Paradise Lost (Private 9)

Both Mr. Lange and Noelle looked at me curiously. I wondered what Mr. Lange was thinking. He wasn't going to tell me I couldn't go, was he? Pull a concerned chaperone or surrogate father move? But he just looked away when he saw me watching him, and he said nothing.

"I don't know. Did we have anything planned for today?" I asked Noelle.

"Yes. I have a plan to go back to sleep," she said. "Feel free to ride all the horses you want."

"Okay. I guess I'll go get ready," I said giddily.

"And Paige, I'll keep trying Poppy's parents," Noelle's father said. "I'm sure they'll have some explanation."

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"Thanks, Mr. Lange," Paige said with a smile. She eyed me, Upton, and Noelle in a scolding manner. "At least someone around here cares."

Then she slid her sunglasses over her eyes, turned, and walked off with her chin in the air.

"Like she actually cares about anyone other than herself and her mentally twisted brother," Noelle said, rolling her eyes. "I'll see you guys at Shutters for brunch. Late brunch." She strolled off toward her room.

"Give me ten minutes," I told Upton.

"I'll give you fifteen, even," he replied with a grin.

"Tea, Upton?" Noelle's father offered.

"Sounds perfect."

The two of them went off toward Mr. Lange's office near the back of the house, and I could have sworn I heard my name mentioned. But I had more important things to consider than what was probably a polite conversation about how Upton and I had gotten together. Like what, exactly, did a girl on an exclusive Caribbean island wear to go horseback riding?

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CHAPTER 20 FLING FLUNG

"Um, what are we doing on Paige's estate?" I asked, sitting on a bale of hay inside the Ryans' state-of-the-art stable as Upton hoisted up a saddle on a beautiful gray mare. At least I assumed it was state-of-the-art. I'd never actually been in a stable before. But with automated doors on the dozen stalls; a stainless steel scrubbing area; and shelves of gleaming saddles, bridles, and brushes, it sure seemed well appointed. None of it had held my attention for very long, however, because Upton was fairly mesmerizing. He had shed the shirt soon after our arrival and was now wearing nothing but a tight white tank top over his jeans. Watching him move around the stable, all self-assured and half-dressed, was making my head fuzzy and my skin tingly and warm.

"They're the only ones on the island with enough property to keep horses, so we board our animals here," he said, reaching under the horse's belly for one of the straps. He buckled it tightly, then

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came around to my side and slapped the horse's back. "This one's Misty. I've had her since I was fourteen, and I promise she'll treat you well."

"Unlike all your other women," I joked, pushing myself up and dusting my hands off on the butt of my jeans.

"Haven't we gone over this? I have no other women," Upton said fondly, handing me a bucket full of carrots. "Here. Feed her a couple of these. She'll be your best friend for life."

He moved on to the second horse, a black stallion named Bolt that was so muscular it was almost surreal, and started to saddle him up as well. I took the bucket and walked around to face Misty. She was chewing on some hay, and yellow shoots were sticking out of her mouth on both sides. She eyed me warily.

"Hey," I said, offering my hand for her to sniff, like I would with a dog. She snorted and turned her head. I felt a blush creeping up my neck. I didn't want Upton to think I was totally inept with horses, even though I had never been this close to one in my life, no matter how many times Gage called me Farmer Brennan. "Here. Want one of these?" I asked, holding out a carrot.

Misty gently took the entire carrot right out of my hand and crunched into it. Now we were getting somewhere.

"So, do you really think Poppy is okay? " I asked as Upton grabbed a wide black-bristled brush off a shelf.

"She's fine. The girl lives to be the center of attention, and after what happened last night, she probably felt the need to change the subject," he said as he brushed his horse's coat. "She just ran off so

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that everyone would be talking about this instead of about the fact that I broke up with her."

"She was really upset," I said, stating the obvious.