Skinny Dipping (The Au Pairs 2)

220

he'd leave her-- naked --in the middle of the night? She scrolled feverishly down the menu. The last received call: Perry House.

Anna.

Of course.

221

that's why they call it the walk of shame

WAKING UP IN AN UNFAMILIAR BED IS NEVER FUN.

The way the sunlight hits you--lemony-stark, unflattering, and speckled with dust--it's like the world is punishing you for your clandestine actions the night before. Even though Mara hadn't hooked up with Garrett the night before--he'd passed out fully clothed the minute they'd gotten into bed--she woke up feeling wretched. Ryan and Eliza were together, and the thought made her chest clench.

Garrett was still sleeping when she got up to put on her clothes from last night. It felt gross--cheap--to wear a feathered evening gown in the morning, and she'd slept with all her makeup on. She looked for her Blahnik sandals but couldn't find them anywhere.

"Heymmmppf," Garrett said, opening one eye and trying to pull Mara back into bed. "Where are you going?"

"I've got to go," Mara said, feeling frantic as she removed his arms from her waist. She picked up her purse from the carpet and scurried out the door without her shoes.

222

"Ill calllurrggh," Garrett mumbled.

She sped out the side stairs through the servants' entrance, and through the back yard that separated the Reynolds and Perry properties.

She'd just cleared the hedges in front of the pool, when Ryan appeared with a surfboard tucked under his arm. Just great. Just the guy she wanted to see.

Ryan took in Mara's wrinkled dress from the night before, her bare feet, her smeared makeup, and the direction from which she'd come. His face registered contempt.

"Late night?" he asked with an angry smirk.

Mara squared her shoulders. Nothing had happened, but she wasn't going to tell him that. Let him think she'd spent the night with Garrett--let him think she didn't care about him one bit.

"Garrett kept me up for hours," she said, smiling as widely as she could force herself. "I'm sooo tired."

Ryan's face contorted angrily. He looked disgusted with her.

"I know about you and Eliza," she said. "So don't even think you're so much better than me."

"What are you talking about? You broke up with me in November!" he yelled.

It was the first time Mara had ever seen Ryan show any real anger, any indication that his laid-back, anything-goes attitude could be rattled. It was exactly what she'd needed to see last fall when she'd told him they should just be friends.

/> "Only because I didn't think you really . . . Oh, forget it,"

223

Mara said, turning away. It was too late anyway--he was with Eliza now. She turned and walked briskly back to the au pairs' cottage, trying not to think about what had just happened.

When she got to their room, it was empty. Jacqui was nowhere to be found, and Megan was gone. She hadn't even left a note. Mara collapsed on the single bed, mentally, physically, and emotionally exhausted. The intercom rang.

She picked it up. "Hello?"

"Is that any way to answer the phone?" Anna Perry's clipped voice asked.

"Oh, sorry," Mara answered.