Paradise Lost (Private 9)

I rolled onto my back and smiled, listening to his song and recalling all the perfect moments from the night before. After my talk with Dash, Upton and I had taken a walk along the beach, kicking water at each other and trying to tackle each other into the waves. He had driven me home and had walked me to the front door for a goodnight kiss.

My heart fluttered at the memory. I scooted down in my bed, pulling the soft white sheets up over my head and letting out a little squeal. I hadn't entertained many expectations coming into this trip.

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I figured I'd read a few books on the beach, maybe get a tan, do the club thing with Noelle. But I hadn't thought beyond that, and I certainly never expected this. I never expected to meet someone and to feel this way. Like I was falling in--

My rogue thought was cut off by the sound of frantic pounding. The bird took off with a startled jolt, and I sat up straight, tossing off my sheets. Someone was at the front door of the house. I heard Noelle's father say something to one of the servants, and another door in the house slammed.

Should I go check out the commotion, or should I let the family deal with it? This was their house, their island, their friends. Maybe I would just be interfering. I hesitated behind my closed bedroom door until my curiosity got the better of me. Then I tiptoed down the hall to the open foyer, thinking I could sneak back to my room if I didn't want to get involved.

Noelle was meeting her father at the door. He was already dressed in creased khakis and a button-down shirt. She was wearing a black silk robe over a black silk nightgown. I looked down at my boxer shorts and rumpled gray Penn State T-shirt. Maybe it was time to invest in some grown-up night clothes.

I also couldn't help but notice that a fat Christmas tree had appeared in the middle of the great room, as if from nowhere, decorated from top to bottom with silver and white balls, bells, and thick silver ribbon for garland. Evergreen swags hung on the walls, centered by silver bows, and silver-and-white fur stockings were tacked along the breakfast bar. There even was one with my name sewn into

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it. None of this had been there when we went to bed the night before. Did the Langes have a fleet of Caribbean elves working for them?

"I've got it," Mr. Lange said to Noelle, reaching for the door.

Paige and Sienna stood on the doorstep in casual gear: shorts and tank tops, with matching oversized Chanel quilted bags-Paige's green, Sienna's red. They both froze at the sight of Noelle's father.

"Girls?" he said.

Paige pushed up her huge sunglasses on top of her head. "We're so sorry to bother you, Mr. Lange, it's just. .. Poppy is missing."

"What?" Noelle and her father said in unison. He took a step back. "Please, come in."

They walked into the foyer, but no one made a move toward the living room. Paige spotted me, and instantly her expression turned disgusted, as if she'd just sucked on a lemon. I stepped into the room. There would be no sneaking away now.

"What do you mean, missing?" Noelle demanded, retying the belt on her robe.

"I went over there this morning to bring her the standard post-breakup, you-can-do-better-than-him breakfast, and she wasn't in her room," Paige began. She gave me another loathing look, as if to remind me of my role in last night's dumping.

"Her bed hadn't been slept in," Sienna added in her thick accent, hitching her purse higher on her shoulder.

"So she never came back to the suite last night?" Noell

e asked Sienna.

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"No. But the suite is so huge ... I hear nothing from her side of the room when she is there," Sienna replied.

"So we were walking around the hotel grounds looking for her, when one of the workers came running into the lobby all freaking out," Paige continued. "They found Poppy's car down by the family's private dock with the driver's side door open--and there was blood on the ground."

"Oh my God," I heard myself say. My hand automatically flew to my mouth.

"The Simons' thirty-footer is gone," Sienna added. She had yet to even look at me or in any way acknowledge that I was there. "We tried to find her parents, but the hotel people told us they're visiting friends in Antigua for the next two days."

"And their cell phones went straight to voice mail," Paige added.

My hands were slick with sweat. Missing? Blood? We had come to St. Barths to put a situation like this one behind us. Poppy's words from the night before suddenly started to echo in my mind.

Path of destruction... crushed hearts... death ....

Maybe she was right. Maybe it really was me. Maybe I brought misery everywhere I went.