Paradise Lost

  Hot air ballooning? Cool.

  "But what about the blood?" Paige asked. "Explain that."

  "Maybe she tripped on those ridiculous shoes she was wearing and cut open her knee," Noelle suggested. "I just think it's too soon to panic, that's all."

  It was amazing how Noelle's rationalization calmed me. Perhaps it was because she had turned out to be right so many times in the past. But suddenly, the visions of me as some kind of magnet for evil melted away. If Noelle thought Poppy was fine, then she probably was.

  Just then, there was a rap on the still-open front door. We all turned to find Upton loitering on the doorstep in jeans and a light-blue shirt, looking like he'd just stepped out of a cologne ad. My heart skipped a beat. Paige and Sienna both lit up briefly at the sight of him, but then Sienna glowered and looked away. It seemed that, for a moment, the sight of his beauty had made her forget she was mad at him.

  "Upton," Paige said, touching her perfect hair.

  My hands flew to the rat's nest atop my own head. I quickly tied it back, and then crossed my arms over my chest, which was bra-free.

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  Had I washed my face last night, or did I have raccoon-style mascara smudges under my eyes? God, Reed, when were you going to learn? You never know when a guy is going to show up without notice. Thomas, Josh, and now Upton. It was one thing these guys had in common, it seemed. They were all fans of the drop-by.

  "Good morning," Upton said cheerfully, coming into the house and glancing around at our circle. "Noelle, are you having a breakfast party and didn't invite me?"

  Sienna whirled on Upton. "This is your fault!" she said, shoving his shoulder.

  He was so startled that he actually tripped back a step. "Hold on a sec," he said, raising his palms. "What did I do?"

  "Apparently, Poppy is missing," Noelle explained. "Her car was deserted, there was blood, and the Simon Says is missing from its slip."

  Simon Says? That was the boat's name? How... cutesy.

  Upton laughed. "Please. She's not missing. She's just out for a sail."

  Paige threw her hands up. "Why are we the only people who are concerned about this?"

  "Paige, this is what Poppy does," Upton said. He reached out and put his hand on her bare shoulder, which made her blush all the way up her neck and into her face. "She's probably gone off to some private island to meditate with a shaman or something. Tonight we'll all meet up at the hotel, and she'll be sitting at the bar waiting to tell us all about it."

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  "Hijo de puta," Sienna said through her teeth.

  Upton's eyes widened. "Pardon me?"

  "You broke her heart! She ran off upset!" Sienna ranted. "You know what she is like when she is in that mood. Who knows what she could have done, or with whom? If anything happens to her, Upton, it's your fault."

  She pushed past him and disappeared through the door. Paige glanced around at us, looking stunned and slightly embarrassed by Sienna's breakdown.

  "I guess that's my cue," Paige said. She paused as she stepped past Upton, looking him up and down suspiciously. "What are you doing here, anyway?"

  Upton took a deep breath and let it out audibly, as if shaking off Sienna's attack. "Well, I've come to take Reed horseback riding, if she's interested," he said, flashing a smile in my direction.

  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.

  "As Sienna quite loudly informed me," he joked.

  I smirked in response, and then wondered what to say next. I felt a little off-kilter after that errant thought this morning--that maybe I was falling for Upton. And if that was the case, I had to be smart here. Upton was a player, and I needed to know more about his past. I reached up tentatively to pat Misty's snout and she allowed it, though I could see the amusement
in her big brown eyes. She could tell that I was a novice and was definitely humoring me. I gave her another carrot.

  "I think every girl in that group is in love with you," I said lightly, even though there was a lump of trepidation forming in my throat. I wasn't exactly sure I wanted to let him in on this fact in case, by some miracle, he hadn't figured it out already.

  "Not Noelle," he replied, giving Bolt one last brush.

  Okay, so apparently he was aware.

  I swallowed hard. "No, not Noelle. But everyone else."

  Upton hoisted a heavy saddle up onto Bolt's back. I watched his arms as he worked, almost captivated by the movement of his muscles. Almost. I was on a mission here.

  "Well, I wouldn't say 'love,'" he replied casually as he strapped Bolt in.

  He was being very vague and cavalier about this. So cavalier that I was starting to feel he actually did have something to hide. My

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  heart twisted, and Misty nudged my shoulder. I quickly handed over another carrot. This girl, at least, was going to love me before the day was through.

  Ask him. Just ask him how many of them he's been with. Then you can stop being jealous of everyone and just focus your little green man on those who actually deserve it.

  "All right, just tell me," I said. "How many of them have you actually hooked up with?"

  It couldn't really have been all of them except Taylor. Not all.

  "It depends on how you define 'hooking up,'" he said, turning away and grabbing his shirt off the hook where he'd left it. He offered no further information.

  I bit my lip. Clearly he wasn't going to tell me. So I had a choice to make. When it came down to it, did it really matter? This was just a fling I was having here, right? An island romance. When we left this place, chances were we'd never seen each other again. It didn't matter that I was so "in his head" that I was "annoying." It didn't matter that I had almost thought the word "love" in my own mind that morning. I'd had an Upton hangover then, but now I was clearheaded again. Much more so, now that he had his shirt on.

  "Shall we?" Upton asked, offering me his hand.

  I dropped the bucket of carrots. "We shall," I replied, putting on a bad English accent. Upton grinned, all but stopping my heart.

  Fling, Reed. This is a fling.

  And once it was flung, it would be over. For good.

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  CHAPTER 21 SPOOKED

  It took about an hour, but my inner thighs finally started to loosen up. It was clear that Misty knew not to take the speed above a leisurely stroll, and she followed the wide trail through the trees as if she'd traced the route every day of her life. Which, of course, she probably had. No doubt Upton had ridden her through here dozens of times. Or he'd had his girlfriends ride her through here dozens of times.

  But I wasn't thinking about that. Fling, fling, fling.

  "This actually is kind of relaxing," I said, looking through the trees to the ocean beyond. It grew darker toward the horizon, almost cobalt blue where it met the sky. We were headed back up the hill toward the stable and the Ryans' house beyond. Soon we would come out of the trees and head across the open bluff toward the estate's buildings.

  "That's because you're a natural," Upton called out to me from behind, where he was keeping an eye on me from Bolt's saddle.

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  "No. It's because you're a good instructor," I said, turning my head so I could see him.

  I hadn't tried to do this once since he'd stopped riding next to me and had taken the rear. Hadn't felt comfortable enough to take my eyes off the trail. Now, as I managed to do it without tugging Misty off the path, I caught a glimpse of Upton's smile and felt proud of myself. Maybe I was a natural.

  Out of nowhere, I heard a crack like the breaking of a large tree limb, and then felt a jolt. The smile fell off Upton's face, and I whipped my head forward. Misty suddenly had broken into a sprint. The trees were bolting by at an alarming speed and a low-hanging branch clipped my arm, but I barely felt the sting. My heart was in my throat. I gripped the knob at the front of the saddle, straining with all my might to keep from falling off. Pain radiated through my butt and up my back as I was flung up and down, losing my form completely.

  "Upton!" I screamed as we came out of the trees. My grip was slipping as my palms leaked sweat.

  "Pull up on the reins!" he shouted back. "Jerk up like I taught you!"

  My sunglasses fell off, and the riding helmet I was wearing bounced forward, partially covering my eyes. But I could still see the ocean rushing toward me. The edge of the cliff overlooking the water was only a hundred yards away. Misty was heading right for it. I grabbed the leather reins with my sweating hands and pulled.

  "Stop! Whoa! Stop, Misty!" I screamed, yanking over and over

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  again. But she didn't so much as miss a step. We were going to go over. I yanked again and cried out. "Upton! Help! She won't stop!"

  Upton and Bolt raced up alongside us. Upton's face was full of fear as he glanced toward the edge of the cliff, then at my helpless hands as they clung to the horse. Now all four of us were sprinting toward certain death. I imagined watching Upton as we went over the edge and closed my eyes. I couldn't watch this. I couldn't just couldn't watch us plummet to our deaths.

  Then I felt something glance off my knuckles. Heard Upton shout. Felt a sudden jerk and was flung forward, my face colliding with Misty's neck. We veered off to the right and all of a sudden, Misty slowed down. Just like that, she was walking again. When I opened my eyes, we were headed back toward the center of the property and away from the cliff. Upton's leg bumped mine. His hand was closed around Misty's reins. Bolt was walking so close to Misty that their hooves kept brushing, which made them twitch their heads up and down like it tickled.

  The horses were perfectly calm. As if nothing had happened.

  "Are you all right?" Upton asked me.

  I burst into tears.

  "Whoa, whoa," Upton commanded the horses. They came to a stop and he easily dismounted. Then he reached up for me. I found I couldn't even disentangle my foot from the stirrup, I was shaking so violently. Finally, Upton had to remove my foot for me, and I just slid off the side of the horse. He caught me in his arms.

  Not at all graceful, but what did I care? I had almost died back there.

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  We both had. I pressed my face into Upton's shoulder and cried. My chest was racked with huge, painful sobs, but I couldn't stop myself. All the terror just released itself all over his expensive shirt.

  "It's okay. It's okay," he said, stroking my hair. "We're fine."

  I looked up at him and sucked in a rattling breath. There was sweat all along his brow and above his lip. "I thought we were going to die."

  Upton blinked. "You know, so did I for a moment there."

  I smacked his arm as he laughed. "You're supposed to tell me I'm stupid and we were actually miles from the cliff, and that I'm just overreacting."

  Upton breathed in through his nose and gave a slight nod. "You're stupid," he said, placing his hands on my shoulders. "We were actually miles from the cliff, and you're just overreacting."

  "Liar," I said, my heart still pounding. "What the hell happened? I thought Misty was supposed to be steady."

  The horses had wandered a few yards off and were picking at the grass.

  "I don't know. She's never taken off like that before. Ever, "he said, wiping his brow as he looked at her. "Something must have spooked her. Maybe a branch hit her or something?"

  I shook my head. "We were at a wide part of the trail. There was nothing."

  "Bizarre," Upton said, shaking his head. "It had to be something."

  Or someone.

  I felt a chill go through me and looked back at the trees. It was amazing how far off they were, how much ground we had covered in

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  those few short seconds. I wanted to run back there and check the spot where Misty had first taken off. See if there was an
ything--or anyone--there. I thought of Poppy's warning to stay away from Upton. Of her ire the night before, and Paige's and Sienna's hostile attitudes toward me. Was it possible? Gould someone actually have set off Misty to teach me a lesson? To try to keep me away from Upton?

  "Come on," Upton said, lacing his fingers through mine. "We'll walk the horses back to the stable. I think that's enough riding for today."

  "Try forever," I joked, squeezing his hand.

  When we reached the horses, Upton tethered Misty to Bolt, then took Bolt's reins and led both horses with one hand so he could hold my hand with the other. As we turned north toward the stable, I couldn't help but check over my shoulder one last time at the trees and the bluff, just to see if anyone was there. But there was nothing except the sound of waves crashing against the rocks so very far below.

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  CHAPTER 22 GARDEN TOUR

  We met Noelle and the rest of the crew--minus the Ryans, Poppy, and Sienna--at Shutters for brunch as planned. Everyone arrived in waves, so I was forced to retell the story of our runaway horse experience five times. By the time we were done with our meal, I was so sick of thinking about it that all I wanted was a nice, relaxing afternoon on the beach. Instead, thanks to a plan Gage had floated by the crew while Upton and I had been out riding, I found myself en route to the Ryans' estate yet again. We were gathering at the scene of my near-disaster so everyone could go Jet Skiing together.

  Jet Skiing. Like me and my still-quivering thighs were really up for that.

  "Look on the bright side," Kiran said as she, Upton, and I walked out onto the patio where the week's first party had been held. We had driven up together in Kiran's car and were the last to arrive. Compared to that first day, there were relatively few people there. Just our