groaned and slipped a silver monogrammed flask from her beaded Marc Jacobs clutch.
"I think it's cute when you go all poetic," Daniel said, draping his arm across the back of Ariana's
chair. Ariana looked up at his chiseled profile, his auburn hair, his ridiculously long lashes, and felt
for the millionth time the triumph of having a boyfriend like him. They'd been a couple for more
than a year, and she still marveled that he had chosen her over all other girls at Easton. "And
Noelle..." He tipped his champagne flute toward her. "If you kill my girlfriend, you can kiss Dash
good-bye."
"It's Christmas. There will be no killing on my watch," Ariana said.
"Buzzkill." Noelle offered the flask to Dash, but he waved it off.
258
"I have an early day tomorrow," he said, checking his thick silver watch. He ran his hands through
his wavy blond hair and blew out a sigh. "I have to be in Boston at six a.m. to meet my father."
"Six a.m.? You are a saint, Dash McCafferty," Paige Ryan said as Noelle handed her the flask
instead.
Dash blushed, even with Noelle watching. Paige just had that kind of power over people. Her
great-great-grandmother Jessica Billings had founded Billings House more than eighty years ago.
Paige, with her auburn curls and glass green eyes, was Billings. The true leader. The girl who made
even Noelle pause with uncertainty. She was also Daniel's twin sister.
"So what did I miss?" Ariana asked.
"About ten minutes of your boyfriend talking about your Christmas vacation plans. It was lethally
boring--even worse than when you get into your Emily Dickinson moods." Noelle rolled her dark
eyes. A black-vested waiter silently reached over her shoulder, clearing plates and neatly laying
dessert forks over fresh napkins.
Daniel gave Ariana a quick kiss. "Vermont is going to rock," he said with a wink.
Ariana gave Daniel a tight smile, her heart suddenly leaden in her chest. She knew what that wink
meant. She and Daniel had long ago decided that they would lose their virginity to each other on
their one-year anniversary. But when said anniversary had rolled around back in November, Ariana
had chickened out. Of course, she hadn't let Daniel know she was scared. She had simply insisted
that she was not about to lose her virginity in a dorm room. Daniel had been disappointed but
understanding. The very next day he