Skinny Dipping (The Au Pairs 2)

EVERY SUMMER SINCE ELIZA COULD REMEMBER, THE Meadow Club in Southampton held an amateur tennis tournament for its members. Over the years, the

two-day event had grown from a private, low-key country club match to one of the most important stops on the tennis circuit, complete with an official corporate sponsor, and had since been dubbed the Rolex Invitational. The tourney was able to attract tennis stars like Andy Roddick and Lindsay Davenport, as well as former luminaries like Pete Sampras and Ivan Lendl, to compete for the grand prize, a silver plate and a ten-thousand-dollar check. However, this year, none of the players were famous or internationally ranked, much to the chagrin of the club, which counted on the publicity the stars garnered.

At the end of the week, everyone turned out to watch the men's and women's championships. A well-heeled crowd in Lacoste polos and cheerful madras prints watched as

168

Philippe double faulted against his opponent, a hulking Swede.

Jacqui sat in the back with the kids, whom she'd bribed with ice cream bars. She knew how badly Philippe wanted to win the championship, but this was not going well. In the front box, Jacqui noticed Anna Perry watching the game with interest as well. Even though Jacqui knew she had to stay away from Philippe, there was something about watching Anna watch him that made her want him more. She still remembered the way he'd kissed her on the pool table. As much as she tried, Jacqui couldn't shake the memory.

On the adjoining court, Eliza was matching a two-time NCAA champ from Stanford serve for serve. She'd won the semifinal in a nail-biting sudden-death round, and it was a total thrill to be in the finals. She'd never expected this. Eliza looked up at the stands, enjoying being the center of attention for the first time all summer. She caught Ryan's eye and smiled at him in the front row, and then looked up again and saw Jeremy. She botched her serve, lobbing it into the net weakly.

Mara was sitting in the front box next to Garrett, directly opposite from Ryan, but she and Ryan weren't looking at each other. Sugar and Poppy were there as well, close to Mara. Eliza noticed that the three girls were wearing identical pastel Cynthia Rowley dresses. Totally weird--they'd hardly known Mara existed last summer.

169

Eliza shook the distractions from her head. This was it: last set. The Stanford champ sent a liner down the middle. Eliza sent it back with a powerful crash. Game. Set. Match. And just like that, Eliza won.

The NCAA champ was giving interviews in the locker room, trying to explain away her loss to a high school student, so Eliza ducked in, took a quick shower, and changed into a tiny Sabbia Rosa camisole and white Chloe jeans. She ran out to the hallway, hoping to avoid her surly opponent.

"Hey, good game!"

Eliza looked around. Ryan was standing underneath the archway with a bouquet of flowers.

"Ryan! Thanks!" She smiled, flushed and happy to see him. "Are those for me?"

Ryan handed the flowers over and they hugged warmly. Ryan was leaning down to kiss Eliza on the cheek when another hand tapped her on the shoulder. She turned to find Jeremy, smiling a little warily at her.

"Hey!" Eliza enthused, throwing her arms around Jeremy's neck.

"You were great on that court," Jeremy whispered.

Eliza smiled into Jeremy's polo shirt, almost forgetting that he'd completely blown her off ever since dinner with her parents. Ryan coughed, and Eliza remembered her manners.

170

"Jeremy, you know Ryan Perry, right? He's an old friend of mine," Eliza explained, a little nervously.

"Sure. I used to work for you guys," Jeremy said, taking Ryan's hand.

"How are you, man?" Ryan asked. The two of them clenched hands, smiling tightly at each other. Ryan affected a relaxed pose that Eliza could tell was just an act.

"Oh, Eliza, this is Carolyn," Jeremy said, turning to introduce a tall, auburn-haired girl behind him. "Eliza Thompson, Carolyn Flynn."

Eliza handed Ryan the bouquet so she could shake hands with Jeremy's friend.

"You should turn pro," Carolyn said. "That was amazing."

"Thanks--you're sweet. You know, you look familiar," Eliza said, narrowing her eyes. "You went to Spence, didn't you?

"I think I was a year older," Carolyn agreed.

"And you two know each other?" Eliza asked, gesturing from Carolyn to Jeremy.

"We're both interning at Morgan," Jeremy explained.

Eliza felt her jaw muscles tighten from having to smile so much. It was so great to see Jeremy--finally. And she was so touched he'd actually remembered the tennis tournament, but it sort of seemed like he was here . . . with a date.