The Secret Diamond Sisters (21 page)

Ellen turned back to Oliver, a fake smile on her bright red lips. “Since you and Courtney will be in the same grade, you should get to know each other before school starts up again. Don’t you agree?”

Oliver focused on Courtney, appearing to notice her for the first time that night. “I do,” he said, looking more engaged in the conversation than he had all evening. “Courtney, would you like to come with me to my mother’s charity dinner tomorrow night?”

Everyone at the table looked at her, and her blood stilled. Why was this happening to her? Some girls might find Oliver’s bad-boy act attractive, but Courtney just thought he was arrogant. She doubted they would have anything in common. Peyton related to a variety of guys—surely she would prefer to go with him.

Then she realized how she could use this situation to her advantage. She had made a fool of herself with the text to Brett, and things were bound to be awkward between them next time they were alone together. But if she said yes to this dinner invitation, it could send Brett the message that she was fine with just being friends. And she wasn’t worried about hurting Oliver, since there was no way he was
actually
interested in her. His mom was pressuring him into this date and he was going along with it to avoid conflict. By accepting, both of them could please their parents and get something good out of it.

“You mentioned the event is for charity,” Courtney said to Ellen. “What is it supporting?”

“Scholarship USA,” Ellen said with pride. “We raise money to help American high school students get into and graduate college.”

“That sounds like a great cause,” Courtney said truthfully. It was something she would have benefitted from before, and she would like to find out how she could help. That solidified her decision, and she refocused on Oliver, who was still waiting for her response. “I would love to go with you.”

“You won’t regret it.” He smirked, and a chill prickled through her spine. She hoped she was right about him not being interested in her. She didn’t want him to try anything that would make her uncomfortable. If he did, she would just have to set him straight about how she’d only agreed to go with him to be polite.

Ellen beamed at her answer.

And Brett refused to look at her for the rest of the meal.

chapter 19:

Peyton silently fumed through dinner. Oliver and
Courtney?
They had nothing in common. Yet Ellen Prescott seemed determined that Oliver take Courtney to her stupid charity dinner.

Maybe because Courtney reminded Ellen Prescott of herself.

She shuddered at the thought of her hardworking, down-to-earth sister turning into that fake woman who’d had too much cosmetic surgery. Every time Ellen lifted her fork to her mouth, Peyton wondered how much collagen would ooze out if she accidentally poked her ginormous lips. Courtney was nothing like that plastic monster.

The worst was that the pressure to ask Courtney to the event didn’t faze Oliver. Shouldn’t he have said he’d rather go with Peyton, since they’d already hung out? He didn’t
know
Courtney. And Courtney wasn’t Oliver’s type. He gambled, drank a lot, did drugs on occasion—he was too wild for her. Courtney would tell him to get lost the moment he tried to drag her into his partying ways.

To calm herself down, Peyton considered why Courtney would have agreed to go with Oliver. Courtney disliked conflict. It would have been rude to say no with both their families watching, and Courtney would never insult someone to their face. Plus, Courtney seemed more interested in the charity event than in Oliver. Maybe on their pseudo-date, Courtney would even talk up Peyton to him.

Perhaps this could work in Peyton’s favor.

That’s what Peyton wanted to think—until she caught Oliver checking Courtney out during the main course. He wasn’t even being subtle about it.

What a jackass.

Peyton went from angry to seriously pissed off. She wasn’t even emotionally attached to Oliver—she was keeping him at arm’s length, just as she did with everyone. Except for that one time years ago, she was the one who ended things with guys, not the other way around. She refused to let Oliver pretend the night they’d spent together didn’t happen. Tonight she would get his focus back where it belonged—on her.

No one noticed that she said nothing through dessert. Then there was the boring lingering over after-dinner drinks, and finally Logan handled the check. Everyone got up, and Oliver refused to look at her. What was wrong with him? They had
slept with each other,
for crying out loud. Now he was acting like she was invisible. He should at least give her some acknowledgment. Instead he headed to the other end of the table, where Ellen stopped him to exchange a few quiet words.

Peyton turned to Savannah, and she was taken aback by her youngest sister’s transformation all over again. In her sequined blue dress, tall heels and hair extensions, Savannah could pass as a celebrity.

“You’re still coming to Luxe, right?” Savannah sounded so eager, which reminded Peyton that no matter how sophisticated Savannah
looked,
she was still a naive fifteen-year-old from Fairfield, California. She would have to do a better job looking out for her tonight. She wasn’t used to her sisters coming to clubs with her, since their social lives had been so different back home. She’d messed up on Fourth of July, when she’d lost track of Savannah while she was dancing with Oliver, but luckily Savannah hadn’t done anything stupid, like leaving the club with Damien. She would watch to make sure she also stayed out of trouble tonight.

“Of course I am,” Peyton answered, using every ounce of her will not to look at Oliver.

Savannah leaned closer to Peyton. “I still can’t believe Damien invited me tonight, and he did it in front of Madison. It was classic. I wish you’d been there to see it. Madison’s eyes looked like they were about to bulge out of her head. I wonder if she’s interested in him?” She lifted a hand to bite her nails, but dropped it a second later. “Not that it matters, because if he was interested in her, he would have asked her and not me. Right?”

Wow—Savannah had it really bad for Damien. Unfortunately, Peyton had been through too much to believe it would be all sunshine and rainbows for them. “Right,” she assured her, lowering her voice. “Although if he does end up hurting you, tell me and I’ll take care of it.”

“Damien wouldn’t do that,” Savannah said, although she played with the hem of her dress, which made Peyton think she wasn’t as confident as she was trying to sound. But at least Savannah was talking, which was more than Peyton could say for Courtney, who had been standing next to them playing on her cell phone. Normally Courtney was quiet, but not
this
quiet.

“Are you okay?” Peyton asked her.

“Me?” Courtney looked up from her phone. Her eyes were glassy, as if she were about to cry. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

“No, you’re not,” she said. “Want to go to the bathroom and talk?”

Courtney bit her lip and shook her head. “I’m probably just homesick. It’s no big deal.”

“You’re missing Mom?” Peyton had found these past few days of not having to clean up their mom’s messes to be a relief, but there had been a time when their mom had been involved in their lives—she would take them to the pool, or to the zoo or the movies. Peyton had given up hope of seeing that version of her again. But now there was a chance, so she did worry about how their mom was doing in rehab.

“And Grandma,” Courtney said. “But I’ll feel better once I read and get some sleep.”

Then Oliver approached them, looking confident as usual. “You girls are still coming to Luxe tonight, right?” he asked smoothly. Peyton didn’t know whether to feel happy when his eyes met hers or pissed that he was looking at Savannah and Courtney in the same way.

“I think so.” Peyton shrugged. No need to seem eager.

“You
think
so?” Savannah pouted and crossed her arms. “But a second ago you said you were definitely coming.”

Damn it. This was why Peyton never hung out with Savannah in social situations back in California. She was too transparent.

Peyton turned to Courtney, determined to get the focus away from how Savannah had called her out. “Are you coming to Luxe?”

“I don’t think so.” Courtney sighed and placed her hand on her forehead. “My head hurts a little. I’m going to take it easy tonight and go back to the condo.”

“All right,” Peyton said, although she was glad Courtney wouldn’t be at the club. It would give her time to snatch back Oliver’s attention and find out what the hell he had been thinking at dinner. “Call me if you need anything, okay?” She knew Courtney wouldn’t, since she wouldn’t want to be an imposition, but she liked to offer.

Outside the restaurant, the adults made a big deal of saying goodbye and how nice it was to meet everyone. The conversations felt so forced. Peyton hated it.

“Have you made up your mind if you’ll be joining us at Luxe?” Oliver asked her with a smirk. He was full of himself, but he was so cute when he looked at her like that.

Peyton took a piece of gum out of her purse and popped it into her mouth. “I’m in,” she said.

“Good.” He smiled for real this time. Maybe Peyton was wrong in doubting his interest in her. He’d clearly only asked Courtney to the dinner because his mom had forced him.

“Are we just going to stand here, or are we going to the club?” Savannah crossed her arms and looked back and forth between Peyton and Oliver.

“I have to get something from my room first,” Oliver said. “Meet up with you at Luxe?”

Peyton’s chest panged. Did Oliver not want to show up at the club with her?

“See you there,” she said calmly, not wanting to give away her irritation. Why did he have to be so confusing?

She didn’t look back at him as she and Savannah made their way to the club.

* * *

Oliver had mentioned that Luxe was the second-most expensive club in Vegas—Myst coming in first—and Peyton didn’t doubt it. The line to get in snaked around the hallway. Girls in short skirts and low-cut tops leaned over red velvet ropes, begging for attention from the bouncers so they could cut the line, but they were mostly ignored.

Once Peyton and Savannah found the VIP entrance, the bouncer pulled the rope aside to let them through. It didn’t matter that they were underage since they were on Oliver’s special list. Some of the girls who were almost to the front of the long line gave them nasty looks, but Peyton didn’t care. She had once been one of those girls standing on the other side, watching the VIPs go ahead of her. The system wasn’t fair, but it beat waiting in line for an hour.

A girl in her mid-twenties with long auburn hair and ivory skin met them at the entry, telling them that her name was Devan and she would escort them to their cabana. Luxe was smaller than Myst, but the rich browns and golds on the inside screamed extravagance. People in their twenties packed into cushy couches surrounding the tables, but every so often Peyton caught sight of groups who appeared to be around her age. The most striking part of the club was the colossal chandelier hanging above the dance floor. Of all the chandeliers Peyton had seen so far in Vegas, she had never seen one so enormous. It belonged in a giant’s house. In the center of the club, beneath the chandelier, people raised their arms in the air as they danced to the thumping music, a sea of bodies moving to the beat.

They passed through massive gold curtains leading to an outside area where two-story cabanas circled around a gambling area. Everyone walking around had a drink in hand.

This was Peyton’s sort of place.

Devan dropped them off at the central cabana—the one reserved for Oliver’s group. The wooden building was airy, the large open windows making people inside feel included in what was happening in the rest of the club. People Peyton vaguely recognized from Myst surrounded the tables, and in the corner a spiral staircase led to a second-floor deck looking over the club.

“I see Damien on the second floor,” Savannah said. “Let’s go up and say hi.”

Since Peyton didn’t know anyone on the first floor well enough to sit down and join the conversation, she followed Savannah up the spiral staircase. Damien stood next to the balcony, talking with Madison and a petite blonde girl who Peyton remembered was named Larissa. Much to Peyton’s irritation, Madison also wore black. But instead of being sheer, Madison’s dress had large stripes of black sequins, and she had leggings on so she wasn’t showing as much skin. Damien looked involved in talking to her, but her thoughts seemed somewhere else.

Savannah grabbed Peyton’s hand and dragged her over to Damien and the girls. When Damien saw Savannah, his jaw literally dropped. He didn’t even notice Peyton.

“You look...stunning,” he finally said to Savannah.

“Thanks.” Savannah played with her hair extensions, clearly not used to them yet.

“When did you get here?”

“Now,” she answered. “This club is awesome.”

“It is.” He pulled her closer and draped his arm around her shoulder. Savannah’s eyes lit up—she was clearly enamored with him—and while Peyton didn’t like him being so grabby with her little sister, she didn’t say anything because she didn’t want to embarrass Savannah. It wasn’t like he could do much with Peyton watching. “But I like Myst more,” he said, his gaze locked with Savannah’s. “There aren’t any caves here, and with how hot you look right now, I wish there were.”

Savannah’s cheeks heated, and she mumbled a quick thanks, refusing to look at Peyton.

Peyton crossed her arms and stared down Damien. “What do you mean about caves?” She could think of many things he could mean—all of them R-rated and something Savannah would have mentioned.

“Relax,” he said. “It’s an inside joke.”

“Yeah.” Savannah looked at her in a way she knew meant “back off.”

Damien whispered something to Savannah, and she giggled in response. Peyton would definitely make sure she didn’t lose track of them tonight. But, not wanting Savannah to feel like she was hovering, she looked over the balcony at the people gambling, all focused on the cards in front of them.

Then she spotted Oliver. He sat at a poker table, pushing a pile of chips toward the center.

“I’m going to say hi to Oliver,” she told Savannah, pointing to where he was sitting. “Promise you won’t leave without letting me know, okay?” It was an assumed rule whenever they went somewhere together that they didn’t leave without telling each other, but Peyton wanted to make sure Savannah knew how serious she was about it. Besides, how much trouble could Savannah get into when she was in the cabana surrounded by people, and with their bodyguards watching out for them, too?

“I promise,” Savannah said. “Have fun!”

Peyton left the cabana, but she stopped in her tracks when she saw Jackson leaning against the wall next to the entrance. He was in a suit, as always, but other than that he looked...relaxed. If Peyton didn’t know better, and if he wasn’t dressed like he was ten years older than his actual age, she might think he was here to have fun. Would Jackson even
go
to a club to have fun? She didn’t know what he did in his free time, but he didn’t strike her as the partying type. He was too serious for that.

She wasn’t sure if she should speak to him, since he hadn’t been receptive the last time she’d tried. But after a few seconds of them staring at each other, she had to say something to keep the encounter from being awkward.