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“Of course it is,” Adrian said. “Where else would you go?”
“Public school.” Peyton said the obvious response. “Like we always have.”
“The Goodman School is the best in the state,” Adrian said, like that should be reason enough.
“It might be,” Peyton replied. “But we don’t need a fancy private school. We’ve been in public school our whole lives, and it’s never been a problem.” No one said anything, so she looked at her sisters for backup. “Right?” she said, expecting support. She wouldn’t fit in with the people who went to private school, and she didn’t want to. They were probably a bunch of stuck-up snobs.
“I don’t know, Peyton,” Courtney said carefully. “It will look better on college applications if we go to a school like Goodman.”
“They have a one-hundred percent college acceptance rate,” Rebecca said proudly. “Last year a fourth of the graduating class went to an Ivy League or similar level school.”
“I’m not going to college.” Peyton smirked. “So there goes that one hundred percent.”
Worry flitted across Rebecca’s face, but Adrian didn’t look concerned. “We’ll see.” He sounded so superior, as if he knew something Peyton didn’t. It made her want to hit something.
Instead she looked at Courtney, betrayed by her sister’s reaction. “You never mentioned wanting to go to private school before,” she said.
Courtney looked down at the tablecloth. “That’s because it was never an option.”
Peyton looked at Savannah for support, but her normally talkative sister didn’t say a word. Was she the only one who hated the idea of going to school with overprivileged snobs who would have nothing in common with her?
“I’m not going to Goodman.” Peyton stood her ground. “I’ll go to the local public school instead.”
“How about we compromise?” Adrian said. “You’ll start at Goodman in the fall. If after three months it’s as awful as you imagine, we can discuss other options.”
Peyton thought about it. “One month,” she countered.
“Two months and you have a deal,” Adrian said, with a hint of a smile.
“Fine.” Peyton nodded. “Two months.” She was going to hate it no matter what, but at least being there for two months was better than the entire year.
Nobody said anything for a few seconds, and Peyton felt like she could cut the tension in the air with a steak knife. Finally the waiter walked through the French doors that led to their private dining room, a bottle of champagne in his hand. Thank God. Peyton didn’t think she could stand one more moment of sitting there with no clue what to say. It was ironic, really. She had so much she wanted to know, but no idea how to start asking her questions. Continuing to talk about their family drama in front of Brett and Rebecca would make dinner more awkward than it already was.
Then Peyton realized what she’d thought. Was she worried that something wouldn’t be appropriate to bring up at dinner? The pompous atmosphere of the hotel must be getting to her. Time to change that. She could tell attention made Rebecca uncomfortable, so she might as well start there.
“So,” she started, looking at Rebecca. “How did you two meet? I’m sure our father would have told us, but since he hasn’t bothered to be in our lives until now, we haven’t had much time to talk.” She folded her hands over the table, as though she couldn’t wait to hear the answer to her question.
“Well...” Rebecca lifted her hand to her necklace, looking at Adrian for help.
“Rebecca and I were high-school sweethearts,” Adrian said, his voice confident and strong. He reached for one of Rebecca’s hands and squeezed it. She smiled gratefully at him, and he continued. “But we didn’t go to the same college—she stayed local, while I went to the University of Pennsylvania—and our lives went in different directions. We were in other relationships when I returned to Las Vegas after graduation to invest in my first hotel. Recently we both became single again, and fate brought us back together.”
“How interesting.” Peyton lifted her glass as though making a toast, threw her head back and took a large gulp.
Rebecca reached back to touch her bun, as if a sprayed strand might be out of place. Peyton felt guilty for making Rebecca feel uneasy. She seemed nice, and it did sound like Adrian loved her. It wasn’t her fault that he was a crappy, nonexistent father who was trying to act like he hadn’t overlooked his daughters for their entire lives. The funny thing was, if Adrian and Rebecca were in high school together, that made Rebecca almost ten years older than Peyton’s mother, even though she looked much younger. All that drinking could really age a person.
“Yes,” Adrian said. “But please don’t mention the engagement to anyone. We plan on announcing it at the grand opening on Saturday night.”
Peyton looked at the packed dining room. “The hotel looks open to me.”
“This is the soft opening,” Adrian explained. “Doors opened for both the hotel and residences a month ago, and the time since then has been a test to make sure everything is running smoothly. This way we can work out any kinks ahead of time, so we know nothing will go wrong on the night of the grand opening.”
“Sounds efficient.” Peyton skimmed over the menu as Rebecca ordered her food, zeroing in on the most expensive dish on the menu. Maine lobster—seventy dollars. Perfect. That would do a good job pissing Adrian off. She wasn’t sure if she liked lobster, or how one person could eat seventy dollars’ worth of food in one sitting, but she would find out tonight.
“A fine choice,” Adrian said after she ordered. “I’ll have the same. You girls should consider it, as well,” he said, looking at Courtney and Savannah. “It’s said we have the best lobster on the Strip.”
Savannah found it on the menu, and her eyes bulged. “I guess I’ll have the lobster, too,” she said, closing the menu and handing it to the waiter.
He turned to Courtney next. “The lobster for you, as well?”
“I’m sure it’s delicious, but I’m a vegetarian,” Courtney explained. “I’ll have a Caesar salad, lightly dressed.”
Adrian had asked for a taste of everything for appetizers since “the girls should try it all,” which meant the waiter brought out two three-tiered stands of plates, each one full of food, like the appetizer version of a wedding cake. It was outrageously fancy, with pieces of what appeared to be seafood displayed like art instead of something to eat. Some of the food was still in the shells, and some had been drizzled with orange, yellow and green sauces. This was a far cry from the nachos and wings Peyton and her friends usually got at chain restaurants. She had no idea where to start.
Adrian picked up a shell with a slimy white slug-looking thing on top of it, lifted it to his mouth and tipped it downwards so the slug-thing slid out. He chewed and swallowed. “Oysters on the half-shell,” he said, motioning to the display. “Delicious.”
Curious, Peyton picked one up and lifted it to her mouth. It jiggled in the shell, all lumpy and gross. And it smelled salty, like the ocean. She wrinkled her nose. But she couldn’t back out now, no matter how nasty it looked.
Following Adrian, she tipped the shell toward her mouth and let the oyster slide out, holding her breath so the smell wouldn’t overwhelm her.
It didn’t only look like a slug, it tasted like one, too. Not that Peyton had tasted a slug before, but it was what she thought one would taste like if she had. She forced it down her throat, her eyes watering as she tried not to gag. Once she swallowed, she placed the shell back on her plate and chugged water to get the salty taste out of her mouth.
Those were supposed to be a delicacy? What were these people thinking?
“I suppose oysters aren’t to your taste?” Adrian asked. The corner of his lips twitched up, and he dabbed the side of his mouth with his napkin.
“That was disgusting,” she said, still trying to get the taste out of her mouth. She used the fork and knife closest to her plate for the rest of the appetizers—the ones that according to Brett were for the main course—but if anyone noticed, they didn’t say anything.
Next came the main course. Two and a half pounds wasn’t a huge amount of lobster, especially for being seventy dollars’ worth of food on a single plate. That much money could have fed her family for two weeks.
Savannah and Courtney had involved themselves in a conversation with Rebecca, so Peyton turned to Brett with a brilliant idea—flirt with her future stepbrother. That would surely piss Adrian off. “So, Brett,” Peyton started, using her mini-fork to get some lobster out of the claw. “Do you live here, too?”
“In the Diamond?” He cut into his steak and took a bite.
Peyton nodded. What did he think she meant—Las Vegas?
“Yeah,” he answered. “Mom and Adrian share a condo, so I have one to myself. It’s pretty sweet.”
“You have your own condo?” Peyton leaned closer to him. “You should show it to me sometime. Does it have a Jacuzzi?”
He said yes, and took another bite of his steak.
“We have a Jacuzzi in ours, too.” She batted her eyelashes conspiringly. “You should come over sometime and christen it with me.”
Okay, that was overkill, even for her. But at least it’d gotten a raised eyebrow from Adrian.
“Maybe.” Brett shifted away from her and focused on his food. She could tell she’d made him uncomfortable, and he didn’t say anything more.
She scooted back in her seat and took another bite of lobster. Brett was a total bore.
He turned to Courtney and asked if she’d thought about what colleges she wanted to apply to, since they were both going to be juniors and junior year was when the honor students worried about that stuff. Peyton, on the other hand, meant it when she said she wasn’t going to college. She wanted to get out of boring, stuffy classrooms and into the real world as soon as possible. If she ever changed her mind, she could just sign up for the community college in Fairfield.
But, of course, Courtney perked up at the mention of college plans. “Stanford,” she answered shyly. “What about you?”
“UCLA,” he said. “I’ve wanted to go there since middle school. They have great courses for people interested in careers in the movie industry, so I’m taking an Intro to Film class this summer at UNLV to get ahead and show I’ll be serious about my major.”
“Wow.” Courtney looked impressed. “I want to be an English major, because I love reading and think I would like working in publishing, but I hadn’t thought of taking a summer course. I’ve just been focusing on my grades and SAT scores so I can hopefully get a scholarship.”
“I’ve been working on the SAT this summer, too,” he said. “I have a tutor who comes to my condo twice a week, and he teaches me all these great techniques on how to ‘outsmart standardized tests.’ Maybe you could join in on our sessions.”
“I would like that.” Courtney smiled.
Brett would rather study for the SAT with Courtney than lounge in the Jacuzzi with Peyton? Whatever. She was stuck listening to their nerd-tastic conversation through the rest of the main course, and while she loved her sister and all, it was unbelievable how long Courtney could talk about school. To make it worse, the lobster wasn’t even that amazing. She would have much preferred a cheeseburger.
The busboy cleared the plates once everyone finished their meals, and the waiter approached their table again. “Dessert, coffee or tea?” he asked.
Adrian whispered to Rebecca, then turned to the waiter. “Coffee, please,” he ordered. “Black.” Then he looked at Peyton and her sisters. “Would you all care for anything?”
Savannah passed, Courtney ordered tea and Peyton got a coffee. The waiter turned to Rebecca next.
“Actually, Brett and I will be leaving now,” Rebecca said, placing her napkin down on the table.
Brett seemed confused for a second, but then he understood. After the waiter left they said their goodbyes, leaving the three of them alone with Adrian.
“Girls,” Adrian said. “I suppose we have a lot to discuss.”
That was the understatement of the past fifteen years.
“Why did you wait so long to contact us?” Peyton broke the ice.
“Has your mom ever told you why she left Las Vegas and moved back to Fairfield?” Adrian asked.
“All she’s told us was that she didn’t want us growing up around your kind of lifestyle,” Courtney said softly.
“And she was right,” Adrian said. “As I mentioned earlier, this life has its dangers.”
“What kind of dangers?” Peyton asked. Adrian Diamond had the world in the palm of his hand. What could be so bad that it would keep him away from his daughters?
“I’ll tell you now, but please listen without interrupting,” Adrian said. “You can ask questions when I’m finished.” The three of them said okay, and he continued, “There’s no easy way to say this, so I’m just going to tell you flat-out. When you were a baby, Courtney, you were kidnapped and held for ransom when your nanny was taking you out for a walk. He took the nanny’s life and said you would be next if I didn’t meet his demands. Luckily I was able to negotiate with him, and he returned you safely. Your mother and I were lucky to get you back, but it could have been worse, and we both knew it. Your mother was traumatized at the thought of what could have happened. She was already pregnant with Savannah at the time, and after such a scare, we agreed it was best for the three of you to live under the radar until you were mature enough to handle yourselves in this kind of environment. We also agreed it would be best for you to not have a connection to me, since that was what put your life in danger in the first place.”
Courtney dropped her teacup onto the plate, the clank of the china filling the room. Peyton had never seen her normally composed sister so speechless. Her heart pounded at the danger Courtney had been in, and more so at the possibility of what could have happened if Adrian hadn’t successfully negotiated with the kidnapper.
“No, Mom never mentioned that to us,” Peyton said, since Courtney clearly wasn’t ready to say anything herself. She didn’t know what she had expected Adrian to say, but it wasn’t that. And if their mom had never told them about something so important, what else could she be hiding?
Peyton couldn’t imagine the possibilities.
“Wow,” Courtney finally managed to say. She blinked a few times, then took another sip of tea, as though it could help her organize her thoughts. “Peyton’s right—she never told us that. But I guess it explains why my baby book was never as detailed as Peyton’s or Savannah’s.”
“What do you mean?” Adrian looked alarmed.
“Just that, with the kidnapping, Mom must have been so stressed that she forgot to update it,” Courtney explained. “And since we moved after it happened...she must not have had time to keep on top of it. Right?”
“Of course.” Adrian stirred his coffee, even though he was drinking it black. He looked so sad, like he was remembering something painful that he didn’t want to think about.
It was a lot to take in. On one hand, Peyton understood how scary something like that would be, and why he would feel like he was a danger to them. On the other, he was their father. He could have involved himself in some part of their lives, even if he couldn’t live in the same city.
“You could have visited,” Savannah said. “Without anyone finding out. It would have been good to know you cared about us a little.”
“I know,” Adrian said. “I made a mistake. After what happened, I threw myself into my work. Your mother didn’t want you to have anything to do with me, and I couldn’t blame her.” His eyes were glassy, as if he was genuinely upset things had turned out the way they had. Maybe he really did want to get to know them now. “Your grandmother never agreed, but it was your mother’s decision. And it was a decision I supported. I wanted to give her money to help raise the three of you, but she refused it, claiming she could take care of her family without my help. Instead, I had it put in trusts for when you’re older.”
A trust fund? Peyton didn’t know how to wrap her mind around that. “If living in Vegas is really that risky for us, then why are we safe here now?” she asked. “Yeah, we’re not babies anymore, but we’re not exactly trained in fending off kidnappers.”
“You will be kept secure at all times,” Adrian said. “I promise you that. I’ve hired professionals to protect you. You won’t even know they exist.”
“If our lives are in danger, why did you wait until now to hire them to protect us?” Peyton asked.
“The men I hire are the best,” Adrian said. “I’ve had guards keeping tabs on you for your whole lives. They dressed modestly while guarding you in California—their usual uniforms would stand out too much there—but now they’ve returned to their formal attire. I believe it’s time I introduced them to you.” He typed something on his phone. Immediately, three men stepped into the private dining room.
They were all tall, built and wearing matching black suits with Bluetooth cords attached into their right ears. But while they all wore the same outfit, they varied greatly in age. One was older, with gray hair and skin beginning to wrinkle, another looked to be a little younger than Adrian, but with dark hair and sharper features. The last one could barely be older than Peyton herself. With his blond hair cut nearly to his scalp and a sculpted body, he could easily pass for a senior on a high school football team. Surely he couldn’t have the same amount of experience as the men beside him.
“Girls, I want you to meet Carl, Teddy and Jackson,” Adrian said, pointing to each man as he said his name.
Carl was the oldest, Teddy was the one who looked Adrian’s age and Jackson was the youngest. Even his name sounded fitting for a football player. His hazel eyes met Peyton’s, his gaze strong and confident, which sent her stomach flipping. How old was he? He had to be older than her, but she doubted he could be more than twenty-five.
“It’s nice to meet you,” Courtney said, and Peyton had to press her lips together to stop from laughing. It always amused her how Courtney remained polite in the strangest situations.
“They have each been assigned to one of you personally,” Adrian said. “Carl is in charge of Savannah, Teddy is in charge of Courtney, and Jackson is in charge of Peyton. They will keep tabs on your whereabouts. They will remain invisible to you as much as possible, but since security in Vegas requires higher measures than Fairfield, you will notice their presence at times. They’ve been staying under the radar today since you were unaware of them and they didn’t want to scare you, but from now on when you leave your condo they will be in the hall, and they will accompany you in the elevators. Apart from those instances, they will mostly go unnoticed by you. This will be an adjustment, but go about your lives the same as you did before you were aware of their presence. They are not babysitters, so they will not tell me anything about your personal lives unless it is necessary for your safety.”
Adrian dismissed the bodyguards, and Peyton gave Jackson one last small smile before he left. He probably wasn’t allowed to show much emotion, especially in front of Adrian, but she thought he smiled back. While she didn’t love the idea of someone trailing her every move, Jackson was hot enough that it didn’t bother her. Maybe he even had a fun side. It would be worth finding out.
“My bodyguard can’t be much older than I am,” Peyton said, hoping Adrian would reveal his age.
“Jackson is young, but he is one of the best at what he does,” Adrian said. “He will do an excellent job keeping you safe at all times.”
Peyton was disappointed he didn’t give her an exact age, but it wasn’t a problem. Jackson would be trailing her every move. She would have many opportunities to discover that fact on her own.
“As I mentioned earlier, you’ll live here for a year and go to Goodman,” Adrian said. Peyton crossed her arms, and he added, “Or another school, if after two months at Goodman you decide it isn’t to your liking. When the year is up, you can choose where you want to go from there. I will support your decisions, as long as they are sensible. There are some rules, though.” He looked each of them in the eyes before continuing. “Since it’s summer, you don’t have a curfew—your bodyguards will keep you safe at all times—but I expect you to come home at night. Once school begins you’ll have a curfew, but we’ll discuss specifics later. I also don’t mind if you have a glass of wine with dinner, or a casual drink with friends. Despite your mother’s struggles, I allow this because it’s the way I was raised. I believe if I prohibit you from drinking, you’ll do it secretly anyway and go overboard with it, as many people your age are known to do. But if you’re caught being irresponsible with alcohol to the point where you embarrass yourself publicly, that will end.”
He paused to let that sink in, then continued, “As I told you in the condo earlier, I have no problem with you using your credit cards to buy what you please. I encourage it, since I doubt you had the privilege to do so in your previous circumstances—but there’s a catch. You may not do anything that will result in bad press for our family. We all know of some infamous hotel heiresses—no need to name names—whom I’ve had to bar from my properties for...inappropriate behavior. It’s in your best interests to remain under the radar. Use your judgment and act wisely, because gossip pages will talk about what you do. People will take pictures of you and post them on the internet. I don’t want any negative attention brought to our family. If that happens, your credit card privileges will be severely limited, and you will have an early curfew. Do you understand?”
Peyton nodded, just so he would drop the subject. She was sick of listening to this lecture. She ignored the rules at home, especially since her mom didn’t follow through with punishments, and she would continue doing whatever she wanted here, no matter what boundaries Adrian tried to place on her. She hadn’t needed an unlimited credit card in Fairfield, and she wasn’t about to become dependent on one now. Plus, no one even knew who they were.
Yet.
Adrian looked straight at Peyton, making her feel uneasy. “No negative press also means no flirting with your future stepbrother,” he said. “That line is not to be crossed.”
“I wasn’t flirting with him,” Peyton protested, glad Adrian hadn’t caught her eyeing up Jackson. She didn’t want him trying to put an end to that before it had a chance to begin. “He looked bored and I was being friendly. It wasn’t anything more.”
Adrian didn’t appear to believe her, but he dismissed the topic. “I’m glad we discussed that, but we need to go to the club. Some of your future classmates will be there. Brett will introduce you to them.” He finished his coffee and continued, “I’m sorry we didn’t have more time to get to know each other since your arrival. Things have been busy around here, and while I wish the timing was better, there will be plenty of opportunity for all that in a few days, after the grand opening for the hotel and residences on Saturday night.”
