Platinum (All That Glitters #3)(92)

Trihn went to the door and hugged them both. “Mom, this is Damon.”

Damon stuck his hand out, and they shook. “So nice to meet you, ma’am.”

“Please, call me Linh. It’s so nice to finally meet you. I’ve heard only good things about you.”

Damon smiled brightly. “That’s good to hear. It’s glad to be in the city. I’ve never been to New York—well, not officially. My mum and I traveled through on our way from London, but I was young, and we just had a layover.”

“You didn’t tell me that,” Trihn accused. “I’ll have to show you around, and we can do touristy things.”

“Are you from London?” her mother asked, pulling Damon inside and continuing to chat.

Trihn and her dad brought in the last bag.

She dropped her suitcase in the foyer and hugged her dad. “It’s good to see you.”

“You, too, kiddo. Glad you could get your boyfriend here. Your mother has been bugging me nonstop about him.”

“He was a little busy up until this point.”

“You know how she is.”

Trihn nodded and walked into the living room when she heard her name. “What?”

“Since you’re here for a little while and don’t have to run off to a concert like originally planned, maybe we could drive out to the Hamptons.”

Trihn narrowed her eyes. “You had this all planned.”

Linh raised her hands. “It’s just a suggestion.”

Damon met Trihn’s eyes and shrugged. “Up to you. It is quieter than the city.”

Trihn took a deep breath. Why am I even surprised by this?

Her mother had been trying to get her to talk about the wedding and everything that was going into planning it since the engagement had happened. Trihn had stopped answering her calls. Of course, on her one trip home, her mom would take her back to the Hamptons where it had all gone down and where Lydia was going to get married.

But this time, she wasn’t as upset. She had Damon at her side. Her past was just that—the past. She had moved on from what had happened. All she needed to do was face it and prove it to herself.

“All right,” Trihn said finally, taking the seat next to Damon. “If Damon is going, then I’ll go.”

“Great!” Linh said. She clapped her hands and looked up at her husband with raised eyebrows, as if she had just won a victory.

Damon kissed Trihn’s cheek and whispered softly in her ear, “I love you.”




Trihn and Damon stepped out of her parents’ SUV and breathed in the salty sea air. Trihn hadn’t realized how much she had missed it here. She hadn’t been back since Lydia and Preston had gotten together.

“This is our home away from home,” Trihn told Damon.

It was a massive white beach house that they rented from a friend of her mother’s at the magazine. Usually, it was just for a week in the summer, but since the wedding was going to be here, the owners were pretty lenient about their time.

He raised his eyebrows. “And here I thought you came from humble beginnings.”

Trihn laughed. “I did…kind of. It’s not like Bri.”

“No, it’s not, but humble is not the word I’d use,” he said.

“And what are you now, rock star?” Trihn grabbed her bag out of the back and slung it over her shoulder.

Damon dropped her suitcase onto the driveway and laughed. “Not a rock star. Still a DJ, love.”

“I wouldn’t say you’re exactly humble anymore.”

“Humble beginnings.”

Trihn was walking backward, teasing Damon, as they neared the side door to the house when she heard voices behind her. Damon had stopped moving and was staring at the door. Trihn whirled around and saw what he was staring at.

Déjà vu hit her fresh. Lydia and Preston were standing in the doorway. It was here where she had found out that they were together. It was here where her world had shattered into a million pieces.

Damon came and put a protective arm around her waist.

“Hey,” Trihn said finally. “Mom failed to mention that you guys were already here.”

Lydia brightened and traipsed down the stairs. Her long blonde hair was up in a high ponytail, and she was wearing a bright yellow sundress. “We wouldn’t have missed it,” she said, stuffing her hands in the pockets of her dress.

Trihn noticed she was barefoot.

“Oh my God, are you Damon?” Lydia asked.

“That’s me. You must be Lydia,” Damon said, his accent thick.

Lydia looked like she wanted to rush over and hug him, but she somehow managed to control herself. “It is amazing to finally meet you. I love your music. Both of us do.” She waved for Preston to come down the steps. “This is my fiancé, Preston.”

Damon released Trihn to step forward and offer his hand to Preston.

“Oh, I’ve heard a lot about you,” Damon said, his voice low.

They were nearly eye-level with one another, and Trihn could see that their handshake was more of a squeeze. They warily eyed each other, sizing the other one up.

“That right?” Preston asked.

Damon laughed at Preston seemingly rising to the occasion and then released his hand. “Yeah. You two are getting married, right?”