Sun-kissed (The Au Pairs 3)

"Yeah." She nodded, reaching over to hold his hand.

"Cool," he said, giving hers a warm squeeze. He went back to strumming on his guitar, a small smile playing on his lips, and she knew they were all right again. They might not see eye to eye

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on how they were going to spend the summer (Ryan seemed to want to carry on his hard-core Dartmouth partying, while Mara wanted to jump-start her career), but there was one thing they agreed on: they were crazy for each other.

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around and around they go

THERE WAS A BRIGHT YELLOW SCHOOL BUS PARKED IN

front of the Perry mansion the next morning. The driver of the bus honked the horn several times until Jacqui walked outside. She found Grant and Ben hanging out of the bus window. Duffy was sitting in the driver's seat. "Bom dia, Jacarei. Get in! We rented Great Adventure for the day," he said, bidding her a good morning. "Everyone on board!"

"You what?" Jacqui asked.

"You looked so down the other day, we thought we should try to make you feel better. And what's better than a day at an amusement park?" Ben asked.

"Your chariot, madam." Grant smiled as Duffy opened the door.

Jacqui helped the Perry kids aboard. As they pulled out of the driveway, she saw a dejected Anna Perry looking at them from her bedroom window.

The drive out to New Jersey took several hours, but the guys kept the kids entertained by cracking jokes and telling them about their latest silly videos on their web site. "There's one

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where these two dudes are doing a choreographed karaoke of *NSync. It's hilarious."

True to their word, the company had rented out the entire amusement park for a staff "family day." They had the whole place to themselves, and the two-thousand-acre park had an almost ghost-town-like quality, since fewer than a hundred of them were in a place that could hold thousands. Jacqui couldn't even imagine how much this excursion had cost--the boys seemed to have no concerns in that area. It was all play money to them.

"Hey, Jac, should we check out the Batman ride? The centrifugal force is excellent. It'll make your hair stand on end, a real rush!" Ben cajoled.

"No way, we've got to check out the Haunted Tunnel. Don't worry, I'll keep you safe." Grant smiled. He had a high appreciation for campy pleasures, and Jacqui knew he was looking forward to snuggling on the small creaky boat.

"It's bumper cars all the way!" Duffy urged, hopping up and down like a little boy.

The three boys stood in front of her, eager faces aglow, each convinced that only he was the one who had kissed Jacqui the night before.

"I--I. . ." she said, flustered. "Give me a minute," she pleaded. She sat down on a nearby bench and clutched her forehead.

"Still worried about the divorce?" Ben whispered out of earshot of the Perry kids.

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"Yeah, I'm sorry, guys. Can we just sit down for a moment?" she asked, Cody and Zoe at her side. Shannon had run after Madison and William, who were hell-bent on riding the upside-down roller coaster until they both puked.

"Look, Jac, if you're really concerned, you have to do something about it. You can't just sit around letting it happen," Duffy declared.

"What do you mean?" Jacqui asked, wondering if she should feel offended. Cody and Zoe stepped away to throw coins in a fountain.

"Well, you know, we built a multimillion-dollar business from our dorm rooms. Surely we can help you keep one dinky marriage together," Ben said.

"True dat, true dat." Grant nodded.

In the end, since they had two kids under the height limit to entertain, the three boys and Jacqui ended up spending the day on the slow, pokey kids' rides, which Cody and Zoe enjoyed. As they went around and around the two-mile-an-hour choo-choo, long legs folded with knees pressed up against the seat in front of them, the boys looked longingly at the high-flying, technologically advanced roller coasters that thundered across the park. But not one of them would give up being by Jacqui's side.

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