"Turn the lights down around them, will you? They're seriously killing the mood. And I want them gone before Mitzi gets here."
Eliza nodded. She asked the busboy to dim the lights, then walked back to where she'd sat Mara and Garrett, not realizing she'd put them uncomfortably close to Ryan and Allison's table.
"How about shopping tomorrow?" Mara asked, after they'd
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given their drink orders to the cocktail waitress, and the bartender promptly zoomed up the wall to retrieve a bottle of the expensive Finnish vodka that Garrett had ordered. "We get paid!"
"Well, I don't, but yeah, sure," Eliza said, a little more tersely than she'd intended.
Mara saw Ryan across die VIP room, leaning against the bar with Allison. The tall Nordic blonde was laughing at something Ryan was saying, and it was killing Mara how Ryan was smiling back at her, his dimples flashing.
"Penny for your thoughts," Garrett said, handing her the mojito she'd ordered. After Eliza had made the tangy Cuban cocktails that first weekend, they had quickly become Mara's favorite drink. The sugarcane and crushed mint leaves reminded her of the last time she was really happy. Since arriving in the Hamptons, things had not exactly turned out as she'd hoped: Ryan was with another girl, Eliza was being weirdly distant, and she felt like a third wheel around Jacqui and Philippe. Even the kids didn't seem to like her as much as they had last summer.
"I was just thinking ..." she said, watching as Ryan rubbed Allison's shoulders. Ugh. She turned back to Garrett. "Let's dance."
Garrett smiled. "You got it." He stood up and offered her his hand. They snaked their way to the center of the dance floor, where the crowd was gyrating to Nelly's "Hot in Herre." The song was kind of last year, but it was still a club favorite.
Mara began to swing her hips and feel the music throb against her body. She moved to the beat, dancing sexily around Garrett,
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letting her hands slide up and down his back, and pressing her legs against his. Garrett, unlike most guys his age, who kept their dancing to a one-two shuffle, could actually move--and he ground his pelvis into Mara's hips in a sinuous, sexy rhythm. Mara lost herself to the sensation of the music, the alcohol, and the feel of his breath against her neck. She turned around, and Garrett pulled her toward him, pressing against her back. He licked the back of her neck, and she raked her fingernails up his thighs behind her.
It was quite a performance--one that Ryan wouldn't be able to miss, but that was sort of the point. Mara sneaked a glance in his direction, and was gratified to see that he'd stopped talking to Allison and was watching Mara with a scowl on his face. Mara tossed her hair back and pulled Garrett closer to her.
"God, you're hot," Garrett said, whispering raggedly in her ear. "Where'd you learn to dance like that?"
Mara smiled slyly. She liked Garrett. But more than that, she liked that being with Garrett made Ryan jealous. Maybe that way, Ryan would do something about it.
On the other side of the club, Alan grabbed Eliza's elbow as she ushered Kit and a crew of Eastern European gazelles to his table. "My mom just
reamed me out. She said she couldn't get into the club earlier. What's the deal?" Alan demanded of Eliza.
Eliza froze. "Your mom? Margot Whitman? But she wasn't on the list!" she explained in her defense. "And you said--"
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Alan's features relaxed. "She wasn't on the list? Well, in that case ... hold on ... Ma! ' You didn't RSVP!" he yelled into his wireless receiver. "How many times do I have to tell you, you gotta RSVP?! No, I can't do it for you! I am a very, very busy man! Why don't you ever listen to me? You don't get in if you're not on the list! Twenty-four hours of labor? C'mon, I run a business here!" Walking away, he patted Eliza on the shoulder, mouthing, "Good job."
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never trust a seven-year-old to keep a secret
ANNA PERRY FINALLY SHOWED UP FOR A WEEKLY PROGRESS
meeting the next day. It was the Friday before the Fourth of July weekend, and she was taking the kids to Nantucket to visit their grandparents. Unfortunately for Anna, Kevin's family didn't believe in help, and so the au pairs were granted a holiday break as well.
"Oh, hello, Mara," Anna said, actually standing up to kiss Mara on both cheeks.
Mara responded graciously, oblivious to Jacqui s puzzled look.
Before heading to Seventh Circle last night, Mara and Garrett had bumped into Anna at the Boys & Girls Club annual harbor fireworks benefit, and Anna had noticed Mara chatting with Jessica Seinfeld. A dinner invitation to the Seinfelds' was the Hamptons biggest "get," and Anna had yet to score one.
"How is everyone today?" Anna asked, looking around the table pleasantly.
Philippe smirked and sat with his feet on top of the table, but