The Au Pairs (The Au Pairs 1)

Jacqui murmured a short prayer. She felt a twinge of guilt for sneaking out to meet up with Luca for lunch.

They waited in the little outdoor room, debating whether or not to call Anna. Mara said yes. Eliza said no. And in the end, it was Jacqui's deciding vote for what she doesn't know won't hurt her that finalized their decision not to call.

When the doctor emerged, the news was good. Minor sun stroke. Nothing ice packs, fluids and bed rest wouldn't cure. They almost cheered when William ran out, just as spastic as ever.

Eliza tousled his hair. "You gave us quite a scare!"

"Next time will you sit still?" Mara asked.

William only grinned. Jacqui hugged him.

"What's that on your neck?" he asked her.

Jacqui blushed.

They returned home hoping not to run into Anna. No such luck. She had just returned from the salon and pulled up to the house at the same time.

"Anyone care to explain?" She demanded when she saw William.

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"Um, it was the sunscreen. I don't think it was strong enough," Eliza said smoothly.

"But he's fine," piped in Jacqui. "Right, Will?" William just smiled and pointed at her hickey. He was definitely fine.

"Drugstore brands are really ineffective," Eliza said, playing up to Anna's snobbishness. "There's a really good one from Zurich that is divine."

"Order some for tomorrow," Anna allowed, and turned away without even saying hello to any of the children.

The three breathed a sigh of relief. And then William ran off, as though nothing had happened at all.

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the girls have finally learned how to locate the fridge under all that french cabinetry

Two weeks after the twins ditched her before the PlayStation2 party, Eliza stood by the washbasin in the laundry room, trying to get the mud off Sugar's Escada tennis whites. This was so not what she had prepared for when she told Kevin Perry she would "help out with the kids" this summer.

Poppy and Sugar's snub had hit Eliza hard, but she still managed to claw her way back into the scene through her old friends Taylor and Lindsay, who had instant access to every guest list event in town, from store openings to movie premieres. The three of them hit a different nightclub every night, strategically avoiding the Perry twins. It was harder to pretend they didn't exist back at the house, where the blond brats kept her busy with countless mundane tasks. Eliza didn't mind so much since it appeared Sugar and Poppy had failed to mention her diminished status to anyone in the clique. Were they being forgetful or just indifferent? Eliza couldn't hazard a guess, but she was thankful for the reprieve in public, at least.

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"There," she said, holding the soiled cloth up to the light. "That should be good enough."

She had ruined her manicure in the process, but at least she wouldn't wake up in the morning to hear Sugar's hoarse voice asking her ever so sweetly why her tennis skirt wasn't hanging in her closet. She walked out to the kitchen, where Mara wa

s sitting in front of a bowl, her forehead knit in concentration as she carefully balanced a small green object on her fingers.

"What are you doing?" Eliza asked.

"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm peeling Madison's grapes," Mara explained, as if it were the most normal thing in the world.

"Hell no." Eliza still couldn't believe some of the things they had to do for these kids.

Mara gingerly took an edge of the grape and peeled off its skin. The bowl in front of her held about two dozen similarly skinless specimens.

"Where's Jacqui?" Eliza asked.

"Feeding Cody dinner. It's her turn." And for once Jacqui was actually there to do it.