Diamonds and Dreams (24 page)

So now
I’ve gone from being “his lady” to “an outsider,”
she
thought.
 
What did Derek hide from
her?
 
She was almost sure there was
something.

“Any
time Bella Garrett uncovers the answer to one question, she has fifteen more
ready to ask,” Derek went on.

Tired
of the direction the conversation took, Lindsay wished the party would end so
she could head home.
 
“I’m going to the
powder room.”

Down
the hall just as she turned the door knob to enter, Lindsay heard someone on
the other side mention her name.
 
Pausing
a moment to listen to the two women inside, she felt embarrassed as well as
confused.

“Lindsay
Blair might fool some people, but I’ve been around this business too long to
always believe what I see,” a catty voice declared.
 
“No one’s going to convince me that Derek
Eden’s heart doesn’t lie elsewhere.”

“Maybe
so,” the other woman agreed, “but it would have been amusing if we could’ve
watched the three of them in the same room.”

Angry
that they gossiped about her, Lindsay opened the door and faced them.
 
The two women who stood in front of a wide
mirror saw Lindsay’s reflection in it,
then
glanced
guiltily at each other before they made a quick exit.

Lindsay
leaned against the cool marble top of the vanity a few seconds and concentrated
on drawing long, deep breaths to calm her nerves.
 
She decided that she was leaving, regardless
of whether she offended Derek or not.
 
Her excursion into the realm of the rich and famous disappointed her
enough for one evening.

The
next day Lindsay felt happy to receive a phone call from
Serita
.
 
“Wow!
 
You’ve been going out with Derek Eden?
 
When you forget them, you really do it in style, don’t you?”

“What
do you mean?” Lindsay asked, confused.

“Brant.
 
I wasn’t going to bring up his name, but
since you must be wild about Derek now, I’ll tell you that Brant didn’t take it
too well when I returned your engagement ring to him like you asked me to do.”

“What
did he say?”

“It
wasn’t what he said as much as the way he looked.
 
He thanked me for giving it back to him, but
the expression on his face was sad enough that he almost made me feel guilty
because you chose New York over him.”

“Brant
had a choice in the matter as much as I did, and he didn’t have any qualms
about choosing his own job rather than coming here with me.”

“I’m
not taking sides, Lin.
 
I just thought
the two of you had a chance at real happiness, something that doesn’t come to
everyone.
 
By the way, did you contact
him at all since you moved?”

“No.
 
I realized that I took the cowardly way out
of an unpleasant situation by asking you to give him his ring back, but I kept
hoping he’d change his mind at the last minute.
 
Maybe he counted on me to reverse my decision, but none of that matters
now.
 
He’s in Columbus; I’m in New
York.
 
That’s the way it is.”

“Yes,
and it’s a shame.
 
Well, Lin, I’ll talk
to you soon.”

“Take
care,
Serita
.
 
Thanks again for returning the ring to Brant.”

Lindsay
ended the call, but that couldn’t cut off her thoughts of Brant as she imagined
his reaction when
Serita
gave him back the ring.
 
She felt an unexpected tear slide down her
cheek when she remembered their joy the night he presented her with the
diamond.
 
For a brief period, they shared
such high hopes for the future, but Fate waited around the corner to snatch it
cruelly away from them.

Maybe
I’d have been better off if I never met Brant.
 
Then I wouldn’t hurt so much now
, she thought.
 
After all, how could anyone miss something if
they never had it?

CHAPTER
NINETEEN

“I’d
love to accompany you to New Orleans and watch you do the big concert for
charity, Derek, but I haven’t been at my job long enough to deserve a vacation
yet,” Lindsay explained, sitting on the sofa in her living room and talking to
him over the phone a few nights later.

“Is
that the only reason you won’t go?” Derek pressed.

“Yes.
 
I’ve never been to the South and I always
wanted to go ever since I watched
Gone
With The
Wind
years ago.”

“Ah, ha!
 
Just as I suspected—you’re a romantic at heart.
 
Take along some nice dresses because after we
get to Louisiana, a real-life Rhett Butler just might mistake you for Scarlett
and invite you to go out with him for a night on the town.”

“I
told you—now
isn’t
the time for me to ask for time
off.”

“Don’t
worry.
 
I’ll speak to your boss and take
care of everything,” he assured her, “and I’ll see to it that your job will be
more secure than ever.”

She
didn’t ask how he planned to do this, but the next morning there was a memo
from Frank Thomas on her desk.
 
When she
called him, he seemed thrilled that one of WCIT’s employees would go with
Derek.
 
“This will be great publicity,”
Frank told her.
 
“And Derek guaranteed me
that he’ll give WCIT an exclusive interview on the air as long as you ask the
questions.”

The
interview was two days later and turned out great.
 
On Friday morning, as a gentle rain washed
the gray streets of New York and made them look like long streamers of silver
satin, Lindsay, Derek and his band departed for the Crescent City.
 
After they arrived at the New Orleans
International Airport, Lindsay squinted in the late afternoon sun as she and
the others stepped out of their stretch Lincolns and sauntered along the
cracked sidewalks in the old French Quarter.
 
There brick and plaster buildings dripping with lacy wrought-iron
balconies and courtyards filled with sweet-smelling plantings allowed passers-by
a peek at the past.
 
The public didn’t
get a look at Derek Eden this time, however, since he wore a disguise—a fake
beard and moustache along with dark glasses that fit over the plastic nose,
shaped differently from his real one, which he snapped on before he stepped off
the plane.

Located
in the heart of the Vieux
Carre
, one-half block from
Bourbon Street, the Prince Conti Hotel seemed to Lindsay a perfect combination
of classic elegance and a comfortable atmosphere of hospitality.
 
As she stepped into the grand entrance of the
quiet hall lobby, a draft provoked a gentle tinkle from the glimmering
chandeliers that were authentic 18
^th
century Baccarat crystal and
bronze
dore
.

“Everything’s
beautiful,” she told Derek, looking around at the 18
^th
century
Trumeau
painting that hung above an original Louis XV
carved marble mantel.
 
On each side of
the room were matching Louis XV armchairs covered in original
Aubusson
tapestry.

“I’ve
got a practice session with the guys.
 
See you later,” Derek said before they parted.

Lindsay
entered the hotel room she’d been given and saw that it was furnished with
genuine antiques and period reproductions.
 
Suddenly feeling exhausted, she took off her gray pin-striped pantsuit
and slipped on a pink silk nightgown.
 
Stretching out on the large four poster bed, she drifted off to sleep as
jazz music from the streets wafted through the open window.

When
she awoke the next morning, she sniffed the pleasant perfume of a bouquet of
roses that set on the nightstand beside her.
 
It took several seconds before the old memories of the red roses
Rafe
sent returned to haunt her and spoil her joy.
 
After taking a shower, she dried her wet hair
with a towel, combed out the tangles, then decided to wear a sleeveless pastel
print sundress that would, hopefully, help keep her cool once the hot Louisiana
sun spilled its warmth over the city.
 
As
Lindsay enjoyed the freshly prepared croissant, fruit juice and special blend
coffee, there
came
a knock on her door.
 
She laid aside the copy of the
Times Picayune
that she’d been reading
and called out, “Who is it?”

“Derek,”
came
his famous voice from the other side.

Unlocking
the door and opening it, she motioned for him to come inside.
 
“Good morning.”

His
natural linen pants matched the nubby texture of his sport shirt and a
lightweight ivory blazer completed his outfit.
 
“We have the rest of the weekend to enjoy before I must set my mind on
nothing but work, so let’s do a little sightseeing.”

“I’d
love to!”
 
Quickly she slid her bare feet
into a pair of white sandals and departed with him.
 
“Why aren’t you wearing your disguise today?”

“Sometimes
I don’t mind being seen,” he replied.
 
“Besides Al and one other bodyguard will accompany us.
 
I hope you don’t mind, but it might not be
safe if we went without them.”

“It
doesn’t bother me if they come along.”

Ignoring
the humid weather that made most people seek air-conditioned buildings or
prompted them to indulge in an afternoon nap, Lindsay and Derek eagerly
explored the old city and were forced to stop often to speak to enthusiastic
fans and give out autographs.
 
Toward
dusk, as the golden rays of the sunset began subtly blending with the rosy
tints, the mauves, the darkening shades of evening were drawn across the
sky.
 
“Where are we heading?” Lindsay
wanted to know.

“To the Toulouse Street wharf.
 
I thought we’d have dinner aboard the
Steamer Natchez
and enjoy a relaxing
harbor cruise.”

Boarding
the boat, Lindsay thought the gleaming white
Natchez
was an amazing vessel.
 
It looked so ornate that she observed, “It resembles a huge, floating
wedding cake.”

A
brass bell clanged and soon Lindsay could feel the boat slowly and smoothly
ease away from the dock.
 
She took a deep
breath of the cool, moist river air, then accepted Derek’s arm as they strolled
past lavish lounges and entered a majestic dining room.
 
The elaborate buffet included roast beef and
a salad of crabmeat with all the trimmings.

“Delicious,”
she murmured, sitting across from Derek at a small table.

“When
I was a boy, I read Mark Twain’s
Life
On The
Mississippi
,” Derek recalled.
 
“For about a year I dreamed of being a
steamboat captain and manning one of these beauties when I grew up.”

It
was easy for Lindsay to envision Derek as one of the adventurous, free-spirited
steamboat captains who once accepted any challenge to race their vessels up and
down the muddy river.
 
He had all the
same traits—a level head, but at the same time, a fierce need to be daring,
determination, and courage—which the captains must have needed to survive the
perils of the river.

When
they strolled along Jackson Square where the French Quarter met the mighty
Mississippi, Lindsay saw more
paddlewheelers
,
tugboats, and ferries side by side.
 
Staring out across the dark, rippling water, she found her thoughts
drifting to Brant again.
 
This was his home state
, she
remembered.
 
How many times he must have
looked out across this very river and admired the same sights she saw now.

“Are
you all right, Lindsay?
 
You look pale,”
Derek commented as the balmy breeze from the Gulf tousled his hair.

“I’m
fine.”
 
She felt a bit flushed and was
glad to feel the night air cooling her skin.

“Come
closer to me.
 
I have a secret to tell
you.”

Curious,
she leaned forward and he took her hand.
 
“Do you know who Kelli Brendan is?”

“Sure.
 
She hosts the TV show,
Entertainment World.
”

“Right.
 
Kelli is always looking for a scoop, and right now she’s standing on a
balcony across the street.
 
She’s
watching us with a pair of binoculars.
 
Don’t turn around.
 
I want her to
think we’re unaware of her presence.”