Diamond in the Rough Read Online Free PDF

schedule three months ago.”
    Tyler dipped his head and smiled.  “That’s not sad,” he said.  “I was nervous about this all day.  And a little bit of yesterday.  I wasn’t sure your people would let you come.”
    Gemma couldn’t help her giggle.  “I can’t believe that Tyler Chase gets nervous.”
    “Well.”  He smiled and looked away sheepishly for a moment.  “I’m on my first date with the biggest crush I’ve ever had.  I’ll admit I’ve got a few butterflies.”
    Gemma blushed, surprising herself.  She was in Queen Bee mode, but evidently, Queen Bee blushed every once in awhile.  Or rather, when around Tyler Chase.  She watched him as he poured her a glass of Côtes du Rhône, his smooth lips smiling that adorable smile.  Gemma’s phone rang.  She reached for it but Tyler took her hand.
    “No work for tonight.  Let’s just relax.”
    “Okay,” Gemma laughed.  “I’m not expecting any calls anyway.”
    “I don’t even know how you do it,” Tyler said.
    “Do what?”
    “Live both lives.”  He gazed at her with the same awe and wonder that sparkled in his eyes when they first met.  “I didn’t know what to do with the fame when it first happened.  Just a few videos online and suddenly I’m a celebrity.”
    “Well you can imagine how I felt,” Gemma said, recalling how Tyler announced his crush on her.  “Just one tweet from Tyler Chase, and suddenly, I’m a celebrity.”
    Tyler laughed.  “I wanted to bring you down with me.  I needed someone to share tabloid covers with.”
    “Tsk, tsk,” Gemma teased playfully.  She looked out at the buildings towering above them, their giant windows gleaming with reflected light.  “You think the paparazzi are in there?”
    “Probably at the top of the Empire State Building with giant zoom lenses,” Tyler cracked.  He squinted up at the skyscraper.  “On second thought, they might actually be up there.  I swear – they’ve gotten pictures of me in places where I could’ve sworn I was alone.”
    “So creepy.” Gemma shook her head.
    “Actually, I’m kind of amazed they haven’t figured out who you are by now.  I thought if the paparazzi were to ever do me a favor, it’d be getting a picture of you without the disguise,” Tyler said with a mischievous smile. 
    “Tyler…” Gemma looked down at her feet, laughing.  With Tyler, it always came back to this conversation.  She took a deep breath and started what she had rehearsed in preparation for this situation.  “If anyone understands what I’m going through, it would be you.  We have to do things to keep some form of our own lives, right? At first, the costumes and hair and makeup were all for show, but then it became a privacy issue.  Now, it’s truly a part of who I am.  So in a way, I’m not really hiding anything from you.”
    “Okay.  You’re right,” Tyler nodded.  “I guess I should ‘fess up then.  This whole time I’ve been trying to get you to tell me your real identity when I’ve had a secret alter ego myself.”
    “What do you mean?” Gemma cocked her head, curious.
    “I have a Facebook profile.  Not the fan page, but like a personal one that I use to keep in contact with my friends from school – before the whole singing thing happened.  It started to get crazy after that, so I had to change my real name to something that people wouldn’t know to search.”
    “Really? And what would that name be?”
    “Freddy Space Astronaut.”
    “Are you serious?”
    “Completely.”
    “Was that what you wanted to be when you were younger?”
    “No, it was my fish’s name.”
    “Did you name him that when you were a kid?”
    “No, my mom did.” Tyler laughed into his wine glass.  “I just went with it.”  Gemma smiled.  Through interviews and magazine articles, it had always seemed like Tyler was an open book.  Fans wanted to know everything from his favorite color to what he snacked on.  They knew everything from