Paradise Lost (Private 9)

"Wow, Daddy," Noelle said, eyeing my gift. "That was . . . unnecessary."

"Noelle," her father admonished.

"No. She's right," I said. I didn't know, exactly, what the significance of this bag was, but it was clearly huge. "I don't know what to say."

Noelle's father squared his shoulders and placed his hands in his pockets. "Well, you're Noelle's best friend and, from what I understand, you've had a . . . rough time. I thought you deserved something nice." For a moment no one said anything. "Hell, it's Christmas," he said with a laugh. "What's Christmas without a few surprises?"

"Hear, hear!" Upton's father cheered, lifting his glass and rousing everyone else to do the same, which thankfully seemed to break the tension.

191

Noelle got up and hugged her father. "Thanks, Daddy," she said with a genuine smile. Now that she knew the thinking behind the gift, she was clearly touched that he'd gone to the trouble.

"Yes. Thank you. Really. It's amazing," I said. I wasn't sure if I should get up or hug him or what, so I just stayed sort of frozen on the couch, gazing up at him like he was the real Santa Claus.

"You're welcome," he said. Then he cleared his throat and looked around. "Who's next?"

Noelle's mother called the next name as I wrested my new bag from Kiran's hungry grasp. It was a gorgeous bag, and I made a mental note to write Mr. Lange a formal thank you.

Gradually, we settled back into the rhythm of the gift giving. I noticed that the Hathaways' names were never called and wondered what that was about, but it seemed impolite to ask. Finally, it was Tiffany's turn. She gave all of us photos from the shoot the day before, set in simple glass frames. The one she gave to me was a black-and-white shot of me and Tiffany, hugging each other against the cold as the water lapped at our feet, the shoreline stretching out forever in the background. It was a beautiful picture.

"We both look like supermodels," I said.

"My father, the genius," she replied with a grin.

So modest. The girl could have been a supermodel--I thought she was even prettier than Kiran. But Tiffany was a behind-the-camera type of girl.

"Hey. What's that? " Kiran asked, pointing at a black smudge in the background.

192

I lifted the photo close to my face and my heart skipped a beat. It was a person. Some lone figure standing up the beach.

"Oh my God," I said, breathless.

"What?" Noelle asked, leaning in.

"I knew I wasn't imagining things. Someone is watching me," I said, handing her the picture.

Noelle squinted at it. "So? It could be anyone. Someone out for a stroll on the beach."

"Not possible," Tiffany said, leaning in and holding her champagne glass at a safe distance. "That's a private beach and my dad paid through the nose to have the police make sure no one disturbed the shoot. Whoever that is, they had to get by police barricades to get down there."

Great, so not only a stalker, but a determined stalker.

"It looks like light hair," Taylor said, grabbing the picture from Noelle.

My heart skipped a beat and I looked at them, wide-eyed. "What if it's Poppy?"

They all cracked up laughing. "And what, she's stalking you because you stole Upton?"

"Um, hello? It's not like that hasn't happened to me before!" I pointed out.

They all fell silent and looked away.

"Reed, Poppy is off the island," Noelle said finally. "The Simon Says was gone, remember?"

"So what? Maybe she took it out and then docked it somewhere