The Secret Diamond Sisters (22 page)

“Aren’t you supposed to remain inconspicuous?”

“You’re interested in that Prescott kid, aren’t you?” was all he replied.

Peyton’s eyes narrowed, but she was inwardly amused that Jackson had asked. Looked like her flirting with Oliver had gotten his attention, after all. “What is it to you?”

“He’s bad news,” Jackson said. “You should stay away from him.”

“Excuse me?” She crossed her arms and held her ground. “Who are you to tell me who I can and can’t hang out with?”

“I’m supposed to keep you safe.”

“From kidnappers and other...dangerous people!” she said. “Not from the son of Adrian’s future business partner. And how do you know anything about Oliver? You’ve probably never talked to him.”

“I looked him up on Google,” Jackson said with a shrug.

Peyton laughed, pressing her lips together a second later to control herself. “And what did you find on Google that was so horrible?”

“He’s not a nice guy, Peyton.” His hazel eyes twisted with anger, as if he knew something she didn’t. “He’s a player, and he treats women like they’re things for him to conquer instead of actual people. I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“Wow.” She couldn’t believe Jackson was getting so involved—he had to be jealous she’d hooked up with Oliver. “What exactly did you find?”

“I don’t want to quote my sources, because I can’t be positive they were accurate.” His gaze was so intense she could feel the energy buzzing between them. “All I can recommend is that you look him up yourself.”

“I’m not going to spy on him,” she said. “He’s grown up as the son of a major hotel owner, so there must be tons of rumors about him online.”

“I don’t think that would be a wise decision.” He sighed and ran a hand through his short hair. “I wish you would trust me, Peyton. I’m only saying this to help you.”

What the hell? A few nights ago Jackson had made it clear he couldn’t get involved in her personal life, and now he cared about her feelings for Oliver? Peyton didn’t know what game he was playing—if he meant to play a game at all—but his sudden interest was intriguing.

“If I didn’t know better, I would say it sounds like you care about me.” She stepped toward him so there was barely any space between them. “Did you change your mind about not wanting to be...friends?” She added extra emphasis on the final word to let him know she could see more than friendship between them. He knew so much about her, and from the way he was looking at her, he was attracted to her, too. The chemistry between them was undeniable.

He took a sharp breath inward, and backed away. “I didn’t change my mind,” he said. “You’re only a kid, Peyton, and it would be unprofessional for us to be friends. I’m just doing my job to keep you from getting hurt.”

“If you say so.” Peyton raised an eyebrow and smiled knowingly. Jackson might have reined in his emotions, but the way he looked at her a minute ago made it clear he was attracted to her...maybe even
interested
in her. He might pull away now, but this wasn’t over. “Thanks for the help, but I’m going to say hi to Oliver,” she said, amusing herself by her blatant disregard for Jackson’s advice. “Have a good night.”

She shot him a killer smile, and added an extra sway to her hips as she sauntered toward the gambling area. She caught Oliver right when he was preparing to walk away from the table.

“Did you manage to strike it rich?” she asked playfully, motioning to the handful of chips he was shoving into his pocket.

“Not quite.” He shrugged in mock disappointment. “Although I did donate around a grand to the casino. You’ll be surprised to discover I’m quite charitable.”

Peyton’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. He’d wasted a thousand dollars playing cards?

“I need a drink,” she said. “Come with me to the bar?”

He said okay, and once he bought their drinks (and slipped the bartender a hundred to serve him even though his parents forbade him to drink on their property), Peyton realized how nervous she was.

“So, you and Courtney...” she said, taking a large sip of her drink. The margarita—heavy on the tequila—burned down her throat.

“What about me and Courtney?”

“You’re going with her to that dinner thing tomorrow night.”

“I am,” he said nonchalantly.

“You could have asked me.”

“Aw, come on,” he said. “You saw what happened. It’s no big deal.”

Peyton fumed at how blasé he was being about it. “It was to me.”

“What happened to make you so messed up when it comes to relationships?”

The question took Peyton by surprise. “What do you mean?”

“I’ve seen your type,” Oliver said. “You must have been burned real bad, and that’s why you have this act going on now.”

“Act?” Peyton balked. “I don’t have an act.”

“You mean pretending you don’t care when you really do isn’t an act?”

Peyton took a swig of her drink. “You don’t want to know.”

“Oh, I think I do.” He scooted closer to her.

Peyton didn’t know what inspired her to go on—maybe it was the alcohol, that she was in a new place far away from Fairfield or how Oliver seemed sincerely curious about what had happened—but she found herself spilling the entire story.

“It happened in the spring of ninth grade,” she started. “I was dating this guy Vince for six months. I thought it was serious, and that he loved me.”

“Love in ninth grade?” Oliver laughed. “That doesn’t happen.”

“I thought it did,” Peyton snapped. “Now, do you want to hear the story or not?”

“Go on.”

“He was in Model UN, and every spring they went to this big meeting in North Carolina.”

“Sounds like trouble,” he guessed.

“It was. There was this sophomore girl, and she was a total slut. They fooled around for the entire trip. When she got back, she wrote about it in her online diary that she thought no one knew about. But someone discovered it and emailed it to the whole school. There were pictures of the two of them together. The worst was this one part when she talked about how she was dancing with him, and he took an ice cube and put it near places I don’t want to mention.”

“Sounds kinky.” Oliver laughed.

“It was disgusting,” Peyton said. “Everyone at school knew, and he didn’t even apologize. He just broke up with me, like I never mattered, and started dating her a few days later.”

“That sucks,” he said, and it sounded like he meant it.

“Yeah. And now here you are, ditching me for my sister. You know there’s no way she’ll go along with it once I tell her we hooked up, right?”

“Listen.” He held his hands out, like he was telling her to calm down. “My mom thinks Courtney would be good for me, and if bringing her on this date gets my mom off my back, then whatever. It won’t mean anything, so it’s no big deal.”

“Now you’re calling it a
date?
” Peyton was getting angrier by the second.

“Yeah,” he said. “What else would it be?”

Peyton couldn’t believe it. What an arrogant jerk to say that after what she’d told him, and for him to assume Courtney would go along with his messed-up plan. “But what about us?”

“Courtney’s more appropriate for me to publicly date,” Oliver said. “It’ll just be for my mom’s sake. But we can still hook up. No one has to know about that.” His fingers grazed Peyton’s thigh, and she pulled away. She’d been an idiot to let her guard down with Oliver. It would never happen again.

“You’ve got to be kidding,” she said. “Courtney’s my
sister.
You’re deluded if you think she’ll go along with this after I tell her we hooked up, or that I would do that to her.”

He leaned closer to her. “Is it any worse than what you’re doing right now? To your boyfriend? Unless you’ve broken up with him and haven’t mentioned it.”

“What happens between me and Mike is none of your business,” she said. “You knew about him before we hooked up, and it didn’t bother you then.”

“And it still doesn’t bother me,” he said smugly. “I was just making a point.”

“Your point sucks.”

He brushed his finger across her cheek. “Relax,” he said. “This is no big deal. You’re freaking out over nothing.”

Peyton wanted to believe him. But she didn’t trust anyone that easily. She pulled away from his touch, and his hand dropped to his lap. The place where his fingers had been on her cheek felt cold. “It’s not nothing,” she said. “And you’re stupid thinking Courtney would be interested in you. You’re not her type.”

“Her type?” Oliver raised an eyebrow. “I’m everybody’s type.”

Peyton was amazed at how full of himself he was. “Hate to break it to you, but not everybody likes conceited assholes.”

“You seem to.” He laughed.

“Courtney doesn’t.”

“We’ll see about that.” He didn’t sound concerned. “And I hate to break it to
you,
but even though I’m your type, you’re not mine. Sorry. I thought you understood that we were both having fun to pass time. But Courtney...” He paused, his eyes going distant before meeting Peyton’s again. “Courtney
is
my type. She’s sweet and innocent—qualities that are hard to find in Vegas, especially in my group of friends. Unlike I was with you, I’m actually interested in her.”

Peyton couldn’t believe he had the nerve to say that to her. “You’re not interested in anyone,” she spat, backing away from him. How had she been so dumb to allow herself to be interested in him? “All you care about is yourself.”

“Aw, come on.” His face twisted with arrogance. “Don’t be like that. You threw yourself at me— What did you expect? For me to fall for you? If you want that, sweetheart, you’ve got to play harder to get. You were easy, so don’t make me out to be the villain.”

Peyton sat back, stunned. No one had ever said anything like that to her before.

Or maybe since Vince, she’d never let herself care enough about a guy to get to the point where they would. Vegas must be getting to her head. Or maybe she’d just never met anyone like Oliver before, since guys like him didn’t live in Fairfield—or know that Fairfield existed. Then again, guys would be guys, whether they were from a run-down neighborhood in Fairfield or if they were hotel heirs in Las Vegas. She wouldn’t allow herself to be blinded by the glitz of this city again.

“Whatever,” Peyton said, trying to act unfazed. “Courtney’s not going to be fooled by you.”

“Are you sure about that?”

“Of course I’m sure.” She glared at him. “She’s my sister. I know her better than you do.”

“So you’re saying that Courtney would never be interested in me, even without you telling her that we hooked up, or about this conversation right now?”

Peyton fumed. “That’s exactly what I’m saying.”

“Fine,” Oliver challenged. “Then prove it.”

“What do I get when I’m right?”

“
If
you’re right, you can ask me to do one thing—anything you want,” Oliver proposed. “And if I’m right, I can ask you to do anything I want.”

Then the last person Peyton thought she would be happy to see interrupted the conversation—Madison.

“How have you two been tonight?” Madison asked, resting her hand on Oliver’s elbow. For being just friends, they sure were touchy with each other. She tossed her long hair over her shoulder and examined Peyton’s outfit. “I like your top.”

“Thanks,” Peyton said, too pissed at Oliver to show surprise that Madison was faking nice.

“You won’t mind if I steal Oliver for a minute, would you?” Her voice dripped with pretend sweetness.

Saved by Madison Lockhart. Who would’ve thought. “No problem,” she said. “I’m getting a headache, so I was about to head out anyway.”

“Too bad,” Madison said, although she didn’t sound concerned. “Feel better.”

“And tell Courtney I’m looking forward to tomorrow night,” Oliver added.

Peyton walked away, not bothering to respond. Oliver could go to hell for all she cared.

After texting Savannah that she wasn’t feeling well and was leaving, she headed to the exit of the club, blinking away tears that were threatening to spill out of her eyes. She might feel like crap, but she didn’t want other people to know. She just wanted to go back to the condo and lock herself away. Hopefully some late-night TV and sleep would make her feel better in the morning. Maybe she could find a good movie on-demand. Preferably an action or thriller with a kick-ass female heroine, so she wouldn’t think about relationships and how guys sucked at life.

Of course when she reached the door to leave the club, Jackson was waiting for her. It was clear from the pity in his eyes that he had seen—and maybe heard—her conversation with Oliver. Peyton didn’t want him to say that he’d told her so. He was only five years older than her; he had no right to tell her who she could and couldn’t hook up with. His job was to keep her safe physically, not emotionally. Her personal life was none of his business.

He looked like he was about to say something, but Peyton cut him off. “Don’t even think about it,” she said, her voice full of daggers. “I don’t want to talk to anyone else tonight. But if you want to do me a favor, you’ll make sure Savannah’s bodyguard doesn’t let her leave with Damien.”

He nodded, but kept his distance after that, not a word spoken between them.

chapter 20:

Madison slid into the seat vacated by Peyton, letting her fingers linger on Oliver’s arm. She crossed her legs and rested an elbow on the bar, studying him.

“What was that about?” She motioned to Peyton stomping out of the club. “She seems a bit pissed off.”

“A bit?” Oliver laughed. “She got obsessed with me after one night and freaked out when I asked her holier-than-thou sister to my mom’s charity dinner instead of her.”

“It must be difficult to be you.” Madison shook her head in pretend sympathy. “So many girls obsessing over you. I don’t know how you handle it.”

“It’s a hard life, but I manage.” Oliver smirked. “What can I say? They can’t resist my charm.”

“It’s your eyes,” Madison said, surprised when the words came out of her mouth. “You do this thing with your eyes.”

“This thing with my eyes?” He looked entertained.

“Yeah.” She thought about how to clarify what she meant. “When you look at someone, it’s like they’re the only person in the world. Like you’re reaching out and really listening to what they’re saying.”

“And you’re immune to it?”

“Apparently.” Madison chuckled. “And judging from that little scene when I got here, Peyton Diamond definitely
isn’t.
”

“You’re the only one who is,” he said thoughtfully.

“But you don’t try it on me.”

Oliver took another sip of his drink, the conflicted look returning.

“So which sister did you ask to the dinner? Courtney or Savannah?” Madison asked, trying not to sound too interested.

“Courtney,” he said. “You should’ve seen it. My mom practically forced me. Not that I mind—it gets me a step closer to winning the bet with Damien, and she’s hot.”

“She’s okay,” Madison said, hiding her hurt that Oliver hadn’t asked
her
to go with him. His mom arranged these dinners regularly, and he always brought Madison. It would look bad if he showed up with a different girl every time, and Ellen Prescott liked her, so it made sense for him to bring her, since they were best friends.

The answer she came up with pissed her off. While Madison’s parents were well-off, her family wasn’t close to the same league as the Diamonds. Combined, her parents made almost a million dollars a year. Adrian Diamond had over a billion, as did Logan Prescott. Both of them were on the Forbes 400 list of the richest people in America.

In Ellen Prescott’s eyes, Oliver and Courtney were a perfect match. And Madison was a pauper.

The thought made an angry heat shoot through her veins, and she leaned back in her chair, crossing her legs away from Oliver.

“Courtney’s not my type, though,” he said, playing with his lower lip as though he were in deep thought.

“Every girl’s your type.” Madison laughed.

He grew serious. “That’s not true.”

“Sure it’s not.” She wasn’t convinced.

“If any girl was my type, I would be interested in Peyton as more than a one-time hookup,” Oliver defended himself.

“The last time you seriously dated a girl was the beginning of seventh grade,” she said. “Kaitlin. And you broke up with her after four months.”

“I gave her a chance,” he said. “But like I said, she wasn’t my type.”

Madison sighed. “And so we return to the original problem.”

“It’s harder than you think.” He slammed his glass down on the bar. “They all just look at me as Logan Prescott’s son. No one can see past my inheritance.”

“I see past it.”

“But we’re not dating.”

“Right.” Madison suddenly wanted to escape. She’d never wanted to think of Oliver as anything more than a friend, but now that he mentioned it, she wondered if they would make a good couple.

She pushed the thought away. Oliver was a player. Maybe the Brett issue had messed with her head more than she realized. And now she had the Diamond girls screwing up her life.

Summer was supposed to be relaxing and fun, but this one was turning into a disaster.

“Anyway,” Oliver said. “I heard you and Damien were getting awfully close at the Lobby Bar last night.”

The Lobby Bar with Damien reminded Madison of seeing Brett with Courtney, and thinking about them together made her want to pick up Oliver’s glass and throw it at the wall. What was so special about Courtney Diamond? First Brett was out with her last night, and now Oliver was bringing her to his mom’s charity dinner tomorrow night. She was more of a problem than Madison had expected.

“Let’s drink,” Madison decided. She needed to forget about all this drama. She never drank away her problems, but then, her problems usually resolved themselves quickly. This time that wasn’t the case, and it was making her head hurt. For once, she wanted to be like other girls and lose herself in semi-oblivion.

One night of drinking wouldn’t be the end of the world, right?

Oliver sized her up. “Okay,” he finally said. “What do you want?”

Madison racked her brain for what would get her drunk the fastest. “A Long Island Iced Tea,” she decided. Not the classiest drink, but it would do the job.

“Are you sure?” He looked concerned. “We both know you’re a lightweight.”

“Are you worried about me?”

“I was just pointing it out.” He finished his drink in one gulp. “But I know you can handle yourself. Two Long Island Iced Teas it is.”

The bartender picked up a few bottles of liquor and dumped them into the glasses, topping them off with an inch of cola. It was practically all alcohol. Perfect.

Madison tried it, surprised by the sweet flavor. “I can barely taste the alcohol,” she told Oliver, feeling giddy just knowing what was in the drink.

“Is that good?”

She leaned closer to him and whispered, “I don’t like the taste of hard alcohol. Don’t tell anyone.”

“It’ll be our secret.” He took a long drink, his glass already half empty. Madison matched his pace, and it didn’t take long before their drinks were gone.

“You ready for another?” she challenged.

“You sure about that?” he asked. “I don’t want to be carrying you out of here at the end of the night.”

“I’m sure,” she said. “I don’t even feel the first one.” All right, that was a lie, but whatever. She felt it, but not enough to make her forget about Brett and the stupid Diamond sisters everyone loved so much.

She hated them.

“Okay.” Oliver didn’t look convinced, but he ordered the drinks anyway.

It didn’t take long to finish their second round. Madison’s head was spinning, and she couldn’t focus on one thing without the world moving around her. The sucky part was that the drinks didn’t make her problems disappear. Instead, everything crashed down on her at once. She hated how she’d strung Nick along for months, knowing the connection they’d felt in Deer Valley over spring break didn’t exist in their real lives, and how she’d gone so low as to cheat on him. She’d never cheated on anyone before that, and it made her feel horrible. Then she was rejected by the guy she’d cheated on him with. It was pathetic.

The conversation she’d had with Nick when she’d admitted she had cheated on him flashed through her mind, the pain she’d seen in his eyes refusing to leave her thoughts. It was her fault she’d hurt him. She wished her feelings for Nick were as strong as his were for her. Why couldn’t they be? It would be easier if she could feel the way she wanted to about Nick—the way she
should
feel about Nick.

And what was so great about those hick-town Diamond bitches? Oliver was
her
best friend, and he’d invited Courtney to go to the charity dinner with him. Madison had wanted to dance with Oliver at the Fourth of July party, but he’d ditched her for Peyton, an obsessive freak who should go back to the trailer she came from. Then there was Savannah, who thought her sweet, small-town smiles and Las Vegas makeover could make Damien fall for her. Damien didn’t care about Savannah, and Madison wanted to throw it in her face for the world to see.

Madison looked at Damien and Savannah, leaning against the railing of the cabana, his arm draped around her like they were a real couple. He would eventually break her heart. She watched them for a few more seconds, disgust in the back of her throat. Then Savannah walked away from Damien and to the restrooms.

Now was Madison’s chance. In the end, this would be a favor to Savannah. Maybe Savannah would thank her later.

“You look like you’re up to something.” Oliver drew her out of her thoughts.

“Wait and see.” She smiled devilishly. “I’ll be right back.”

With that, she flipped her glossy hair over her shoulder and strutted toward the cabana. Keeping her balance was difficult in her four-inch heels, but she could manage. She felt eyes on her as she walked by—they all loved her, so why didn’t Brett? Her jaw tightened at the thought of him. But now wasn’t the time to mope. Now was the time to put Savannah Diamond in her place.

Madison marched up the cabana steps, glad the railing was there. She would have been in serious trouble otherwise.

She said hi to her friends as she walked across the second floor, making sure not to get her stilettos stuck in the wooden planks. Finally she found him—Damien Sanders standing at the railing, talking with Larissa. She walked toward him until she was right in front of him. Why hadn’t she seen how sexy his eyes were until now? They were dark like she remembered, but now she noticed the golden flecks surrounding his pupils in an ethereal glow.

He didn’t have time to say hi before she put her hand against his chest and pressed her lips against his.

He didn’t respond for a second, but then he kissed her back—hard. The world disappeared around Madison. His hand caressed the back of her neck, and she pushed her body closer to his until there was no space between them. Heat emanated from his skin, warmth spreading from his body into hers.

Eventually he pulled away, cupping her cheek in his hand. “Mads,” he said softly, his lips brushing against hers. His voice was full of wonder, like he wasn’t sure if he was dreaming or not. “What’s going on?”

“I kissed you.” She tilted her head to look up at him, her eyelashes brushing his cheeks. “And you kissed me back.”

“Of course I did,” he replied, closing the space between their lips again. Madison wrapped her arms around him so she wouldn’t lose her balance. The world was still spinning from the drinks, and the kiss grew more passionate, despite the audience around them. She felt like she could melt right into him. With all the years they’d been friends, it was hard to believe she hadn’t known what an amazing kisser Damien Sanders was until now. She’d heard rumors, but it was different knowing they were true from a firsthand experience.

“Damien?” a soft voice asked from behind.

Madison broke away from him to look over her shoulder, her eyes meeting the bright blue ones of Savannah Diamond. The hair extensions, highlights and new dress made a huge difference for her, but she was still no match for Madison.

Savannah blinked a few times, as if making sure what she was seeing was real. Her face scrunched up in horror. Then a single tear rolled down her cheek, and her chin quivered like she was about to break down sobbing.

Madison had expected Savannah to yell, get pissed off or pretend like she didn’t care. What she hadn’t expected was for her to cry. Despite the makeover, Savannah still looked young, and Madison felt like she’d kicked a puppy. But then she reminded herself that she was doing this for the greater good. Savannah would be more hurt if Damien ditched her after she had more time to get attached. It was better for her this way.

“Is there a problem?” Madison asked sweetly, trailing her manicured fingernails down Damien’s arm.

Savannah opened her mouth to speak, but tears flowed down her cheeks instead. Then she gathered her dress and ran down the steps, hurrying out of the cabana like Cinderella after her stepsisters ruined her disguise at the prince’s ball.

Damien stared at the place where Savannah had disappeared, and Madison worried that he might follow after her. Had she put too much faith into Damien’s crush on her? Maybe he
did
care about Savannah. But it hadn’t seemed like it when they’d talked in the Lobby Bar last night. Savannah had barely come up in conversation.

“She seemed...upset,” Madison finally said, trying to downplay the situation. If Damien had planned on running after Savannah, he would have done it already. He looked surprised about what had happened, but Madison understood. Damien never humiliated girls in public. That was more Oliver’s style.

Well, it was
Madison
who had humiliated Savannah in public, but whatever.

“She liked me a lot,” Damien said, running a hand through his hair. Then he refocused on Madison, studying her like he was trying to figure her out. “Why now?” he asked, his voice soft and confused.

“What do you mean?” She widened her dark blue eyes in a way she hoped was the perfect impression of innocence.

“You know what I mean.”

“I just...” Madison searched for a response, since she couldn’t tell him the real reason. She decided to say what she knew he wanted to hear. “I saw you standing there, and it clicked. You get me, Damien. You always have. I was so stupid not to see it until now.” She felt guilty for getting his hopes up, but the drinks were making her head buzz and say things without thinking them through. Hopefully he’d also had enough to drink that he wouldn’t remember the details of this conversation.