Fortune

by Megan Cole

  ‘I know, sweetheart.’

  ‘It was a bit of a shock finding out I’ve got two half-sisters as well. Not to mention that I’ll be competing with them to win Brad’s inheritance.’

  There was a deathly silence at the other end. ‘What?’ her mother said eventually.

  ‘Uh, yeah,’ Sapphire said confusedly. ‘I thought you knew.’

  ‘Well, I didn’t!’ Her mum’s voice was shocked. ‘I thought it was just you and Brad getting to know each other. I wouldn’t have let you go out there otherwise. And what on earth is this thing with the inheritance? I thought he wanted to help you with your music. If I’d known he was going to pull this money stunt… well, he’s going to get a piece of my mind, I can tell you!’

  ‘Mum, please don’t call and have a go at him,’ Sapphire pleaded. She couldn’t cope with any more emotional stuff at the moment. ‘Maybe he thought he was doing the right thing by not telling you, like you did with me. And the money… well, he knows I don’t want it. I hope he does, anyway. But I can use this opportunity to get to know him, even if I don’t take any of his cash.’

  Her mother sighed. ‘Fine. I can’t believe it! Sapphire, you have two half-sisters!’ She paused. ‘What are they like?’

  Sapphire gave a hollow laugh. ‘Better save that for another time.’

  Her mother knew her well enough not to push it. ‘OK. If you’re sure.’

  Sapphire had something else on her mind. ‘Mum, did Brad pay for me to go to St Bridies?’

  Her mother hesitated. ‘I didn’t want any money from Brad, but he was insistent he paid for your school fees until you were eighteen. He would have paid for your college fees too, but I wanted you to stand on your own two feet.’ She laughed ironically. ‘Find out the true value of money.’

  ‘Oh, Mum.’ Sapphire’s bottom lip wobbled. She knew that in her own misguided way her mum thought she was doing the right thing. She could imagine Leonie standing in the kitchen on the phone, Beatle snoring in his basket in the corner. Suddenly she felt really homesick.

  ‘I love you, Mum.’

  ‘I love you too, Sapphire.’

  Madison narrowed her eyes and watched Brad and Sapphire across the dinner table. They’d spent far too much time talking and laughing. The goody two-shoes act might work on Daddy Dearest, but it didn’t cut any ice with Madison. From the way Simonetta’s eyes kept flicking down the table, it was clear she felt the same.

  ‘Sapphire, you can’t have Brad to yourself all night!’ Madison interrupted jokingly, but her voice hid a warning.

  Back off.

  Sapphire flushed. She hadn’t meant to monopolise Brad. But his knowledge of music was amazing and Sapphire was surprised to discover they even liked some of the same bands. It was almost like talking to a mate.

  Simonetta rested her elbows in the table. ‘So, Brad, did you have a good meeting in Roma today? A publishing deal, wasn’t it?’

  ‘Yes, it was. And it went well, thank you.’ Brad looked at her. Simonetta was a dark horse, but he had no doubt she was very intelligent. A girl like you could do well with my money, he thought. Simonetta was definitely one to watch.

  After dinner Brad retired to his office, leaving the three girls round the table. Madison’s face, which had been the picture of sweetness all evening, suddenly switched to a mask of pure evil.

  ‘Don’t think I don’t know what you’re doing, Sapphire.’

  ‘I’m not doing anything,’ Sapphire said in exasperation, ‘I was just talking to Brad. I like finding out about people. What’s wrong with that?’

  ‘Plenty, when there’s hundreds of millions of dollars up for grabs,’ she hissed. ‘I don’t even know why you’re here, if money isn’t important to you. Why not get lost and narrow down the competition?’

  ‘Perhaps the little English creature has had her head turned more than she will admit,’ drawled Simonetta. Sapphire was mortified to feel tears pricking at the back of her eyes. She blinked them away furiously. There was no way she was going to cry in front of these two!

  ‘I don’t care what you two think,’ she said and, pushing her chair back, left the room. Out in the corridor she took several deep breaths, pushing the tears back down her throat. She couldn’t believe she was related to Madison and Simonetta!

  Wanting to get as far away from them as possible, she headed down to the beach. It was a crystal-clear night and she stared up at the stars, marvelling over how many there were compared to the smoggy skies over London. Sapphire found a spot and sat down, listening to the gentle lapping of the waves breaking on the shore. Somehow the rhythmic sound and movement comforted her.

  ‘Pretty, hey?’ The voice came from behind, making her jump. ‘Hey, I didn’t mean to startle you.’ It was Cam, in faded blue rolled-up jeans and a simple white vest. The moonlight fell on his face, highlighting his dark eyes and high cheekbones. He’s beautiful, Sapphire thought, looking beyond the buff body for the first time. The realisation that it was the first time they’d been alone together hit her. Sapphire was grateful the darkness hid her rapidly reddening cheeks.

  ‘Mind if I sit down?’

  Sapphire shook her head dumbly as he crossed his legs and sat down beside her. She’d never been so close to Cam before and the sheer size and strength of his body made her heart beat faster. He smelt of soap and shampoo, as if he’d just got out of the shower.

  Say something, she thought desperately. He’s going to think you’re some kind of weird mute. Her heart was beating so hard now it physically hurt.

  ‘W-what are you up to?’ she stuttered.

  Cam picked up a handful of sand, watching as it ran through his tanned fingers. ‘I like coming down here, it helps clear my head when I’ve been writing.’ He turned to look at her, so close she could smell his minty breath on her cheek. ‘So what was up with you the other night? You looked pretty upset.’

  Sapphire hesitated. ‘It’s a bit difficult…’

  Cam nodded. ‘Girl stuff, right?’

  It was probably best he thought that. ‘Girl stuff,’ she agreed.

  He smiled at her, his eyes crinkling up sexily. ‘Must be kinda tough hanging out with Simonetta and Madison. They seem pretty high maintenance.’

  ‘I thought you fancied Simonetta,’ Sapphire said, immediately embarrassed that she’d brought up the subject.

  ‘Fancied?’ Cam was still playing with the sand.

  ‘Er… I thought you were attracted to her.’

  Cam laughed. ‘Attracted? I love how you Brits talk,’ he said. ‘Simonetta’s hot. But she likes playing games. I’m not into all that.’ He smiled. ‘I like an easy life.’

  Sapphire was mesmerised by his full mouth, the straight whiteness of his teeth.

  Cam changed the subject. ‘So what’s your thing, musically?’

  Sapphire dug her bare feet into the sand, feeling the coolness seep through her toes. ‘It’s kind of soul meets jazz, with a little bit of blues thrown in,’ she told him.

  ‘Like Amy Winehouse?’

  ‘I suppose… but Amy Winehouse is amazing. I’m nowhere near as good as her.’ Her mum and Jerry had said her voice was a lot like the London pop star’s, before her fall from grace — but Sapphire knew she had a long way to go yet. ‘I’m just… ordinary.’

  ‘I don’t think you’re ordinary at all, Sapphire.’ He studied her face. ‘You’re a very pretty girl, you know that?’ He moved his hand up, and touched her cheek lightly. ‘And I love your freckles.’

  Sapphire’s heart nearly burst out of her chest. ‘They always come out in the sun,’ she mumbled. Suddenly a loud siren went off somewhere close, making her jump. Cam reached into his jeans and brought out his iPhone.

  ‘Shoot, it’s my manager. I’m gonna have to take it.’ He gave a slow, sexy wink. ‘I’ll see you around, Sapphire.’

  ‘See you around,’ she started to say, but Cam was already striding away down the beach. Sapphire flopped back on the sand, looking up at the stars above. She touched her
nose, where she could still feel the tingle of Cam’s touch.

  Oh my God. Did Cam Tyler and I just have a moment?

  Chapter fifteen

  The long, hot days slid into balmy nights and the three girls quickly established a routine at Casa Eleganza. Sapphire spent her days reading and sightseeing. The other two girls spent their days sunbathing and… sunbathing.

  Sapphire persuaded Tito to take her out in his battered Citroën to explore the island of Capri, and was constantly amazed at how beautiful it was. One afternoon they were just returning from a trip to an orange grove when they came across a man walking along the road. As Tito slowed down, Sapphire was surprised to see it was Brad. He looked strange out by himself in a shirt and chinos — no mobile phone, expensive suit or staff running round him.

  The Citroën pulled up beside him.

  ‘Buongiorno, Signor Masters, can we offer you a lift?’ Tito asked.

  Brad bent down to peer in the window and looked surprised to see Sapphire in the passenger seat. ‘Oh, hello. Where have you two been?’

  ‘Sapphire wanted me to show her the orange groves,’ Tito said. ‘She is treating me like her own personal tour guide!’

  Sapphire laughed. ‘I am not! It’s just such a beautiful island, I want to see as much of it as I can while I’m here.’

  Brad smiled at her. ‘Fancy joining me? It’s not far back to the house.’

  Sapphire looked at Tito uncertainly. ‘You can’t say no to the boss!’ He smiled. She unbuckled her seat belt and got out. They waved goodbye to Tito and the old car zoomed off in a cloud of dust.

  ‘I hope Tito doesn’t drive like that when you’re in the car,’ Brad said. ‘I don’t want one of my daughters…’ He stopped, both of them awkward. ‘If it’s any consolation, I’m finding it hard to get my head round it as well, Sapphire,’ he told her.

  She smiled, grateful he had tried to make her feel better.

  ‘So what are you doing out here? Has the limo broken down?’ she asked mischievously.

  Brad grinned. ‘Very funny. Actually, I like to go for long walks when I’ve got the time. I see Capri very much as my home now.’

  ‘Have you got any other, you know, family?’ Sapphire asked, realising as she said it that his answer would affect her life as well.

  Brad’s voice was wistful. ‘Unfortunately not. My parents died when I was thirteen and Maggie bought me up from then. She was my nanny. And even though I didn’t inherit any money from my parents — there was a problem with the will — she sort of adopted me.’

  ‘Maggie was your nanny?’ Sapphire asked incredulously.

  ‘Yep, and she’s not averse to telling me off even now,’ he grinned.

  Sapphire laughed at the thought of Brad getting an ear-bashing. ‘That must be so funny!’

  He gave a mock grimace. ‘Not if you’re on the receiving end. Maggie’s got quite a tongue in her. She’s kept me grounded over the years. Maggie’s family.’

  ‘I thought she was your housekeeper,’ Sapphire said, a little too sarcastically.

  Brad sighed. ‘Look, I’ve told her a thousand times to retire! I wanted to set her up in her own villa in the sun. But Maggie said she’ll work until the day she dies, so I thought if she was going to insist she might as well come and work here for me.’ Brad chuckled. ‘She’s some lady.’

  ‘She obviously thinks the world of you,’ Sapphire said.

  Brad smiled by way of answer. ‘How’s the music going?’ he asked, changing the subject. ‘I’m sorry I haven’t managed to have a chat with you yet; I’ve been busy with Cam’s stuff.’

  At the mention of Cam’s name, Sapphire’s stomach dropped. Last night she’d had a dream in which she had been the one in the pool with him, not Simonetta. She’d wrapped her legs round his waist as his soft lips had kissed hers, his hands wandering over her body, from her waist up to her chest…

  She jumped, realising that Brad was saying something to her. ‘Sorry, what was that?’

  ‘I said, have you met my chauffeur, Raphael? He’s one of the other young people here. I wondered if you’d bumped into each other.’

  ‘Um, yeah,’ Sapphire said. There was no way she was telling Brad she’d wandered into Raphael’s house by mistake.

  ‘He’s incredibly talented,’ Brad continued. ‘That kid’s got star quality written all over him. I don’t think he’ll be a chauffeur much longer. Mind you, he does struggle a bit with his lyrics…’

  ‘Hmm,’ said Sapphire. ‘He struggles a bit with being civil to people too.’

  ‘Ah,’ said Brad. ‘I see he’s been working his trademark charm again. Give him a chance, Saph. He’s got huge potential.’ He gave her a meaningful look. ‘As do you.’

  Sapphire shrugged, though she had a warm feeling inside from when Brad had called her Saph instead of Sapphire. ‘I might be able to write songs, but I can’t seem to play them,’ she sighed. The truth was she’d struggled to pick up her guitar since she’d been on Capri. She was having a total block.

  ‘Come on, you’ll get there. Your mum says you’re really good.’

  ‘That’s because she’s my mum,’ said Sapphire, smiling.

  ‘Leonie always had good instincts when it comes to spotting raw talent. You know, she persuaded me to sign up The Hollywoods.’

  Sapphire was too shocked to speak for a moment. ‘My mum did that?’ The Hollywoods were a hugely successful band signed to BMM, Brad’s record label. Even thought they were in their forties now, kids her age still listened to them. Sapphire had seen them at Wembley last year, along with a whole stadium full of screaming people.

  Brad smiled. ‘Yes, she did. Which is why when she sent me some of your stuff, I took it very seriously.’

  Sapphire went bright red. ‘You’ve read my lyrics?’ She could kill her mum!

  ‘And a recording of you singing Back To Black. You’ve really got a great voice, Sapphire, you need to have more confidence in yourself.’

  ‘I didn’t realise I had such a pushy mother,’ she grumbled, deflecting the compliment. She had never been that good at receiving them. They walked in silence for a few moments, before she spoke again.

  ‘What happened, you know, with you and Mum?’

  Brad paused. ‘Lots of things happened. It was a case of the wrong timing. Things got… complicated.’

  ‘What, like her being pregnant with me?’ said Sapphire, too sharply again. Brad brought out such mixed-up feelings in her.

  Brad was silent for a moment. ‘No,’ he said. ‘I would have liked to be in your life. It didn’t work out that way, and I regret it every day. I regret it every time I look at you.’

  Sapphire flushed. ‘Sorry. That was out of order.’

  ‘You have every right to feel angry with me, turning up in your life like this.’

  ‘I know,’ she admitted. ‘It’s just all such a…’

  ‘Whirlwind?’ he suggested. Sapphire smiled. ‘Yeah, something like that.’

  He reached a hand up to her face and then dropped it away again. ‘You know, when you smile, you have your mother’s dimples.’

  Sapphire flushed, but it was a nice, warm feeling. In companionable silence they continued back.

  Madison walked confidently up the path to the large guest-house on the edge of Casa Eleganza’s grounds. She was pleased to see Cam sitting outside on the terrace, working on a laptop. He had his shirt off, a heavy silver chain round his neck. Discarded dumbbells lay stacked against the wall.

  ‘Hey, Cam!’

  He looked up over his sunglasses. ‘What’s up, Madison? What brings you out here?’

  ‘Oh, I was just passing,’ she lied. ‘Aren’t you going to invite me in?’

  He eyed her amusedly. ‘Sure, do you want a guided tour?’ He jumped up and Madison followed him in. The place was state-of-the-art, with a huge sound system and plasma TV screens in every room.

  ‘Pretty cool, huh?’

  Madison fluttered her eyelashes at him. ‘Totes. You could have s
ome crazy parties here.’ Or you and I could have one of our own, gorgeous, she thought, hitching her hot pants a tad higher up her tanned thighs. She moved closer to Cam and ran a manicured finger across his chest. ‘How often do you work out?’ she asked, sticking her chest out so he couldn’t miss her pert 32 Cs.

  ‘Enough.’ Cam gave her a wry smile. She was pretty full-on, this one. A real handful — and not just her chest. Cam had met plenty of girls like Madison — hot rich chicks out for the take. He was kinda over it. Even though she did have a killer body. He and Madison could have some fun…

  He took a deep breath.

  ‘I’ve gotta get back to work,’ he said with a tinge of regret. Man, he’d come out here to avoid distraction and there were hot girls all over the joint!

  Madison pouted. ‘Don’t be so boring.’

  Cam laughed, ‘Hey, dude’s gotta earn his living somehow.’

  She smiled, showing sharp white teeth. ‘OK, I’ll come see you again.’

  ‘Sure thing,’ Cam said and watched her wriggle out. An idea popped into his head and he went back to the laptop, where he’d been writing his lyrics.

  ‘She looks like an angel, but she’s got her eye on your Amex…’

  ‘Thanks, Madison,’ he said aloud. He’d been stuck on that line for days.

  Chapter sixteen

  Brad was in his study, a wood-panelled room with a huge mahogany desk that overlooked the sea. He had just finished an important business call when there was a knock on the door and Simonetta walked in, radiant in a long olive-green dress.

  ‘Am I disturbing you?’ she asked, with a self-assured tone that suggested that, even if she was, Brad should stop what he was doing. The girl’s got balls, he thought with an inward smile. I’ll give her that.

  Simonetta sashayed across the room in a way that reminded Brad of when he had first set eyes on her mother Sophia, twenty years previously. He wondered fleetingly what Sophia looked like now, if she had kept her beauty, or softened and become more matronly over the years.