she didn’t deserve him. He deserved so much more than she could give him, and she just didn’t have the strength to pretend any longer. She knew that he, along with everyone else, thought she still wanted Michael back in her life, but they were so wrong. Michael had asked her to work with him, that was all. But her lack of hesitation in accepting his offer had given JJ every reason to think differently, and she couldn’t really blame him, considering everything that had happened in the past. But it wasn’t true. She didn’t want Michael back, she knew that now. She just had to convince everyone else of that. But the fact she wasn’t fighting to make her marriage to JJ work – the fact she didn’t even want to – told her everything she needed to know.
‘It’s over,’ India sighed, picking her bag up off the floor and sliding it up onto her shoulder, leaning over to kiss Charley on the cheek. ‘Anyway, I’m off to Vegas soon to start work on this new movie, so that should take my mind off things.’
Charley smiled, hugging India tight. A few weeks in Vegas would probably do her best friend the world of good, Charley thought. Even if she was working. But whether being that close to Michael was the best thing for India, at a time when she was more than slightly vulnerable, she still wasn’t sure.
India smiled too, pushing her sunglasses down over her eyes as she made her way towards the door. ‘See you for drinks tonight? At my place? Miguel’s got some new cocktails he wants to try out, and you know me, I’m not one to pass up that opportunity. It’ll be fun. Bobby’ll be there. Even Layla said she’d pop round.’
Charley nodded, still smiling as she watched her friend walk out into the L.A. sunshine, paparazzi appearing out of nowhere to get a snap of one of Hollywood’s most beautiful women. Stronger than she’d ever been before, more self-assured, and ready to take on the world. Again. A better person for putting Michael Walsh behind her, and Charley just hoped it stayed that way.
She turned around and continued to tidy up her work station, taking a second to look around the vast floor space that was her new baby, her own little empire. Charley’s had very quickly become one of Beverly Hills’ most exclusive hair and beauty salons, and Charley had every reason to thank her famous best friend for that. The second anyone found out that India Walsh was a regular there, well; it was publicity that money just couldn’t buy. And she was more than grateful because, in just over a year of being open, she now had a second salon based in The Amber Palace Hotel, Casino and Golf Resort – the third and newest Las Vegas hotel to be opened by her husband, businessman and movie producer Vince Maine.
Charley loved Las Vegas. It was a city that had given her back her life. A city that had given her the most wonderful man in the world who, in turn, had given her the most beautiful little girl. Their daughter, Lily, was the most precious thing in her life, along with Vince, and Charley still couldn’t bear to think of her life before them. Because life before Lily and Vince just didn’t exist as far as Charley was concerned. She didn’t talk about it, she never went there. She didn’t need to. Not anymore. A lot had happened over the years, and one very important thing Charley had learnt was that it never paid to look back.
She’d fast-tracked her way through BeautySchool, determined that she wasn’t going to be just a figurehead for her salons, she also wanted to work. And, in the few short months since she’d gained her licence, she’d already built up quite a list of clients, a lot of them celebrities from the worlds of movies, music and modelling, all of them wanting to be seen where the stars hung out.
She was the happiest she’d been in years. She and Vince split their time between Las Vegas and their homes in L.A. – their Californian ranch, and their Spanish-style villa in Beverly Hills. She had everything she could ever have dreamed of, and just thinking about how different her life could have been still sent a shiver down her spine. But, like she’d always said, it never paid to look back. So she never did. She