It Started with a Diamond

by Teri Wilson

  Heiress Nabs Polo Star

  A Page Six Exclusive Report

  Stunning world-class equestrian Diana Drake’s stayed out of the family business for decades. But now Diana has the inside track on a coveted diamond...not to mention a polo-playing partner in crime in Franco Andrade. And after mere weeks, the city’s most eligible bachelor is engaged to the jewelry heiress! Still, this whirlwind romance may not be as glittering as the jewels in Drake’s. After all, we hear that Franco’s first love has always been the polo team that unceremoniously sacked him. And Diana’s still recovering from the loss of the sport she’s always cherished. Can the handsome Argentine help his new fiancée capture the diamond of the century...and in the process repair her shattered heart?

  This isn’t real.

  It wasn’t real, but it felt real. It even looked real.

  Diana was dressed in a strapless chiffon gown, midnight blue, with a dangerously low, plunging neckline. A glittering stone rested between her breasts. A sapphire. The sapphire necklace from the photo shoot.

  “Please stop staring.” She turned and met his gaze. At last.

  Franco’s body hardened the instant his eyes fixed with hers. As exquisite as the sapphire around her neck was, it didn’t hold a candle to the violet depths of those luminescent eyes. “You’re lovely.”

  She stared at him coldly. “Save it for the cameras, would you? There’s no one here. You can drop the act.”

  “It’s not an act. You look beautiful.” He swallowed. Hard. “That’s quite a dress.”

  “Just stop it, would you? I know we’re supposed to be madly in love with each other in public. But in private, can we keep things professional? Please?”

  Something about the way she said please grabbed Franco by the throat and refused to let go.

  Had he really been so awful to her all those years ago?

  Yes. He had.

  DRAKE DIAMONDS: Looking for love that shines as bright as the gems in their window!

  Dear Reader,

  Welcome back to the glittering world of Drake Diamonds! It Started with a Diamond is the third book in my debut series for Special Edition. I’ve had so much fun writing these books. It’s been like having breakfast, lunch and dinner at Tiffany’s every single day. Who wouldn’t love that?

  It Started with a Diamond is the story of Diana Drake, diamond heiress and world-class equestrian. After suffering a fall during a competition, Diana returns home to New York to take the helm of the marketing department of the family jewelry empire and mend her heart. But the new face of Drake Diamonds is dangerous, brooding polo player Franco Andrade, who seems to want nothing more than to get her back in the saddle.

  I learned so much while writing this book, especially about polo, the sport of kings. While researching It Started with a Diamond, I even got to attend my very first polo match with a professional polo player who was kind enough to explain what I was seeing. But this book is about more than the sport. It’s about having the courage to start over when life knocks you down. It’s about love and loyalty. And diamonds, too, of course!

  If you enjoy It Started with a Diamond, be sure to check out the first two books in this series, His Ballerina Bride and The Princess Problem.

  As always, thank you for reading!

  Best wishes,

  Teri Wilson

  It Started with a Diamond

  Teri Wilson

  Teri Wilson is a novelist for Harlequin. She is the author of Unleashing Mr. Darcy, now a Hallmark Channel Original Movie. Teri is also a contributing writer at HelloGiggles.com, a lifestyle and entertainment website founded by Zooey Deschanel that is now part of the People magazine, TIME magazine and Entertainment Weekly family. Teri loves books, travel, animals and dancing every day. Visit Teri at www.teriwilson.net or on Twitter, @teriwilsonauthr.

  Books by Teri Wilson

  Harlequin Special Edition

  Drake Diamonds

  His Ballerina Bride

  The Princess Problem

  HQN Books

  Unmasking Juliet

  Unleashing Mr. Darcy

  Visit the Author Profile page at Harlequin.com for more titles.

  Join Harlequin My Rewards today and earn a FREE ebook!

  Click here to Join Harlequin My Rewards

  http://www.harlequin.com/myrewards.html?mt=loyalty&cmpid=EBOOBPBPA201602010002

  For Brant Schafer, because naming a polo pony after me will guarantee you a book dedication.

  And for Roe Valentine, my dear writing friend and other half of the Sisterhood of the Traveling Veuve Clicquot.

  Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Epilogue

  Excerpt from Serenity Harbor by RaeAnne Thayne

  Chapter One

  “It’s hard to be a diamond in a rhinestone world.”

  —Dolly Parton

  Diana Drake wasn’t sure about much in her life at the moment, but one thing was crystal clear—she wanted to strangle her brother.

  Not her older brother, Dalton. She couldn’t really muster up any indignation as far as her elder sibling went, despite the fact that she was convinced he was at least partially responsible for her current predicament.

  But Dalton got a free pass. For now.

  She owed him.

  For one thing, she’d been living rent free in his swanky Lenox Hill apartment for the past several months. For another, he was a prince now. A literal Prince Charming. As such, he wasn’t even in New York anymore. He was somewhere on the French Riviera polishing his crown or sitting on a throne or doing whatever it was princes did all day long.

  Dalton’s absence meant that Diana’s younger brother, Artem, was the only Drake around to take the full brunt of her frustration. Which was a tad problematic since he was her boss now.

  Technically.

  Sort of.

  But Diana would just have to overlook that minor point. She’d held her tongue for as long as humanly possible.

  “I can’t do it anymore,” she blurted as she marched into his massive office on the tenth floor of Drake Diamonds, the legendary jewelry store situated on the corner of 5th Avenue and 57th Street, right in the glittering center of Manhattan. The family business.

  Diana might not have spent every waking hour of her life surrounded by diamonds and fancy blue boxes tied with white satin bows, as Dalton had. And she might not be the chief executive officer, like Artem. But the last time she checked, she was still a member of the family. She was a Drake, just like the rest of them.

  So was it really necessary to suffer the humiliation of working as a salesperson in the most dreaded section of the store?

  “Engagements? Really?” She crossed her arms and glared at Artem. It was still weird seeing him sitting behind what used to be their father’s desk. Gaston Drake had been dead for a nearly a year, yet his presence loomed large.

&n
bsp; Too large. It was almost suffocating.

  “Good morning to you, too, Diana.” Artem smoothed down his tie, which was the exact same hue as the store’s trademark blue boxes. Drake blue.

  Could he have the decency to look at least a little bit bothered by her outburst?

  Apparently not.

  She sighed. “I can’t do it, Artem. I’ll work anywhere in this building, except there.” She waved a hand in the direction of the Engagements showroom down the hall.

  He stared blithely at her, then made a big show of looking at his watch. “I see your point. It’s been all of three hours. However have you lasted this long?”

  “Three torturous hours.” She let out another massive sigh. “Have you ever set foot in that place?”

  “I’m the CEO, so, yes, I venture over there from time to time.”

  Right. Of course he had.

  Still, she doubted he’d actually helped any engaged couples choose their wedding rings. At least, she hoped he hadn’t, mainly because she wouldn’t have wished such a fate on her worst enemy.

  This morning she’d actually witnessed a grown man and woman speaking baby talk to each other. Her stomach churned just thinking about it now. Adults had no business speaking baby talk, not even to actual babies.

  Her gaze shifted briefly to the bassinet in the corner of her brother’s office. She still couldn’t quite believe Artem was a dad now. A husband. It was kind of mind-boggling when she thought about it, especially considering what an abysmally poor role model their father had been in the family department.

  Keep it professional.

  She wouldn’t get anywhere approaching Artem as a sibling. This conversation was about business, plain and simple. Removing herself from Engagements was the best thing Diana could do, not just for herself, but also for Drake Diamonds.

  Only half an hour ago, she’d had to bite her tongue when a man asked for advice about choosing an engagement ring and she’d very nearly told him to spend his money on something more sensible than a huge diamond when the chances that he and his girlfriend would live happily ever after were slim to none. If she accepted his proposal, they only had about an eighty percent chance of making it down the aisle. Beyond that, their odds of staying married were about fifty-fifty. Even if they remained husband and wife until death did them part, could they reasonably expect to be happy? Was anyone happily married?

  Diana’s own mother had stuck faithfully by her husband’s side after she found out he’d fathered a child with their housekeeper, even when she ended up raising the boy herself. Surely that didn’t count as a happy marriage.

  That boy was now a man and currently seated across the desk from Diana. She’d grown up alongside Artem and couldn’t possibly love him more. He was her brother. Case closed.

  Diana’s problem wasn’t with Artem. It was with her father and the concept of marriage as a whole. She didn’t like what relationships did to people...

  Especially what one had done to her mother.

  Even if she’d grown up in a picture-perfect model family, Diana doubted she’d ever see spending three months’ salary on an engagement ring as anything but utter foolishness.

  It was a matter of logic, pure and simple. Of statistics. And statistics said that plunking down $40,000 for a two-carat Drake Diamonds solitaire was like throwing a giant wad of cash right into the Hudson River.

  But she had no business saying such things out loud since she worked in Engagements, now, did she? She had no business saying such things, period. Drake Diamonds had supported her for her entire life.

  So she’d bitten her tongue. Hard.

  “I’m simply saying that my talents would be best put to use someplace else.” Anyplace else.

  “Would they now?” Artem narrowed his gaze at her. A hint of a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth, and she knew what was coming. “And what talents would those be, exactly?”

  And there it was.

  “Don’t start.” She had no desire to talk about her accident again. Or ever, for that matter. She’d moved on.

  Artem held up his hands in a gesture of faux surrender. “I didn’t say a word about your training. I’m simply pointing out that you have no work experience. Or college education, for that matter. I hate to say it, sis, but your options are limited.”

  She’d considered enrolling in classes at NYU, but didn’t bother mentioning it. Her degree wasn’t going to materialize overnight. Unfortunately. College had always been on her radar, but between training and competing, she hadn’t found the time. Now she was a twenty-six-year-old without a single day of higher education under her belt.

  If only she’d spent a little less time on the back of a horse for the past ten years and a few more hours in the classroom...

  She cleared her throat. “Do I need to remind you that I own a third of this business? You and Dalton aren’t the only Drakes around here, you know.”

  “No, but we’re the only ones who’ve actually worked here before today.” He glanced at his watch again, stood and buttoned his suit jacket. “Look, just stick it out for a while. Once you’ve learned the ropes, we’ll try and find another role for you. Okay?”

  Awhile.

  Just how long was that, she wondered. A week? A month? A year? She desperately wanted to ask, but she didn’t dare. She hated sounding whiny, and she really hated relying on the dreadful Drake name. But it just so happened that name was the only thing she had going for her at the moment.

  Oh, how the mighty had fallen. Literally.

  “Come on.” Artem brushed past her. “We’ve got a photo shoot scheduled this afternoon in Engagements. I think you might find it rather interesting.”

  She was glad to be walking behind him so he couldn’t see her massive eyeroll. “Please tell me it doesn’t involve a wedding dress.”

  “Relax, sister dear. We’re shooting cuff links. The photographer only wanted to use the Engagements showroom because it has the best view of Manhattan in the building.”

  It did have a lovely view, especially now that spring had arrived in New York in all its fragrant splendor. The air was filled with cherry blossoms, swirling like pink snow flurries. Diana had lost herself a time or two staring out at the verdant landscape of Central Park.

  But those few blissful moments had come to a crashing end the moment she’d turned away from the showroom’s floor-to-ceiling windows and remembered she was surrounded by diamonds. Wedding diamonds.

  And here I am again.

  She blinked against the dazzling assault of countless engagement rings sparkling beneath the sales floor lights and followed Artem to the corner of the room where the photographer was busy setting up a pair of tall light stands. A row of camera lenses in different sizes sat on top of one of glass jewelry cases.

  Diana slid a velvet jeweler’s pad beneath the lenses to protect the glass and busied herself rearranging things. Maybe if she somehow inserted herself into this whole photo-shoot process, she could avoid being a part of anyone’s betrothal for an hour or two.

  A girl can dream.

  “Is our model here?” the photographer asked. “Because I’m ready, and we’ve only got about an hour left until sundown. I’d like to capture some of this nice view before it’s too late.”

  Diana glanced out the window. The sky was already tinged pale violet, and the evening wind had picked up, scattering pink petals up and down 5th Avenue. The sun was just beginning to dip below the skyscrapers. It would be a gorgeous backdrop...

  ...if the model showed up.

  Artem checked his watch again and frowned in the direction of the door. Diana took her time polishing the half-dozen pairs of Drake cuff links he’d pulled for the shoot. Anything to stretch out the minutes.

  Just as she reached for the last pair, Artem let out a sigh of relief. “Ah,
he’s here.”

  Diana glanced up, took one look at the man stalking toward them and froze. Was she hallucinating? Had the blow to the head she’d taken months ago done more damage than the doctors had thought?

  Nothing is wrong with you. You’re fine. Everything is fine.

  Everything didn’t feel fine, though. Diana’s whole world had come apart, and months later she still hadn’t managed to put it back together. She was beginning to think she never would.

  Because, deep down, she knew she wouldn’t. She couldn’t pick up the pieces, even if she tried. No one could.

  Which was precisely why she was cutting her losses and starting over again. She’d simply build a new life for herself. A normal life. Quiet. Safe. It would take some getting used to, but she could do it.

  People started over all the time, didn’t they?

  At least she had a job. An apartment. A family. There were worse things in the world than being a Drake.

  She was making a fresh start. She was a jeweler now. Her past was ancient history.

  Except for the nagging fact that a certain man from her past was walking toward her. Here, now, in the very real present.

  Franco Andrade.

  Not him. Just...no.

  She needed to leave. Maybe she could just slink over to one of the sales counters and get back to her champagne-sipping brides and grooms to be. Selling engagement rings had never seemed as appealing as it did right this second.

  She laid her polishing cloth on the counter, but before she could place the cuff links back inside their neat blue box, one of them slipped right through her fingers. She watched in horror as it bounced off the tip of Artem’s shoe and rolled across the plush Drake-blue carpet, straight toward Franco’s approaching form.

  Diana sighed. This is what she got for complaining to Artem. Just because she was an heiress didn’t mean she had to act like one. Being entitled wasn’t an admirable quality. Besides, karma was a raging bitch. One who didn’t waste any time, apparently.

  Diana dropped to her knees and scrambled after the runaway cuff link, wishing the floor would somehow open up and swallow her whole. Evidently, there were indeed fates worse than helping men choose engagement rings.