Girl on a Diamond Pedestal Read Free

empty house with bills that she could never hope to pay. She’d been treading water until recently, working on a plan, some sort of solution … but now she was going under. And she knew she would drown before any sort of help came along.
    Ethan knew he shouldn’t really be shocked that Noelle’s mother had betrayed her like that. A bitch like her didn’t care who she hurt. She certainly hadn’t cared about the pain she’d caused his mother. Not in the least.
    But as much as he hated Noelle’s mother for her part, it was his father Damien who had to pay for the sins of thepast. And Noelle was in the perfect position to make that a reality.
    He ignored the slight twinge of conscience he began to feel in his chest, spreading to his arms, making his fingertips feel numb. He didn’t have time for a conscience. Noelle would get what she needed, and he would get exactly what he wanted.
    Everyone would win.
    Except for his father.
    “Will you be touring again soon?” he asked.
    Noelle had been touring since she was a child. He’d never been to see her, but he’d seen her name in the news frequently. She’d played at Carnegie Hall, she’d played for the Queen of England. She was a household name and had been for at least eleven years. And apparently, all of that touring had left her with nothing.
    “I’m not touring anymore,” she said tightly. “My label dropped me because I couldn’t book venues. My publicist dropped me. My agent.” She made a clicking sound with her tongue. “So, yeah, I’m pretty much done with music.”
    She looked down, lashes fanning over high cheekbones that seemed a bit more pronounced than they should be. She had that cabbage-soup-diet look about her, like she wasn’t getting quite enough to eat. He couldn’t imagine her turning down his proposition, not when he knew she needed it so badly.
    And he was tempted, tempted to come out with it now.
    But it was too soon.
    He was a master of the business deal, and tomorrow, he would set in motion the most important deal of his life. He wouldn’t allow impatience to ruin that.
    “Come to my office tomorrow,” he said. “I’ll send a car for you around noon.”
    “Why? So we can discuss where in my hundred-year-old rose garden you’re going to dig your inground pool?”
    “Not exactly.”
    He had no intention of turning her home into a hotel. He had no intention of purchasing it at all. Sure, a hotel here would bring in money, but that money would be nothing compared to the satisfaction he would gain by executing vengeance against his father.
    Noelle, and her home, were the key to that revenge.

CHAPTER TWO
    E THAN’S office building was warm. Noelle let it wash over her as she walked into the open, stately marble foyer and crossed to an elevator that took her to the top floor.
    Even the elevator spoke of luxury. She ached for it. For gorgeous hotels with amazing views and thousand-thread-count sheets. For heat, and for lunch that consisted of more than instant noodles with little freeze-dried chunks of vegetables.
    For a crowded auditorium and applause meant just for her.
    “You really are pathetic,” she said to the empty lift.
    Yes, she really was. But knowing that didn’t make the longing go away. Her life had never been easy, she knew that. Sometimes she’d wished for all of the fame, the practice, the shrill voice of her mother and the stern voice of her instructor to go away.
    But now that they had, she was faced with some harsh realities she’d never dealt with before.
    She sucked in a sharp breath as the elevator stopped. Her stomach turned over, her hands shook as if she was about to go out on stage. The kick of adrenaline was addictive. It was one of the many things she missed about her former life as a concert pianist.
    This was different though. The familiar spike of adrenalinewas infused with a warm, honeyed sensation that pooled in her stomach and made her body ache in places she’d never given a thought to.
    She