The Secret Diamond Sisters

“I wouldn’t even want him to be our father,” Peyton continued. “Who the hell goes fifteen years without talking to their daughters and then suddenly wants custody?”

“Our dad,” Courtney said, her voice tight. “But Mom needs to be in rehab. After all the years we tried and failed to convince her to get help, she’s finally there, and I’m glad she’s getting treatment. Just think—in a few months, Mom will be better. And in the meantime, maybe our father won’t be that bad.”

“Are you sure you didn’t have any champagne while I was sleeping?” Peyton snickered and plugged her earbud back in.

Courtney opened her mouth as if she wanted to retaliate, but of course she didn’t. Arguing with Peyton was pointless. Peyton never listened to anyone.

“Maybe you’re right,” Savannah said to Courtney. “He did send a limo. He wouldn’t have done that if he didn’t care about us.”

“Yeah.” Courtney frowned, her forehead creasing in thought.

Savannah didn’t like seeing her so worried. She wasn’t used to feeling like she had to take care of her sisters. Usually it was the other way around. Her throat tightened, and while she wanted to say something comforting, she had no idea what would help. Instead, she looked out the long window in front of her, the sun lighting up the cloudless California day. The limo exited the highway and passed a large sign announcing their arrival at Napa Valley Airport. There were barely any other cars around, and the airport was small. Only a few boxy buildings and planes were up ahead, and beyond that, the rolling hills of the vineyards in the countryside.

“Is it just me, or does this place seem deserted?” Savannah asked.

“Napa Valley is a private airport,” Courtney said. “I don’t think they have commercial flights.”

“No commercial flights?” Savannah repeated. Because if the airport didn’t have commercial flights, they only had private ones. And that would mean...

Savannah’s stomach swooped at the possibility, and she leaned closer to the window. Could her guess about their father be right?

The road widened, and her heart thumped as they approached the buildings. The limo drove past a few planes—some small, some large—and came to a stop.

Towering in front of them was the biggest private jet of them all, the gold lettering along the side spelling three distinct words:

Diamond Resorts Worldwide.

Adrian Diamond was their father.

chapter 2:

No way.

Courtney stepped out of the limo and stared at the jet. If this plane was for them, sent by their father...then Savannah was right. Courtney had always dismissed her younger sister’s fairy-tale notion that the infamous hotel owner Adrian Diamond could be their father, never considering that Savannah could be right. But unless the limo driver had accidentally picked them up instead of three other Diamond sisters living in a run-down apartment in Fairfield, California—this jet was for them.

Not believing what she was seeing, Courtney examined Savannah’s reaction. Her younger sister had frozen, her mouth dropped open. A breeze blew some of her dark blond hair across her forehead, and she pushed it behind her ears, her eyes fixed on the jet. Courtney would have laughed if she didn’t feel as astonished herself.

“Are you the Diamond sisters?” A low voice belonging to a large man in a white suit pulled Courtney out of the shock. His black hair had been slicked back with enough oil to fuel the plane, and he had one of those square jaws she associated with football players.

She would have assumed he was their father, but his dark features bore no resemblance to their own.

“Yes.” Courtney looked him in the eye and stood straighter. “I’m Courtney. This is Peyton and Savannah.”

“I’m Captain Rogers.” He held out a strong hand in greeting. Courtney shook it, then quickly dropped her arm back to her side. “I’ll be taking care of you today.”

So he wasn’t their father. Adrian Diamond must have more important things to do with his time than pick his daughters up himself.

Not that Courtney expected much from the man who hadn’t spoken to them in fifteen years. She didn’t want to jump to conclusions, but he had some major explaining to do when they met. Courtney didn’t know how she was going to handle that. What could he say to make it okay that he’d disappeared from their lives? There was no good reason for that, especially for someone as well-off as Adrian Diamond. What could have happened for him to want nothing to do with her or her sisters? For him to have abandoned them?

Her head spun, and realizing her breaths had become shallow, she forced herself to inhale deep and gain control of the situation. She would handle this like she handled everything—one step at a time. There had to be a logical reason why Adrian Diamond hadn’t been involved in the lives of his three daughters.

But as much as Courtney hated to admit it, they could have used his support. If he’d helped them out growing up—just a little bit—she had no idea how different her life would be. She hadn’t minded getting a job to help her family, but if she’d had more time to focus on her studies instead of having to pick up extra shifts to pay bills, her grades and practice SATs would have been better. They weren’t bad—she had a 3.76 GPA and her practice test scores were above the 90th percentile—but with more time to study, she could have improved.

Courtney wrapped her arms around herself and looked up at the plane. All she could do now was focus on meeting her father. Peyton was so angry, and Savannah was so hopeful, that neither of them could approach this rationally. Her sisters needed her to be the one in charge.

“So do we just...get on?” Peyton pointed her thumb at the entrance steps to the plane, which were surrounded by security guards.

The captain laughed. “If you’re ready to depart, then yes. You can ‘just get on.’”

“And the plane is going where?” Courtney asked.

“Las Vegas,” he answered.

“Vegas!” Savannah clapped her hands. “I knew it!”

Seeing a movement in her peripheral vision, Courtney glanced at the van with their luggage, which had followed the limo to the airport. Three men of varying ages had already opened the back doors and were unloading it. They didn’t have much to worry about—only six duffels between the three of them, and Savannah’s beat-up guitar. Last night, Grandma had helped them pack all their stuff from the bedroom the three of them shared.

The captain motioned toward the jet as if he was saying “all aboard” with his hand. Savannah bolted for the stairs, her hair flying behind her. Courtney followed, and she heard Peyton stomping behind.

Courtney couldn’t believe this was happening. A private plane? Maybe she was dreaming. Savannah’s ideas about their father being the Adrian Diamond must have invaded her subconscious. But while Courtney had vivid dreams, they were nothing like this. She felt the cold metal of the railing against her hand when she walked up the steps, and smelled the warmth of summer as it blew through the air. If her mom could see them now, she wouldn’t believe it.

Then Courtney realized her mom would believe it. Because her mom had known who their father was, and she’d never told Courtney or her sisters. Even Peyton had been too young when they’d moved to remember him. Their mom had always said she didn’t want the girls growing up in the dangerous environment their father lived in, and left it at that. The divorce papers for the short marriage had gone through right after Savannah was born, and their mother had always refused to discuss him, other than to say that his lifestyle wasn’t appropriate for raising children. It had been her decision, but Courtney figured if he’d wanted them around, he would have done something about it. He hadn’t, so she’d done her best not to think about him. Getting upset about the past accomplished nothing.

So what made him care now? Courtney couldn’t ignore what was right in front of her—their father was a powerful man. If he’d wanted to be in their lives, he could have made it happen.

But she shouldn’t jump to conclusions. She would sort out her feelings when she was able to hear the responses to her questions from her father himself.

Courtney reached the top of the stairs and stepped through the door. The jet was unlike anything she could have imagined. It looked like a fancy living room; the tubular shape and the windows along the walls were the only hints that they were in a plane. Down the aisle were four cream-colored seats, two on each side facing each other, and farther back against the walls were matching leather sofas. There was even a dining area at the end, with a dark brown wooden table and four chairs. Every inch of wood shined like it had been coated with layers of gloss, and the cream leather of the seats and sofas looked and smelled brand-new. It was as though they were the first people to ever step inside.

Courtney had only seen planes in movies, and those were commercial ones. She’d had no idea they could be like this.

She had never felt so out of place, and she didn’t know what she was supposed to do next.

Savannah jumped onto one of the couches and sprawled across it, apparently not sharing Courtney’s discomfort. “This is awesome!” she said, stretching her arms above her head. “Can you believe this is happening? Limos, private planes... It doesn’t seem real.”

“And moving to a city where we know no one, to meet a father who hasn’t spoken to us in fifteen years,” Courtney reminded her, sitting on the sofa across from Savannah.

“Maybe he has a good reason,” Savannah said hopefully.

Peyton slumped into the couch with Courtney and leaned against the opposite armrest. Her torn black tights, jean shorts with the pockets hanging out of the bottom and gray striped T-shirt were out of place here, but she didn’t look a bit uncomfortable.

“Don’t be naive,” Peyton said, popping a piece of gum into her mouth. “This is nice and all, but don’t let it blind you to how our father ignored us for our whole lives. If you act impressed by his money when you meet him, he’ll think it means you forgive him. And I sure as hell don’t. It actually makes me angrier. If he has all this money, we wouldn’t have been a burden to him. He should have reached out to us before now. The only reason he didn’t is because he doesn’t give a shit about us.”

“We should remember what Grandma told us and listen to what he has to say,” Courtney said, although she’d had the same worries herself. “We have to hear his side, even though it’s hard to imagine what good excuse he could have.”

“Because he can’t have one,” Peyton sneered. “It’s impossible.”

“Nothing’s impossible,” Savannah shot back. “Stop being so negative.”