The Secret Diamond Sisters (14 page)

chapter 13:

Savannah checked her cell phone upon waking, excited to find one text message, but disappointed when she saw it was from Evie.

So glad you called last night even if it WAS super late (early?) and you woke me up.... I still can’t believe ADRIAN DIAMOND is your dad. Anyway, even though it’s only been a day it’s not the same here without you. Once you get an iPhone let me know and we can FACETIME! xxoo SEC 4 life! <3

Damien hadn’t tried to contact her. He’d kissed her good-night when he’d dropped her off at her condo last night—and wow, it was amazing—and had told her he would text her in the morning. Now it was morning—well, almost afternoon, since she’d slept late—and he still hadn’t texted her. Had she done something wrong?

Maybe he planned on doing that thing when guys waited three days after meeting a girl to contact them again. Savannah hated that rule. But at the same time, she didn’t want to look desperate by texting him first.

Her best chance to see him today seemed to be by “accidentally” bumping into him. Where would he hang out?

Then the answer came to her—the gym. Savannah didn’t work out regularly until a few weeks before volleyball season, but she could start now. Especially if it meant more time with Damien. And she had no idea what the competition was going to be like to get on the volleyball team at Goodman, so she should get back into shape as early as possible. If they even
had
a volleyball team. She’d been playing volleyball since sixth grade—if Goodman didn’t have a team, what would she do? That could be a good conversation starter if she did run into Damien.

Anyway, there was no excuse for her not to work out now. At home she could only use the machines at school during the school year, since that was free for students at Fairfield High. She always stopped working out in the summer, because her only option was to run outside. It was too hot during the day, and her neighborhood wasn’t safe at night. But now she had a gym down the hall.

Then there was the question of what to wear. She hadn’t had time to go shopping in Vegas yet, but she
did
have some cute clothes from California. The black stretch shorts and spaghetti strap top she liked to work out in weren’t expensive, but they showed off her slim body. Even though she wished she were tall and gorgeous like Courtney, or that she had curves and high cheekbones like Peyton, she knew how to work with what she had. She put her hair up and posed a few times in the mirror, smiling at her reflection. Her hair was limp from sleeping on it, and she wondered what the dark-blond color would look like if it were lighter. It would brighten her entire face, but she’d never had the money to color her hair. Now, with her new credit card, she could finally make the changes to her appearance that she wanted. To transform on the inside, it made sense to do so on the outside, too.

Curious about what the hotel salon had to offer, she walked over to her new MacBook Pro that Adrian had sent up to the condo last night while they were out. He’d sent ones for Peyton and Courtney as well, along with a note saying they would need the laptops when school began, and he was sorry he couldn’t spend more time with them since he was busy with the grand opening, but hoped to make up for it soon. Savannah was grateful for the computer, since she’d never had a computer of her own before, but she was bummed Adrian wouldn’t have much time for her and her sisters until after the grand opening. Hopefully he would follow through and make up for it once the opening was completed.

She did a search for the Diamond Hotel and found a list of services for the salon: hair extensions, highlights, manicures, pedicures, eyebrow waxing, eyelash tinting and eyelash extensions. They also had lessons on how to apply makeup, along with facials and massages. Everything was overpriced—a normal haircut was a hundred and twenty-five dollars!—but she didn’t have to worry about money anymore. She wasn’t sure how a haircut could be worth that much money, but she would find out.

It sounded like she could spend the entire day at the spa—hopefully they would have openings tomorrow. She made a list of everything she wanted done and picked up the phone.

“Diamond Spa and Salon,” a friendly voice said on the other end of the line. “How may I help you today?”

“I’d like to make a few appointments for tomorrow.” Savannah tried to speak steadily so the lady wouldn’t realize this was her first time making her own spa appointments.

“Of course.” The lady sounded overly perky. “What would you like to have done?”

Savannah read everything from her list.

A mouse clicked in the background. “I’m afraid we don’t have enough room tomorrow to accommodate everything you’d like,” she said. “Would you be available at 9:00 a.m. on Friday? You’ll have to come in early so we have time to get everything done.”

“Sure, that works.” Savannah had wanted her transformation to happen tomorrow, but Friday would be fine.

“Great,” the lady said. “May I please have your name, building and room number?”

“Savannah Diamond,” she said. “I’m in the Residences, in room 7501.”

“Ms. Diamond,” the lady gasped. “I’m so sorry about the misunderstanding—of course I’ll be able to make room for you tomorrow, and I’ll book you with the best stylists we have on staff. Will 9:00 be all right?”

Savannah had been pacing around her room, but when the lady said that, she stopped in her tracks. Could she really rearrange an entire day of appointments because Adrian’s daughter wanted a spa day? “Yes, that sounds perfect,” she said, dumbfounded. “Thanks.”

“Thank
you,
” the lady said. “I’m Jessie, and if you need anything else, let me know.”

Savannah placed the phone back in the cradle and smiled. She couldn’t wait to see Evie’s comments once she posted pictures of the “new her” on Facebook.

Savannah texted Evie back that she missed her, too, and of course they’d FaceTime once she got an iPhone. Now to focus on Project Find Damien. She put on music and sang into her hairbrush as if it were a microphone while applying her sheer pink lip gloss, concealer and waterproof mascara. If Damien was at the gym, she wanted to look presentable, but natural.

Luckily Peyton and Courtney weren’t in the main living area. Peyton was most likely still sleeping, and Courtney was probably reading or studying for the SAT. She didn’t want to face another inquisition like the one Courtney’d given her last night when she got back, so she left a note on the hall table so they wouldn’t worry about where she’d gone. Savannah was old enough to make her own decisions. Yes, Damien had come on to her stronger than she’d expected, but that was because he was older and more experienced. He’d respected her when she’d said it was too much, and that was what mattered. Right?

She left the condo and found all three bodyguards waiting outside the door. Savannah understood that Adrian worried about their safety—especially after what he’d told them at dinner last night about Courtney being kidnapped as a baby—but were they really in such danger that they needed to be followed around the hotel? It seemed excessive, but whatever. At least her bodyguard, Carl, hadn’t made himself known during her adventure with Damien last night. As long as he didn’t interfere in her life, Savannah didn’t mind. Having someone watch out for her all the time was a small price to pay for joining such an incredible world.

“Good morning, Savannah,” Carl said.

“Morning,” she replied. This was the first time they’d talked, and she liked him already. He was the oldest of the three and seemed like the grandfather-type. Savannah had never met either of her grandfathers. “I’m just going to the gym.”

“Lead the way,” he said. “I’ll be waiting for you in the hall.”

When she entered the gym, she spotted the dark-haired girl she’d seen yesterday on one of the ellipticals. Last night she’d learned the girl’s name was Madison, although they hadn’t officially met. Madison wore a black sports bra with yoga pants, the outfit showing off her perfectly toned body. At the sight of her, Savannah’s confidence plummeted. Why would Damien go for her when he was friends with someone like
that?
And Damien wasn’t even there. She was disappointed, but she couldn’t leave. Madison would think it was weird if she walked into the gym and left a second later.

All the ellipticals except the one next to Madison were taken. Savannah liked the elliptical the best, but since she would feel awkward getting on the machine next to Madison, she headed to the stair steppers in the back.

She started the machine, and it wasn’t long before she got lost in her iPod playlist. The iPod was old and cracked, since it was pre-owned, but Courtney and Peyton had gotten it for her for Christmas a few years ago and she loved it. When she listened to music, she imagined she was onstage performing. Maybe someday she would be—if she could beat her stage fright. She wasn’t a master on the guitar, but she could accompany herself, and she had a good voice. Even so, the most she’d done with music was recording a few covers on her webcam and saving them onto her computer. Once she perfected the songs, she planned to make a YouTube account and upload the videos, and then maybe she’d get discovered.

Three songs later, Madison got off the elliptical and hopped onto the stair stepper next to Savannah. Sweat trickled down the side of Savannah’s face. What was Madison doing? There was an unspoken rule at the gym that you left an empty machine between you and the other people working out—like how you leave a seat between yourself and people you don’t know at the movie theater. Madison was breaking that rule right now.

Savannah wanted to switch machines, but moving less than a minute after Madison had come over would make it obvious that Madison was making her uncomfortable. She had no other option but to stay on for ten minutes longer.

Trying to stay calm, she listened to her music and looked straight ahead. But since she hadn’t worked out in a few weeks, it was taking a toll on her now. Her legs burned, and her heart rate was already way up. Maybe it was good that Damien wasn’t at the gym. Being sweaty and out of breath wasn’t the most attractive way to run into the guy you were interested in.

“You’re one of Adrian Diamond’s daughters, right?” Madison asked as she started up the machine. Her voice was barely audible over Savannah’s iPod.

Savannah removed an earbud and looked at Madison. Her eyes were blue like Savannah’s, made more striking by the contrast of her dark hair, which was in a perfect ponytail. “Yeah,” Savannah answered. “Savannah Diamond.”

Madison nodded, and Savannah had a feeling that she already knew her name. “I’m Madison Lockhart,” she introduced herself. “My parents are friends with Adrian, and he told them his daughters would be moving here. How are you liking Vegas so far?”

“I love it.” Savannah didn’t have to think about her answer. “I mean I’ve only been here for a day, but it’s amazing.”

“Where are you from, again?”

“Northern California.” Savannah glanced at her iPod, hoping Madison wouldn’t ask about her hometown. She doubted she’d heard of Fairfield, but she wanted to be safe. “Near San Francisco.” Well, San Francisco was almost an hour away, but it was the closest major city to Fairfield.

“I love California,” Madison said. “My grandparents live in Newport Beach, so I visit every year. It’s beautiful. Very different from Vegas.” She looked at her phone, which had buzzed with a text message, and texted the person back.

“Newport Beach is nice.” Savannah hadn’t been there, but she’d watched some old episodes of
The OC,
so she knew it was pretty. And full of people who were superrich.

“It is,” Madison agreed. “You’ll be at Goodman in the fall, right?”

“Yeah,” Savannah replied. “I’m hoping it isn’t too different from my school in California. The last thing I want is to have to do extra work to catch up.”

Madison looked at her in a way that made Savannah think she would definitely have catching up to do at her new school. “What grade are you going into?” she asked, pressing a button on her machine to up the level of difficulty. Savannah would have done the same if the muscles in her legs weren’t already burning.

“I’ll be a sophomore,” she replied.

“I’m a student tutor, so I can help you in math and science if you need it,” Madison offered. “I’m going to be a junior, so everything from sophomore year is fresh in my mind.”

“You’re a tutor?” Savannah didn’t realize how surprised she sounded until after she spoke. She hoped Madison wouldn’t be offended. Madison just didn’t strike her as the brainy, helpful type. Savannah thought tutors were more like Courtney—so focused on academics that they didn’t have a social life. The academic people at Fairfield High weren’t involved in the party scene. Madison, on the other hand, seemed popular, and like she partied a lot.

“Yeah,” Madison said. “It looks good on college applications.”

“Oh.” Savannah hadn’t thought about college applications yet. She secretly hoped she would do well enough with her music that she wouldn’t have to go to college. If not, her grades were average, so she assumed she would go to the local community college or nearby beauty school, if she went at all. “Where do you want to go?”