Even in Paradise by Philpot Chelsey

Author:Philpot,Chelsey
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins

WHY NOT?

“Tell me again why you won’t come to Arcadia for Thanksgiving?”

“Because I have to go home.”

“Will you look away from the canvas for one moment? What is up with you lately? Très, très fou.”

“Nothing,” I mumbled as I dropped a paintbrush with more force than I meant to into a jar of murky water, splashing my pants. “Shit.”

Julia raised an eyebrow. “Well if you won’t tell me, you should at least tell Aloysius. He’s very concerned that you’re acting like such a folle personne.” She held out the stuffed moose from her perch on the studio radiator like I might actually start talking to him.

I smiled despite myself. There’s no way I could tell her. I stirred the paintbrush in the jar vigorously and dumped the water in the studio sink, wiping at my eyes at the same time. They stung from the paint fumes.

“Hey, Charlie, catch!”

I turned just fast enough so Aloysius thudded against my face before crumpling to the paint-splattered cement floor.

“Mon Dieu. You’re just as coordinated as Sebastian.”

At his name my chest hurt. I bent over to pick up Aloysius, lingering so I could hide my expression. “I just wasn’t prepared for a stuffed moose to be flying at my head, that’s all.”

“Hey, cranky pants, let me tell you a story.”

“Oh, it’s story hour now?”

“Yup. So when Gus was a sophomore, she was so tired from staying out all night after winning the Atlantic Coast Championship Regatta that when she went to practice the next morning she stepped in goose caca and slid right off the dock into the river.”

“Who told you that?”

“Coach Kellogg.”

“So, I guess Gus was clumsy, too.”

“Oui. Now will you tell me the true reason you won’t come for Thanksgiving?”

“I really do need to go home, I swear. Thanksgiving, unfortunately, is Melissa’s favorite holiday. She’s nuts about it.”

“Okay,” Julia said, jumping off the radiator. “If you swear, but you’re still being weird.”

“I know.”

“Merde! It’s going to be so dull out there without you.” She slapped the wall for emphasis.

I smiled. “I’m sure you guys will find a way to entertain yourselves.”

“Still won’t be the same. Mummy and Boom are going to be disappointed, too. They consider you an extra Oops, another daughter they didn’t expect, but kind of wanted.”

I just shook my head, afraid that if I opened my mouth I would let her know how much I wanted to go. I hated the thought of not seeing her for a week and of missing them all. But I hated the thought of seeing him more . . . almost as much as I hated not seeing him.

“Fine, you’re off the hook for now. These paint fumes are obviously messing with your brain, but you’re coming out for New Year’s, and I won’t accept any excuses.”

“None? What if I lose a leg in a tragic dining hall salad bar accident?” I said. “What if I’m sick in the hospital with food poisoning, or I come down with some rare tropical disease that’s never been seen before?”

“Nope.

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