Vampire Beach: High Stakes Read Free Page A

sure there was ever anything romantic between them. Their families are such old friends, I kinda figured she took him to prom because he was safe.’
    ‘Paige doesn’t strike me as somebody who likes to take the safe option,’ Jason said as Harberts wandered back over.
    ‘You got that right,’ Harberts told Jason. ‘That girl is so hot she’s dangerous. Must run in the family.’ He dropped down onto Adam’s towel and closed his eyes.
    ‘That’s my towel,’ Adam pointed out.
    Harberts was already asleep.
    Adam turned back to Jason. ‘The thing is, two weeks before her prom, Paige caused a mini-riot during a charity fundraiser,’ he went on. ‘Apparently she’d agreed to go to the prom with three different guys, and that was the day they all found out. Paige didn’t really care, she just wanted to be able to wear three different dresses. She figured she’d go with one for cocktail hour, one for the dance, and one for the after parties.’
    ‘So she wasn’t dating any of them?’ Jason asked.
    ‘Nope. She always liked to keep her options open. I don’t remember ever hearing that she had an actual boyfriend. Do you, Aaron?’ He nudged Harberts with his bare foot. Harberts kept sleeping.
    ‘Let me guess. The three guys found out, and they all banded together and refused to go with her?’ Jason said.
    Adam snorted. ‘No, that’s what would’ve happened if it was an old John Hughes movie. Actually, in that version they would’ve banded together and forced her to pick just one of them. And then she would’ve picked her geeky-yet-adorable best friend and gone with him instead.’
    ‘Did she have a geeky-yet-adorable best friend?’ Jason asked.
    ‘No, I was too young for her to notice back then,’ Adam replied.
    ‘OK, focus. What actually did happen?’ Jason asked.
    ‘They all got into a really loud fight and ruined Mrs Devereux’s silent auction for the International Red Cross. So Paige got grounded for a week, and she was so pissed off that she refused to go to prom with any of them. She took Zach instead.’ Adam’s eyes grew wide. ‘Holy cow, could Zach have been the geeky-yet-adorable best friend?’
    Jason glanced over at Zach, who looked like a young Keanu Reeves on a particularly good day.
    ‘I know what you’re thinking,’ Adam said. ‘You’re thinking that, if he was, the rest of us might as well just kill ourselves.’
    ‘Actually—’
    ‘But you have to realize that the supernatural types have different definitions of geeky,’ Adam went on, glancing at Harberts to make sure he was still asleep. ‘In their world, it obviously means incredibly good looking, suave, and rich.’
    ‘Then how come Belle thinks you’re geeky?’ Jason teased.
    ‘Oh, you are cold. Cold!’ Adam said, shaking his head. He glanced down at Harberts. ‘I’m never getting my towel back, am I?’
    ‘I don’t think Harberts is moving anytime soon,’ Jason agreed.
    ‘In that case, let’s go say hi to the womenfolk.’ Adam started across the hot sand, and Jason followed. But saying hello wasn’t easy. Maggie, Erin, Belle, Brad and Van Dyke had Paige surrounded. Sienna was hanging back, letting the other girls have their time with her celebrity sister. But she definitely looked happy and relaxed. It was nice to see.
    ‘But what about the cuffs?’ Maggie was asking. ‘American Vogue said not to cuff jeans anymore.’
    ‘Maybe, but on the streets of Paris people were wearing cuffs,’ Paige told her. ‘And that’s what matters, at least to me. Who cares what Vogue says?’
    Brad’s eyes glazed over. He grabbed Van Dyke’s arm and hauled him away. ‘I’m maxed out on the fashion talk. Come on, let’s play.’
    ‘But—’ Van Dyke grumbled.
    ‘So are you,’ Brad interrupted pleasantly, dragging him off toward the volleyball net.
    Maggie turned back to Paige. ‘How about the shoes?’
    ‘Forget the stupid clothes, I want to hear about your love life,’ Erin put in. ‘French guys? Tell