Skinny Dipping (The Au Pairs 2)

some, you lose some, n'est-ce pas?" He smiled impishly. "What are you doing here, anyway?" he asked. "I have to lose a tennis match to get your attention?"

"Well, you've been kind of busy with someone else," Jacqui said, sitting down on the side of the bed.

"Anna Perry again! What do I have to do to make you believe there is nothing between me and that woman?" Philippe asked, throwing up his arms.

"Prove it," Jacqui taunted, her full lips parting into a sexy smile.

Philippe pulled her toward him. "Is this what you want?" he asked, between kisses.

Jacqui responded by kissing him ardently back. He slid his hand up the back of her shirt, but she pushed him away. "No-- not now ..." she said, looking at the door again.

"When?" Philippe asked.

"We'll figure something out," Jacqui sa

id, smoothing her hair and kissing him one last time.

She stuck her head out the door. The coast was clear. She ran out the door, just as Dr. Abraham was walking purposefully toward his room. As she shuffled down the hallway toward the kids' wing, Jacqui heard them talking and wondered what that was all about. Philippe was one popular boy.

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mara acquires a perry

sister nickname

NEVER JUDGE A BOOK BY ITS COVER. THAT WAS WHAT MARA

had always been taught, growing up in a small town like Sturbridge. Her parents were heavily into cliched sayings, such as Still waters run deep and The Lord helps those who help themselves, which her mother had embroidered and framed in their kitchen. For the most part, Mara abided by the first one--she was always willing to give people a second chance.

Look at Garrett Reynolds. She'd assumed he was some rich playboy who only had one thing on his mind, but he'd turned out to be genuinely interested in her. So, she'd been wrong about Garrett. Could it be possible she'd been wrong about Poppy and Sugar as well?

It had started innocently enough, when she and Garrett had attended Charlie Borshok's birthday party, at Sugar's invitation. They'd had a decent time, and the twins hadn't mentioned one thing about her being an au pair. In fact, unlike last summer, they were treating her like one of them. Poppy, who'd recently

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come back from a "spa" in Arizona with a pumped-up chest and her hair dyed dark chocolate brown, was especially friendly after the Nipplegate incident. "It's good to be a little controversial--it keeps people interested," she'd told Mara.

Poppy knew all about controversy. Since she had been overlooked by the reality show, Poppy had tried to recapture the spotlight through alternative means. First up: a line of scented candles inspired by her oh-so-glamorous life. Fragrances included New York City Musk, which unfortunately smelled exactly like its name; Last Call, which smelled like the backroom of a bar; and Fame, made from poisonous elderberries and cloyingly sweet gardenias. It didn't seem to bother their parents that neither of the twins was planning on going back to high school in the fall. As Sugar put it, they could always get their GEDs just like everybody else in Hollywood.

The night of the launch party for Sniffers by Poppy Perry at Seventh Circle, Poppy had totaled the family's Mercedes SUV. Kevin had not been pleased and had told the girls that they could either drive the Volvo or pay for a new car themselves. Unwilling to raid their own trust funds, the twins had asked Mara if she'd mind if they joined her in that sweet little 7-series BMW convertible she was tooling around town in.

They were the last two girls on earth that Mara had ever thought she would like--but since they were invited to all the same parties and were friends with Garrett's friends, and there was no one else for Mara to hang out with anyway, it just seemed

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natural. Even though Eliza had told Mara not to worry about it, Mara and Eliza hadn't hung out since that night at Seventh Circle. Mara was upset that Eliza was harboring a grudge, but she didn't know how to resolve their quarrel.

Later that evening, Mara was sitting on Sugar's platform bed, the three of them trying on clothes and putting on makeup.

"This is gorgeous," Mara said, fingering a daringly low-cut white Versace dress in Sugar's closet.

"I know, it's like, my fave," Sugar said. "I can't wear it anymore, though. It's been in too many magazines. And I'd give it to Pop, but it won't fit her anymore because of, you know"--she laughed, pointing at her sister's chest---"the surgery."

"Shut up! They still huuuurt" Poppy whined, rubbing her breasts. "Mara, you try it on," Poppy encouraged. "I bet it'll look amazing on you. C'mon."

"I couldn't!" Mara said, although she was already stepping out of her shorts and pulling up the dress over her hips.

"What are you wearing tonight?"