The Complete Private Collection: Private; Invitation Only; Untouchable; Confessions; Inner Circle; Legacy; Ambition; Revelation; Last Christmas; Paradise ... The Book of Spells; Ominous; Vengeance (202 page)

“In the cabinet.”

He sat down, turned away, and began talking into the phone. Noelle stared at him for a moment, annoyed, before moving on.

“Sorry. He gets crabby when he’s in business mode,” she said, yanking open the cabinet. Inside were a few decks of cards, a full set of poker chips, and a folded felt poker tabletop. “Always be prepared,” she said wryly. She pulled out the tabletop and chips and handed them over. We were about to return to our seats when her phone beeped. She pulled it from the pocket of her dress and rolled her eyes again.

“Dash.”

My throat went dry. “He called?”

“No. Texted, the wuss,” she said. “He wants to know if it’s okay with me if he comes down this year. I don’t know why he would, since his parents are going to be in Europe with his aunt’s family until Christmas.”

Um, maybe because he wants to be with you?
I thought but didn’t say.

She quickly texted back, her fingers flying over the touch screen.

“What are you writing back?”

“That he can do whatever he wants. I’m not his keeper.” She finished her text and dropped her phone back in her pocket.

“Noelle—,” I began.

“Reed,” she said firmly. “We are not talking about this anymore.”

“But I have to ask you something,” I said, clutching the poker tabletop to my chest.

She clucked her tongue impatiently. “What?”

“If you’re still mad . . . why am I here?”

Noelle thought about it a moment, then smirked. “Let’s just say you’re lucky I don’t have to kiss
you
.”

“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 somewhere. 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 partygoers. 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!”

Partying 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 Brennan,” Noelle said, stepping aside.

Mrs. Ryan, a Billings 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.”