Текст книги "Diamonds"

Автор книги: K. A. Linde

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Текущая страница: 8 (всего у книги 12 страниц)

“My turn.”

He reluctantly released her before picking up a slender red-wrapped box. She slowly tore away the paper to reveal a navy-blue box with HW printed in gold on the top.

She swallowed and anxiously looked up at him. “Harry Winston?”

He took the box from her hand and pried it open for her to see the contents. Inside was a cursive B gold pendant inlaid with a series of exquisite diamonds on a slender gold chain.

“Oh my God,” she whispered.

Jude removed the necklace from the box, and when she reached up to pull her hair off her back, he secured it at the nape of her neck. It rested against her skin just below her collarbone.

He pressed his lips to her shoulder. “There. It’s perfect.”

“You’re perfect,” she murmured before kissing him.

Dinner could wait.

“BRYNA! How was your trip with Gates?” Celia asked as soon as Bryna stepped through the door.

“Great,” she said hollowly.

She dropped her Louis Vuitton luggage in the foyer.

The plane had landed only an hour ago, and already, she was feeling jet-lagged. The remainder of the trip had been a dream come true. She and Jude had spent seven full days together, and in that time, she had found that she liked him even more. She liked him so much, in fact, she felt his absence like a weight in the pit of her stomach. Leaving had been a true test of control. She was already desperate to return to her slice of paradise.

She just wanted to drive back to his apartment and stay there for as long as she could.

Unfortunately, Jude would be leaving the next morning on business, so that wasn’t a possibility. Somehow, between the time she had left Jude’s place for home to when she would leave with Gates to go to the Chateau Marmont New Year’s party, she would have to come down from the high she had been riding on cloud nine.

“I really wish you had told me that you were going to spend time with Gates,” Celia crooned. “I would have preferred you were with family for the holidays, of course, but I understand that you wanted to spend time with your boyfriend.”

“That’s great, Celia,” Bryna said dryly.

“So, what did you do? Did you two have a good time? I’m sure you’re mother missed your terribly. I know we did here, and your father as well.”

Bryna sighed dramatically. Coming down from this high was going to be easier than she had thought. “Can we talk about this later? I’m really tired. I didn’t get much sleep while I was gone.” She let the implication of her words sink in.

“Oh, uh…sure. I’m glad you’re home,” Celia said.

“Yeah.” That made one of them.

Bryna ascended the steps and crashed into her bedroom.

She slept for a couple of uninterrupted hours and only got up because she was starving. When she came downstairs to scrounge up something for dinner, Pace was in the kitchen. It was hard to believe that she had been eating incredible meals with Jude in St. Barts just this past week.

“You look tan,” Pace muttered before biting into a peanut butter sandwich.

Don’t engage. Retract claws. “Yep.”

She reached into the fridge, and she pulled out an apple and a bottle of Pellegrino. She wasn’t going to waste any more time in the kitchen if Pace intended to stick around. Eating out sounded like a better option.

“You weren’t really with Gates, were you?”

She bit into her apple and didn’t respond. She didn’t want to have this conversation. She tried to imagine herself back in the villa—lounging beside the pool, Jude swimming, the feel of his body pressing against hers as he took her in the cabana. Soon, that would be her life, and she wouldn’t have to deal with Pace anymore. She would get into LV State and spend her weekends with Jude in Los Angeles.

Her fantasies were distracting her enough that she missed whatever Pace had said.

“I don’t know what you just said, but I really don’t care.” She started toward the exit.

“I saw Gates on the Today show for Broken Road. That show is in New York City.”

“Really?” she said. Her eyes went wide, and her mouth dropped open in mock shock. “Groundbreaking. Who knew that the Today show was in New York?”

“It was snowing.”

“And?” she snapped. God, can’t he just spit out what he’s trying to say?

He eyed her curiously. He clearly thought he had her all figured out. “How did you come back from Christmas in New York with a tan?”

Bryna shrugged, nonplussed. “Ever heard of a tanning bed?”

“I have. I don’t think you use them.”

His eyes traveled down her body, and she shuddered at the attention. He made her feel so disgusting.

She snapped her fingers at him. “Would you cut that shit out?”

Obviously realizing he wasn’t getting anywhere with that line of reasoning, he changed tactics. “Where did you get that necklace?”

Her hand immediately reached for the diamond necklace at her throat. A smile spread on her face at the thought of Jude’s Christmas present. “Gates got it for me,” she lied.

“Gates has never gotten you a present before and certainly not anything with diamonds in it,” he said suspiciously.

“Whatever, Pace. Just because you’re jealous doesn’t mean you have to be a dick and call everything into question,” she snapped at him.

“Is that what you think?” he asked, moving forward until he was standing in front of her. “That I’m jealous of your boy toy? I’m jealous of your perfect life?”

She glared up at him. “What else could explain the slimy way you look at me? The way you try to tear apart my life? You’re jealous because you will never be anything but Valley trash. You’re an imposter in my world. You don’t have the money that you flaunt, and you’ll never have me.”

“The fact that you think I want you, Bri, just shows how much of a conceited bitch you really are. You and your world disgust me more than you could ever know. But if you think I’m flaunting now, then just wait.” He smirked down at her. “I finally get it now. Game on.” He walked through the door and then thought better of it. “Have a good New Year’s. I know I will.”

Then, he was gone. She glowered after his back and mulled over what he had said. Had he not even been part of the game? Why else had he told her coach that she had skipped practice to go out? He knew what he was trying to do. She wouldn’t let him sabotage her life. There was no way he could compete with her schemes.

Anyway, the fact that he could look at her with a straight face and say he didn’t want her or any part of her world was laughable. He stalked her like a predator after his prey. He played quarterback at Harmony. He wore two-thousand-dollar suit jackets. He clearly had a warped sense of vanity.

But if he was going to finally play her game, then she would be ready to take him down when the time came.

BRYNA STEPPED OUT of Gates’s limo and onto the red carpet leading into the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood. She wore an Oscar de la Renta black-and-white dress and Chanel pearl heels with black tips.

Photographers lined the event, frequently stopping Gates for pictures, as reporters asked him questions. Once they reached the end of the line, he tightly wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her away from the cameras. “You ready for this?”

“Of course. It’s going to be fun.”

“Thanks for coming with me.”

“Don’t thank me yet,” she said with a wink.

His laugh was one of complete ease, as if he didn’t have a care in the world. “I’ve missed your crazy ass.”

“You just missed me keeping your crazy ass in line. Everyone else feeds into your impulsiveness.”

He gave her an are-you-fucking-kidding-me look. “My impulsiveness? Weren’t you away at Christmas with some other guy? Not sure how much more impulsive you can get.”

“If this is you fishing again, it’s really not going to work,” Bryna told him.

“So, is it the same guy?”

“We’re not talking about this tonight. I’m here to get drunk with my friend and ring in the New Year. If you’re not providing that, maybe I’ll make new friends.”

He tugged her closer. “Babe, making friends isn’t your strong suit.”

“Whatever. Let’s just go get drinks.”

Gates took her hand and walked her through the crowd inside the connected darkened ballrooms. There were dozens of A-list celebrities at this event. Even though she was used to seeing stars who her father had worked with, the sheer quantity was enough to make her head turn.

Then, she saw someone that really did make her head turn.

She caught a glimpse of the back of his suit—a black Hugo Boss, if she had to guess, tailored to fit. It was the same dark brown hair she had run her fingers through this week. She craned her neck to see if she could see his face or profile, but Gates was moving her away from the man, and she never got a good look.

Her mind whirred to life. Was that Jude? Fuck!

He wasn’t supposed to be here. He’d said that he was going to be out of town on business. But didn’t I hear him say the exact same thing to his wife over Christmas?

She wanted to march back over there and see if it was him, but she didn’t want Gates to know she was doing it. Not to mention, if it really was Jude, she didn’t want him to see her with Gates. Even though she and Gates were just friends, Jude wouldn’t want to see her with another guy. And if he recognized Gates, then he might be able to piece together who she was…and how old she was. It was all one big headache.

She glanced over her shoulder and searched the crowd for the man. It couldn’t have been Jude. How many men in incredible suits with dark hair are here? She had Jude on the brain. After all, she was missing him tonight. She had been missing him since she kissed him good-bye and left his apartment.

It was probably a trick of her imagination. She wanted him here with her, so she had conjured him up out of thin air.

But still, she kept looking for him, even when a few hours had passed, and she realized that her hope was futile. Hope was just a dull ache in her chest from missing him.

Bryna and Gates danced the night away, talking and laughing like old times. It felt nice to unwind with him. She had been spending all her free time with Jude, and she hadn’t even realized that she missed hanging out with Gates until now.

“I’m having such a good time,” she said as they moved off the dance floor and into a corner of the ballroom.

The clock was counting down to midnight, and everyone was cheering around them.

“Me, too. Do you remember last year, we were doing this at a Harmony party? Now, we’re at Chateau Marmont.”

Bryna tossed her head back and laughed at the thought. She was giddy from the alcohol, and her head felt heavy. But the thought of being at a Harmony party only a year ago was somehow hysterical.

She stumbled forward, catching herself on Gates’s suit. When she righted herself, she rested her hand on his chest. He grabbed her arm and steadied her. Suddenly, she was lost in a sea of blue as he stared at her in a way she’d never seen before.

Then the crowd cheered for the New Year, and Gates was kissing her. His mouth was hot and familiar against hers. His fingers clung to the material of her dress and pressed herself against him. It only lasted a second before she ripped herself free of him and smacked him across the face.

“You said we were just friends!” she cried.

She stormed away from him. She couldn’t believe this. It was such a bad idea for her to be here with him. She didn’t know why she thought they could be friends. They obviously couldn’t. It was time to get out of here.

Gates ran after her. “Bri,” he called.

He grabbed her arm and pulled her out of the ballroom and into a private sitting room. She wrenched her arm away from him.

“Bri, I know you said we were just friends,” he pleaded.

“Yet you’re not sorry about kissing me,” she said accusingly.

“No, I’m not.” He gestured for her to take a seat, and he sat next to her.

“You promised, Gates.”

“I promised that I wouldn’t fucking tell anyone that you were with some stranger over Christmas instead of with me,” he cried. “I never promised that I would come here as friends. That was all you.”

“Well, I wasn’t lying to you! We’re not together anymore. You can’t go around kissing me.”

“Who is this guy?” he demanded. He searched her eyes as if they told the source of his distress. “Why is the whole thing such a secret?”

“Because he is! What does it matter, Gates? I’m with him and not you.”

“So where is he then? Not here with you in public,” he said cruelly. “Just hidden away so no one can see you with him.”

“He has a business trip for your information, and anyway I don’t need to explain myself to you,” she said, standing in a hurry. “I said we were just friends and you took advantage of that.”

“I took advantage of you? Please! This guy is taking advantage of you. Why are you even with him?”

“Because unlike you, he understands me!”

Gates snorted, standing to face her. “You barely know him. How could he understand you? I don’t even completely get your crazy.”

“Exactly. He gets me and he cares about me and he takes care of me.”

“He takes care of you?” Gates asked in confusion. “Your father is a fucking director, Bri. No one needs to take care of you.”

“Well, maybe I like that he does anyway.”

“Is that what this necklace is?” he asked, flicking the B around her neck.

“Christ, don’t touch it! It’s Harry Winston.”

Gates’s eyes turned round as saucers. “The guy is buying you Harry Winston? What does he do?”

Bryna glanced away from him. She didn’t know the answer to that question. She had some ludicrous theories. The way Jude talked about his job made it seem like he was a pimp or a drug dealer or a male escort. But there was no way. She was sure that Jude was just in investments or something.

“What does it matter?” she asked.

“That’s a Bryna sidestep. Queen bee doesn’t know the answer.”

“I do,” she lied.

He stared her straight in the eyes and shook his head. “What do you even know about this guy? He could be anyone.”

“Don’t worry about me. I can take care of myself.”

“Hey,” he said. “I know I kissed you, but I do want to be here for you as a friend. I don’t want to see you get hurt. So…be careful.”

She smiled at Gates with a confidence she didn’t feel. “I don’t need to be. I know exactly what I’m doing.” When she turned to leave, she wondered if she knew what she was doing at all.

Gates caught up with her again and gave her an apologetic look. “I’m really sorry. I don’t want you to be mad at me. I only ask because I care about you.”

Bryna looked off into the distance. “I know you do, but you have to trust me when I say we’re just friends.”

“I get it. Can I still take you home?”

After a minute, she nodded. “Yeah.”

They walked out of the hotel together and into his limo. They were silent on the ride home. Their friendship was intact, and she felt better knowing that he wasn’t going to try anything. It was also kind of nice that someone knew about Jude even if Gates didn’t have any of the details. It was like a weight off of her chest.

When they were more than halfway to her house, her phone buzzed in her clutch. She peeked at the name, and her heart skipped. “Gates, you don’t mind if I take this call, do you?”

“Is it him?”

She couldn’t keep from smiling at the thought of Jude calling her, so she just nodded.

“Go for it.” Gates turned toward the window to give her a semblance of privacy.

She answered the phone. “Hey! Happy New Year!”

“Happy New Year,” Jude said.

The phone was scratchy, as if there was loud music somewhere in the background.

“Where are you? I can barely hear you.”

“Oh, sorry,” he said. After a couple of seconds, the music died down to a soft buzz. “Didn’t realize it was that loud. I’m at a party for work.”

“I didn’t know that’s what you meant by work.” She tried not to sound like she was pouting, but wasn’t sure how well she pulled it off.

“I’m sure it’s not half as much fun as what you’re doing.”

She glanced out the window, lamenting a New Year’s without him. “I mostly miss you.”

“I miss you, too. I think I’m seeing things because I swore, I saw a girl who looked just like you.”

Bryna laughed. “Same thing happened to me. But you’re not even in L.A., so it must have been someone else.”

“Must have been,” he agreed. “Where did you end up tonight anyway?”

“Oh, Chateau Marmont.”

There was a pause before he asked, “By yourself?”

“No. I was with a friend of mine.”

“A guy friend?”

“Yeah, but you have nothing to worry about. We’re just friends. Where did you fly out to anyway? You’re full of questions. I think you can answer one yourself.”

There was silence on the other end for long enough that she shifted awkwardly in her seat.

“Are you still there?” she asked.

“I didn’t go out of town.”

“You didn’t?” she asked, confused. “Why did you tell me that you did?”

“I was at Chateau Marmont tonight. I didn’t know you’d be there, but I saw you kiss someone else, Bri.”

Her stomach dropped, and she gripped the seat. “No. You have it all wrong. I wasn’t…it wasn’t what it looked like.”

“We weren’t playing a game. I wasn’t coming to snatch you away. You were just with him,” he accused

“Jude, I swear, that is not what happened. He’s a friend. It meant nothing to me.”

Gates snapped his head in her direction, and she waved him away.

This could not be happening. She couldn’t be dealing with this. Why the fuck is Jude in town? And why was he at the same hotel as me? He was supposed to be somewhere at work where it wouldn’t matter that she was out with a friend. And he had seen Gates kiss her but obviously not the slap afterward.

Fuck!

She was shaking, literally trembling in her seat.

“I have to get back to the party. Let’s talk about this tomorrow.”

“Jude,” she whispered.

“Good night, Bri.”

The line went dead, and she dropped her phone into her lap in disbelief.

“Are you okay?” Gates asked, reaching for her.

She swallowed hard and tried to hold in her pain. She wouldn’t unravel. She was strong, confident, and independent. She didn’t need a guy. She didn’t need…

Tears silently pooled in her eyes, and she turned into Gates’s shoulder.

He held her against him. “Tell me what happened.”

“He saw you kiss me.”

“He was there?” Gates asked in surprise.

“I didn’t know he’d be there.”

“So…did you guys break up?” He sounded cautious and uncertain.

He wasn’t used to comforting her. She didn’t normally need comforting. This was all new territory for her.

“He said he wants to talk tomorrow.”

“I’m sorry, Bri. I never would have done that if I’d known. I would never want to upset you.”

She put her head in her hands and leaned forward. “What am I going to do?”

“Blame it on me. He’s just angry right now. It’ll be okay.”

“I hope you’re right.”

JUDE DIDN’T CALL THE NEXT DAY.

Or the day after that.

On the third day, Bryna couldn’t hold it in any more, and she dialed his phone number. It rang forever before clicking over to voice mail. She tried one more time. When it went to voice mail again, she left a quick message asking him to call her. She couldn’t bring herself to call again. She wasn’t going to act fucking desperate.

Clearly, it didn’t matter that he had said they would talk on New Year’s Day. He had lied about leaving Los Angeles. Why wouldn’t he lie about him calling too?

She still couldn’t believe that he had actually been at Chateau Marmont on New Year’s. She had been safe and secure in the knowledge that things with Gates were platonic and that nothing could go wrong. Then, she had been smacked in the face with this.

Her feelings for Jude were the same as when they had spent a week together in St. Barts. She didn’t know how he could feel differently in such a short period of time. Nor did she know how he could go this long without talking to her and getting clarification on what had really transpired. If she had seen him with someone else, she would have wanted a goddamn explanation.

Bryna tried to go about her normal life, but everything felt surreal with school starting again. It was as if the entire Christmas break had been a dream…and then a nightmare.

She was glad she had so much to occupy her time and keep her mind off of what had happened.

Competition season was coming up for cheer, so they were doubling practices. And Felicity wanted to start weekly meetings to discuss the charity benefit. Bryna selected three assistants—Avery, Tara, and Jemma—to ease the load. Though Avery and Tara were being weird and distant. Bryna didn’t know what that was about, but she couldn’t even bother with it.

College applications had to be turned in by this weekend, and she was trying to focus on planning out her campus visit schedule. She had already turned in her LV State application, but she still had to finish up UCLA, Stanford, Berkeley, and NYU. She kept trying to tell herself that there were more important things to do than stress about Jude, her friends, and cheer.

Later that week, after practice, she drove home from school with her mind full of everything she needed to accomplish. She parked her car in the garage and took the stairs two at a time. Just as she entered her bedroom, she saw Pace peek out from his room.

“Leave me alone,” she called before slamming the door.

As she expected, two seconds later, he was opening the door.

She plopped down at her desk, turning her back to him. “I said, leave me alone.”

“Have a good practice?”

“I don’t want to make small talk with you. I want you to get out of my room,” she commanded. Pace was the last person she wanted to deal with when her temper was on a short fuse.

Pace continued to ignore her and lounged on her bed. “You’ve been a mega bitch lately, more so than normal. Trouble in paradise?”

Bryna closed her eyes and counted to five before responding, “No. I’m just busy.”

“Well,” he said, smiling mischievously, “I came by to tell you something.”

“What?” she snapped.

“The president’s assistant at LV State called twice. She was asking for you, about some campus recruitment weekend. I told them you were considering other options and to try back another time.”

“What?” she asked, standing abruptly.

“Have a nice afternoon.”

He started to stride out of the room with confidence when she burst out laughing.

He turned and glared at her. “What’s so funny?”

“Is this your idea of sabotage?” She shook her head. “You’re going to have to do better than that. Don’t you know that my father is a fucking booster at LV State? If they hear that I’m considering other schools, they’ll be clamoring for me to come visit. Don’t want their money to dry up.”

Pace pursed his lips as he seemed to realize his mistake. He looked pissed that whatever he had planned wasn’t going to work. It was cute that he had thought he could destroy her chance at LV State, but really, that wasn’t happening.

“So, thanks for that.” She smirked and waggled her fingers at him. “You can go now.”

He seemed to consider her for a moment. His eyes bore into hers. “Well, I was going to wait for your friends to tell you, but I slept with Avery and Tara over New Year’s.”

Bryna’s mouth dropped open before she could stop herself. She quickly covered her look of disbelief. “They wouldn’t touch you.”

The laughter in his eyes made her reconsider. Her friends were kind of dumb, but surely, they had known what this would mean for them. They both knew what she thought about Pace and how it had looked for her to have him at Harmony. She didn’t exactly confide in them, but they still knew. Fuck, everyone did.

“You wouldn’t,” he said. “But they did. Both of them. At the same time.”

Just the thought of that made her want to lose her lunch.

Bryna gagged.

“Tara did some of that. Avery doesn’t have a gag reflex though. It’s amazing.”

“I don’t believe you. Just get out of my room. Now.”

She jumped out of her desk chair, charged at him, and shoved against him, trying to throw him out of her room, but he was solid. He barely moved more than a few inches.

“I will beat you at your own game, Bri. This is only the beginning.”

He backed out of her room, and she slammed the door again.

Her heart was racing. Could it be true that Avery and Tara slept with my fucking stepbrother? Ugh! It was too disgusting to think about. Maybe Pace was only planting a seed in her mind to try to freak her out, or maybe they had really gone through with it. Either way, she had to know the truth.

She jotted out a text to her friends to meet her at a coffee spot off Rodeo under the pretenses of finding a dress for the charity benefit, and then she dashed out of her house.

Fifteen minutes later, she was seated at her favorite outdoor table with a skinny mocha macchiato in front of her.

Avery and Tara showed up a few minutes later.

Avery smiled brightly and tossed her hair. “Hey, B. No Jemma?”

“I thought we could look for dresses without her.”

“Thank God,” Tara said, collapsing into a chair.

“Mmm,” Bryna murmured. She took a sip of her drink.

If what Pace had told her were true, Jemma would be the least of their concerns.

“So,” Avery said once they had gotten their drinks, “where do you want to go first?”

Bryna folded her hands in her lap and stared at her two friends. “Probably Barneys.” She took another sip of her drink and smiled. “It’s so nice to be here with you guys. We haven’t spent any time together outside of practice since we went to X. How was your break?”

Tara shifted and glanced at Avery. “Mine was good.”

“Mine, too,” Avery agreed.

“Good. The highlight for me was going to Chateau Marmont with Gates for New Year’s.” Of course, it had really been St. Barts with Jude, but the realities of her break had nothing to do with the true purpose of this conversation. “Where were you guys for New Year’s? I haven’t heard you talk about it.”

“Uh…” they both mumbled.

They exchanged another glance.

“I was at the Harmony party,” Tara said.

“Yeah…me, too.”

Bryna nodded thoughtfully. “Gates tried to kiss me at midnight, and we got into a huge fight. Please tell me your night ended up better than that!”

“Mine was totally lame,” Tara admitted.

“Mine, too,” Avery parroted.

“Didn’t kiss anyone at midnight?” Bryna asked.

Tara flushed and looked away. Avery tried to meet Bryna’s eyes but didn’t do a very good job of it. They both appeared anxious. Guilty.

Bryna held her silence. She watched them sit there and squirm. Soon enough, they would admit it. She couldn’t believe this. The dirty whores had slept with her stepbrother. The way they were acting was proof enough that something had gone down.

After a full five minutes of dead silence, Tara broke. “I’m sorry, B.”

“For?”

“Tara!” Avery snapped.

“She should know!”

“Know what?” Bryna prompted.

“I slept with Pace,” Tara said. “So did Avery. Um…together on New Year’s.”

Bryna slowly stood from her seat and towered over her friends. “I already knew that,” she said calmly.

They both looked like they might cry.

“Pace told me.”

“What?” they both shrieked.

“That bastard,” Avery cried.

“I can’t believe him!” Tara said in horror.

“What I can’t believe is that neither of you told me,” Bryna admonished. “I had to hear it from him. And you know what? I actually defended you. Said that my friends would never touch him, and he proceeded to regale me with your lack of a gag reflex.”

The girls paled further.

“Now, I’m wondering why I did that. You two know how disgusting Pace is, and how despicable it is to have to live with someone like that. The reason you didn’t tell me was because you knew I would be pissed. Imagine how I feel now that I know you were hiding it.”

She gave them a minute to consider what she had said.

“Bri, we didn’t mean for it to happen,” Avery insisted. “We were drunk, and he was there.”

“We’d never do it again!” Tara cried.

Bryna shook her head. Ridiculous and just plain insulting. “You know how important this charity benefit is to me, and I need to make sure that it goes off without a hitch. So, you’re both off the committee.”

“What?” Avery shrieked.

Tara’s jaw dropped to the floor. “You’re serious?”

“I guess I’ll go look for a dress by myself.” She picked up her purse and smiled.

“You’re really kicking us off the committee?” Avery demanded.

“Actions have consequences, girls. You just figured out what yours are,” Bryna said.

She walked away from the coffee shop as she slid shades over her eyes and sighed. She couldn’t let people think that they could get away with this kind of shit. She was still queen after all. She had to rule her queendom with an iron fist. What had happened was out of necessity.

She wished fixing the situation with Jude could be as easy as it had been with the girls.