Ultimate Concealer, A Toni Diamond Mystery: A Toni Diamond Mystery (Toni Diamond Mysteries) by Nancy Warren Page B
Authors: Nancy Warren
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scattered on two levels. It wasn’t full to bursting, but it wasn’t empty either. The young woman at the front desk looked as though she didn’t get enough to eat or enough sleep. Even her over-processed red hair looked exhausted. Tiffany shyly told the woman that Dwayne Diamond was her father and that he’d left tickets for them.
The woman’s eyes showed their first spark of life. “Dwayne has a kid?” She stared at Tiffany for a moment then said, “Huh.” But she checked a list and nodded. “Sure. You can go on in. Sit anywhere.”
Toni let Tiffany choose their seats and she picked a table on the second tier but near the front.
The three Chers’ outfits made the original Cher look tame by comparison. How did they keep those headdresses from falling off? And how did they manage to dance in those shoes? Their show might be camp but it was well done. All four of them, including Sunny, had great voices, and Toni found herself laughing and singing along.
And then the MC announced “country singing sensation Dwayne Diamond.” Toni hadn’t set eyes on Dwayne in sixteen years. When that familiar, long-limbed man walked onto the stage carrying a guitar, his boots adding a little swagger to his step, she fell back in time for a moment. How hard she had fallen for that man back when she was too young and stupid to see that this diamond was a fake.
Oh, but he sparkled like the real thing.
As he settled himself in front of a microphone, pushed his Stetson back and gazed out at the audience, he said, “How y’all doin’ tonight?” She felt a hum coming from her daughter. It wasn’t anything you could hear, more an energy. And she was helpless to stop her daughter from being pulled in just as she would be helpless the first time Tiffany had her heart broken.
He strummed a little on his guitar and said, “I am honored to have three very special ladies in the audience tonight. They came all the way from Texas. Tiffany, Toni, and Linda, this one’s for you. It’s called “You Are the Only One for Me.”
He’d written that song years ago. He told her he wrote it for her, and it wasn’t until later that she found out he’d been telling the same story to a lot of women. Since no names were mentioned, it was an easy lie to get away with.
Dwayne had a pretty good voice. He sounded familiar, like you might have heard him on the radio. And that was his problem. He wasn’t unique. He sounded a bit like a lot of big country and western singers. His songwriting didn’t stand out any more than his voice did. But, in an intimate venue, with a lot of women in the audience, Dwayne could make you believe he was so much more.
He was thirty-eight years old and in his prime. She wondered if he still cherished hopes of being discovered.
He came out after the show was over and headed straight for their table. “And how are my three favorite Texas gals?” he asked, his handsome face creased in a smile. Not a shadow of a doubt seemed to exist that he’d be welcome.
“You were great, Dad,” Tiffany said, accepting the hug he bestowed on her.
“Thanks, honey.”
Then he turned to Linda. “Why Linda, I do believe you are prettier than ever.”
“So are you, Dwayne.”
It was true, too. He’d been boyishly handsome back when Toni had married him. The sixteen years between then and now had added a few wrinkles around his eyes and filled him out. He was a seriously hot guy.
When he turned his attention to Toni, his grin spread even wider. “Oh, honey, will you look at you? I have missed you.” A stranger hearing him would have thought that she was the one who had left him. He pulled her into a hug whether she wanted to go or not.
“Hello, Dwayne,” she said.
“Can you believe this gorgeous girl of ours?” Slight emphasis on the ours , as though one implanted sperm made him father of the year. He pulled up a chair from a neighboring table and sat down. He waved his hand for one of the wait staff even though
The woman’s eyes showed their first spark of life. “Dwayne has a kid?” She stared at Tiffany for a moment then said, “Huh.” But she checked a list and nodded. “Sure. You can go on in. Sit anywhere.”
Toni let Tiffany choose their seats and she picked a table on the second tier but near the front.
The three Chers’ outfits made the original Cher look tame by comparison. How did they keep those headdresses from falling off? And how did they manage to dance in those shoes? Their show might be camp but it was well done. All four of them, including Sunny, had great voices, and Toni found herself laughing and singing along.
And then the MC announced “country singing sensation Dwayne Diamond.” Toni hadn’t set eyes on Dwayne in sixteen years. When that familiar, long-limbed man walked onto the stage carrying a guitar, his boots adding a little swagger to his step, she fell back in time for a moment. How hard she had fallen for that man back when she was too young and stupid to see that this diamond was a fake.
Oh, but he sparkled like the real thing.
As he settled himself in front of a microphone, pushed his Stetson back and gazed out at the audience, he said, “How y’all doin’ tonight?” She felt a hum coming from her daughter. It wasn’t anything you could hear, more an energy. And she was helpless to stop her daughter from being pulled in just as she would be helpless the first time Tiffany had her heart broken.
He strummed a little on his guitar and said, “I am honored to have three very special ladies in the audience tonight. They came all the way from Texas. Tiffany, Toni, and Linda, this one’s for you. It’s called “You Are the Only One for Me.”
He’d written that song years ago. He told her he wrote it for her, and it wasn’t until later that she found out he’d been telling the same story to a lot of women. Since no names were mentioned, it was an easy lie to get away with.
Dwayne had a pretty good voice. He sounded familiar, like you might have heard him on the radio. And that was his problem. He wasn’t unique. He sounded a bit like a lot of big country and western singers. His songwriting didn’t stand out any more than his voice did. But, in an intimate venue, with a lot of women in the audience, Dwayne could make you believe he was so much more.
He was thirty-eight years old and in his prime. She wondered if he still cherished hopes of being discovered.
He came out after the show was over and headed straight for their table. “And how are my three favorite Texas gals?” he asked, his handsome face creased in a smile. Not a shadow of a doubt seemed to exist that he’d be welcome.
“You were great, Dad,” Tiffany said, accepting the hug he bestowed on her.
“Thanks, honey.”
Then he turned to Linda. “Why Linda, I do believe you are prettier than ever.”
“So are you, Dwayne.”
It was true, too. He’d been boyishly handsome back when Toni had married him. The sixteen years between then and now had added a few wrinkles around his eyes and filled him out. He was a seriously hot guy.
When he turned his attention to Toni, his grin spread even wider. “Oh, honey, will you look at you? I have missed you.” A stranger hearing him would have thought that she was the one who had left him. He pulled her into a hug whether she wanted to go or not.
“Hello, Dwayne,” she said.
“Can you believe this gorgeous girl of ours?” Slight emphasis on the ours , as though one implanted sperm made him father of the year. He pulled up a chair from a neighboring table and sat down. He waved his hand for one of the wait staff even though
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