Crazy Hot (The Au Pairs 4)

on his lap. He cradled her in his arms and she tucked her head underneath his chin. He smelled warm and woodsy. She relaxed in his arms. Who needed to meet or date any other boys when you'd found your one true love already? So what if they met so young? It only meant they could grow up together. Everyone should be so lucky.

He buried his nose in her hair and inhaled deeply, as if trying to catch up on everything he'd been missing.

She pulled her head out of the crook of his neck so she could look at him. "I wanted you to know, I'm going to Princeton in the fall. There's so much I want to learn and do. ..." His warm brown eyes were locked on hers. He looked surprised but not unhappy. "And I hope we can do it together. But the question is, can you wait?" she asked quietly. She suddenly felt like a little girl, curled up on his lap, waiting helplessly for his answer. "Will you wait for me?"

"I'll wait forever if I have to," Jer

emy promised, grabbing her hand and kissing it right where her ring would have sat. His answer was everything she'd wanted all along--a promise of forever, not a diamond ring. Jeremy cupped her face in his hands and they leaned in for a long, intense kiss. Eliza felt every part of her relax. This was right. This was home.

When they finally pulled apart, she smiled up at him wickedly. "So, um, whatever happened to that ring?"

261

THE MORE THINGS CHANGE, THE MORE THEY STAY THE SAME

THERE WAS A MOVING TRUCK PARKED IN FRONT OF THE

Perry manor when Mara drove up to it the next morning. Movers were loading cardboard boxes and crates into the truck. Several oversize objects stuck out on the driveway--Ryan's surfboards, Anna's Marie Antoinette vanity.

Mara parked the Lexus and walked up to the front door, where she found Ryan directing the men on how to move the art installations.

She came up behind him. "You're leaving?" she asked bluntly.

He looked up, surprised to find her standing there. "My dad sold the house. They want to buy a summer place in Europe. Anna loves London, and she says she's tired of the Hamptons." He stuck his hands in his pockets. "I was lucky to even have the summer here, I guess."

"What a shame," Mara couldn't help saying. She looked up at Creek Head Manor, feeling as if she'd just lost a loved one. "We had a lot of good times in that house."

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He shrugged, as if it didn't matter to him either way. "So what brings you here, Mara?" he asked, a little sharply.

She held her breath. She hadn't realized until she saw him how nervous she was. "I broke up with David," she said simply, and looked at him expectantly.

Ryan looked her square in the eyes and nodded. Then he turned and started to pack up the open cardboard box in the yard beside him.

Her heart dropped. Was that all? "Oh. Well. I just thought you should know," she said, swallowing the hurt that was building up in her throat. She turned her back and started walking toward the car. She got inside and shut the door, tears starting to well up in her eyes.

The hot sun poured through the windshield and Mara blinked, trying to see straight. She fumbled in her purse for the keys. Why had she even come over here? What did she think was going to happen?

There was a rap on the window. She looked up to see Ryan leaning on the car. She pressed the lever and the glass rolled down.

He exhaled loudly. "Mara. I don't know what you're thinking, showing up here and telling me that. What do you want from me?"

"I think--I want you" Mara said softly.

He wrinkled his forehead and shook his head sadly. "That day on the beach--I wanted you to say just that, but you didn't. And

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honestly . . . every summer we get back together and then you break up with me at the end of it. I mean, what's the point anymore?" His face looked pained, and she couldn't tell if he was more angry or upset.

She wiped the tears with the back of her hand and nodded vigorously. "Okay." She got it. He wasn't going to wait around for her anymore. Every year it was the same story. Ryan, standing there with his heart wide open, only to have her slam it shut.

He sighed deeply. "Listen, I need a change. I've been doing a lot of thinking lately, and I'm going to take a semester, maybe a year, off from Dartmouth and go to London with my family. I want to travel around Europe for a while. I'm not going to be around."

She blew her nose with a tissue she found in the glove compartment. "I'll see you, Ryan. Take care, okay?" She stuck the keys in the ignition.

But before she could start the engine, he opened the car door and got into the passenger seat. He turned to look at her, studying her face intently. He let out a long breath. "I'm leaving, but I had this stupid fantasy that maybe you'd want to join me," he said, the corners of his mouth turning up slightly.