Diamonds Are Forever

They sat in silence for a few seconds, sipping on their tea. Then Grandma’s door opened, and Courtney watched as she walked into the living room, dressed and ready for the day. While she and Aunt Sophie were identical, the two of them were more likely to pass as mother and daughter than twins.

“I thought I heard people out here,” she said, smiling. “Happy birthday, Courtney. And Sophie—you’re looking refreshed this morning.”

Courtney would hardly describe Aunt Sophie as looking “refreshed,” but she supposed it was all about perspective.

Soon Savannah came up to join them, followed by Mom. Courtney still wasn’t used to Mom waking up before noon, but it was one of the many changes that had come with her journey to recovery.

“I’m going to get breakfast started,” Grandma said. “French toast—Courtney’s favorite, since she’s the birthday girl. Will you girls get Peyton out of bed and up here to join us?”

Thirty minutes later, they were all sitting around the dining room table, the serving plates piled with French toast, eggs, fruit and bacon (the vegetarian kind for Courtney and regular for everyone else).

“So, girls,” Grandma said after everyone had food on their plates. “Your mom and I recently received our invitations to your father’s wedding.”

Peyton’s mouth dropped open, despite being in the middle of chewing her food. She swallowed quickly, and said, “They invited you? Both of you?”

“You’re not actually going, are you?” Savannah chimed in.

“I don’t see why we wouldn’t,” Grandma said.

Courtney could think of a lot of reasons. But she started with the most practical one. “There’s going to be an open bar,” she said, looking at Mom. “Is that something you’re ready for? Especially since you haven’t seen Adrian in so long...it might be a trigger.”

“I talked with my doctor about it after receiving the invitation,” she said. “She told me that with the support of Grandma, the three of you, and with my sponsor there, I’ll be able to get through the event. She actually believes it will be good for me to attend.”

“But it’s more than the wedding.” Courtney picked up a piece of fake bacon and tore it apart. “It’s Las Vegas in general. Everywhere you turn in the Diamond there’s a bar, or people drinking in the casino, or people walking around with drinks, or a mention of some sort of party. I can’t imagine that’ll be good for you.”

“Which is why we’ll stay at the Trump,” Grandma said. “A non-gaming, family-friendly hotel.”

“What about Aunt Sophie?” Courtney turned to Aunt Sophie, who had barely touched her French toast. “You won’t be able to travel, will you? Or stay here alone?”

“Oh, don’t worry about me,” she said. “A nurse will stay with me here. I’ll be perfectly fine.”

“It sounds like a good plan.” Savannah twisted a piece of hair around her finger and looked at Mom. “But are you going to be okay watching Adrian marry Rebecca?”

“You think I would be upset watching him marry her?” Mom smiled, as if she found the notion amusing.

“You were married to him once, and you do have kids with him,” Courtney said. She’d pictured the wedding numerous times—Rebecca talked about it constantly, so she had to—and she couldn’t imagine Mom and Grandma there. In fact, she couldn’t imagine Mom having a conversation with Adrian, let alone being married to him. “Of course you might be upset watching him marry someone else.”

She waved it away. “I’ve been over Adrian for years,” she said. “And when I was married to him, I was friends with Rebecca. Some of the women Adrian introduced me to snubbed me because I hadn’t grown up in their exclusive circle, but Rebecca was always welcoming and kind.”

“Did you ever meet Ellen Prescott?” Peyton asked.

“Yep.” Mom made a face and laughed. “She was one of the ones who snubbed me. The ringleader, actually.”

“And you were friends with Rebecca?” asked Savannah, her fork dangling in the air. Courtney couldn’t blame her for being stunned. Rebecca was so calm, organized and level-headed—the complete opposite of their mom.

“Sort of,” Mom said. “I knew Adrian and Rebecca dated in high school, and I used to worry that their feelings for each other hadn’t disappeared. When I first heard they were engaged, it stung, but that’s in the past now. I really am happy for them.”

“Oh.” Savannah frowned and played with a loose thread on her place mat. “So...you don’t want to get back together with Dad?”

Courtney was surprised at the sadness in her sister’s voice. Mom and Adrian getting back together wasn’t something she’d ever considered. From the photos she’d seen of her parents in her baby book, she knew they must have loved each other once, but they were so different and wrong for each other now.

“You girls can do simple math, so I’m sure you’ve realized that Adrian and I got married after finding out I was pregnant with Peyton,” Mom said. “We used protection but...­sometimes these things happen.”

Peyton nearly choked on her eggs. “We don’t need the details,” she said. “But yeah, we figured as much.”

“Adrian and I tried to make it work,” she continued. “But it wasn’t meant to be between us. Even before the...event that drove us apart...” She glanced at Courtney, and Courtney looked away, the reminder of Britney making her chest pang. “Adrian wasn’t always faithful to me. I tried to ignore it, because at the end of the day, I was the one he was married to and came home to and claimed to love. But it couldn’t have gone on much longer. He’s always had a soft spot for Rebecca—­she was his first love, after all—and I don’t think those feelings ever went away. Hopefully he’ll be different with her than he was with me. I think it’s possible.”

“He does really love her,” Savannah said. “And she’s been nice to us since we got to Vegas. Even Peyton doesn’t mind her anymore.”

“She gets annoying—especially now that all she talks about is the wedding—but whatever.” Peyton shrugged. “I tune her out and she’s not that bad.”

“That might be the nicest thing you’ve ever said about her,” Savannah said. “She does talk about the wedding a lot. More than I ever talked about my Sweet Sixteen party.”

“Now that we’re back to the wedding, what do you girls say?” Mom asked. “Is it all right if Grandma and I come?”

“I don’t think it’s a good idea,” Courtney said before her sisters had a chance to speak up. Her mom deflated, and she searched for a reason—something other than the fact that she simply hadn’t forgiven her. “We won’t be able to spend time with you, because we’ll be so busy doing bridesmaid stuff.” She pushed her food around on her plate, knowing that the excuse sounded lame. She needed to add something to it. “Since you’ll barely be able to see us, you shouldn’t miss out on a weekend here with Aunt Sophie.”

“If you prefer us not to come, we understand,” Grandma said. “That’s why we asked the three of you before sending in our RSVP.”

“The wedding’s in April, so no one has to decide right now,” Aunt Sophie cut in. She sounded tired, as if the conversation with Courtney that morning and having breakfast with them had exhausted her, but she continued, anyway. “Why don’t the three of you take a few days to figure out how you feel about it? You should all have a say. But for now, it’s Courtney’s birthday. Let’s talk about something more fun—like that trip to Italy you took in December. I’ve never been to Italy, and I’ve always wanted to see it, so spare no details.”

With that, Savannah launched into describing their trip.

Courtney stayed silent for the rest of the meal. Because despite Aunt Sophie’s advice—to forgive while she had the chance—Courtney wasn’t sure she could. At least not now, or anytime soon.

chapter 7:

(#u01493745-e5ac-55e2-aa17-888f46495271)

After the tension of the weekend—mainly between Courtney, Grandma and Mom—Peyton was glad to be back in Las Vegas. She’d just settled onto her bed with her laptop to crank out some last-minute homework when her cell buzzed. One glance at the screen, and her heart jumped into her throat.

It was Jackson.

After all these weeks of silence, he was finally calling her. She’d expected his first move to be a Facebook message or a text. But for him to call...whatever he wanted to tell her had to be good. He had to still care about her.

Did he think about her as much as she thought about him?

She took a deep breath before answering. “Hello?”

“Peyton?” the deep, familiar voice asked. Just hearing him made her heart race. “It’s Jackson.”

“I know.” She stood and paced around the room—she hated standing still while talking on the phone. “What’s up?”

“I’m in Vegas right now,” he started, and she paused mid-stride. “I got here Saturday night, and spoke with your father yesterday.”

“You spoke with my father?” she repeated, stunned at how so much had changed so quickly. “You’re working for him again? You’re moving back here?”

“No.” He sounded so resolved, and she fell back onto her bed, her heart crushed all over again. “Things went well, but I’m leaving tonight. I just didn’t want to go without seeing you.”