Crazy Hot (The Au Pairs 4)

"Whatever, Mara." Ryan shook his head disappointedly and stood up. "I was just trying to help," he added.

She sat there bristling, but before she could say anything more, he turned and walked back inside his house, not looking back at her once.

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www.blogspot/hamptonsaupair1

Sorry I haven't been blogging for a while. I heard that's a blogger's cliche--apologizing for not posting to your readers. :) So I doubly apologize. Things have been hectic over here. D. and I are going to New York this weekend, and I'm so looking forward to getting back to civilization. Don't get me wrong, the Hamptons are civilization too, but the Hamptons are like Gaul to New York's Rome. The weather is better, the food is great, but ultimately, you want to be back where the action is, and I miss the city.

How are the kids? Well, thanks. Violet has talked to a boy! Sure, it was just the hot dog vendor on Sag Harbor, but still. Logan and Jackson have received their GREs and are contemplating colleges. They'll probably get into a better one than mine. Cassidy is walking already! And Wyatt has learned how to tie his shoes.

As for J. and E. I wouldn't know . . . and I don't care. Much.

Till next time,

Hamptonsaupair1

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ELIZA FINDS AN AUSSIE BAND-AID CAN'T QUITE HEAL HER ALL-AMERICAN BROKEN HEART

"IS IT TRUE?" MIDAS ASKED THE SECOND ELIZA WALKED in the door of the temporary Vogue offices. He and Marcus had chosen the photographs that were going to be in the spread, and she was dying to see the final edited collection. "You and Mr. Right--it's off?"

As if her breakup with Jeremy wasn't difficult enough on its own, the papers had had a field day with the disintegration of Jereliza, and it seemed that every conversation she'd had for the last week had begun with that sentiment-- "It's really over?" Eliza had drunkenly confessed about their breakup to a gossipy friend at a bar, and the next day it was everywhere. Luckily for her, two days after that, Chauncey Raven had gotten back together with her loser ex-husband, despite the fact that he'd once cheated on her with a nineteen-year-old, and everyone forgot about the Greyson heir and his designer girlfriend again.

Eliza nodded. "It is." It was bizarre to say it, much less to

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think about it. She and Jeremy were no longer a couple. She felt too shocked to be sad. She was merely numb.

When she left him that night in a fit of melodrama, she had assumed that he would immediately come after her and demand that she change her mind. But he hadn't. And now that a week had gone by without her hearing from him, she'd realized that he probably never would. How could they ever get back together after she'd shattered his dreams like that and strung him along so cruelly the whole summer? She couldn't blame him for giving up on her.

"I offer my condolences," Midas said softly. "To the poor bastard."

"Excuse me?" She wasn't sure if she'd heard him correctly.

"What I meant to say is, fancy having dinner with me tonight?" Midas said a bit more loudly, his blue eyes sparkling and a wide smile on his face.

"Sure." She nodded. Having not spoken to Mara and Jacqui in a week, she could certainly use a sympathetic ear. "Dinner sounds great."

"Splendid. I'll pick you up at eight." He closed the portfolio, handing it to her. "I've got another meeting, so I'm afraid I have to run, but I'll see you later."

Eliza stood up, taking her things. Wait. What just happened here? Had they planned a friendly dinner, or had she just agreed to go out with Midas on a date?

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JLX Bistro was more crowded than it had been in a while, filled with the late-August flood of now-or-never vacationers. There were lawyers and bankers who put in hundred-hour weeks and didn't see their families all summer until the very end, as well as the Hollywood crowd who breezed into the Hamptons to catch the last round of parties and premieres of the season.

Eliza was surprised that they were still given a choice seat out on the patio with a view of the ocean, what with all the famous faces surrounding them. But she shouldn't have been. When it came to connections, fashion people always did well for themselves, and Midas was given a bear hug by the owner of the establishment as soon as they arrived. Hollywood actresses might come and go, but the style pack had been summering in the Hamptons forever.

Midas was in top form at dinner, regaling Eliza with stories about growing up in Sydney and hanging out in Bondi Beach. She had been to Sydney once, so they chatted about bars and restaurants and where to get the best beer. Midas was being his usual funny and charming self, but as was the way with her lately, Eliza found she could hardly concentrate on his words, and her mind kept drifting off.

"You should show at Sydney Fashion Week." Midas's voice broke into her thoughts. "The field is growing and Aussies are mad for fashion."

"I'll keep it in mind." Eliza nodded, hoping that he hadn't noticed her zoning out there for a bit. "Are you going?"

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