One Special Moment - Brenda Jackson [89]
“At first when I saw it, and saw you holding Diamond Swain in your arms, I really didn’t know what to think, and I didn’t want to believe those accusations. But then after I thought about it, I knew I couldn’t believe it, and that I wouldn’t believe it. I believe in my heart that you love me and there’s a good reason for that picture.”
Her smile was bittersweet when she continued. “At least there better be a good reason, Sterling Hamilton.”
He smiled. “There is.”
“Good. Now can I come down to get the hug I so badly need?” Colby asked softly.
Sterling didn’t think he could possibly love her more than he did at that very moment. He needed her more than he needed his next breath. Kyle had been right when he had said Colby was a precious gem.
He held out his arms to her and she flew down the stairs toward him. He caught her, staggering a little at the force of their combined weight. No sooner was she in his arms than he captured her mouth with his, kissing her with a passion that conveyed his love and appreciation of her trust. A part of him had been so afraid she wouldn’t trust him and that she wouldn’t be here when he arrived.
When he lifted his head she asked him why he had stopped. “Because if I don’t stop, I’m going to end up carrying you back up those stairs and making love to you. But first we need to talk.”
He picked her up in his arms and instead of carrying her up the stairs like he really wanted to do, he carried her into his study.
Colby looked up at Sterling with widened eyes. “Let me make sure I have this straight. Diamond Swain is married to your friend Jake Madaris?”
Sterling nodded, smiling. “Yes, they’ve been married a little over a year now. But because of Diamond’s need for privacy, she and Jake are keeping their marriage a secret. There are members of Jake’s family that don’t even know yet.”
Colby shook his head. “But why?”
“It’s a long story and to tell you all of it, I’ll have to go back to the very beginning and explain how Jake and Diamond met. I’m the one who introduced them, but it was never either of their intentions to fall in love.”
He smiled ruefully. “It was similar to our situation. It just happened.”
Sterling pulled Colby closer to him as she sat in his lap. “Diamond has always been a good friend to me, nothing more. We used our friendship to keep the media speculating about us. It served as good publicity. But there has never been anything sexual between us. And after she married Jake, he suggested we continue the charade so the media wouldn’t find out about their marriage. That way Diamond could keep her personal life, the one she shares with Jake, private.”
Sterling turned Colby around in his lap. “When it was discovered that Rachel Hill was snorting cocaine in her dressing room, she had to go. It was Spielberg’s decision, not mine, to call Diamond. She had been his first choice anyway, but Diamond had turned down the part because of a prior commitment. It was sheer luck for him that she had just finished filming in New Mexico and agreed to fly to Spain.”
“When was the last time you had seen her?”
“I saw her that week I spent in Texas with Jake. She was spending a couple of weeks at the ranch with him. She had arrived the week his nephew, Clayton Madaris, got married although she didn’t attend the wedding with Jake since no one knows they’re married.”
Sterling held Colby tight in his lap. He inhaled sharply her very special scent. “I talked to both Jake and Diamond before coming home tonight, and they’re willing to make a statement to the press announcing their marriage if the article that appeared in the papers this morning has caused problems between us. I told them it didn’t. But I want you to tell me how you feel about it. Diamond, Jake and I are willing to bring everything out in the open if—”
“No, that’s not necessary. No matter what the papers say, I trust you and I believe in you and that’s all that matters.”
He leaned down and kissed her lips. “I nearly went crazy when I couldn