No Matter What

by Michelle Betham

  India’s eyes still felt heavy and tired but she was sick of sleeping. She was sore from the bruises and the broken ribs and her head was all over the place with everything that had gone on. But the doctor’s had explained it all to her now. The accident had been something nobody had thought she’d survive but she had, and when she thought how close to death she’d nearly come it made her feel sick. To think she might never have seen Ethan or Ellie grow up. That thought was too frightening to get her head around.

  Despite the head injury she’d received, bar a couple of broken ribs and a sprained wrist she’d broken no bones, and nobody could quite believe that, given the force with which she’d been hit. But maybe it just hadn’t been her time yet. That’s how she liked to think of it. It wasn’t her time. She could have been killed but she was very much alive and she now realised just how lucky she was. It was a feeling that overwhelmed her every time she thought about it.

  “India?” It was JJ’s voice.

  She opened her eyes, blinking a couple of times to get focus, trying to push herself up into a sitting position.

  “Will you take it easy, honey? You should be lying down, come on.”

  “I’ve been lying down for almost two weeks. Apparently. I want to sit up, Joe.”

  He slipped an arm around her, gently helping her to sit up, supporting her with pillows as he sat up next to her on the bed, but even that simple movement had worn her out and she snuggled in beside him as he held her close, kissing the top of her head.

  “I thought you were never coming back,” she whispered. Just the touch of him, being able to hold him again made her feel all weepy. She’d wanted this so badly. She just wished it hadn’t had to come to this in order for him to come back to her. It shouldn’t have had to come to this.

  “I love you so much, India. And I acted like an idiot; I shouldn’t have run away like I did.” He looked at her, tilting her chin up and ever so gently kissing her mouth. “But let’s put the past behind us, ok? I did some stupid things. We probably both did, but ... but nearly losing you like this, it’s been the wake-up call I badly needed. To make me realise how much in love with you I really am. How much I love our family.”

  “Kiss me again,” she whispered, looking into his eyes, his beautiful dark eyes. “Just kiss me, Joe. Make me believe I’m really alive and that it’s all going to be ok. Just, kiss me.”

  He put his hand to the side of her face, gently touching her warm, soft cheek, closing his eyes as he lowered his mouth down onto hers, kissing her slowly. Oh God, it was so good to kiss her again. So good.

  She clung onto him as his mouth moved gently against hers, the taste of him making her feel dizzy and happy and warm inside. She loved this man with all her heart and he was the reason she’d pulled through this, the reason she’d survived, she was sure of that. They had a future together now. An amazing future.

  “I love you, Joseph Foster,” she said quietly, his hand still stroking her cheek, his mouth still close to hers. “So don’t you ever leave me again, do you hear? Don’t ever leave me again.”

  He smiled. The first time he’d smiled a smile that had come from his heart in weeks. “I’m going nowhere, baby. Nowhere.”

  She closed her eyes as he kissed her again, his mouth slightly open, his body resting against hers as he held her and India could have stayed like that forever. It was the only place she wanted to be. Right here, beside the man she loved like crazy. The man she couldn’t live without. The man she’d given up so much for but he could never know that. He could never know anything that had gone on before, but the past was going to stay where it belonged. The future was all that mattered, and all she wanted now was for them to get back to normal, back to the life she needed to have with him. Back to a future she knew they had. Finally.

  EPILOGUE

  The lights of Las Vegas stretched out in front of India as she looked out of the massive picture windows that took up most of one wall in the huge Penthouse apartment she and JJ were staying in. It was a view she’d gotten used to, a view she loved. A view that usually meant she was here for a reason, that something was going on, and this occasion was no different.

  Tonight, in a lavish and not-very-secret ceremony she and JJ were re-taking their wedding vows in front of the people who meant the most to them. Some members of the press and assorted other media had been invited, and she and JJ were going to release a selection of pictures approved by themselves into the public domain because this time they didn’t care who knew. They didn’t mind if news leaked out. What they’d all gone through had made them realise the priorities in life, and in India’s eyes, so many things looked different. So many things had changed. Her relationship with Michael being one of them. He and Layla were now together and India was happy for them. She really was. The past was behind them now and everybody was moving forward. Ethan adored his new step-mum who in turn adored him back twice as much and India thought it was incredible how far they’d all come. Incredible, and sometimes unbelievable, but it couldn’t have worked out better. She and Michael were friends, and that was all that mattered. For the sake of their little boy that was all that mattered. All the pain and the heartache and the hate, it was all gone. All of it. And it felt good.

  Once again it was a time for new beginnings. When she and JJ had finally arrived back in L.A., after the accident, they’d bought a new home there, private and secluded, high in the Hollywood Hills, close to Reece and Martha’s new place. She’d needed to be close to her family now. After everything that had happened that had become very important to her.

  Work offers for movies had piled up in her absence and, even at the age of forty-two, offers of modelling work and advertising campaigns were still flooding in. But she and JJ were concentrating on filming episodes of ‘Covert One’, where her character was now a regular, and she was more than happy with that for the time being. She was working in L.A., close to home, right next to her husband, and it was all she wanted right now.

  Re-taking their vows, despite the fact they’d only been married for a few months, was something else they’d wanted to do to signal that new start, that new beginning, and India couldn’t think of a better place to do it than Las Vegas, in one of Vince and Charley’s beautiful Hotels. She wanted to marry her amazing husband all over again and look forward to their future together. A future they so very nearly hadn’t had.

  She turned around as JJ came out of the bathroom, a white towel wrapped around his waist, his incredible toned and tanned body making her heart skip a beat. He was so handsome, so perfect in India’s eyes and she loved him like she could never explain.

  He smiled at her, coming over to her and gently running his hand over the curve of her hips, down over her thigh.

  “Everything ok?” he asked, resting his forehead against hers.

  She nodded, resting her hand on his hip, pushing the towel down slightly so she touched his skin. He felt soft and damp and fresh out of the shower and she kissed him slowly, letting her fingers stroke his skin as she pushed him closer against her. She still couldn’t quite believe that he was hers. There were times, especially over the last few weeks, when all she’d wanted to do was just look at him.

  She started to pull gently at the towel around his waist, biting down on her bottom lip. “Have we got time?”

  He smiled, his fingers now gently stroking her breasts, making her gasp out loud. “We’ve always got time.” He started kissing the base of her throat as she threw her head back, pulling the towel away from him completely. “Always.”

  He pushed her gently down onto the bed, slowly stripping her naked as he covered her body in tiny, beautiful kisses. He was driving her crazy, sending her to that heaven only he could get her to and she just closed her eyes and let him take her there. She had her beautiful man back where he belonged. He was back in her life, back in her bed, back in her body. And, as he lay beside her, his fingers touching her in those special, secret places, his breath warm on her skin as he slowly move
d inside her, she knew this was where she was meant to be. And there was nothing, almost nothing, that could make her want to leave.

  ***

  The room the ceremony was taking place in was bathed in candlelight, a beautiful glow filling the room as people mingled and talked and waited for India and JJ to arrive.

  From the corner of the room Vince watched as Charley ran around after their gorgeous daughter Lily, and Ellie - India and JJ’s just as gorgeous little girl. The younger of the two was still a little unsteady on her feet and he couldn’t help smiling as he watched his own slightly older daughter helping Ellie to stay upright as she toddled about all over the place. She really did look the image of her father, with JJ’s dark hair, his eyes, his smile.

  Vince loved being a dad. At first the prospect had terrified him but the second he’d laid eyes on his baby daughter it had all fallen into place. His businesses, his hotels, his new restaurant in Beverly Hills, it was all an achievement. They were all a success. Everything Vince Maine touched turned to gold. But his biggest achievement, his biggest and most important success was his family. Charley and Lily. They’d given him something he’d never thought he’d needed but now he knew he needed more than anything. Love and security. That feeling of belonging. He loved his girls with a fierce intensity. They were worth more to him than all the money in the world. They were his life, and when he thought about what JJ had gone through, almost losing India, he couldn’t even begin to imagine what that must have felt like because if that had been Charley, Vince knew he would have gone crazy. He wasn’t sure he’d have been able to cope. What had happened with India had made everything clearer. It had put everything into perspective. Life was too short, and you never knew when it was all going to be taken away from you.

  Charley looked over at Vince and smiled. He really was her dream come true, her knight in shining armour. He’d arrived at a time in her life when she’d really needed someone like him, and since she’d been with Vince it was almost as though all the crap that had gone on before had never happened. It was as though she’d been a completely different person living a completely different life back then. Her real life had only begun when Vince Maine had walked into it. She loved him so much, and he’d given her Lily, their beautiful, incredible daughter who Charley loved beyond belief. She couldn’t believe her life was so perfect right now but every day she thanked God it was. Because it could have been so different.

  She turned and checked that the girls were ok before walking over to Vince, straightening his tie and kissing him quickly.

  “What do you reckon then?” she smiled, slipping her arms around his neck. “Are you thinking the same as me?”

  He smiled too, pulling her closer, kissing the tip of her nose, which always made her giggle. “It’ll be hard. Saying goodbye to Vegas.”

  “We’re not saying goodbye, Vince. We’re only moving to L.A. for heaven’s sake. None of this is going to go away. It just means you’re going to have to let go and put someone else in charge now and again. It just means you aren’t going to be living on-site anymore, that’s all. Not all the time, anyway. We’ve got the restaurant in Beverly Hills now; and I can open my Salon ...”

  “And I get that the fantastic Ranch in California that I’ve always wanted.”

  Charley laughed. “Yes. You get the Ranch you’ve always wanted. Oh, go on, Vince. Say we’ll do it. Lily would love living on a Ranch! We can teach her to ride horses; she’ll have all that space …”

  “Ok. Ok!” Vince said, laughing too. He’d already made his mind up anyway. Infact, he’d already seen the perfect location for Charley’s new venture – her own Hair and Beauty Salon – and the perfect Ranch for their new Californian home. “Let’s do it.”

  Charley let out a little squeal, hugging him tight. Vince knew it was going to be the best move they’d ever made. They were about to begin the next chapter in their lives and he, for one, couldn’t wait to get started.

  ***

  Ray Foster scooped up his eighteen month old niece and smiled at her. She was like a beautiful baby angel, but then, when you had the genes of India Walsh – one of the most beautiful women in the world – and JJ Foster – certainly one of the most handsome men around, even Ray couldn’t deny that – then you couldn’t really be anything other than beautiful.

  His brother was a very lucky man, but at least now Ray was certain that JJ knew that. The events of the past few months had shaken everyone and nothing was really the same anymore. Even he was re-thinking his life and where it went from here. He had a lot of work in the U.K. and he liked it over there, it was his home, after all. But he’d grown quite attached to America too, and the work offers over here were starting to mount. He had a chance to make his name better known in The States. There was a TV show in the offing, and a couple of movie roles he was being put up for that he quite liked the sound of. And being over here meant he was closer to the family he’d been apart from for too long. He loved his baby niece, he loved being an uncle. And then there was India. There was always going to be India.

  He looked at Ellie as she laid her head against his shoulder, closing her eyes and snuggling into him, and that’s when he knew it was what he had to do. He’d made the decision he’d been thinking over for a few weeks now. He was going to make Los Angeles his permanent home. Ray Foster was moving to America.

  ***

  Bobby and Miguel had been married for just over a month and Bobby Castle knew he’d found the Puerto Rican man of his dreams. He was still in that Honeymoon period and, after the trauma and despair of the last few months, life was now good. It was more than good.

  Since he’d started working for India Walsh there’d certainly been no shortage of excitement, but the past few months had shaken Bobby quite badly and made him realise one thing - he never wanted to work for anyone else ever again. He loved India. He was like a member of her family and she’d always treat him like that, always loved him and respected him and he’d never wanted anything other than to be with her. She was like a best friend, a little sister, a shoulder to cry on and a heaven sent angel all in one. To have almost lost her had terrified him more than he’d cared to admit to anyone. Even Miguel. And that’s when he’d known what he’d really known all along. India Walsh was too much a part of his life for him to ever let her go. He wanted a contract for life with that lady. And she needed him, he knew that. She needed him to sort out her crazy, complicated life because she’d told him she’d fall apart without him. Well, that was never going to happen because he was going nowhere. His life was sorted and he couldn’t think of anywhere else he wanted to be. Miguel was now a cocktail maker to the stars, in demand at celebrity parties all over Hollywood, and he and Bobby had their own beautiful home in the Hollywood Hills not too far from India and JJ. Everything was perfect, and as long as Bobby Castle was about, there was no reason at all for any of that to change.

  ***

  Reece watched his grandson as he ran about the room, smiling and talking excitedly to his new step-mum, Layla Boyd. And a few months ago who’d have thought that that would have happened? Certainly not Reece. But so much had changed since India’s accident.

  Reece closed his eyes for a second, trying to erase the images still imprinted in his mind of his daughter lying battered and broken in that huge hospital bed. To look at her now, so happy and beautiful with her handsome husband, it just seemed unreal that anyone could have come out of that like they had.

  He opened his eyes and smiled as Martha sat down next to him. His wonderful Martha. She’d stuck by him through everything, loving India like her own daughter and worshipping the grandchildren they couldn’t live without now. She was an incredible woman and Reece thanked God every day for bringing her into his life. Because without her he doubted he’d have been able to cope with everything that had gone on.

  “Are you ok?” Martha asked, taking his hand and gently squeezing it.

  He turned to look at her and smiled. “I’m fine, darling. Jus
t fine.”

  She sat back in her chair, still holding onto his hand, looking out around the room. “We’re all very lucky, don’t you think?”

  Reece looked at her. “Yes. We are.”

  She turned to face him. “It’s been one hell of a ride though, hasn’t it?”

  He couldn’t help laughing. “You could say that, yes. Any regrets?”

  She smiled again, shaking her head, leaning forward to kiss him. “None. I like a bit of adventure. I’m not really the kind of woman who takes to routine that easily.”

  “Just as well,” Reece laughed, “… living in this family. But it’s a good family. A complicated, sometimes extremely unorthodox family. But a good one.”

  She kissed him again, gently stroking his face. “I love this family of ours, Reece. Every mixed-up, crazy piece of it. Anyway, in my opinion the ride ain’t over yet. There’s still plenty of life left in us, don’t you think?”

  Reece smiled, looking into her beautiful eyes and suddenly feeling about twenty years younger. “Oh yes. The Brogan’s are nowhere near close to settling down. Are we?”

  She shook her head, moving closer to him. “No, we aren’t. Because I get the feeling there’s a lot more adventure still to come from this complicated, unorthodox family of ours, don’t you?”

  Reece took another look around the room, at the people around him. People he couldn’t think of a life without now. People who’d come together because of the very special woman that was his daughter and yes, there’d been pain and heartache and a lot of dark days. But there’d also been a lot of incredibly happy days, a lot of surprises. But this family was like that. Nobody ever really knew what was coming next.

  He looked back at Martha and smiled. All in all Reece Brogan was a very happy man. A very happy man indeed.

  ***