She pulled out her phone. OMG! It was him. And he was saying all the right things.
I’m so sorry. I can explain everything. Meet me as soon as you possibly can inside the greenhouse on the west side of Fair Haven.
Without hesitating, Molly changed direction and began to speed toward the Gardiners Island Bridge. It wasn’t that she had changed her mind about bonding with Mardi. She had every intention of doing so. She knew it was important.
But first, she had an urgent booty call to answer.
29
BAD BOYFRIEND
Please, Mardi, don’t go. Spend the night with me on the Dragon.” Trent’s voice was at once silky and rugged.
“Believe me, I don’t want to go.” It was true. She felt amazing. As the sun began to dip, bathing the boat’s deck in soft pink light, every nerve in her body tingled with pleasure. She stretched, long and feline, within the comfort of his muscular embrace. “But I promised Ingrid and Matt I would be home by seven to babysit.”
This was true. But it wasn’t the only reason she gave herself for wrenching her body from his. You always wanted to leave a fresh situation with a boy on a high note, with a lingering sense of possibility. There was no point in exhausting your options right after the first kisses. Mardi was a sucker for the exquisite torture of the long, drawn-out conquest. August was going to be an eventful month.
He waved sweetly as she climbed off the boat. And she was sure she could feel his melancholy gaze caressing her sinewy back as she walked along the dock toward shore. But when she turned for a last look from the harbor, he was gone.
• • •
Sinking dreamily into the driver’s seat of the Ferrari, she felt the vibration of her phone in her back pocket. It was probably Ingrid reminding her that she and Matt were going on a date tonight and that Mardi needed to be home soon or else telling Mardi what she had prepared for her and the kids for dinner (Ingrid loved to discuss dinner).
But of course it wasn’t Ingrid.
Meet me at greenhouse at Fair Haven ASAP. You know where it is.
Buzzkill.
Psycho stalker.
Mardi kicked one of her tires, then texted Ingrid that she was sorry she was going to be late. Something had come up at work.
Ingrid immediately messaged back that this was disappointing. She and Matt were now probably going to lose their table at the coveted Bistro Margaux and possibly even miss their movie.
I have come to expect more from you, Mardi.
Mardi wished she could tell Ingrid what was going on.
Her wonderful mood shattered now, Mardi gunned it across the bridge to Fair Haven. You know where it is, the stalker had written, which meant whoever was texting her knew Mardi was familiar with the greenhouse. They had been spying on her while she ate dinner there, among the potted palms and ferns, with Trent on the night of the party. She had a mental flash of the Venus flytrap snapping its green lips around a live worm.
• • •
As she was parking the Ferrari, her eye caught on a flash of red against one of the dunes. It was a bicycle. Ingrid’s bicycle. The one that Molly rode everywhere. Why was her sister here now? Shouldn’t she be at the Cheesemonger finishing up her shift?
Molly was here again? Like the last time Mardi was summoned? It had to be more than coincidence.
Mardi glanced at the massive house, which looked deserted at first, all of its windows shuttered and draped—although on closer examination, there was one parted curtain on the top floor. She felt as if she was being watched as she crossed the vast green lawn of the estate toward the western side of the house to the beautiful wrought-iron and glass structure where she had first gotten to know Trent. So much had happened already this summer that the June evening of the party seemed distant and rosy, from a different time.
In order to show whoever was observing her that she was not afraid, she took strong purposeful strides.
As she approached the greenhouse, she saw that there was a figure pressed against the glass. It appeared to waver slightly among the fronds and branches, as though it were flickering, only half real. Maybe it was a trick of the light, a tree with a vaguely humanoid shape that struck her nervous imagination. But, from a closer vantage point, Mardi saw clearly that this was no tree. And it was not one, but two people, two people writhing as one.
What she finally witnessed was so bizarre that at first she could not process it. The guy and the girl pawing one another in the greenhouse were none other than Molly and . . .
Trent?
Trent? Her Trent?
He had the same dark hair, the same expression on his face . . . the same one he’d made when he’d kissed her earlier that day.
Mardi watched, her heart falling into her stomach, and felt as if she might vomit. Her most far-fetched suspicions were actually true. This was a nightmare.
Molly had her back pressed into the glass wall, her skirt hiked to her waist, and her legs wrapped around Trent’s hips.
Trent was holding her up against the glass, his face buried in her neck.
So this was what her stalker wanted her to know.
Mardi had never felt so betrayed—or so stupid. Only a few hours ago, she had finally let herself trust Trent, and he had been playing her all along. How come I’ve never met your sister . . . I hear she’s quite a stunner . . . Aren’t you guys really identical?
Mardi couldn’t move. Not even when he began to unbutton the front of Molly’s dress, not even when Molly pulled off his polo shirt.
Mardi felt sick. How could she have ever touched him? How could she have been so completely wrong about him? If the world was confusing before, now it had stopped making any sense at all.
She and Molly never liked the same guy. They had sort of fought over Bret, but they were sort of repulsed by him too. It wasn’t the same. This was different. There was a code. No matter what happened—no matter how much she and Molly bickered and fought, they were sisters. Twin sisters.
If Trent liked Molly better, then there was nothing Mardi could do about it. She would step aside.
She was about to leave when Trent looked up and caught her eye.
She froze.
But he only smiled.
A malicious, terrifying grin.
A shit-eating grin.
One that confirmed all her fears. He’d wanted her to see this. He had sent her all those texts! He’d wanted her to know he was toying with her all along. Toying with them. Two-for-one special. Maybe it ran in the family, what with the weird triangle of his older brothers and Freya Beauchamp.
For the first time in her life, Mardi Overbrook was too hurt to fight. She had no rage left in her. She turned away and ran.
30
FOUND OUT ABOUT YOU
It was four A.M. Molly opened the front door quietly. Her head was still swirling with African violets, pink and white water lilies in a trickling fountain, lacy ferns, exotic herbs, and that awesomely weird Venus flytrap that Tris had fed from a stash of writhing worms. He had told her that he was taking care of the plant for his brother Killian.
She had never felt so jazzed by a boy in this life—maybe ever. Of course, Cheeseboy was a wonderful side dish, and there was no reason not to keep him warm, but for now, she was going to focus on the young heir to Fair Haven.
Tris had explained his disappearance from the dunes. His stepmother, Mrs. Gardiner, was not only chilly, judgmental, and overly fond of gin. She was also mentally unstable and sometimes self-destructive in her cries for help. She had been acting strange all that day, saying dramatic good-byes to Tris and the staff for no particular reason, since she wasn’t going anywhere they knew of. And she would not take off her fur-collared “traveling coat,” even though it was the first week of August.
While Tris had been with Molly in front of the fire that night, he’d had a sudden, s
trong premonition that Mrs. G had done something awful. He’d rushed off to go check. Sure enough, there was an empty bottle of sleeping pills by her bed and she was turning blue. He’d had to call 911 immediately.
“That’s weird,” Molly said. “I didn’t hear an ambulance.”
“They always come by boat. It’s faster. And more discreet.”
“Got it.” She nodded. “I’m really sorry. Do you think she’ll be okay?”
“Depends on your definition of okay. But I don’t want to think about it anymore now.”
He kissed her.
The kisses had led to so much more, she thought dreamily, remembering their hot make-out session. Tris had wanted to go all the way, but Molly had stopped him. He had taken off his shirt and she was half undressed, but that was as far as she had allowed him to go.
She wanted to tease it out.
“No,” she’d said. “Not yet.”
“But I want to,” he’d begged. “I want you so much. I’ve wanted you for so long.”
“I do too,” she’d told him. “But good things come to those who wait.”
She smiled, recalling the musky scent of his cologne and the intensity of his touch, as she closed the front door softly behind her, took off her shoes so as not to make noise on the wooden floors, and tiptoed into the dark living room.
“Where have you been?” Mardi’s angry whisper hit her out of nowhere.
Molly steeled herself. She wasn’t going to let a fight with her sister wreck a perfect night. She was going to keep things under control.
“I saw you.”
As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, Molly saw Mardi as a long shape coiled on the sofa like a snake preparing to strike. Midnight was nestled in the crook of her knees.
“And what exactly did you see me doing, perv?” Molly knew she shouldn’t engage, but the urge was stronger than ever. She couldn’t let Mardi have the last word.
“You were in the greenhouse at Fair Haven, making out with Trent.”
“Trent? Who’s Trent?”
“Trystan Gardiner. My boyfriend. Everyone calls him Trent.”
“Mardi, you’re delirious.” Molly moved toward the couch. “Trystan Gardiner is my boyfriend. And he doesn’t go by Trent, everyone calls him Tris, including me.”
“He’s Trent, you idiot.”
“Nuh-uh. His name is Tris! Trystan, get it? Tris!”
“Trent!”
“Tris!”
They were still whispering viciously, their faces now just inches apart so that to each one the other’s features looked distorted and gray in the darkness. Midnight was looking from one to the other. The kitten’s wide copper eyes flashed between them.
“Wait—there’s only one Gardiner brother in town this summer, isn’t there?” Molly asked suddenly.
“Duh! Haven’t you heard a word I said?”
“Then that means your Trent and my Tris are the same guy?”
Mardi rolled her eyes. “What do you think?”
“So you didn’t know you were with my guy?”
“Of course I didn’t know,” Molly snapped, deeply offended. “Did you know?”
“Of course not.”
“So why did you ask if I knew? Tris or Trent, or whoever he is, the guy has been playing both of us.”
Molly was devastated. “But Tris is so not your type.”
“Trent is so not yours. I met him first at the party at Fair Haven.”
“No, I met him first at the party at Fair Haven!”
As they glared at each other, the kitten arched her back and hissed. But they paid no attention.
Molly decided she had to leave. She had never been this humiliated before. In fact, she had never been humiliated. She couldn’t stand it. And her sister, whom she was supposed to be bonding with, was driving her even more insane. As much as she hated Tris now, she hated the idea of Mardi having him even more.
She had almost . . . and her sister . . . what had she done?
“Ew! Did you sleep with him?” Molly demanded.
“No! Did you?” Mardi asked.
“No!”
But even if Mardi hadn’t slept with him, it still didn’t make it okay. They had kissed, that was for sure, and that was enough for Molly.
She hated this house. She hated this town. She hated everything. She didn’t know where she wanted to go. But she knew she wanted out of this hellhole. Now.
She ran upstairs, threw a few clothes and a toothbrush and makeup bag into her Hermès tote, and, without so much as a good-bye to Mardi, who might still be stewing on the couch for all she cared, Molly stormed off into the breaking day, with Midnight’s eyes shining after her in the dawning light.
PART THREE
SUMMER LOVING! HAD ME A BLAST
SUMMER LOVING! HAPPENED SO FAST
31
I WILL SURVIVE
Mardi was still lying on the sofa, staring at the living room ceiling, when Ingrid came down in her simple white cotton bathrobe, looking fresh and wholesome, to grind the coffee.
“Good morning,” said Ingrid. “Did you sleep well?”
Mardi hadn’t slept at all. What had just happened? She and her sister had been seeing the same Gardiner brother. It was unbelievable. And to think she had actually liked him—Trent or Tris or Trystan, whatever his name was. And he had liked her too—just as much as he’d liked her sister, that was clear.
It was so gross and so awful.
“Coffee?” Ingrid chirped as she poured fresh grounds into her elaborate coffee machine.
Mardi grunted.
“Hang in there. The java is percolating. Help is on the way.” Ingrid appeared to have forgiven her for never showing up to babysit last night.
But apparently Jo and Henry, who came bounding downstairs at the sound of her voice, were not so understanding. They both jumped on her and started hitting her with their stuffed animals. “Where were you? We were supposed to have a dance party with Mini and George. You promised!”
“Party!” Henry echoed.
Mini and George were a toy mouse and a monkey puppet. Whenever Ingrid and Matt were safely out of the picture, Mardi and Jo animated them, making them sing, dance, and fly all over the house, much to Henry’s delight.
“I’m sorry guys.” Mardi rolled over to escape their soft blows. “Something came up.”
She put her face in her hands and pressed her fingers into her forehead, trying to fight the grogginess invading her body. And then she felt it. The ring. That tiny, deeply familiar weight on her right hand. Her eyes widened as she pulled her hands from her face to examine it. She completely forgot that she was supposed to be upset. Lovingly, she twisted the ring around and around, marveling at its simple carved diamond design. How long had it been here?
Her first instinct was to find Molly and tell her. Then she remembered she was in a huge fight with Molly. Then she remembered why, and she was overcome by a wave of sadness and anger so strong she grabbed the suede fringe bag she had dumped on the floor next to her and bolted from the couch for the front door. She didn’t need Ingrid’s organic fair trade coffee. She didn’t even need to brush her teeth or wash her face. What she needed was to make Trystan Gardiner pay. Now.
“Mardi!” Ingrid ran to stop her. “What’s this all about? Is there something you need to tell me?”
“No.”
“Where’s Molly?”
“I don’t know.”
“You don’t have any idea where she is?”
Mardi shrugged and made for the door again.
Ingrid frowned. “Listen,” she said, “I’m responsible for you two here this summer. Your dad is an age-old friend of mine. I promised him to keep an eye on you. And I promised to help you get to the bottom of that accident in New York so that we wouldn’t all suffer for your carele
ssness. Now, if something serious is going on, you owe it to me and to Freya and Jean-Baptiste to let us in.”
“Oh, my God, Ingrid, this has nothing to do with the White Council or the investigation. If you must know, it’s about a guy. It’s kind of a rude awakening, but it’s not life threatening, except maybe to him when I get a hold of him.”
“What did he do?”
“He was playing both of us.”
“Playing both of you? You don’t mean . . . ?” Ingrid softened her tone.
Mardi nodded, her eyes filling with tears.
“Oh! How awful! Who is he?”
“Trystan Gardiner.”
“Trystan Gardiner?” Ingrid said, taken aback. “Are you sure?”
“I think I know who we were both dating, Ingrid.”
“But it doesn’t sound like him. I know Trystan . . . He’s a bit rough around the edges, but he’s got a good heart.”
“A heart that’s big enough for two, clearly.” Mardi cracked a bitter smile. “Can I go now?”
“Are you sure you don’t want any coffee?”
“No thanks, Ingrid. I’m pumped up enough as it is.”
“Okay, I know I’m not your mother. I’m sorry about Trystan, but it’s hard to believe he would do such a thing.” She gave a sad little smile. “Do you mind keeping an eye on the kids for me for a minute before you go? I need to get some zucchini from the garden.”
“Yeah, whatever.”
Once Ingrid was out the door, Jo came up to Mardi with her hands behind her back and a wildly happy expression on her little face. Henry was trailing her, meowing like a cat.
“We have a surprise for you!” Jo was trembling with excitement.
Mardi tried to pretend she cared. After all, these kids weren’t to blame for the fact that she was miserable. She mustered as much sham enthusiasm as she could. “No way! You guys are the best! What could it be?”
“Look!” From behind her back, Jo produced a small, purring Siamese cat.
“Killer?” Mardi experienced a wave of the purest delight. “Killer, it’s you!” The cat leapt into Mardi’s arms, nestled in the crook of her neck, and gazed up adoringly into her face. Midnight looked on with a gentle curiosity.