小说园

第9部分（第4页）

Marcus　was　waiting　for　her　near　the　elevator　doors。　He　gathered　her　in　his　strong；　capable；　royal

arms。　？You　were　stunning；？　he　reassured　her。　？I　was　watching　from　the　door。？

Blair　leaned　her　cheek　against　his　chest；　still　in　character。　？I　do　love　it　here；？　she　sighed

dreamily。

The　elevator　doors　rolled　open　and　Serena　and　Nate　stepped　out。

？Good　luck！？　Blair　called　out　generously。　She　took　another　drag　on　her　cigarette　holder　and

offered　Nate　a　serene　smile。　He　smiled　weakly　back　at　her；　looking　a　little　red　around　the　eyes；

like　he？d　been　crying；　or；　more　likely；　was　extremely　stoned。　But　from　where　Blair　stood；　with　her

body　pressed　against　her　hunky　British　lord；　that　was　really　none　of　her　concern。

Then　Lord　Marcus　kissed　the　back　of　Blair？s　head；　sending　a　little　thrill　down　her　spine。　The

door　to　the　ladies？　lounge　was　right　in　front　of　them。　She　took　his　hand　and　tugged　him　toward　it。

Nothing　better　than　a　little　make…out　session　before　breakfast。

He？s　e　undone

Nate　was　outside　the　hotel　with　the　trunk　show　security　guard；　smoking　a　hand…rolled

pot…mixed…with…tobacco　cigarette。　The　sun　beat　down　on　Fifth　Avenue　and　Sixty…first　Street；　and

with　the　masses　of　European　tourists　and　clouds　of　bus　exhaust；　it　felt　more　like　late　August　than

the　last　week　in　May。

？Beautiful　day；？　the　security　guard；　whose　gold　plastic　name　tag　read　DARWIN；　remarked。　He

was　huge　and　bald　and　probably　moonlighted　as　a　nightclub　bouncer。　He　squeezed　his　eyes　shut　to

ward　off　the　bright；　late…morning　sun。　？Summer　is　right　around　the　corner。？

Nate　pressed　his　knuckles　into　his　closed　eyelids　to　keep　the　tears　from　streaming　down　his

cheeks。　He　could　blame　it　on　the　sun；　or　he　could　blame　it　on　being　dragged　along　to　a　trunk　show

with　a　girl；　but　the　truth　was　that　lately　he？d　been；　crying　a　lot。　It　was　the　end　of　their　senior　year；

and　he　was　with　Serena；　the　girl　he？d　loved　forever？kind　of。　It　was　like　he　was　finally　tasting　the

meal　he？d　been　looking　at　under　glass　all　those　years。　He　wanted　to　savor　it；　but　everyone　else

was　eating　so　quickly；　there　wasn？t　time。　And　there　was　also　this　nagging　feeling　that　he？d

ordered　the　wrong　thing。

Wait；　doesn？t　he　mean　the　wrong　girl？

？Should　I　be　worried　about　one　of　your　girlfriends　in　there　stealing　something？？　Darwin　asked。

He　pulled　a　silvery　blue　cell　phone　out　of　his　pants　pocket；　scrolled　through　a　few　text　messages

on　the　screen；　then　stuffed　the　phone　back　in　his　pocket。　He　didn？t　seem　too　worried。　Then　again；

why　would　someone　with　biceps　that　large　g