d missed out on so much of her life yet he’d been around for all the important things that had happened, and for that he was truly grateful.
 
When he looked at her now, this beautiful, successful woman who’d given him two amazing grandchildren and the family he’d always dreamed of, he didn’t think it was possible to love her any more than he already did.
 
She’d been through so much and come through it all and he was so proud of her.
 
He just hoped that she’d now finally found the man who could make her happy.

“I love you so much,
India
.
 
You know that, don’t you?”

She nodded, smiling back at the man who’d given her this amazing life.
 
The man to whom she owed it all.
 
“I know.
 
And I love you too, dad.
 
I love you too.”

He leaned forward and kissed her forehead, squeezing her hands.
 
“Are you ready then?”

“I’m ready.”
 
She reached over and picked up the cream and white bouquet, her heart starting to beat faster and faster.
 
It was crazy!
 
She’d only seen JJ less than twelve hours ago but it felt as if they’d been apart for weeks and she couldn’t wait to get to him.
 
She wanted to see him so much it hurt.

“
India
...”

She looked at her father again, still very much the movie star in his dark suit and tie, his hair more grey than dark now but that only made him look even more handsome.

“You do love Joseph.
 
Don’t you?”

“I love him like crazy, dad.”

Reece smiled again, holding out his arm for
India
to take and she slipped her arm through his, kissing his cheek gently.

“Now let’s go get my man.”

CHAPTER 61

Michael hadn’t planned for the speed bump that had been
India
having JJ Foster’s baby.
 
It hadn’t even crossed his mind that it could happen, despite Ethan telling him over and over again that mommy and JJ were going to give him a baby brother or sister one day.
 
He’d put that down to the ramblings of a child because it was all Ethan could talk about after Lily’s arrival.
 
Michael had naively thought, that because
India
had been so reluctant to have a baby with him, that having another one wouldn’t be something she’d entertain for even a second.
 
But he’d been wrong, hadn’t he?
 
Still, it wasn’t anything that couldn’t be overcome.
 
Not now the time was so close.
 
The time when everything was about to happen.
 
When it would all finally start falling into place.
 
It kept Michael going.
 
It kept him strong, because it really wouldn’t be long now.

“What’s the matter?” Layla asked, coming up behind him as he sat at the table, flicking through some papers.
 
She slipped her arms around his neck, kissing him quickly.

He smiled at her as she sat down opposite him, crossing her legs and taking a sip of her coffee. Who’d have thought, after everything that had gone on, that Michael Walsh and Layla Boyd would have actually become a couple?
 
Certainly not him.
 
But as he looked at her, with her face devoid of any make-up and her blonde hair pulled back off her face, he couldn’t help but think how beautiful she really was. She’d shown him the real Layla Boyd and she was very different from the harsh, brash, spoilt little rich girl that she’d portrayed before.
 
She was really just a very lost and lonely woman who hadn’t had a great deal of love from parents who’d taught her that only money, success and fame could bring happiness.
 
But Michael didn’t love her, either.
 
He cared about her but he didn’t love her, and he’d tried, he really had.
 
He’d tried so hard but he couldn’t do it.
 
Because he couldn’t love anyone except
India
.
 
Even if
she
was in love with another man.

But for some reason he and Layla had fallen into this relationship and it had seemed like the right thing to do.
 
At the time.
 
They had fun, sometimes she even managed to distract him from thinking about his ex-wife and her younger boyfriend and this exceptionally beautiful baby girl they’d had that was so much like her father it was uncanny.
 
Sometimes Layla had managed to do all of that, and for that he was grateful.
 
But time was ticking on this relationship.
 
Time was nearly up.
 
It had run it’s course and Michael had other things on his mind now.
 
He didn’t want to hurt Layla, but he’d told her no lies.
 
He’d never promised her anything, he’d never told her he loved her, he’d never said there would be a future.
 
But then, he hadn’t said there wouldn’t be, either.

“Nothing’s the matter, Layla.
 
Everything’s fine.”

She looked out of the window at the beautiful, landscaped gardens spread out in front of her, but this was Michael’s home, even though she practically lived here herself.
 
She was just waiting for the day when he’d ask her to move in with him properly and she couldn’t understand why he was stalling on that one.
 
They’d been together almost two years now.
 
What was the point in waiting any longer?

“I wish you didn’t have to go away, Michael.”

He put his glasses on, looking back down at the papers.
 
“It’s the nature of my work, Layla, you know that.
 
You’re in the business yourself.”

“I know,” she sighed, sitting back and stretching her arms high above her head, her robe slipping open to reveal a little more of her enhanced cleavage and Michael couldn’t help but look.
 
“It’s just crap timing that I’m working away too.
 
I wanted to be with you.”

He looked back down and said nothing.
 
He was actually relieved they were going to be apart.
 
He didn’t want or need the distraction of Layla when he had other things to concentrate on.
 
Much more important things.

“
India
’s in the magazines again,” Layla said matter-of-factly, flicking idly through one that had been left on the table.

Michael looked up again at the mention of
India
’s name and Layla held up the page which displayed photographs of
India
and JJ walking with baby Ellie along an
L.A.
beach.
 
They were looking at each other, JJ carrying Ellie who was snuggled into his shoulder,
India
with her arm around his waist, smiling up at him.
 
The picture next to it showed them kissing.
 
It was the perfect family snapshot and Michael had to look away.

“They look happy,” he said, trying to sound as though he couldn’t care less.

“Hmm, don’t they?
 
Never thought JJ would settle down myself but she really seems to have gotten her claws into him.
 
He looks almost domesticated.
 
Daddy JJ.
 
Just goes to show, doesn’t it?”

Michael gathered his things together and stood up.
 
He didn’t feel much like listening to anymore of this.
 
He had work to do, and lots of it if everything was to be ready in time.

Layla looked up at him as he pushed his chair in.
 
“Where are you going?
 
I thought we could do something together this evening?”

“I’ve got work to do, Layla.
 
I’m really very busy.”

Layla couldn’t help but feel a flush of disappointment.
 
Lately she’d felt as though he was almost drifting away from her, going off into his own little world behind the doors of that study of his.
 
He never really liked her going in there and she’d never really felt the need to do so anyway, but whatever he was doing in there, it was keeping him away from her.

He sensed her disappointment and went over to her, kissing her quickly, smiling.
 
“I’m sorry, honey.
 
I’ll make it up to you tomorrow, ok?
 
We’ll do something together then, I promise.”

She smiled back, although the disappointment refused to go away.
 
“Ok.
 
Do you want me to stay the night?
 
Because I can go home if you prefer?”

She looked sad and he hated himself for even thinking about doing what he was planning to do but he had to.
 
He’d worked towards this moment for so long now.
 
He just hoped Layla wouldn’t get too hurt.

“No.
 
I’d like you to stay.
 
Really.
 
I won’t be too long, then maybe an early night might be just what I need.”

And what harm could that do?
 
He
wanted to,
she
wanted to.
 
He might as well play this one out ‘til the end.

She smiled again.
 
“I’ll see you soon, then?”

“Yeah.”
 
He smiled too.
 
“You’ll see me soon.”

***

Kenny couldn’t believe he hadn’t heard about this until two days ago.
 
Two fucking days!
 
He’d thought she was supposed to be his best friend and yet she’d kept him in the dark about this the same as everyone else.
 
But he’d known as soon as he’d got the invitation what it was all about.
 
He’d just had a feeling.
 
It’d taken her a while to fall in love with JJ Foster but when she had she’d fallen hard and that made it all the more painful for Kenny to watch.
 
Oh, he’d been under no illusion that she was ever going to come back to him, he’d given up on that a long time ago, but it didn’t make things any easier.
 
Especially now they had Ellie.
 
His baby Goddaughter.
 
India
had her family and Kenny was very much on the peripherals of that.

He’d thrown himself into many short and meaningless relationships since
India
and JJ had got together but none of them had made him feel any better.
 
None of them had made him fall in love.
 
It was almost as if the day
India
didn’t love him anymore had been the day every feeling he’d ever had had been switched off.
 
But even short and meaningless relationships were better than being lonely.
 
He was forty-four years old now and practically resigned to the fact he’d be a bachelor for life because it would be one very special woman who could make him love again.
 
And that very special woman was marrying someone else.
 
Tonight.
 

He knew she was going to look incredible, he knew she was going to look beautiful and he knew JJ would take one look at her and fall in love with her all over again but
he
had that right.
 
He had every right to do that.
 
Kenny had none.

But what he did have was the chance to be with her and work with her when they flew to the
U.K.
in a couple of weeks to start shooting their new movie.
 
The fact she’d been as keen as him to do this project had made Kenny realise how much she still wanted to be close to him and that, at least, was something.
 
But the fact JJ and the kids were coming too meant that when Kenny saw her it was going to be mainly on set.
 
Outside of that she’d want to be with her family, and who could blame her for that?