Illusions of Love Read Online Free PDF Page A

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 and meaningful conversation about relationships.   ‘You know me, I’m a free spirit.   Getting tied down just ain’t an option.’
    She narrowed her eyes as she looked at him, not totally convinced he was telling her everything but she knew better than to push it.   She only wanted him to be happy.   And yet, even after all these years, she still wasn’t aware that the only thing that would really make Kenny Ross happy was sitting right there in front of him.
     
    ***
     
    Reece Brogan watched as the usual mixed signals flew between his beautiful daughter and her handsome best friend.   For twenty years they’d teetered on the edge of something that had never quite happened, but it was something which would never go away.   And it all just added to the worry he carried around with him constantly as far as India was concerned.
    For the first twenty-two years of her life he hadn’t even known she’d existed, not until her now very-much-disowned mother had started blackmailing him for money following a messy divorce from India ’s step-father, which had left her penniless.
    But Reece Brogan was an extremely successful and much