Diamonds are Forever

by Michelle Madow

  Unfortunately, ever since her disastrous crush on him last summer, Damien had put her in the permanent “friend-zone.”

  “If Savannah’s not interested in pursuing a relationship with Perry Myles, then she’s not interested,” Rebecca interrupted. “I thought we were here to discuss a media contract—not Savannah’s social life.”

  “Networking is an important part of being successful,” Lynda said. “Savannah asked if there was anything she could do that would help her career. My biggest suggestion right now is to pursue this connection with Perry Myles. But if you don’t want to take my advice...”

  “I’ll do it.” The words burst from Savannah’s mouth, and she sat straighter, hoping she looked more confident than she felt. She was not losing this chance. “If you want me to get to know Perry better and see him in March, then I’ll do everything I can to make it happen. I promise.”

  “All I ask is that you try.” Lynda pulled a few papers out from a drawer in her desk and handed them over to Rebecca. “This contract outlines everything we’ve discussed. I’ll need both of you to sign—assuming you’re Savannah’s official guardian?”

  “I won’t be until the wedding.” Rebecca flipped through the pages. “Right now her official guardian is her father, Adrian Diamond. He’ll want to have his lawyer look this over before he or Savannah signs anything.”

  Savannah deflated and sat back in her chair. What if in the time between now and the lawyer reading it, Lynda decided she didn’t want to represent her anymore?

  “Can I sign it now?” She held up the pen, ready to go. “Then we can bring it home and Adrian can sign it when he’s ready?”

  “Adrian wants you to wait,” Rebecca said. “Nothing’s going to change in the next few days.”

  Savannah crossed her arms and frowned, but she didn’t want to argue with Rebecca in front of Lynda. Adrian’s signature was the one that mattered, anyway.

  Rebecca plucked one of Lynda’s cards from the holder on her desk and added, “Adrian’s lawyer will contact you if he has any questions.”

  “Of course,” Lynda said. “I look forward to working with you.”

  They exchanged a few more pleasantries, and Lynda’s assistant led them out of the building, where the limo was waiting. Savannah slid inside after Rebecca, feeling like she was able to breathe for the first time since waking up that morning.

  “You have an offer of representation.” Rebecca did a little shimmy dance with her shoulders as she buckled her seat belt. “Aren’t you excited?”

  “I would be if the contract was signed.” Savannah leaned against the door and huffed. “But that went totally awful.”

  “Why do you think that?” Rebecca’s hands went straight to her pearls—she seemed honestly surprised. “I thought it went well.”

  “Except that you kept giving Lynda a hard time,” Savannah said. “Now she probably thinks we’re too much trouble and will change her mind about representing me.”

  “I wasn’t giving her a hard time,” Rebecca said, soft and steady. “I was looking out for your best interests. It’s routine to ask questions in a meeting like that, and then have a lawyer look over a contract. But Lynda wants to represent you. She wouldn’t have offered you the contract otherwise. Although...” She paused, and Savannah had a feeling she wasn’t going to like whatever Rebecca was going to say next. “I’m worried about what she said about Perry Myles. You shouldn’t do anything that makes you uncomfortable.”

  “It doesn’t make me uncomfortable,” Savannah said. “Perry was nice to me at my party, and he’s been nice to me ever since.”

  “You did seem to get along well,” Rebecca agreed. “But are you really interested in him, or were you saying what you thought Lynda wanted to hear?”

  “Who wouldn’t be interested in Perry Myles?” Savannah smiled, trying to shrug it off. “I just never thought I had a chance. But Lynda’s right—I should try harder to reach out to him.”

  Plus, if Savannah told Rebecca that she was worried because she didn’t want to mess up her non-relationship with Damien, then Rebecca might tell Lynda, and Lynda might second-guess how devoted Savannah was to her career. Besides, Damien and Perry didn’t know each other. If Savannah tried harder with Perry, and nothing came of it, Damien would never know. And if she tried harder and something did come from it...well, she doubted that would happen.

  If it did, she would deal with it then.

  Worry crossed over Rebecca’s eyes, and Savannah’s heart raced. Was she not convincing enough? Maybe she should change the subject.

  “I can’t wait to shoot a video with Emily Nicole,” she said. “I’ve been a fan of hers for years, and her channel is huge. She seems like a really fun person, too.”

  “I’m glad you’re excited,” Rebecca said. “And I’m sorry you thought I wasn’t on your side in there. But I hope you know that I’m just trying to do what’s best for you.”

  “Which is signing that contract with Lynda.” Savannah squared her shoulders, looking Rebecca straight in the eye.

  “And unless there’s something seriously wrong in that contract, that’s exactly what’s going to happen,” she said. “How about we have a big family dinner tonight to celebrate?”

  “So this is really happening?” Savannah asked. “I’m a real singer with an agent?”

  “You’ve always been a ‘real singer.’” Rebecca smiled. “But yes, it’s really happening.”

  “Then I have to text Courtney and Peyton.” She grabbed her phone and told them in a group message. They didn’t respond right away, so she opened her text chain with Damien and shared the news with him.

  CONGRATS!!! he replied back immediately. Let’s grab hot chocolate at the Lobby Bar when you get back, so you can tell me everything? :)

  Savannah smiled at the thought of seeing Damien, and she told him she would let him know when she landed. She was about to put her phone away when she remembered Lynda’s advice—get to know Perry better.

  A text right now would be a good start.

  She opened her texts with Perry. The last message she’d sent was a picture of her at the Coliseum with her sisters, wishing him a Happy New Year from Rome. He’d texted her back from NYC, with a picture of him and his One Connection bandmate Noel in their hotel room, looking over at the crowd they were getting ready to perform to in a few hours for New Year’s Rockin’ Eve at Times Square.

  He was so famous, and she was an amateur. But she drafted what she would say to him, anyway.

  Hey! Just got out of a meeting at Caine Talent—Lynda Caine offered me a contract!! I know you’re probably busy with your tour, but your tweeting about my channel is a huge reason why this happened, so I wanted to share the news and thank you again :)

  She stared at the text without sending it. She hadn’t even gotten something big, like a record deal. It was just representation. Something Perry probably got years ago.

  But everyone had to start somewhere, right? And Lynda had told her to try connecting more with Perry.

  So she held her breath, and pressed Send.

  chapter 2:

  Courtney couldn’t believe that Brett had talked her into watching the first three episodes of The Walking Dead. They were halfway through episode two, and the blood and gore was so not up her alley.

  He pulled her closer, his arm fitting perfectly around her shoulders, and she snuggled into his side. “Is the show growing on you?” he asked, his green eyes sparkling. The way he looked at her warmed her heart every time—as if he cared about her more than anyone else in the world.

  “Not really,” she said, smiling in apology. “But I was just thinking about how I could get payback by making you watch the first three episodes of Downton Abbey.”

  He reached for the remote and pressed Pause. “We can turn it off,” he said. �
�There are tons of other shows we can marathon. Have you ever seen Lost?”

  “Nope.” Courtney was really more of a reader than a TV-watcher—especially since they hadn’t had cable in their apartment in Fairfield, California. She’d been at work when most shows were on, anyway. “But I’ll give it a shot if it means more time spent with you.”

  “You have no idea how hard it was to pretend like you’re only my friend when we were in Italy,” he said, squeezing her hand.

  “I do have an idea.” She leaned closer to him and tilted her head up, her stomach fluttering at how there were only inches between them. “I loved Italy, and it’s great that Adrian’s so happy with your mom, but keeping away from you because our parents were watching drove me absolutely crazy.”

  “Not as crazy as it drove me,” he teased, brushing his nose against hers.

  “I wouldn’t be so sure about that.” Her gaze locked on his, her breath catching in anticipation of kissing him. After only a few seconds of restraint, he lowered his lips to hers. She wrapped her arms around his neck, her heart beating wildly as she kissed him back, feeling as if her body would melt into his. She wished she could feel this happy forever.

  Then her cell buzzed, and she pulled back to rest her forehead against his. She glared at her phone. Reaching for it meant moving away from Brett, and she didn’t want to do that.

  “Whoever it is can wait,” he murmured, burying his fingers in her hair and bringing his lips to hers again.

  She closed her eyes, losing herself in his touch, wanting to take advantage of their time alone. But eventually, she found the strength to break away. “It could be Savannah telling me how it went with that agent,” she said. “She was so excited before leaving this morning... I have to see if it’s her.”

  “I know.” He brushed his lips against hers, softer this time, and she leaned back into him. He was so intoxicating that she wanted to forget the rest of the world existed. But he untangled himself from her arms, reached for her phone and handed it to her. “The sooner you check, the sooner we can get back to where we left off.”

  “Right.” Courtney’s hand shook as she unlocked her phone and tapped the message icon. Just as she’d thought, the text was from Savannah.

  The agent offered me a contract!! Just need dad’s lawyer to look it over so he can sign it, and then it’s official! Family dinner tonight to celebrate :)

  “Well?” Brett asked. “Good news, I hope?”

  “She was offered a contract,” Courtney said as she texted Savannah back, congratulating her. “We’re doing a family dinner tonight to celebrate.”

  “And you don’t sound thrilled because...you’ll have to hold off on talking to Peyton about that college application you filled out for her?”

  “You got it.” She put her phone on vibrate and tossed it in her bag. “I was ready to talk with her about it tonight, but now that we’ll be celebrating, I don’t want to ruin Savannah’s good mood. I guess it’ll have to wait until tomorrow. And you know how much Peyton hates the idea of going to college, so I want to get it over with.”

  “What’s the worst she can do?” Brett asked.

  “I don’t know.” Courtney shrugged. “Tell our parents that we’re together?”

  “She wouldn’t do that,” he said. “She was egging me on to make a move on you the whole time we were in Italy. So was Savannah. Your sisters are our biggest fans.”

  “If only Adrian and your mom would see what they see,” she mused, tracing her fingers along his palms. “It would be so much easier.”

  “We could always try to tell them again.” He spoke faster, as if the idea excited him. “Our parents are getting married in a few months. So we can’t hide this from them forever. And once they realize that we’ve been together for a few weeks, and how well things are going, they’ll have to support us. That was our plan when we decided to go for this, right?”

  “I guess.” Courtney’s stomach dropped from thinking about it. “But honestly, I think the chances are higher that Peyton will decide she wants to go to college.”

  “I doubt that,” he said. “You filled out Peyton’s application for her. Most people would love to have someone do that. I don’t think she’ll be as mad as you think.”

  “You don’t know her as well as I do,” she said. “She’ll probably yell at me, tell me I have no right to try controlling her future and delete the application.”

  He raised an eyebrow. “And would that be the first time Peyton’s ever yelled at you?”

  “No.” She laughed. “Good point. And I did back the application up on the cloud.”

  “Then you’ll be fine.” He pulled her close again, his eyes blazing with an intensity that made her heart feel like it was going to beat out of her chest. “Now, where were we before we got interrupted?”

  “Right about here...” Courtney leaned into him and pressed her lips to his once more. It wasn’t long before he’d lowered her onto the couch, every inch of his body on hers. Her heart thumped harder. She’d never been this close to him before—but it felt so right that she didn’t want to stop.

  Someone knocked on the door. Brett bolted off her, his eyes panicked as he straightened his shirt. Courtney glanced at the door, sure she must look as confused as he did.

  “It’s probably Peyton.” She sat up and ran her hands through her hair in an attempt to smooth it. She hoped it was Peyton. Because her lips felt swollen, and her cheeks felt flushed—she would bet that anyone would know from looking at her and Brett what had just been going on between them.

  Whoever it was knocked again.

  “Brett? Courtney?” Adrian’s voice called from the other side of the door. “Are you two in there?”

  Brett grabbed a textbook from the coffee table and opened it on his lap. “We’re studying, right?” he said softly to Courtney, his voice surprisingly calm—as if they hadn’t just been having a heavy make-out session on the couch.

  “Of course.” She gathered up a pile of flash cards and shuffled through them. It was good that she was so paranoid about having a cover story about hanging out with Brett. Plus, she really had wanted to get some studying done for their upcoming quiz in AP History. She’d just gotten...distracted.

  Brett took a sip of water from the glass on the end table and lounged back on the couch. “Yeah, we’re in here,” he called back to Adrian.

  They heard a key card slide into the slot, then Adrian opened the door and strolled into Brett’s penthouse. As always, he wore a perfectly fitted navy suit, his blond hair slicked back as if he’d just come out of an important business meeting. But there was something different about him today. Usually he was a mask of calm—Courtney often had a rough time deciphering what was going on in his mind—but today, he seemed to be...glowing. He even grabbed a few M&M’s from the bowl Brett kept in the foyer, which was surprising, since he rarely ate sweets.

  “Peyton told me you would be here,” he said, popping an M&M into his mouth. He glanced at the open textbook, then scrutinized the foot of space left on the couch between them.

  “She did?” Courtney leaned even farther away from Brett, holding her flash cards so tightly that they bent. How could Peyton have told Adrian where to find her without warning her first? Did she want Courtney and Brett to get caught?

  “Yes, she did.” Adrian looked back and forth between them. “She said you were studying.”

  “That’s right,” Brett jumped in. “Sorry we didn’t answer when you knocked the first time. Courtney’s pretty intense when she studies, and she didn’t want to ruin her concentration until she finished reciting the answer to one of the short essay questions.”

  “I got it right,” she squeaked, holding up a flash card as “proof.”

  “I’m not surprised, judging by your excellent grades last semester,” Adrian said. “I didn’t expec
t your transition to Goodman to go as well as it did. Your report card was impressive.”

  “Thank you.” Courtney smiled, but when she looked down at her flash cards, guilt flooded her chest. She was proud of her grades last semester, but she had to keep them up if she wanted to get into Stanford. And if she kept making out with Brett instead of studying, that wasn’t going to happen.

  “Anyway, as proud as I am about your grades, that isn’t why I came in here,” Adrian said, situating himself in one of the chairs in the living room. “I have some good news.”

  “Cool.” Brett closed the textbook and placed it on the coffee table. “What’s up?”

  “I just got back from seeing the Prescotts at the hospital,” he said. “With everything that’s happened to Oliver, Logan’s been doing a lot of thinking recently, and he and I had the longest conversation we’ve had since the fallout at the grand opening last summer.”

  Courtney’s eyes lowered at the mention of the grand opening. Because the “fallout”—when Logan had decided he didn’t want to be business partners with Adrian for a major hotel they’d been planning in Macau—had been partly her fault.

  “How’s Oliver doing?” Courtney asked. She wanted to get the talk away from the grand opening, but she also truly wanted an update. She might not like Oliver, but she wouldn’t wish what had happened to him on anyone.

  “He’s recovering,” Adrian said. “His worst injury was his knee, but the surgery went well, and he should be able to walk on it soon. It seems that his biggest challenge is psychological. Logan wouldn’t give me all the details, but it’s clear that alcohol and drugs were why Oliver got into that accident. He’s getting treatment, and is refusing to see anyone but his immediate family members.”

  “Not even Madison?” Courtney wasn’t Madison’s biggest fan, either, but apparently Oliver had left Savannah’s party while drunk because of a huge fight with Madison. If Madison hadn’t seen Oliver since that night, she must be a wreck.