Paradise Lost (Private 9)

Then he forcibly turned his wife around and led her away.

"Your mother sure hasn't changed," Noelle said to Paige.

"She has this thing about speaking her mind," Paige explained.

"No problem," I replied, even though I wasn't entirely sure that was an apology.

"Ah. There's Gage. I'll catch up with you ladies later," Daniel said, quickly excusing himself.

"Never been all that comfortable around a group of females, that one," Noelle pointed out.

"Daniel? No, he just wants to catch up with the guys," Paige said, hooking her arm around Noelle's and leading us farther into the party. "So, tell me, was this girl really related to Ariana? Daniel says she never mentioned a half sister the entire time they were together."

Wait. Daniel dated Ariana? How could she have liked that guy and Thomas? They were obviously polar opposites. But then, she was a total nut job.

"Well, Ariana did have a talent for keeping secrets," Noelle said.

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Kiran and Taylor fell into step with me behind Noelle and Paige. It was obvious that Paige considered her

self on the same level as Noelle, which no one else in our circle would ever do. Except Ariana, of course. But again, bonkers.

A tray of barbecued chicken and pineapples on skewers passed by, and I was just reaching for it when an older couple moved aside and I saw a guy about my age standing near the railing overlooking the water. He had shaggy, light-blond hair, all combed forward toward his face and sticking out in an adorable way around his ears. He wore a black T-shirt and battered jeans and was leaning against the railing with his arms--his very nice arms--braced at his sides. There was a pensive look about his angular face as he stared out at the ocean. I reached out and stopped Kiran.

"Wait. Is that Upton?"

All four of them stopped, and then laughed.

"No, no, no, no, no," Paige said. "That is not Upton. That is Sawyer Hathaway."

"So very not Upton," Noelle added derisively.

"Although he has gotten cuter," Kiran said, looking him up and down in a pondering way as she took a sip of her drink.

Taylor glanced around, and then whacked me with the back of her hand. "That is Upton."

I followed her gaze across the pool, past all the glittering conversation, bleached-white smiles, and clinking glasses. It was as if time stood still. All noise ceased to be. There was no air.

Noelle had not exaggerated. Upton Giles was the single hottest male

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specimen ever to walk the earth. Tall and muscular, but in a lean and extremely sexy way, Upton had sun-kissed light-brown hair that was perfectly tousled all over. His buttery tan was shown off by his white linen shirt, which was rolled up at the sleeves and unbuttoned just enough to show off a smooth, chiseled chest. He wore a black rope necklace with some kind of ring hanging from it and had a smile that could fell a thousand supermodels. Even from across the patio, I could tell that his blue eyes matched the Caribbean Sea. He was talking to a guy with short brown hair and a decent smile, but I barely gave the guy a glance. When you were looking at Upton, he was all you could see.

Boy was hotter than Josh. Hotter than Dash. He was even hotter than Thomas. He was hotter than a grilled Josh-and-Thomas sandwich with Dash filling.

"Told you," Noelle whispered in my ear.

"Holy crap," I replied, before I could censor myself.

All the girls laughed.

"What's the joke?" Amberly asked, coming up behind me. My shoulders curled forward as all the hairs on my neck stood on end.

"Nothing you need to concern yourself with," I said flatly.

Noelle shot me an admonishing look. "We were just talking about the Upton Game."