been　a　bridesmaid　in　less　than　a　year　ago。

？Now；　I　want　it　to　be　surprising　and　wonderful　and　luxurious；　of　course；　but　I　don？t　want

anything　too　over…the…top。　Nothingvulgar　。？　Eleanor　wrinkled　her　ski　jump　of　a　nose　and

straightened　the　hem　of　her　skintight　bronze　silk　Valentino　skirt。　After　giving　birth　to　baby　Yale

that　spring；　she　was　on　a　strict　Pilates…and…no…carbs　diet；　and　it　was　clearly　working。　？Although

Cyrus　justloved　the　belly　dancers　in　Corfu。？

？Eleanor；　my　dear；　stop　worrying。　This　party　will　befabulicious　；？　Davita　drawled；　scribbling

notes　in　her　hot　pink；　leather…bound　notebook　with　a　gold　Montblanc　pen；　her　signature

pencil…straight　ass…length　platinum　blond　hair　draping　almost　to　her　knobby　fishnetted　knees。

Davita　fumbled；　dropping　the　pen；　and　then　pulled　an　exact　replica　from　her　enormous

apricot…colored　Marc　Jacobs　tote　without　missing　a　beat。

Serena　ran　her　fingers　over　the　miniskirt　she？d　made　herself　out　of　her　faded　Seven　cutoffs。　Ever

since　Blair　and　Nate　had　sailed　off　into　the　sunrise　on　her　birthday　morning；　she　had　been

struggling　to　be　her　usual　cheerful　self。　Sitting　in　Blair？s　living　room　wasn？t　helping　any。　As　she

looked　around　at　the　gleaming　oak　floor；　the　heavy　crimson　silk　drapes；　the　overstuffed

toffee…colored；　silk…jacquard　sofa；　all　Serena　could　think　about　was　how　she？d　spent　most　of　her

childhood　running　around　this　apartment。　She　and　Blair　used　to　make　forts　out　of　all　the　silk

pillows；　throwing　them　off　the　couch　and　piling　them　in　the　center　of　the　room；　pretending　the　rest

of　the　rug　was　the　ocean　while　they　were　stranded　on　an　island。　They　hid　beneath　their　soft；　dark

weight　for　hours；