Diamonds Are Forever

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:

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

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?”