the au pairs crazy hot

by Melissa de la Cruz

  She came up behind him. “You’re leaving?” she asked bluntly.

  He looked up, surprised to find her standing there. “My dad sold the house. They want to buy a summer place in Europe. Anna loves London, and she says she’s tired of the Hamptons.” He stuck his hands in his pockets. “I was lucky to even have the summer here, I guess.”

  “What a shame,” Mara couldn’t help saying. She looked up at Creek Head Manor, feeling as if she’d just lost a loved one. “We had a lot of good times in that house.”

  He shrugged, as if it didn’t matter to him either way. “So what brings you here, Mara?” he asked, a little sharply.

  She held her breath. She hadn’t realized until she saw him how nervous she was. “I broke up with David,” she said simply, and looked at him expectantly.

  Ryan looked her square in the eyes and nodded. Then he turned and started to pack up the open cardboard box in the yard beside him.

  Her heart dropped. Was that all? “Oh. Well. I just thought you should know,” she said, swallowing the hurt that was building up in her throat. She turned her back and started walking toward the car. She got inside and shut the door, tears starting to well up in her eyes.

  The hot sun poured through the windshield and Mara blinked, trying to see straight. She fumbled in her purse for the keys. Why had she even come over here? What did she think was going to happen?

  There was a rap on the window. She looked up to see Ryan leaning on the car. She pressed the lever and the glass rolled down.

  He exhaled loudly. “Mara. I don’t know what you’re thinking, showing up here and telling me that. What do you want from me?”

  “I think—I want you,” Mara said softly.

  He wrinkled his forehead and shook his head sadly. “That day on the beach—I wanted you to say just that, but you didn’t. And honestly … every summer we get back together and then you break up with me at the end of it. I mean, what’s the point anymore?” His face looked pained, and she couldn’t tell if he was more angry or upset.

  She wiped the tears with the back of her hand and nodded vigorously. “Okay.” She got it. He wasn’t going to wait around for her anymore. Every year it was the same story. Ryan, standing there with his heart wide open, only to have her slam it shut.

  He sighed deeply. “Listen, I need a change. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately, and I’m going to take a semester, maybe a year, off from Dartmouth and go to London with my family. I want to travel around Europe for a while. I’m not going to be around.”

  She blew her nose with a tissue she found in the glove compartment. “I’ll see you, Ryan. Take care, okay?” She stuck the keys in the ignition.

  But before she could start the engine, he opened the car door and got into the passenger seat. He turned to look at her, studying her face intently. He let out a long breath. “I’m leaving, but I had this stupid fantasy that maybe you’d want to join me,” he said, the corners of his mouth turning up slightly.

  Mara blinked. Bum around Europe? All of her unrealized dreams for the summer came back to her in a rush: Gondola rides in Venice. Eating chocolate croissants at sunrise on a bench on the Seine. Touring the winding streets of London in a red double-decker bus. But take a year off from Columbia? She’d always followed the straight and narrow path, had never been the type of girl to derail her long-term plans just because a guy had asked her to.

  She suddenly remembered that poem, the one they made you read at graduation, about the road not taken. This wasn’t just any guy, and this wasn’t just any offer. Ryan Perry was standing there, giving her another chance. Giving them another chance.

  “I’ll do it,” she told him.

  “You will?” His face broke into a huge, innocent grin. He looked just as handsome as the day they had met, when he had stepped out of his Aston Martin onto the sidewalk, barefoot. Ryan would always be a free spirit. She would have to learn how to let go a little bit, take his example.

  He leaned across the gearshift and pulled her close. “I love you,” she whispered softly.

  “I love you too.”

  And then Mara laughed. After a summer’s worth of drama, she was finally going to get to see Europe. This time, with the right guy.

  another summer is

  gone, but autumn

  opens new doors….

  “EVERYONE READY?” ELIZA CALLED FROM HER CONVERTIBLE that afternoon as she beeped the horn loudly.

  Mara ran out of the front doors, dragging her luggage, Jacqui right behind. The kids gathered around them. Mara gave them all kisses and hugs.

  “Who are you?” Wyatt asked Jacqui.

  Jacqui laughed and ruffled his hair. She’d heard that line before.

  They piled into Eliza’s convertible. They were all driving back to the city together. Eliza was spending a weekend at home with her mom before heading off to Princeton. Mara had to wrap up a few things at Columbia for her year off before she jetted off to Europe with Ryan, and they were dropping Jacqui off at NYU orientation.

  Eliza took them slowly on the two-lane highway, and they drove through the sleepy hamlets. The sun was shining brightly on the calm ocean, and the surrounding countryside was green and vibrant.

  “Here,” Jacqui said, leaning forward from the backseat and plopping a fat envelope on Mara’s lap.

  “What’s this?” Mara asked, opening the flap and finding a neat stack of hundred-dollar bills.

  “My share of the au pair salary. It’s yours. I didn’t earn it—you did.”

  “I can’t take this!” Mara protested, trying to give it back.

  “Yes, you can.” Jacqui nodded fiercely.

  “But what about … Don’t you need the money?”

  “I did that Japanese commercial, remember? With the payment and residuals, I made enough for tuition,” Jacqui said proudly.

  “Are you sure?”

  “Chica, I’m sure. Believe me, the check I got, it’s got a lot more zeros than what’s in that envelope.”

  Mara turned around and gave Jacqui a close hug. “Thank you.”

  Jacqui nodded. “I’m not giving up on modeling completely. Christy Turlington graduated from NYU, you know.”

  Mara shook her head and smiled.

  The drive back into the city was quick, Eliza speeding around all the other cars with a dainty honk and a giggle. They made it to Washington Square Park by midafternoon, and Eliza parked the car by the curb in front of a building with a big purple NYU flag on the front steps. Jacqui looked out the window and took in the scene, near bursting with happiness. There were so many eager eighteen-year-olds, most with their parents in tow, carrying their purple NYU orientation packets and wearing their NYU Class of ’11 T-shirts. Sure, they looked a bit like wide-eyed tourists, but she was one of them. And even if her parents couldn’t come from Brazil to help her get settled in, she had two people who loved her to see her off, right here in this very car.

  As her eyes scanned the crowd of bobbing heads, she suddenly recognized a very familiar head of blond hair. “Pete!” she yelled excitedly, not stopping to think for a second.

  Mara and Eliza exchanged smirks in the rearview mirror.

  “Is this the famous Pete Rockwood from Indiana?” Mara asked.

  “Pete Rockwood? That sounds familiar…. Wait a minute—is this the guy who called the store from his dentist’s office?” Eliza pushed her sunglasses up on her head to get a better look at him. “Talk about regulation hottie—this one is off the charts!”

  But Jacqui was getting out of the car so fast she couldn’t hear them. She didn’t even bother to open the door, instead leaping over the side of the convertible. She ran up to Pete, who was standing under the grand arch in Washington Square Park, surrounded by cardboard boxes and suitcases.

  “What are you doing here?” she said breathlessly as she approached him, not pausing for the usual civilities.

  He put down one of the suitcases he was carrying, looking the slightest bit embarrassed. “I’m a fres
hman here, actually,” he said sheepishly. “Remember when we met? I was in New York because I was wait-listed and had a follow-up interview. I was too embarrassed to admit I hadn’t gotten in.”

  Jacqui nodded. That sounded familiar. When she was deferred for a year, she’d done the exact same thing.

  “And besides, I didn’t want you to think I was just telling you to go to NYU because I would be here.” He shrugged. “Although that might have been part of it,” he added with a small smile.

  “So it’s just fate.” Jacqui nodded, smiling.

  “Just fate,” Pete agreed. “But what about you? Shouldn’t you be in Paris?”

  She shrugged. “Paris will always be there. I’ll see it some other time. Isn’t that what spring break is for?” She raised an eyebrow and flipped her dark locks over her shoulder.

  Pete grinned at her, his dimples forming irresistibly in either cheek. “So, uh … need some help moving into your dorm? If it’s not too forward of me to see your room on our first date,” he added quickly. His shy but eager smile said everything, and Jacqui felt that familiar tingle up her spine.

  “You bet.” She grinned right back. “But just a second—I’ve got to say goodbye to my girls.”

  Jacqui ran back to the car, her glossy black hair flowing behind her, grinning widely, her face aglow. The three girls hugged one last time.

  “So you’re not going to be in New York this year,” Eliza said sadly to Mara.

  “Neither are you,” Jacqui reminded Eliza.

  “Princeton isn’t too far away,” Eliza assured her. “I’ll come visit.”

  “And I’ll write long e-mails, I promise,” Mara said. “And you can always read my blog,” she added with a grin.

  After one last hug Eliza pulled the car away from the curb. She and Mara waved to Jacqui and Pete until they were mere specks in the distance, two figures standing hopefully beside each other underneath the looming arch of Washington Square Park.

  Eliza steered the car uptown, the late-afternoon light streaming through the windshield. Another summer was over, and they would all be separated once again. But good friends were never too far away in spirit.

  Mara turned on the car radio. They sang along to the Natasha Bedingfield song, the one they knew all the words to, and felt a little better.

  “The rest is still unwritten….”

  www.blogspot/eurogirl1

  Europe is amazing! We got to Italy yesterday, first stop Venice, and everything is even more beautiful than I had imagined. R. and I are having too much fun. This afternoon we went on a gondola ride, where the gondolier was actually wearing a red-and-white-striped shirt and a silly black hat. R. joined in the singing, of course, which was hilarious, if not melodic. I’m currently typing from a Venetian Internet café. Did you know they have Internet here now? I had wondered how they’d get the wires through those canals, but apparently my notions are silly and outdated. Italy is just like home, except the pizza is better.

  E. is having a blast at Princeton. She’s already in the best eating club and is hard at work on her next collection—preppie basics! Of course. Guess she’s taking inspiration from her surroundings. She and J. are going strong and have already booked the church for 2012. Here’s hoping she designs the bridesmaids’ gowns.

  J. is dating P. at NYU and modeling on the side. They’re planning to meet us in Paris for spring break so J. can go to some look-sees (and eat some escargot, obv.). She’s been doing a lot of commercial work since the September Vogue came out—but, she assures me, only as much as doesn’t interfere with her classes.

  And in really exciting news, my blog is going to become a book! It sold to a big publishing house that wants to publish next summer. I’m so excited I don’t know what to do with myself. My first novel! I even decided on a title yesterday: The Au Pairs. I want the cover to have three girls in bikinis. I know, I know. No sign of the children anywhere. But really—the book is more about the friendships I found there than about the kids or the partying. And, of course, the great guy who made every summer special.

  Till next time,

  Eurogirl1

  PS—And no, I still don’t have a webcam!

  acknowledgments

  The Au Pairs was a great ride, and I’d like to thank everyone who made it a possibility. Writing this book series changed my life, and I am deeply grateful to everyone who made it happen. Emily Meehan and Josh Bank for being the books’ godparents. All my fabulous current (and former) editors at Alloy who had a hand in making it wonderful: Sara Shandler, Ben Schrank, Siobhan Vivian, and Joelle Hobeika (thanks especially to Joelle for being so patient with the Crazy Hot drafts!). Thank you to Les Morgenstein for everything. Deep gratitude to Richard Abate and Josie Friedman at ICM who have my back. And Niki Castle, Karen Kenyon, and Colin Graham who help Richard and Josie have my back. Thanks especially to everyone at S&S who were such big cheerleaders for the series: Rick Richter, Elizabeth Law, Jen Bergstrom, Bethany Buck, Carolyn Pohmer and Courtney Bongiolatti. It means so much to me to be part of the S&S family.

  Thank you to my dear friend Tom Dolby for his steadfast friendship and support. Thanks, Tom, for being so patient with me while I finished this book. We can work on our project now. Thank you to all my friends in New York and Los Angeles. I love you all.

  Thank you to all my dear readers from all over the U.S. and the world (all the way from Sweden, Germany, Poland, and the U.K.) who e-mail, blog and MySpace-friend me. You guys are the best! I love hearing from you, so please keep in touch by writing me at melissa@melissa-delacruz.com.

  Thank you to my amazing family—the DLCs: Mommy, Papa, and Chito. The Greens: Aina, Steve, Nicholas, and Joseph. The Johnstons: Mom J., Dad J., John, Anji, Alex, Tim, Rob, Jenn, Val, and Lily. The Gaisanos: Tita Odette, Isabelle, and Tina. The Torres family: Tita Sony, Tito Badong, Mandy, Stevie, and Miggy. And all the Ongs and de la Cruzes who are too numerous to mention, but especially my nieces Mica Calangi and Bianca Ong, who are big fans of the books!

  Thank you to Nubia Alvarez, who helps me be a working mom.

  And most importantly, thank you to the loves of my life, Mike Johnston and Mattie Johnston. I thought of you every minute I was writing this book.

  about the author

  MELISSA DE LA CRUZ is the author of many books for teens and adults, including Angels on Sunset Boulevard, Blue Bloods, The Au Pairs, and its sequels, Skinny-dipping, Sun-kissed, and Crazy Hot. The Au Pairs has been published in ten countries. She is also the author of the novels Cat’s Meow and Fresh Off the Boat and co-authored the tongue-in-chic handbooks The Fashionista Files: Adventures in Four-Inch Heels and Faux Pas and How to Become Famous in Two Weeks or Less (which was sold to Universal/Reveille as a reality television program and to Walt Disney Studios as a full-length motion picture).

  Melissa has appeared as an expert on style, trends, and fame for CNN, FOX News, and E! Entertainment Network and has written for Glamour, Marie Claire, Harper’s Bazaar, Allure, Teen Vogue, Cosmopolitan, CosmoGirl!, Seventeen, and the New York Times. She is a graduate of Columbia University, where she majored in art history and English and minored in New York nightclubs and shopping. She has many fond memories of writing for Hamptons magazine, where her wonderful editors were nothing at all like the one portrayed in this book. Melissa currently divides her time between New York City and Los Angeles, where she lives with her husband.

  Check out Melissa’s website, www.melissa-delacruz.com, for her shopping diary and for more information on forthcoming books. She loves to hear from readers, so send her an e-mail at melissa@melissa-delacruz.com.

  the ashleys

  by melissa de la cruz

  being cool is all in the name.

  find out if you have what it takes.

  december 2007

 

 

  t