Paradise Lost (Private 9)

"What should we do?" Paige asked, looking at Mr. Lange. "What if someone kidnapped her and stole the boat, and she's out on the open sea with some psycho?"

Noelle snorted a laugh, and Paige looked at her like she had just thrown up on her Jimmy Choos.

"This isn't funny," she snapped.

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"Now, girls. You don't know that something bad has happened to her," Mr. Lange said in a comforting tone.

"Exactly," Noelle added, throwing out her hands. "This is Poppy we're talking about. The girl who once disappeared from her boarding school for an entire semester to go hot air ballooning over Austria and didn't bother to tell anyone."

Hot air ballooning? Cool.

"But what about the blood?" Paige asked. "Explain that."

"Maybe she tripped on those ridiculous shoes she was wearing and cut open her knee," Noelle suggested. "I just think it's too soon to panic, that's all."

It was amazing how Noelle's rationalization calmed me. Perhaps it was because she had turned out to be right so many times in the past. But suddenly, the visions of me as some kind of magnet for evil melted away. If Noelle thought Poppy was fine, then she probably was.

Just then, there was a rap on the still-open front door. We all turned to find Upton loitering on the doorstep in jeans and a light-blue shirt, looking like he'd just stepped out of a cologne ad. My heart skipped a beat. Paige and Sienna both lit up briefly at the sight of him, but then Sienna glowered and looked away. It seemed that, for a moment, the sight of his beauty had made her forget she was mad at him.

"Upton," Paige said, touching her perfect hair.

My hands flew to the rat's nest atop my own head. I quickly tied it back, and then crossed my arms over my chest, which was bra-free.

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Had I washed my face last night, or did I have raccoon-style mascara smudges under my eyes? God, Reed, when were you going to learn? You never know when a guy is going to show up without notice. Thomas, Josh, and now Upton. It was one thing these guys had in common, it seemed. They were all fans of the drop-by.

"Good morning," Upton said cheerfully, coming into the house and glancing around at our circle. "Noelle, are you having a breakfast party and didn't invite me?"

Sienna whirled on Upton. "This is your fault!" she said, shoving his shoulder.

He was so startled that he actually tripped back a step. "Hold on a sec," he said, raising his palms. "What did I do?"

"Apparently, Poppy is missing," Noelle explained. "Her car was deserted, there was blood, and the Simon Says is missing from its slip."

Simon Says? That was the boat's name? How... cutesy.

Upton laughed. "Please. She's not missing. She's just out for a sail."

Paige threw her hands up. "Why are we the only people who are concerned about this?"

"Paige, this is what Poppy does," Upton said. He reached out and put his hand on her bare shoulder, which made her blush all the way up her neck and into her face. "She's probably gone off to some private island to meditate with a shaman or something. Tonight we'll all meet up at the hotel, and she'll be sitting at the bar waiting to tell us all about it."

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"Hijo de puta," Sienna said through her teeth.

Upton's eyes widened. "Pardon me?"

"You broke her heart! She ran off upset!" Sienna ranted. "You know what she is like when she is in that mood. Who knows what she could have done, or with whom? If anything happens to her, Upton, it's your fault."

She pushed past him and disappeared through the door. Paige glanced around at us, looking stunned and slightly embarrassed by Sienna's breakdown.

"I guess that's my cue," Paige said. She paused as she stepped past Upton, looking him up and down suspiciously. "What are you doing here, anyway?"

Upton took a deep breath and let it out audibly, as if shaking off Sienna's attack. "Well, I've come to take Reed horseback riding, if she's interested," he said, flashing a smile in my direction.