Diamonds are Forever

by Michelle Madow

  Posted on Thursday 3/12 at 12:05 PM

  Ok sooo...we all saw the pics of Savannah and Perry on the ski lift. But then last night, Perry posted a selfie with Emily Nicole, and they looked SUPER close, with no Savannah in sight!

  1: Posted on Thursday 3/12 at 12:33 PM

  he prob got bored of Savannah and went for her friend instead! LoL

  2: Posted on Thursday 3/12 at 1:01 PM

  OR he found out that Savannah and Damien have been hooking up for MONTHS. they spend so much time together it’s gotta be happening!!!

  3: Posted on Thursday 3/12 at 1:15 PM

  you also forgot that Peyton and Oliver—both known for sleeping around—are there, too. I don’t even wanna KNOW what’s going on in that house...

  4: Posted on Thursday 3/12 at 1:59 PM

  What happens in Aspen stays in Aspen?

  chapter 25:

  While everyone got ready the next morning, Savannah pretended to be cheery and happy—purposely avoiding asking if Emily Nicole had ever made it back to her room last night. Then, as Savannah had been dreading, Perry decided to stop being patient with her on the easy trails on Buttermilk and ski with Emily Nicole on Ajax instead. At least Courtney, Peyton, Evie and Noel took a lesson with her.

  She’d also been dying to ask Courtney about what happened last night with her and Brett, but she knew her sister well enough to wait until they were alone.

  Now they were at après-ski, and Savannah was acting like she was happy and everything was fine. But when Perry sat next to Emily Nicole and was touching her and flirting with her, Savannah’s eyes welled with tears. He was rubbing last night in her face. So what if Savannah’s agent had asked her to become friends with Emily Nicole, and also asked her to flirt with Perry? Savannah couldn’t do it anymore. Emily Nicole was not her friend, and Perry Myles was not interested in her. And she didn’t want to be around either of them for one second longer.

  “Okay, that’s enough.” Savannah slammed her fists onto the couch, glaring at Perry and Emily Nicole. Everyone stared at her, stunned into silence.

  “What’s up?” Perry didn’t move his arm from around Emily Nicole’s shoulders.

  “I can’t sit here and watch this anymore,” she said. “I want you, Emily Nicole and Noel to leave.”

  “Pardon?” Noel’s eyebrows shot up. “You want us to leave the restaurant?”

  The way he said it made Savannah feel like an oversensitive kid.

  “I don’t own the restaurant, so I can’t ask you to leave it.” Savannah crossed her arms. “But you are staying in my dad’s house—because I invited you—and I don’t want you staying there anymore.”

  “Come on, Savannah.” Perry removed his arm from around Emily Nicole’s shoulders and cracked his knuckles. “Lighten up. We’re all just having fun. That’s why we’re here, right?”

  “You can’t want us to leave!” Emily Nicole widened her clear blue eyes as if she were so innocent. Which, after last night, Savannah knew she wasn’t. “We have two more days left of the trip.”

  Savannah glared at Emily Nicole. Her, Perry and Noel leaving was exactly what she wanted. They were all just using each other for publicity and fame, and it was so fake. She would be much happier once they were gone.

  “Actually, she can, since it’s Adrian’s house, and you’re her guests,” Madison chimed in. “If Savannah doesn’t want you there anymore, then you have to leave. Right?” She looked at Courtney and Peyton for affirmation.

  “If that’s what Savannah wants, then yes, they need to leave,” Courtney said, at the same time Peyton said, “Hell, yes.”

  Savannah held her gaze on Perry’s, unwavering now that she had her sisters backing her up. Perry actually turned his eyes away from hers, and while it was only a small victory, her body felt light from the thrill of it.

  “It’s settled, then.” Damien clasped his hands together. “The three of you should go back to the house and pack your things. Or tell your guards to pack for you—whatever you need to do. It shouldn’t take too long. Once we get back from dinner, we expect you to be gone.”

  “This isn’t fair.” Evie leaned toward Noel, her cheeks bright red. “Noel didn’t do anything wrong.”

  Savannah’s mouth dropped open. Why was Evie standing up for Noel? Evie was her best friend, and she’d seen everything that had happened last night. Her sisters had backed her decision...why couldn’t Evie? Unless Evie had never truly forgiven Savannah for their fight on the night of her Sweet Sixteen?

  “Noel might not have done anything wrong,” Madison said, as cool and composed as ever. “But he’s here with Perry, and if Savannah wants them both to leave, then they both need to leave. End of discussion.”

  “Right.” Savannah somehow kept her voice steady after the blow from Evie. “I invited them so we could have fun, and this isn’t fun anymore.”

  “We can’t just leave.” Emily Nicole slumped forward. “Where are we supposed to go?”

  “You’ll figure something out,” Oliver said casually. “If you need a hotel recommendation, check out The Little Nell. They’re usually booked way ahead of time, but maybe you can use your connections to get a room.”

  “You can’t be serious.” Perry chuckled and brushed his fingers against Savannah’s knee. “You’re taking this too personally. We’re all just trying to relax and hang out. And I won’t be able to recommend you for American StarMaker if you go through with this.”

  He was giving her that trademark look of his—the one that made girls all over the world melt—and his words made her heart twist. But she yanked her knee away from his hand, refusing to be fooled by him again. His being famous didn’t give him a right to use her and treat her like dirt.

  “I can audition for American StarMaker like everyone else,” she said. “I’ll go to an open casting call.”

  Emily Nicole’s jaw dropped open, hurt swirling in her eyes as she looked at Perry. “You offered to put in a word for Savannah on American StarMaker and not me?”

  “It’s nothing personal.” Perry shrugged. “You’ve got a great YouTube presence, your voice is good—especially after some help from auto-tune—and your vids are fantastic. You just need to keep doing what you’re doing, and your fan base will grow. But Savannah’s got raw talent that would get her far on the show.”

  “Hold on,” Emily Nicole said. “You think she’s a better singer than me? And you would put a word in for her over me...even after last night?”

  “You girls need to stop taking all this so personally.” Perry ran his fingers through his hair, making it look more messy-perfect than before. “Both of you are cool, all right? So let’s chill out, be friends and enjoy the rest of this trip.”

  Savannah’s temper blazed. “You’ve been texting me and acting like you cared about what was going on in my life, and now you’re telling me you just wanted to come here to ‘chill out and be friends’?”

  “Well, yeah,” Perry said. “What’d you expect? I text a lot of people.”

  Her hands shook, and she felt like the biggest idiot. What had she expected? For him to want to be her boyfriend, after a few hours hanging out at a party he’d been paid to attend, and some text messaging? It had been so exciting to think someone as famous as him was interested in her that she’d forgotten everything else. Like how she’d only let herself get involved with Perry because her agent had pushed her to talk to him. And how she cared about Damien more than she’d ever cared about Perry.

  Her stomach churned when she remembered how Damien had watched her flirt with Perry all week. It was no better than how she’d felt watching Perry flirt with Emily Nicole. She’d ruined her chances with Damien. Because no matter what Madison had said, he couldn’t still be interested in Savannah after these past few days.

  “I don’t know what I expected.”
Savannah clasped her hands together so no one would see how they were trembling. “But this isn’t fun anymore, and I want to spend the last days of this trip with my sisters and my friends. So we’re going to go to dinner, and like Damien said, we expect you and your stuff to be out of the house when we get back.”

  “Fine.” Perry jutted out his chin. “I was ready to jet out of Aspen, anyway. There’s a party in LA tonight that sounded like it could be fun. What do you say, Noel? Let’s text Lara and let her know to expect us?”

  “If Savannah wants us to leave, then we’ll leave,” he said. He turned to Savannah. “Sorry that we messed up your holiday.”

  His brown eyes were huge, and he seemed sincere. So she nodded and said nothing. What was she supposed to say to that? That she was okay with what had happened last night? Because she wasn’t okay with it, and she was done pretending. She was just glad they were leaving.

  “What about me?” Emily Nicole asked. “You can’t kick me out. I have nowhere to go. My mom thinks I’m spending the entire break at your house, and I can’t go home because she’s out of town, and I can’t get a hotel room by myself. She’ll freak.”

  Savannah studied Emily Nicole. Every time she looked at her now, she thought of her running naked from the hot tub to spend the night with Perry in the loft. But her forehead was creased, her eyes glassy, and she looked so lost. Maybe she’d gotten as caught up in the attention of the guys as Savannah had. And with Perry and Noel gone, what more could Emily Nicole do to her?

  “Fine,” Savannah said. “You can stay.”

  “Thank you.” Emily Nicole breathed out a long breath. “I owe you one.”

  “Well, I guess that’s our cue.” Perry threw a wad of cash on the table and stood up. “We’ll be flying to LA before you all get back from dinner. It’s been an...interesting past few days. And Emily Nicole? Thanks for last night.”

  He winked, and then he and Noel were out the door.

  * * *

  Savannah didn’t say much during dinner. Her eyes felt hot, her body felt numb and she worried that if she tried to pretend that everything was okay, she would break down crying in public.

  When they got back to the house, Perry and Noel were gone, as promised. It was like they’d never been there at all. Even their room was spotless, thanks to the maids that came to the house every day while they were out. Now, everyone watched Savannah, like they were waiting to see what she would do next.

  “I need to talk to you.” Savannah grabbed Evie’s arm and pulled her toward the stairs. “Let’s go to our room.”

  “Okay.” Evie followed Savannah up and shut the door behind them. “I was caught by surprise earlier,” she said, wringing her hands together. “I didn’t realize you were going to ask them both to leave...”

  “‘Caught by surprise’?” Savannah threw her bag onto the bed and glared at the girl who was supposed to be her best friend. “Everyone else—even Madison—took my side when I asked them to leave. And then you took the guys’ side. Why would you do that?”

  “I didn’t take the guys’ side,” she said softly. “Perry’s a jerk—you were right to ask him to leave. But he’s not the same person as Noel. Noel didn’t do anything wrong...”

  “They’re both in the same band!” Savannah raised her voice. “They were here together. I had to ask Noel to leave, too. And he’s probably also a jerk, so whatever. I’m glad they’re gone.”

  “Noel’s not a jerk.” Evie leveled her gaze with Savannah’s, and Savannah stilled, shocked by how intense Evie was being about this. “He’s a good guy. I know you were involved in all of your drama with Perry and Madison and Damien and didn’t have time to notice, but Noel and I clicked from the moment we met. We got along really well this entire trip.”

  Evie and Noel together? Savannah couldn’t wrap her mind around it. Except...on the first night in Aspen, Noel had talked to Evie a lot. Savannah had assumed he was just being friendly. When they were skiing, Noel and Evie rode the chairlift together, but Savannah thought they’d been stuck together because everyone else had someone to ride with. They’d also been sitting next to each other at meals, and they’d been next to each other in the hot tub last night... Savannah’s lips parted as it all came together. Noel had been flirting with Evie this entire time.

  And Evie was only going to get hurt by it.

  “Perry and Noel are players,” Savannah said. “They’re going to get back on tour, have girls throwing themselves at them in every city, and they’re never going to think about either of us again. It sucks, but it is what it is.”

  “You don’t know Noel,” Evie said. “How can you say that about him?”

  “I don’t know.” Savannah sighed and fell down onto the bed. “This is all such a mess, and I hate it. I’m sorry.”

  “I know. But I like him a lot.” Evie sat down next to her and leaned into the pillows. “He got my number, and he promised to keep in touch. He’s already texted me saying he was so happy we met this week and that he can’t wait to see me again.”

  Savannah stared at the ceiling, her entire body empty and numb. She said nothing. Because Evie clearly liked Noel, and nothing Savannah said would bring her to her senses. Only time would do that.

  “I’m sorry Perry ended up being a jerk,” Evie said. “And that Emily Nicole chased after him.”

  That was enough to make Savannah crack a smile. “It’s not your fault,” she said. “I don’t think I even liked Perry that much, anyway.”

  “You just liked the idea of dating someone famous?”

  “Yeah, I guess.” She sat up, grabbed a small decorative pillow and hugged it to her chest. “He’s hot, and I love watching him sing, so it was fun to get so much attention from him. I loved it every time he Tweeted me, or commented on my Instagram, and when fans speculated about us. It made me feel special.”

  “But you didn’t actually like him?” Evie asked.

  “I’m a huge fan of his,” she said. “You know I’ve followed One Connection for years. So I felt like I knew Perry, but I guess that’s different than having real feelings for him.”

  “Better to find out what an ass he is sooner rather than later, right?”

  “Maybe.” Savannah’s heart felt like it had been run over all over again, and she played with the seams of the pillow. “I just hate how he ditched me for Emily Nicole in front of everyone. It was so embarrassing.”

  “The way he ditched you in front of everyone?” she asked. “Or the way he ditched you in front of Damien?”

  Savannah groaned. “Is it that obvious?”

  “Only because I’ve known how you feel about Damien since you first moved to Vegas,” Evie said. “And I don’t think Damien would have come on this trip if he didn’t return those feelings.”

  “That’s exactly what Madison said.” Savannah shifted so her legs were under her. “But I’m not sure if I believe it.”

  There was a knock on the door, and Savannah turned to look at it. “Who is it?” she asked.

  “It’s me.” Emily Nicole opened the door and poked her head inside. “Can I talk to you? Alone?”

  Emily Nicole seemed so innocent now, in jeans and a fluffy light blue sweater, but Savannah couldn’t unsee her being naked and running up the steps to do who knows what with Perry. What could Emily Nicole possibly say to fix this?

  She turned to Evie, as if Evie could tell her what to do.

  “I can stay here if you want,” Evie said.

  “No,” Savannah decided. “It’s fine. I can talk to her for a few minutes. Then I just want to be by myself.”

  “What should I tell your sisters?”

  “Tell them I need time alone with my iPod,” Savannah said. “They’ll know what I mean.”

  “Okay,” Evie said. “Good luck.” She scooted past Emily Nicole and out of the r
oom, leaving her and Savannah alone.

  Emily Nicole closed the door and sat exactly where Evie had been. She pulled her hair over one shoulder, then rubbed her hands over her jeans, as if she didn’t know where to start.

  Savannah just stared at her, waiting. Emily Nicole had wanted to come in here—it was up to her to begin this conversation.

  “Thanks for letting me stay,” Emily Nicole said.

  “I couldn’t kick you out when you had nowhere to go.”

  “Still.” She swallowed. “Thanks. What I did last night... I was really drunk. I know that’s a crappy excuse, but it’s true. Perry was flirting with me all week, and he made it seem like he liked me, and I’ve had a huge crush on him for so long... I’m sorry.”

  “You knew I liked him.” Savannah fought back tears and ran her hands through her hair. “I told you about our texts, I told you about how I thought he liked me, and you saw how he backed off last night when he realized I was a virgin. Then you slept with him. And you’re only here because I invited you. How could you do that to me?”

  “That’s what I wanted to tell you,” Emily Nicole said. “I know it looked bad, and no one has any reason to believe me, but I didn’t sleep with him.”

  “You ran up to his room naked and spent all night with him.” Savannah laughed—thinking about it hurt like hell, but Emily Nicole’s denial was so ridiculous that it was funny. “You really expect me to believe you didn’t sleep with him?”

  “I didn’t sleep with him,” she repeated. “You saw how much I had to drink last night. We did kiss, but I passed out pretty soon after I got up there. It’s embarrassing, and I hate it, but that’s what happened. I swear it.”

  Savannah’s eyes widened. “He didn’t...try anything while you were passed out, did he?”

  “No!” Emily Nicole’s mouth dropped open in horror, and she held her hands out. “Nothing like that. I wish he’d woken me up and helped me back to my room, but I just slept up there. I promise.”

  “Okay,” Savannah said, since Emily Nicole seemed so sincere. “But if that’s true, then what was that about when he left—when he thanked you for last night?”