by Megan Cole
‘Shall I send Maggie up with some painkillers?’ Brad asked. Simonetta waved a hand. ‘I have some in my suitcase, thank you.’ She left the room in a haze of heavy perfume.
Strange, thought Sapphire. She could swear Simonetta had been having a really good time. There’s more to that one than meets the eye.
The remaining guests retired to the drawing-room. Raphael went and looked moodily out of one of the windows, while Madison prattled on to Brad about some New York clothes shop she’d been, ‘Like, the first to discover!’
Sapphire had just kicked off her heels and was curled up in one of the big chairs when Cam came and sat down on the arm. He’d taken his dinner jacket off and Sapphire could see his wide arms nestled under the white shirt he was wearing. Huge diamonds glittered in his cuff links. Suddenly, to Sapphire, it was as if no one else was in the room with them. His hand brushed her bare arm, sending little shockwaves through her body
‘What are you up to after this?’ he asked.
‘Er, just going to bed, I guess,’ she said, trying to sound casual.
Cam gave a slow, lazy smile. ‘It’s too early for bedtime. Meet me on the beach in, say, half an hour? The moon is real pretty tonight.’
Sapphire found it hard to swallow. ‘That would be great,’ she managed.
Cam gave her a secretive wink. ‘See you then.’ He got up and went over to Brad. ‘Brad, I think I’m going to turn in. It’s been a cool night, thanks.’
‘My pleasure,’ Brad said. ‘I’ve got some correspondence to catch up on, so I think I’ll leave you guys to it.’ He called over the room. ‘Raphael.’ The Italian boy turned round. Brad grinned. ‘Your new stuff sounds great, I’d love to hear it.’
To Sapphire’s surprise, the three of them had enjoyed a surprisingly animated conversation about music during dinner. Sapphire had been secretly impressed with the breadth of Raphael’s knowledge and his ideas for songs, and it was obvious Brad thought the same.
Raphael nodded, even allowing himself a little smile. ‘Si, Signor Masters.’
As Cam and Brad left, only Madison, Sapphire and Raphael remained in the room. Sapphire thought Raphael would be desperate to get out of there, but to her surprise he walked over and stood by the window again. Madison came and threw herself in the chair opposite Sapphire.
‘What am I supposed to do now? I’m still wide awake.’
‘You could always go and play Scrabble or something,’ Sapphire said, keeping a straight face.
Madison rolled heavily made-up eyes. ‘Scrabble’s for total dorks.’
Sapphire ignored the jibe. Her throat felt tight with excitement and nerves, just as it had been since Cam had asked her to meet him on the beach. She took a sneaky look at her watch.
Madison turned her attention to Raphael, who still had his back to them, looking out the window. ‘So what’s this music you’ve been working on? It is any good?’
Raphael did a good job of ignoring her.
Madison’s mouth screwed into a petulant sulk; she wasn’t used to men giving her the cold shoulder. ‘How rude!’ she said to Sapphire.
Sapphire shrugged.
Seeing that she wasn’t going to get a rise out of either of them, Madison got up. ‘I’m going to paint my nails. I’ve got the perfect shade to go with my new Matthew Williamson bikini. I’m gonna look awesome round the pool tomorrow!’
The door slammed behind her. Across the other side of the room Raphael made a scornful noise. Sapphire was about to get up and put her shoes on, when suddenly he was standing in front of her.
‘God, Raphael, you made me jump!’
He looked at her, his angular face softened by the dimmed lighting. With his razor-sharp cheekbones and perfect, almost feminine lips, Sapphire thought — not for the first time — how striking he was. Pity he was such a grumpy git.
‘You want to practise?’ he asked.
‘What, now?’ Sapphire looked at her watch. She was due to meet Cam in a few minutes. ‘I’d love to, but I’ve got to go and phone my mum. She’s expecting me.’ She dropped her eyes under his penetrating gaze — it was as if he could see into her soul and knew she was lying. ‘How about tomorrow?’ she asked, anxious to get out of there. ‘I’m free all day.’
There was a long pause, in which all that could be heard was the caw caw of a seabird circling high above outside. ‘Tomorrow,’ he agreed eventually.
‘Great!’ Sapphire said, edging away. ‘I’ll see you then.’
Raphael stopped her as she was opening the door. ‘Sapphire.’ The tone of his voice made her turn round. He looked at her, something working behind the impenetrable face.
‘Yes?’
His face wore a strange expression. ‘Nothing. Just…’ He hesitated. ‘Just be careful.’
She frowned. ‘What do you mean?’
But Raphael was already walking back towards the window.
Sapphire quickly forgot Raphael’s weirdness as she left the room. She was going to meet Cam! Quickly, she ran upstairs to put on another coat of mascara and a fresh squirt of perfume. She was so nervous she almost dropped the bottle of Daisy by Marc Jacobs she’d saved up for weeks to buy.
Calm down, she told herself.
But it was hard to remain calm when the fact was she was about to go and meet Cam Tyler for a moonlight walk on the beach. How much more romantic could it get? Millions of girls would kill to be me right now, she thought. It was a nice thought.
It was a still, almost noiseless night when she walked on to the beach a few minutes later. All Sapphire could hear was the gentle roll of the waves and the violent beating of her own heart. The full moon cast a ghostly pallor on the sand, making it look almost spooky. Sapphire shivered and rubbed her arms; she wished she’d brought her jacket.
‘Here, take this,’ Cam said out of the darkness.
Sapphire swung round to see him walking towards her. He was barefoot like her, his dinner jacket slung over his shoulder. Wordlessly, Sapphire let him drape it round her. She could feel the silk lining against her skin, the smell of his aftershave stronger than ever. She was still shivering with an intensity that had nothing to do with the chill of the night air. For a few moments they walked in silence.
‘Did you have a good time at dinner?’ Cam asked.
Sapphire nodded. ‘Yeah, it was good to get us all together. All the young people in the house, I guess.’
‘I was kinda surprised Raphael was there,’ remarked Cam. ‘I wouldn’t have thought it was his thing. The guy hardly said two words the whole night.’
‘I don’t think Raphael is a people person,’ Sapphire admitted. ‘He seems happiest when it’s just him and his guitar.’
Cam turned to look at her. ‘You seem to know more about him than anyone else does.’
‘We’ve been hanging out a bit. He’s been helping me with my melodies,’ she said.
Cam gave her a crooked grin that made her heart melt. ‘Well, just as long as you don’t spend too much time with him. I might get jealous.’
Sapphire’s throat seemed to have constricted again, robbing her of the powers of speech.
They walked along to a rocky outcrop. Cam climbed up on a large boulder and held his hand out. ‘Here.’ Sapphire took his hand and he pulled her up easily, as if she were as light as a feather. ‘Pretty cool, huh?’
Sapphire had to agree. On the far side of the rocks, a line of lights shimmered against the dark water. They came from an exclusive resort several miles down the road — the nearest thing Casa Eleganza had to neighbours. They stood looking across the bay at them, but all Sapphire was aware of was how close Cam was standing to her, and the solid, powerful lines of his body.
‘Sapphire.’ He said her name so quietly that at first she thought it was the whisper of the waves. Slowly, hardly daring to believe, she turned to face him. They were only inches apart now. Cam was so broad and sculpted that to Sapphire he seemed as unbreakable as the rocks they were standing on. He reached a hand out and strok
ed her cheek.
‘You’re very special to me, Sapphire. I guess you could say… what was that English phrase of yours? I guess you could say that I fancy you.’
Sapphire felt as if she was having an out-of-body experience, like Cam was saying these words to another person and she was an outsider, looking in. Then, suddenly, as if in slow motion, Cam pulled her to him and kissed her softly on the lips. Sapphire literally felt her knees buckle. His mouth was dry and warm, the faint smell of toothpaste lingering even as he pulled away. He looked down tenderly and ran his hand through her hair.
‘Wow, I could get used to that.’
Sapphire managed a smile. ‘Me too,’ she said, suddenly shy. Her whole body felt alive, euphoria rushing through every vein and nerve ending.
‘I’ve got to go away for a few days,’ Cam said, gently playing with a strand of her hair. ‘But I’d really like us to spend some proper time together when I get back.’
This isn’t happening, she thought. Things like this just don’t happen to girls like me. ‘I’d really like that, Cam,’ she said, trying to keep the massive cheesy grin from spreading across her face.
Cam smiled. ‘Great.’ He leaned in to kiss her again and Sapphire’s heart started flailing wildly in her chest. She shut her eyes in anticipation…
Suddenly, a light was flashed in their faces. ‘What’s going on here?’ a gruff voice shouted.
Cam squinted into the spotlight being shone on them. ‘It’s me, Cam. Is that you, Billy?’
Brad’s head of security turned his torch off. ‘Sorry, Cam, I didn’t realise it was you. We’ve had a few problems lately.’ He saw Sapphire standing beside Cam, but if he was surprised, he didn’t show it.
‘Can I offer you folks my assistance on your walk back? I don’t think Mr Masters would be happy if I left you out here alone in the dark.’
‘I think he means Brad wouldn’t be happy if he left me with you in the dark,’ Cam whispered to Sapphire. She giggled and Cam held his hand up. ‘All right, Billy, we’re coming down!’
I am never, ever, going to come down from this, Sapphire thought ecstatically. She wanted to run screaming along the beach and shout it to the world.
Cam Tyler just kissed me!
Chapter thirty-four
‘Your mind is elsewhere.’ Raphael frowned at her critically over his guitar. Sapphire was brought out of her daydream with a snap.
‘Sorry, Raphael, I’m just a bit tired.’ They were in his living-room again, practising. She’d hardly slept a wink all night, replaying everything that had happened. All she could think about was Cam — their kiss, how lovely his mouth felt on hers, what would happen when he got back…
‘You want to stop?’ Raphael asked abruptly.
‘No, of course not.’ Sapphire gave herself a mental shake. For some reason, the last thing she wanted Raphael to do was ask about Cam. She rested her chin on her own guitar and looked at him. ‘Did you have a nice time last night?’
Raphael shrugged dismissively. ‘It was all right. Signor Masters is an interesting man.’
Sapphire smiled. ‘He seems to like you.’
Raphael didn’t reply.
‘Do you miss home?’ she asked suddenly. They were all so far from anywhere here. For the first time, he looked vulnerable.
‘I have no home.’
Sapphire was shocked. ‘Surely you have someone to go home to? Your mum…’
‘She died last year,’ Raphael said brutally. ‘I am an orphan.’
Sapphire was quiet for a moment. ‘I’m really sorry, Raphael.’
He turned on her, eyes suddenly blazing, ‘Why? Why should you feel sorry? She wasn’t your mother.’
His angry tone made her eyes well up. Why was he so horrible to her? Sapphire looked away, so Raphael couldn’t see that he’d upset her. When she turned back, he was staring at her, a dark expression on his face. Not for the first time, it made Sapphire shiver. What hid behind those fathomless eyes? Was he capable of harming someone?
Just as quickly as he had flared up, his voice softened. ‘I have a brother, Gabriel.’ He hesitated, his long fingers picking away at the seam on his trousers. ‘Sapphire, I am sorry if I upset you. It’s just…’ He stopped and looked away.
This bloke is all over the place, she thought. Wasn’t it girls who were meant to be so moody? Even so, his stilted apology made her feel a bit better. She tried to make light of the moment; being on such uncertain territory with him unsettled her. ‘It’s all right, I don’t mind being used as an emotional punch-bag.’ He looked puzzled. ‘Punch-bag?’ She shook her head, smiling. ‘Forget it.’ The strain seemed to have drained out of the air. ‘I have something for you,’ Raphael announced. He pulled a notebook out of his back pocket. ‘I have written some lyrics. I want you to find the melody.’
Sapphire gulped. It was fine when Raphael was helping her along, but this was different. ‘I don’t know if I can do it without you.’
‘Yes, you can,’ he said firmly. He handed the notebook to her. ‘Read, see what you think.’
Sapphire looked down. Raphael’s sprawling handwriting was quite hard to make out. ‘Jewel,’ she read out. She looked up. ‘That’s a lovely name for a song.’
‘Just read it,’ he commanded. ‘I am going to get a drink of water.’
Is he nervous? Sapphire suddenly thought. Left alone, she started reading the first verse.
‘The brightest star, the richest sunrise, is nothing compared to your glitter
Jewel
Colours fade away when you walk into a room, birds lose their chatter
Jewel
But amongst the brightness, you bring with you dark
Your raven hair, raven heart
Jewel.’
The words almost flowed off the page into her. Verse after verse, it was spellbinding. Who was Jewel? It was a heart-rending love story and Sapphire wondered if it was based on a true-life experience. No wonder Raphael was so up and down. Not that she would dare ask him.
After a few minutes, Raphael came back in. ‘So?’ His voice was almost challenging.
Sapphire looked up, her eyes full of tears. ‘Raphael, it’s one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever read.’ The last line about bringing colour back into a lonely existence had almost finished her off.
The intensity lifted from Raphael’s face. ‘You like it?’
‘I more than like it,’ she cried. ‘I love it!’ Sapphire’s face dropped. ‘There’s no way I can do this justice. My melodies are rubbish.’
‘So we are going to work on them to make them better,’ he said, handing Sapphire her guitar. ‘Don’t worry about being perfect. It will come.’
Sapphire took a deep breath. ‘Here goes!’
The only reason Sapphire knew it was lunch-time was that her stomach rumbled. She looked at her watch and was surprised to see they’d been sitting there for nearly three hours. After a frustrating start, in which her head had been filled with the usual silence when it came to thinking up melodies, it was as if a light had been switched on. It was like she could hear the words for the first time, not just see them. With Raphael’s encouragement she had finally brought the song alive, her voice stronger and sweeter than ever. It sounded stupid, but the last time Sapphire had felt like this was when she’d ridden her bike for the first time without stabilisers. It was like entering a whole new world of exciting possibilities and adventures.
‘I think we should stop now,’ Raphael said. ‘I have to work this afternoon.’
Sapphire looked at him, her eyes sparkling. ‘Raphael, I can’t believe I’ve got it!’ She got up and did a little jig of joy on the spot. ‘I’ve got it!’
For the first time since she’d met him, Raphael laughed. It was a deep, throaty sound — melodic, warm and rich. It was a sound she never expected to come from him, like it belonged to someone else. Sapphire found herself laughing back in surprise, but then Raphael stopped abruptly. It was as if he suddenly remembered that he should
n’t be doing something as frivolous as laughing.
‘What is it?’ Sapphire asked.
Raphael shook his head. ‘Nothing. I must get ready for work.’
It still hadn’t spoilt the moment. She grinned up at him. ‘Raphael, I don’t know how to thank you. This whole thing has been amazing!’
For the first time, he smiled at her. It was like a ray of sunlight peeking through on a cloudy day, and Sapphire almost gasped as his carved looks were transformed into something radiant and beautiful. Then it was gone, and Raphael’s marble-like features settled themselves again.
‘You want to thank me? Then practise. Practise, Sapphire Stevens, practise!’
Sapphire had got halfway down the path before she realised Raphael had used her surname. She was sure she hadn’t told him it. Her phone beeped and Sapphire dug around in her bag to retrieve it. It was a number she didn’t recognise. She opened it. The message was short but sweet.
Can’t stop thinking about you. Cam X
Sapphire let out a squeal of joy and did another little happy dance on the spot. She didn’t care if anyone saw her. Things couldn’t get much better at the moment and she didn’t want anything to spoil it.
‘Someone’s in a good mood,’ Madison remarked. The three of them were sitting round the pool, basking in the sun. Sapphire had been humming ‘Jewel’ merrily to herself as she stretched out, arms behind her head. Every now and again she would think of something Cam had said or done, or remember the way he’d kissed her, and a secret smile would break out across her face.
‘That’s it, you just did it again!’ Madison exclaimed. She turned to Simonetta. ‘Did you see Sapphire? She keeps doing that weird goofy smile to herself.’
Simonetta peeled open one eye and shut it again.
‘I know that smile!’ Madison jumped up and came to sit on Sapphire’s sunbed. ‘It’s a boy, isn’t it? Oh my God, have you hooked up with Cam! You have, I can tell by your face!’
‘Ssh, Madison!’ Sapphire pleaded, but she couldn’t help grinning.
Madison bounced up and down excitedly. ‘Have you kissed him?’