CHAPTER 4 THE OFFICIAL KICKOFF
"What do you think? " Noelle asked as we stepped
out onto the Spanish-tile patio at the rear of the
Ryan family estate. The backyard fronted a cliff overlooking
the ocean, and the water was so crystal
clear I could see a school of tiny fish swimming beneath the
surface. The sun shone down on the
glistening infinity pool as palm trees swayed in the breeze.
Gorgeous tropical flowers in bright pinks,
oranges, and purples burst from flower boxes and vases everywhere.
A steel drum band played a
jaunty tune as waiters circulated with yummy-smelling
barbecue and frothy drinks. I had shed my
sweater, exposing my wrinkled T-shirt underneath, and I was
still way too hot. But I couldn't have
cared less.
Every stressful Dash-and Josh-related thought I'd had on the
plane melted away like sorbet in the sun.
One deep breath of this laid-back island atmosphere and
Carefree Reed was in the house.
"I can't believe we're still on the same planet,"
I replied, thinking of the slush and snow back in
Connecticut.
"Aw. It's so nice to see the world through the eyes of
a novice traveler," Noelle said, slinging her arm
around me. "Come on. Let's get some food. I'm
famished."
Tiffany had broken away to find her dad, who already was there
some where. Mr. and Mrs. Lange
were standing just across the patio. Mrs. Lange had, in
fact, met us at the plane, but after the briefest
of hellos, she had spent the entire limo ride talking on her
cell, arranging details for some fund-raiser
she was throwing the first Sunday of the New Year. Now she
and her husband were chatting with
Amberly, her prepped-out parents, and her crunchily handsome
brother, Austin, who had just arrived.
I had never met Mr. Carmichael, and I couldn't help but
stare at him. This man--this tall, hard-bodied,
towheaded, merry-eyed man-had had an affair with Cheyenne
Martin a few weeks before her death.
And he hadn't even attended her funeral. Did Amberly know?
Did her mother know? And more
important... gross.
"So, where's this Upton guy?" I asked, forcing
myself to look away from Mr. Carmichael. Noelle
smirked. "Let's see if you can pick him out
yourself."
"Upton Game, the solitaire version?" I joked.
Taking her up on the challenge, I scanned the party
goers. If I were the hottest guy ever to walk the earth,
where would I be?
"Noelle! Reed!"
I recognized the squeal before I had a chance to spot where
it was coming from. Suddenly Kiran's
slim arm was wrapped awkwardly around my neck. Her drink
spilled, splashing on my shoes, but she
kept bouncing up and down as she attempted to hug Noelle and
me at the same time.
"Omigod! It's so good to see you guys!" Kiran
cried. "It totally sucks that you had to miss my birthday
party, but I'm so glad you're okay!"
Parrying was always priority number one with Kiran. Higher
on the list than attempted murder. She
pulled back and placed her now empty glass on the tray of a
passing waiter.
"Let me look at you," she said, holding both my
wrists. "What are you wearing? You need to get out of
those New England rags and get into the islands!" Kiran
certainly had done just that. She wore nothing
but a red bikini top, a tiny red bikini bottom, and a
red-and-white sarong that exposed her entire leg.
Her heels were at least four inches high, and the white beads
around her neck were the size of grapes.
Her long dark hair was swept up in a tight bun, and huge
D&G sunglasses practically covered her
face. I smiled as she plucked a piece of lint from my
T-shirt. Even with the fashion critique, it was
good to see her.
"I told her to change on the plane, but she just wanted
to get here," Noelle said with a shrug.
"Well, we can't blame her for that. Hi, Noelle,"
Taylor Bell said, joining us. She bit her lip and
looked down at the ground before meeting my eyes. "Hey,
Reed."
"Hey!" I reached over and hugged her, since she
was clearly tentative about seeing me.
"You look incredible."
"Thanks," Taylor said, blushing.
What little baby fat she'd been carrying around a year ago
was gone and had been replaced by some
serious muscle tone. Even her face looked tauter. Gone were
the rosy red cheeks, replaced by
pronounced cheekbones and a slight tan. Her blond hair was
as curly as ever, but it was longer,
grazing her shoulders. Her buttery locks danced in the
island breeze as she turned around to show off
her new physique and blue strapless dress.
"I've been dieting and working out like a fiend for the
last nine months," Taylor said giddily.
"I am so winning the Upton Game this year."
""Wait a minute. You didn't shed the poundage just
for Upton," Noelle said incredulously. Taylor
blushed deeply. "No. Of course not. I did it for
me." But she obviously had done it for Upton. Which
Noelle was clearly about to say before we were interrupted.
"Noelle! So good to see you!"
We all turned around to find a tall girl with stunning green
eyes and gorgeous auburn curls striding
toward us. She wore a green halter dress and gold hoops and
was trailed by a guy who could only be
her brother. He had the same eyes and hair color, though his
was straight and brushed aside in a
preppy 'do. He wore madras shorts and a light-yellow polo
shirt, and he had a kind of tight look about
him, as if he were born with a stick up his butt. Clearly
these were the Ryan twins.
"Paige. Good to see you, too," Noelle said as she
hugged the girl, though I could tell from her tone
that she didn't mean it. "Hi, Daniel," she added
to the guy.
"Noelle," he replied with a nod. "Don't
suppose Dash is with you."
"Not at present, no." Noelle looked past the twins
at an older couple who were now approaching.
"Mr. and Mrs. Ryan. You've outdone yourselves once
again."
"Ah, Noelle. Always so polite," Mrs. Ryan said.
She leaned in and gave Noelle a double-cheek air kiss,
gripping Noelle's elbows as she did so. I
couldn't help but notice the size of the emerald on her
finger. It overlapped the two fingers on either
side and was surrounded by huge diamonds. It was so big it
was ugly, even though I knew it must have
cost a fortune.
"Ryan family, this is my friend Reed Rrennan,"
Noelle said, stepping aside. Mrs. Ryan, a Rillings
alum like her daughter and descended from Jessica Billings,
the Billings founder, clearly recognized
my name. Her green eyes quickly flicked over me, and she
pushed up the sleeves of her flowing blue
silk jacket, which she wore over a black top and pants. For
a woman of her age, she had a seriously
toned body and healthy tan, and her auburn hair was cut into
a sleek, short 'do. If not for the sour look
on her face, she would have been very attractive.
"Reed Brennan, the girl whose questionable leadership
skills put the future of Billings at risk," she
said tersely.
My jaw dropped. Paige hid a laugh and looked away. I felt
myself start to close up--the unworthy
Croton girl--but something inside of me said no.
"My questionable leadership skills? Do you mean the way
I saved the house from being disbanded by
raising five million dollars for the school?" I'd had
enough of backing down. She couldn't talk to me
that way, even if this was her insanely sprawling estate.
Kiran suppressed a giggle, but she didn't do a
very good job. I could feel Noelle trying not to smile as
well.
"Well, your insolence certainly hasn't been
exaggerated," the woman said. "I can see why the girls
voted you out, but I can't imagine why they let you back
in."
"Calista," her husband said warningly, stepping up
to grip her arms from behind. He looked at us and
smiled. "Why don't you kids go grab yourselves
something to eat?" Then he forcibly turned his wife
around and led her away.
"Your mother sure hasn't changed," Noelle said to
Paige.
"She has this thing about speaking her mind,"
Paige explained.
"No problem," I replied, even though I wasn't
entirely sure that was an apology.
"Ah. There's Gage. I'll catch up with you ladies
later," Daniel said, quickly excusing himself.
"Never been all that comfortable around a group of
females, that one," Noelle pointed out.
"Daniel? No, he just wants to catch up with the
guys," Paige said, hooking her arm around Noelle's
and leading us farther into the party. "So, tell me,
was this girl really related to Ariana? Daniel says
she never mentioned a half sister the entire time they were
together." Wait. Daniel dated Ariana? How
could she have liked that guy and Thomas? They were
obviously polar opposites. But then, she was a
total nut job.
"Well, Ariana did have a talent for keeping
secrets," Noelle said.
Kiran and Taylor fell into step with me behind Noelle and
Paige. It was obvious that Paige
considered herself on the same level as Noelle, which no one
else in our circle would ever do.
Except Ariana, of course. But again, bonkers.
A tray of barbecued chicken and pineapples on skewers passed
by, and I was just reaching for it when
an older couple moved aside and I saw a guy about my age
standing near the railing overlooking the
water. He had shaggy, light-blond hair, all combed forward
toward his face and sticking out in an
adorable way around his ears. He wore a black T-shirt and
battered jeans and was leaning against the
railing with his arms--his very nice arms--braced at his
sides. There was a pensive look about his
angular face as he stared out at the ocean. I reached out
and stopped Kiran.
"Wait. Is that Upton?"
All four of them stopped, and then laughed.
"No, no, no, no, no," Paige said. "That is
not Upton. That is Sawyer Hathaway."
"So very not Upton," Noelle added derisively.
"Although he has gotten cuter," Kiran said,
looking him up and down in a pondering way as she took a
sip of her drink.
Taylor glanced around, and then whacked me with the back of
her hand. "That is Upton." I followed
her gaze across the pool, past all the glittering
conversation, bleached-white smiles, and clinking
glasses. It was as if time stood still. All noise ceased to
be. There was no air.
Noelle had not exaggerated. Upton Giles was the single
hottest male specimen ever to walk the earth.
Tall and muscular, but in a lean and extremely sexy way,
Upton had sun-kissed light-brown hair that
was perfectly tousled all over. His buttery tan was shown
off by his white linen shirt, which was
rolled up at the sleeves and unbuttoned just enough to show
off a smooth, chiseled chest. He wore a
black rope necklace with some kind of ring hanging from it
and had a smile that could fell a thousand
supermodels. Even from across the patio, I could tell that
his blue eyes matched the Caribbean Sea.
He was talking to a guy with short brown hair and a decent
smile, but I barely gave the guy a glance.
When you were looking at Upton, he was all you could see.
Boy was hotter than Josh. Hotter than Dash. He was even hotter
than Thomas. He was hotter than a
grilled Josh-and-Thomas sandwich with Dash filling.
"Told you," Noelle whispered in my ear.
"Holy crap," I replied, before I could censor
myself. All the girls laughed.
"What's the joke?" Amberly asked, coming up behind
me. My shoulders curled forward as all the
hairs on my neck stood on end.
"Nothing you need to concern yourself with," I
said flatly. Noelle shot me an admonishing look. "We
were just talking about the Upton Game."
"Oh my gosh, I am so in. Paige filled me in on the
deets when I got here," Amberly said, the skirt of
her blue flowered dress billowing out in the breeze.
"And he's, like, Africa hot."
"And you're, like, five years old," I replied,
mocking her voice by pitching mine up two octaves.
"God! What's your problem?" Amberly asked me.
"Do you really need me to explain it to you?" I
replied. "I knew you were an airhead, but I didn't think
you were that stupid."
Amberly's jaw dropped, and Noelle grabbed my arm, yanking me
away from the others.
"Okay, you need to chill. This is supposed to be a
vacation."
"Well, it's not going to be one if I have to deal with
her the whole time," I said through my teeth. "Do
you even know what she's done to me over the past week?
Talking down to me, trashing my room ..."
"I'm aware, but you're going to have to let bygones be
bygones," Noelle said. "Otherwise you two are
going to drive me crazy. And I, for one, am here to have
fun. Aren't you?" I took a deep breath and
looked around at my gorgeous surroundings. My eyes went
straight to Upton. "Yes."
"Good. Now let's get back over there before they start
thinking we're lesbian lovers having a spat,"
Noelle said.
I laughed out loud. Noelle was right. I was here to have
fun. And I could avoid Amberly for the next
few weeks. When I returned to the circle, I stood between
Kiran and Taylor and averted my gaze from
the little china doll. See? No problem.
"Everything okay?" Tiffany asked, joining us.
"Fine. We're all good," Noelle assured everyone.
"Good. Then shall we officially kick off the Upton
Game?" Paige suggested.
"Wait. Poppy's not here yet," Kiran protested.
"She's not flying in until tomorrow," Taylor
added.
"Her loss," Noelle said with a smirk. "By
then the game could already be won." The girls all laughed
devilishly, and I rolled my eyes. This whole thing was just
so silly. But they seemed to be enjoying it,
so who was I to judge?
"May the best girl win," Paige said, lifting her
glass. They all reached up and clinked their glasses
together. Everyone but me. Because A, I didn't have a glass,
and B, I was not going to be
participating.
"I'm rooting for you, Taylor," I said, as our
klatch broke up.
"Thanks!" Taylor cooed, hand to her chest.
"Everyone likes an underdog," Paige snickered.
Taylor's face dropped as the girl sauntered off in Upton's
direction. First impression of Paige Byan?
Ice-cold bitch. I wanted to trip her, but I didn't have the
guts just then. Maybe later.
"I don't like that girl," I said under my breath.
Taylor swigged the rest of her drink. "Join the
club."
"Wow. A mean word from Taylor Bell? Times have
changed," I joked. A comment like that was very
un-Taylor. She had always been the most doormatty of the
Billings Girls. Taylor smiled in an almost
apologetic way. The wind tossed her curls in front of her face,
and she casually swept them back.
"It comes from no longer having to answer to the
Billings hierarchy," she said, taking a deep,
cleansing breath. "You'd be surprised how freeing it
is."