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her ear. She tilted her chin toward him. “But, you know,” Kelly lied again, “not everyone in our family is hard as nails.”
    Chad brushed the hair away from her eyes. A slow smile started at one corner of his mouth.
    â€œThat’s what I hear,” he said.

Chapter Seven
    â€œOh, it’s you.” Aunt Christine started, nearly upsetting her wineglass as Kelly got into the hot tub. “You scared me.”
    â€œDon’t be frightened.” Kelly gasped a little as she quickly lowered her body into the steaming water. “I won’t bite.” She knew better. Christine would bite back, and harder.
    Kelly looked at her aunt through the steam. It acted like a soft-focus lens, making Christine look as gorgeous as she did on-screen when she was loaded with makeup. She may be past her prime , Kelly thought, but she’s undeniably beautiful . In truth, Kelly looked a lot like her—minus the nips and tucks.
    â€œSo, how’s our little Alison?” Aunt Christine asked, almost managing to sound like she cared. Definitely not an Oscar-worthy performance. But Kelly was feeling generous. And she was trying to avoid helping her mom do post-party damage control inside.
    â€œShe’s holding up okay,” Kelly said. “For now.”
    Aunt Christine could not suppress a giggle.
    Kelly laughed along with her. Green eyes and gorgeous looks were not the only things Kelly and her aunt shared. They both thrived on scandal. Watching it. Living it. Creating it.
    Aunt Christine leaned back against the edge of the tub and closed her eyes. “Poor thing,” she said. “Do you think she’s seen those photos in the magazines?”
    Kelly snorted. “You mean the mother-daughter shots of Aunt Helen and Al in matching yellow Easter dresses?” Alison would just die if she knew. The picture was totally staged and totally lame—one of Helen’s “perfect family” moments. “I don’t think so. Alison hasn’t been out much, and Aunt Helen would neversubscribe to ‘that sort of trash.’ Maybe I’ll have to pick one up for her.”
    Christine and Kelly laughed together again, then fell silent. It was moments like these when Kelly almost trusted her youngest aunt. They were the bad girls of the family. The ones who didn’t care to put on the perfect act for Tamara. Not that they didn’t try to keep on her good side. Nothing was more important than staying on “the list.”
    â€œDo you think Aunt Helen’s off?” Kelly broke the silence. There was no need to explain off what —Aunt Christine always had her mother’s money on her mind. Even though Tamara had supposedly taken Helen out of her will years and years ago, there were always rumors that Helen was still included. Nobody but Tamara and her lawyer knew for sure, of course, but after this arrest…
    â€œDefinitely off the list. Now if we can just get Alison crossed out, too, we’ll all be sitting prettier.” Aunt Christine did not bother to open her eyes. For a moment Kelly wondered if she was plotting to get her taken out of the will, too, or her mother. But for some reason AuntChristine never seemed to go after Phoebe, and Kelly thought maybe she fell under her mother’s umbrella of protection…for now.
    Slowly Kelly slid under the water until it closed over her head. A funny thought occurred to her as the hot water bubbled around her. Maybe none of them were in the will. For all they knew, Her Highness planned to take every last penny with her to the grave. Maybe she was just dangling the promise of inheritance to keep them in her debt…and at one another’s throats. Tamara simply loved to bring up “the list” at family gatherings and holidays. Her will was a constant source of speculation and feuding. The tabloids had recently declared that Grandmother Diamond was worth more than Oprah. But Kelly knew that you