Paradise Lost (Private 9)

"No. Of course not. Sorry," he said with a quick laugh. "But you did look like you were having deep thoughts."

"Are deep thoughts bad where you're from?" I challenged, arching my eyebrows.

"Never," he replied. "We're very deep in England. But in St. Barths, there are no deep thoughts allowed. Did Noelle not inform you of this rule? Because if not, I should admonish her straight away."

I laughed and looked down at my bare feet. "Actually, she did say something similar."

49

"Good," he said with a nod, looking me up and down. "So, did you girls have fun at the shops?"

"It was okay," I replied. "I didn't buy anything."

"Because nothing could do you justice, I suppose," he joked.

I laughed so loudly I had to cover my mouth with both hands to hide my embarrassment. "Sorry, but wow. They were right about you."

Upton raised one eyebrow. "They? Intriguing. Who might they be and what have they been saying about me? "

"Just that you kind of... get around," I said, drawing a circle in the sand with my toe.

Upton tilted back his head and laughed. I couldn't help but grin. He had such an uninhibited laugh. The way a laugh should be.

"Well. That was blunt," he said, his blue eyes sparkling.

"Sorry, but lately I've come to believe in absolute transparency," I told him, lifting one shoulder.

"Have you now?" he asked, crossing his arms over his perfect chest.

"Believe me, if you'd seen what I've seen, you would too," I assured him.

Upton narrowed his eyes, sizing me up. "You have a dark past, don't you, Reed Brennan?"

I swallowed down a sudden lump in my throat. My eyes wandered back to the ocean. "You could say that."

"Well, then I consider it my duty to make you forget all about it," he said. "At least for tonight."

"Oh, really? And how, exactly, do you intend to do that?" I asked.

"Like this."

50

In one swift motion, Upton managed to sweep my legs out from under me and send me sprawling into the sand. I let out a surprised shout as my butt hit the ground.

"What the hell are you doing?" I demanded, laughing as I sat up.

"Getting you to relax," he replied.

He sat down next to me, so close our knees brushed. A warm rush of excitement crashed through me. This was it. This was when the player made his move. Part of me knew I should storm off, offended that he'd think I was this easy, but I couldn't make myself move. Then, he lay down and looked up at the sky.

"Come on. Down you go," he said, tugging on my arm.

"If you wanted me to lay down, you could have just asked," I said, moving my head around on the lumpy sand until I found a comfortable position. "You didn't have to sweep the legs."

"Right. If I had said 'lay down,' do you really think you would have?" he asked dubiously, turning his head to face me.

I blinked. "You have a point."