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"No, she's, uh--giving Cody his bath," Mara improvised. "Yeah, she's been working on his water treatment," Eliza agreed. "Some kind of South American theory."
"Good. Good idea." Anna nodded crisply. "Can you please excuse me for a moment, girls?" Anna teetered in her Manolos toward the hallway.
"I'm so sick of covering up for her all the time!" Mara complained when Anna left the room to check on the fax she'd asked Laurie to send. She and Eliza had noticed some really strange clothes coming in and out of their cottage, but they hadn't seen their third roommate in the flesh since ... well, since the polo match, come to think of it.
"Where do you think she is?" Mara asked.
"Beats me. Maybe she has a new boyfriend. She's certainly not sleeping here."
"I'm worried about her," Mara said.
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"She's fine. Jacqui's a big girl. She can take care of herself," Eliza said.
"I hope so." Mara frowned.
"Don't stress yourself over it; she's not worth it. I mean, she obviously doesn't even care to tell us where she is, so why should we bother?" Eliza had nothing against Jacqui except to begrudge her getting out of a fair share of the work. Another pair of hands would have been sorely appreciated the day William decided to try out his krav maga training on his sisters.
Mara sighed. "I just hope she knows what she's doing."
Anna returned to the room, looking a little ruffled and arguing with her hapless assistant. "I told you to type it up on my personal letterhead, not just a blank piece of paper."
"I'm so sorry; I didn't check."
"Well, send it again. They might not even look at it! I know the committee is meeting today."
"Yes'm." Laurie bowed, skittering out of the room.
Anna looked surprised to find Eliza and Mara still sitting in front of her desk. "That's it, girls. You can go. And don't worry, we'll be back for Super Saturday, and if you need anything . . Ryan is in charge."
It was like m
usic to their very tan ears.
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ryan calls a very Important meeting in the hot tub
The rest of the week flew by in a fun-filled blur. Without any kids to look after, Eliza and Mara spent the entire time perfecting their tans and discovering new shopping streets. On Wednesday they hit the Saks in Southampton, Thursday was the Tanger Outlets in Riverhead, and on Friday they bought matching vintage Lilly Pulitzer dresses at Colette. They were also spending a lot of time with the boys. Eliza and Jeremy had explored the vineyards on the North Fork, and Mara had been taking surf lessons from Ryan, sans Camille, thank goodness
Friday night Ryan called a house meeting in the hot tub.
"So I was thinking ... it's about time we had a little party," Ryan said, grinning from behind the bubbles. "You know, just a small party--only close friends," he suggested.
"That sounds awesome!" Eliza cheered.
"Sure, it sounds like fun." Mara nodded.
"Okay, so tomorrow night, then. Mara, you'll come with me to get the food. Eliza, you have the best ID, so I'll put you in
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charge of the booze. And Jacqui, hey, where the hell is Jacqui?" Ryan asked, his face furrowing. "Has anyone seen her lately?"
Mara and Eliza shook their heads a little guiltily. They knew something was up with Jacqui--but both of them had been so wrapped up in their own lives, they barely paid attention to anything else.
The next evening Mara and Ryan set off to Barefoot Contessa to amass party treats. They were picking out smoked salmon platters and choosing between canapes when Mara's phone started ringing incessantly.
