Sun-kissed (The Au Pairs 3)

"Don't you want to dance?" she pleaded.

"It's so loud in here. Let's go find somewhere we can really talk," Ben suggested, cupping his mouth and yelling so that he could be heard above the music.

"Oh, all right." Jacqui sighed and let him lead her to a quiet corner. Talking just didn't hold the same appeal as dancing did right then. If only she'd bumped into Duffy instead--he could always be counted on for a hilarious Napoleon Dynamite impersonation on the dance floor.

But when you're dating three boys at the same time, sometimes you end up in the right place with the wrong boy.

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shannon tries her hand at a little identity theft

THE LIGHTS IN THE AU PAIRS' ROOM WERE STILL SHINI

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when Jacqui returned later that evening from a grueling conversation with Ben in a coffee shop next to the bar. All she'd wanted to do was chill out, but Ben had been more interested in really delving into a serious discussion on her feelings. He'd dropped her off at the main house, and she had barely made her way to the au pairs' cottage when she bumped into Duffy, who was bouncing by on a pogo stick on the way to the beach.

But after the caffeine-and-analysis session with Ben, Duffy's crazy antics left her cold, and all she wanted to do was lie on the beach and let him hold her.

Sadly, Duffy had other ideas. He couldn't keep still, and for a moment Jacqui wished she were with Grant, who really knew how to make a girl feel good. Finally, she'd said good night after Duffy slightly twisted his ankle on a hard landing and had to limp back home. Jacqui shook her head: boys. They offered so much and too little at the same time.

"You're still up?" Jacqui asked, noticing Shannon sitting

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upright in the middle of the single bed, tapping on a laptop computer.

"Wait till you see what I found," Shannon crowed, excitement in her voice. The newest au pair had thrown herself into Operation Parent Trap with gusto and enjoyed coming up with schemes to manipulate the Perrys into thinking they were in love.

"Come look," Shannon said, and Jacqui sat down on the bed next to her.

Jacqui looked at the screen. "Isn't that. . . ?"

"Anna's. I know. I took it from her office. Laurie left the key in the kitchen the other day and I swiped it."

Shannon typed a bunch of keystrokes and Anna's e-mail out-box came up.

"How'd you get her password?" Jacqui asked.

"Easy, it's all stored in the memory. I'm Korean; we're, like, computer geniuses, right?" Shannon smirked. "A kid could figure it out."

Shannon clicked on an envelope icon, launching an e-mail, and filled in Kevin's e-mail address in the "to" box.

"I think it's time Kevin got a love letter from his wife, don't you think?" the younger girl asked.

Jacqui was impressed. Faking e-mail love notes certainly ratcheted up the game. Shannon typed:

Dear Kevin, I'm so sorry I've been so crazy. I can't bear to be apart from you. You know you're the only one for me. This has gone far enough. I miss you and can't fall asleep without knowing you are

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by my side. I hope your ear is okay. I can't live with knowing I've hurt you. Call off the dogs and let's get back together again. Yours always, Snugglepuss. It was the nickname everyone in the house knew Kevin called Anna. Anna had even had it embroidered on one of her boudoir pillows.

"Nice, huh?" Shannon asked with a cheeky grin. She clicked on the send icon and sent the love note whizzing into cyberspace. Afterward, she went to the sent-mail folder and deleted the e-mail so that Anna would never see it.

Jacqui was still marveling at the younger au pair's creativity when Shannon launched another window. This time, she typed in the mobile address for Kevin's law firm. With speedy efficiency, Shannon accessed his e-mail account as well. "He uses her laptop sometimes. All I needed to do was find all the cookies, and the computer had stored all his passwords, too."

Jacqui nodded, watching over Shannon's shoulder as she began typing: