Illusions of Love

For everyone who believed I could do this, when I didn’t always believe in myself.

Thank you.

Praise for Michelle Betham’s previous novels

No Matter What

“…
I found I could completely get lost and easily lose a couple of hours when I was reading this book, it’s just pure escapism at its best
.”

Nikki Bywater, Books4U

“
The least you can ask for is a few hours of escape. The most is that the book makes you feel strongly, one way or another. And this will definitely make you feel strongly about each and every character. Well done, Ms Betham!
”

Sarah’s Point of View

“…
the characters are all realistic people with flaws and fears, aspirations and annoyances and I found myself totally immersed in the
Hollywood
world. Torn away from my Kindle cruelly by obligations such as children and sleep, my thoughts were often occupied by
India
's choices and next steps.”

Rachel Dove, The Kindle Book Review

Too Much Trouble in
Paradise

“I thoroughly enjoyed this book, great chick lit that will relax you, make you smile and dream of sunny islands, cocktails…and darts!”

Books to Remember

“
Too Much Trouble in Paradise
will delight fans of clever, dynamic romantic comedies.
”

The Chick Lit Bee

“…
a sunny, enjoyable read, perfect for the beach!
”

Me, My Books and I

See You At The Show

“
The story that unfolds is dramatically addicting, and although the book ended differently than what I wanted, this light read had my attention from beginning to end.”

Whiskey and Books

Bon Voyage

“
Bon Voyage is an entertaining read, it is a story told with great humour that gives the reader a good giggle… Well done to Michelle Betham, another brilliant story that makes daydreamers like me believe that anything can be possible.
”

Nikki Bywater, Books4U

PROLOGUE

LAS VEGAS

10:40pm

There was no better time to do this.
 
He couldn’t have wished for anything more convenient, every single one of them in one place at one time.
 
He couldn’t have planned it better if he’d tried, and he’d been planning this for some time, although, never in his wildest dreams had he ever thought it would turn out this perfect.
 
But she’d practically given it to him on a plate by running here.
 
That had been her first mistake.
 
Well, no.
 
It hadn’t.
 
Not really.
 
Her first mistake had been a long time ago.
 
He’d just had to be patient and wait for the right time to collect payback.
 
But now it was happening, bigger and better than he could ever have imagined.
 
Now it was happening, and soon it would be over. Soon she’d realise what he’d known all along.
 
There was only one thing she was ever going to be, and when he’d finished she’d have no choice but to accept that.
 
It was what she deserved, after everything she’d done to him.

Soon it would all be over.
 
And he’d finally have what he’d come here to get; what he’d waited too many years for.
 
Revenge.

CHAPTER 1

‘Sometimes I think I’m cursed.’
 
India
stared into the huge floor-to-ceiling mirror as she readjusted the long dark wig she’d placed over her own light-blond hair.

‘Cursed?
 
In what way?’ Charley asked, leaning back against the counter, folding her arms as she watched her beautiful best friend try on wig after wig.

India
swung round in her chair and looked at Charley.
 
‘Men.
 
As far as men are concerned, I’m cursed.’

Charley smiled, turning India back around to face the mirror as she ran her fingers through the jet-black wig that made her look twice as gorgeous as she had done before.
 
But that was the thing about
India
.
 
She could adapt to any look, any style.
 
It all came so easy to her.

India
Walsh – movie star; and Charley loved her like a sister.
 
Considering what they’d been through in the past there was no way those events could have made them anything other than close, even if – at first – it looked as though they would tear them apart.

‘You’re not cursed,
India
.’

How could you be cursed when you had the life
India
had?
 
A life that had, over the years, included some of the hottest men in
Hollywood
.
 
Oh yeah,
India
had certainly had her fair share of those.
 
She’d even married a couple of them.
 
So Charley wasn’t entirely sure “cursed” was the right word to describe
India
’s situation.

‘I’m not particularly lucky though, am I?’
India
went on, pulling off the dark wig and shaking out her own hair, and Charley couldn’t help but be amazed at the way it just fell into place around her shoulders.
 
‘I really thought me and JJ… I thought we were forever, y’know?
 
I thought that was it, that I’d finally found my soul mate…’

Charley watched
India
as she stopped talking and started fiddling with the leather cuff bracelets on her wrists.
 
It certainly did seem that, as far as men were concerned,
India
just couldn’t seem to find the right man to settle down with, although it wasn’t for the want of trying.
 
It was just that so many things had happened over the years, and
India
had obviously found it hard to move on from some of those events.
 
Even though she
had
tried.
 
It was just so sad that she couldn’t have found that happiness she really deserved with JJ, because they’d had it all.
 
Or, at least, that’s what everyone had thought.

As a couple they’d had everything.
 
A successful TV series, a gorgeous daughter; they were two of
Hollywood
’s most beautiful people and everyone had thought they were forever.
 
But Charley suspected that forever was a word that
India
feared, and that was something which was stopping her from moving forward in a lot of ways.

‘Is it definitely over then?’ Charley asked, gathering together her brushes and curling irons as she tidied up her work station, ready for her next client.

India
nodded, standing up and shaking her hair out once more, running her fingers through it.

JJ Foster.
 
Joe.
 
Her handsome, talented, sexy-as-hell soon-to-be-third-ex-husband.
 
A man who’d done nothing but love her and yet still she couldn’t love him back the way he deserved to be loved.
 
She’d tried, she really had, she’d tried harder than anyone could have imagined.
 
After all there was Ellie, their totally gorgeous two-and-a-half-year-old daughter to think about, so
India
really had tried.
 
But ever since her character in
‘Covert One’
– the extremely successful TV series she and Joe had worked on together – had left the show, it just seemed as though her heart wasn’t in her relationship with JJ anymore.
 
Some people thought it was because she was still in love with another man, but that wasn’t the case.
 
She’d moved on, no matter what people thought she might be feeling.
 
She was stronger now, a different person, and maybe
that
was the reason she hadn’t been able to make it work with JJ.
 
Maybe she needed a whole new start, a brand new beginning, and she just hadn’t been able to find that with him.
 
Her fault, not his.

Originally from the North East of England,
India
had arrived in
Hollywood
almost twenty years ago, and
Hollywood
had loved her for every single second she’d been there.
 
An extraordinarily beautiful woman, she had long blond hair that fell down her back in loose, natural curls, big blue eyes in a heart-shaped face and, despite now being in her early forties, she had a body that would put most women half her age to shame.
 
But she wasn’t just beautiful, she was also an extremely talented and accomplished actress, able to turn her hand to anything – despite being dubbed the queen of romantic comedies.
 
People queued up to work with her.
 
Studios knew that an India Walsh movie made money so she was in the enviable position of being able to pick and choose the work she wanted to do.
 
But it had surprised more than a few people when, for her latest soon-to-begin-shooting movie, she’d chosen to work with ex-husband Michael Walsh.
 
Those who knew
India
well knew that, in the past, as far as Michael was concerned, her judgement had always been clouded and her reasoning blurred.
 
Their marriage had been as turbulent as it had been passionate, ending in a way that was still painful to remember because she just hadn’t seen it coming.
 
She hadn’t known anyone could hurt someone as much as Michael had hurt her, so for her to
choose
to work with him in such close proximity, after everything that had happened, of course there’d been a few raised eyebrows.