Platinum (All That Glitters #3)(94)

Trihn leaned in and planted a kiss on Damon’s lips. “This is much better than tour buses and hotel rooms, isn’t it?” she asked playfully.

“Definitely.”

“What was that like?” Lydia asked. “Touring, that is.”

Damon leaned back on his elbows. “Busy and wonderful. Always going, going, going with no time to do much else. Going a lot of places but seeing nothing. Have to say though, performing in front of tens of thousands of people never gets old.”

“That sounds incredible. I wish I could have gone to one of your shows.” Lydia smiled sweetly. “I would have made the New York one if…well, you know…it was still happening.”

“Yeah,” Damon said.

“And what about Chloe Avana?” Preston said.

“What about her?” Damon asked.

Trihn bit her lip and looked between the two of them. Preston had brought Chloe up on purpose.

“Is she really in rehab?”

“Yeah, she is. She had a mental breakdown. I’m pretty sure everyone in the country saw proof of that,” Damon said.

Despite the fact that Chloe had briefly come between him and Trihn, he still sharply defended Chloe. She was a friend and a coworker, and he hated hearing people who didn’t know her talk about her. He would give Bryna a pass for her dislike of Chloe. Though, after Chloe’s breakdown, Bryna’s dislike had somehow lessened.

“I don’t think that’s the only proof the world saw,” Preston said before tipping his beer back.

“You mean the kiss video?” Trihn asked boldly.

Preston shrugged. “We all saw it.”

“And somehow you think that makes it your business?”

“Trihn,” Damon said softly, “it’s fine. I haven’t been able to go more than a few hours without hearing about that video. I have a feeling it’s going to follow me everywhere.”

“And you’re still together?” Preston asked. He stared at Trihn, waiting for her answer.

“Obviously.” Damon leaned forward and kissed Trihn on the mouth.

Trihn smiled and sighed before turning back to Preston. “Are you done with your interrogation?”

Lydia smacked Preston’s arm. “Don’t be such a downer. I’m sure it’s fake. Trihn picked a real keeper—a famous musician on tour with Chloe Avana and with a number one hit at that.”

“That just went platinum,” Renée chimed in. She shrugged when Trihn looked at her. “I’ve been following his career, too.”

Damon laughed. “I’m glad you all approve of my career. It’s a crazy life, but I wouldn’t have any of it without Trihn.”

Lydia giggled, and Trihn was pretty sure even Renée swooned. Trihn felt herself relaxing again. Preston didn’t have any ammunition against Damon. And the more he acted like a dick, the more even Lydia seemed to get annoyed with him.

“Come on, Trihn, Renée,” Lydia said, grabbing her arm. “Let’s leave the boys alone and go take a dip in the water.”

“All right,” Trihn said. She stood and reached for Renée, who hopped up to join them.

The girls all ran, Baywatch-style, into the water, laughing and splashing each other, until they were waist-deep in the blue ocean. Renée immediately tied her hair up into a ballet bun to keep it from getting wet. Trihn didn’t even care at this point.

If someone had told her that she’d be back in the Hamptons, enjoying her time with her sister again, she would have laughed in their face. But the truth was, it was nice to be here with Lydia—Preston, not so much. This seemed more like the sister she had grown up with than the sister he had turned against her.

“God, it’s so good to have you here,” Lydia said. “Both of you. It’s been forever since I’ve seen you, too, Renée.”

Renée nodded. “Yeah, well…we’re all busy, I guess.” She looked at Trihn with raised eyebrows. Clearly, that was the nicest thing she could have said.

“And you and Ian? I would never have guessed. For the longest time, I thought he had a crush on Trihn, but I’m so happy for you.”

“He did,” Renée said. “It was f*cking weird, but it somehow works between us.”

“Not somehow,” Trihn said. “It makes perfect sense.”

“And Damon seems pretty incredible,” Lydia said.

“He is,” Trihn agreed.

“I just…I know this isn’t a popular topic, but I really would like for you all to come to the wedding,” Lydia said. Her eyes were fearful as she waited for the backlash.

“No,” Renée said before Trihn could respond, “Sorry but no.”

“I really didn’t expect it to go this way,” Lydia said softly.

“What way did you expect it to go, Lydia?” Trihn asked.

Lydia took a step back and looked out across the water. “I don’t know. I thought…I guess I didn’t think it was as big of a deal as you made it out to be. I thought, with you gone, you’d come to see that I love Preston even though we all had a falling-out.”

“Lydia, it’s not a falling-out. It was you choosing him over me, betraying your sister for a guy. That’s not something reparable by just hoping it will go away.”