Crazy Hot (The Au Pairs 4)

"Right here." Jacqui appeared in the doorway. She'd changed into a pair of sweats and an old NYU T-shirt. Of course, she looked as gorgeous as ever.

"What happened to you?" Eliza asked as Jacqui sat down at the counter and helped herself to Eliza's potato chips. "You left the party early. Everyone was looking for you for the photo op. They had to settle for pictures of me and Midas." Eliza had been a little upset when no one could find Jacqui but had shaken it off and enjoyed being the center of attention for a change. All the editors at Vogue were falling over themselves to compliment her on the clothes. She mentally reminded herself to send a flood of bouquets to their office tomorrow to thank them for the party.

"I broke up with Marcus." Jacqui told them about what he'd

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said and her painful revelation. She sighed, pulling back her freshly washed black hair into a ponytail. "I should have listened to you guys."

"Me too," Mara admitted. She recounted the argument she'd had with David and how she'd left him high and dry. "We're done. It's over."

"You were right about him," both Mara and Jacqui said at the same time. They looked at each other and laughed.

"I'm such an idiot," Jacqui said. For the whole cab ride home, she'd felt like her world was falling apart. But after a long, hot shower, she realized she was being overly dramatic. After all, what had she lost? As far as NYU knew, she would still be at orientation. And she'd had a really fun summer. She'd wanted a boyfriend, and she'

d imagined one for herself. But as a summer fling, Marcus really had shown her a good time. As for her heart--it was bruised, but it wasn't broken. She was okay with being single if that was what was in the cards for her right now. She knew now, though, that she didn't want to settle for anything less than the perfect guy next time.

"Don't be so hard on yourself, Jac," Mara consoled. "I should have known too--I can't believe what an awful snob David turned out to be," she confessed. She told them what he'd said about her writing and her chances for publication, and both girls immediately became incensed.

"He's an idiot," Eliza declared, polishing off her sandwich and eating the chunks that had fallen on her plate. "You'll publish

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that book without his dragon-lady mom. I know a great agent who can help you. Don't worry. We'll show him yet."

"I think he's intimidated by you," Jacqui said, opening another large bag of chips. "You're the one with all the clips from real magazines. He's just the editor of a student paper."

"Ryan was right. . . ." Mara sighed. "He told me David was a jerk, but I didn't listen ... to any of you." She took a huge bite out of her sandwich. Love trauma always made her hungry.

Jacqui and Eliza just sat there, looking at her.

"Ryan?" Eliza said simply, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh. Yeah." Mara blushed a little. "I didn't tell you guys. We sort of got into an argument the other day. He said he didn't think David was right for me."

"Chica." Jacqui shook her head. "Do you really think Ryan's impartial?"

Mara couldn't help but smile at Jacqui's sagelike pronouncement. But could it be true? Could it be that Ryan had said those things about David because he was jealous?

"He was your first love." Eliza sighed. "You just don't get over those," she added softly, staring off into the distance.

Mara looked at her critically. "You miss Jeremy," she said. Of course Eliza did.

Before Eliza could say anything, the kitchen door swung open and Suzy entered. She was wearing a red silk bathrobe that was the same color as her hair, and her usual frizz was even wilder than usual, sticking up all over the place.

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"Don't mind me," she said cheerfully. "Just getting a glass of water." She pulled a Fiji bottle out of the fridge and turned to the girls. "Mara, Jacqui, I just want to say thank you so much for all your work this summer. The kids just adore you guys. I really can't thank you enough."

"You're welcome," Mara said. "They're great kids."

"I know." Suzy sighed. "They really are." She sat down at the counter next to the girls, and Eliza shuffled over a little to make room for her. It was starting to get a bit crowded. Suzy absent-mindedly reached for one of the potato chips and started munching on it noisily. "I realized how much of their childhoods I'm missing, so I'm going to cut back on my work hours a bit. The market needs me, but the kids need their mother more."

"That's wonderful, Suzy." Jacqui smiled. She'd known it was only a matter of time before Suzy realized her mother-as-manager theory was not the way to raise children.

"It's about time. I really shouldn't outsource everything." Suzy shrugged, putting the chips down and getting up from the counter, her moment of soul-searching apparently over.

"What else have you been outsourcing?" Eliza asked, suspicious.