Read Online Midnight Diamonds by Cynthia Hampton - Free Book Online Page A

if this worked.”
    Silver twisted the handle and heard Justin sputtering under the sink. She turned it off and leaned down to see that his face and neck were wet. Covering her mouth with one hand to keep from laughing, she reached for a kitchen towel with the other hand and gave it to him. He mopped his face and dropped the damp towel onto his lap.
    Becky reached for the towel. “Here, let me help.”
    Silver swatted her hand away.
    “Guess I turned it the wrong way,” he mumbled as he reached up to the pipes again. “You might want to hold off on cooking until I’m done. This won’t take a second.” Silver could hear him muttering “Rightie tightie” to himself.
    A half hour and two more mishaps later, and after Silver had moved Justin’s clothes to the dryer, the leak was fixed, and she could walk to the refrigerator for the butter without any danger of a peep show.
    As the three of them sat down at the table to eat, Silver looked at Justin while Becky grabbed a bottle of chocolate caramel creamer for her coffee.
    “I can’t believe you fixed that leak for me. Thanks, cowboy.”
    He tipped a nonexistent hat. “My pleasure, miss.”
    Giddy under his gaze, she pointed to his plate. “Sorry if the eggs are a bit dry.”
    “It’s all good.”
    Becky sniffed loudly. “Hey, Sil. Did you get a new air freshener? It smells like flowers in here.”
    Justin shrugged. “Uh, that’s me, I think. The body wash goes well with the robe.”
    “We won’t tell anyone, cowboy,” Becky quipped, making them all laugh.
    The reporter’s instincts must have come alert after two cups of coffee because the next thing Silver knew, Becky leaned forward to ask questions. “What’s it like on the road all the time? Doesn’t your family miss you?”
    He bit into his second slice of toast. “We’re close, if that’s what you’re asking. And no, they don’t miss me since I live in the converted basement at the house.”
    Silver frowned. “You still live at home? Isn’t that a little…”
    “Weird?” he asked with a laugh. “Maybe, but I took six years to get through college, then a…family situation…kept me home for a while. Now I’m launching my career, so it’s the logical choice since I’m not home that much.”
    Becky snorted. “Kind of tough on the love life, isn’t it?”
    When Justin took a long drink of coffee and didn’t answer, Silver changed the subject.
    “How did you get into country music?”
    Justin wiped his mouth with a paper towel. “My mom loves it, and it played all the time in our house. I started singing at a young age and fell in love with the new style of country when I was in middle school. Friends talked me into trying out for some talent shows around the area, and I won a couple of them. By that time, I decided to be a singer.”
    “Where did you go to school?”
    “Union High School. Go Redskins!” he mock-shouted with a grin.
    “Becky and I went to Marshall Heritage Academy,” Silver offered.
    Justin choked back a laugh. “Good school. Really lousy football team.”
    Silver squinted at him in irritation. “Hey, I was a cheerleader for that lousy football team.”
    “Uh…great cheer squad!”
    Becky laughed and leaned back in her chair. “Ever been married?”
    He picked his fork back up and speared some eggs. “Not ready for that.”
    “Why don’t you want to be part of the family business?”
    Justin hesitated long enough to make Becky frown. Silver stood with her plate in hand. “Becky, are you finished?” She leveled a look at Becky she hoped said “enough.”
    Her friend handed her plate across the table. “I guess so, for now. What’s my W.O.W?” asked Becky.
    “Demassify: to break down into elements more pleasing to individual tastes.”
    Justin looked back and forth between them. “Wow?”
    Silver explained. “Word of the Week. I give her a new word each week and she has to use it at least once a day.”
    “It helps my writing, too,” Becky