Elizabeth sighed. Once again she'd been had by her sister. Except this time she really didn't mind so much. However selfish Jessica's motives had been, the results were good. Elizabeth was glad she'd volunteered for this job. The work was fun and interesting, and it was only for a few hours a week, so it really wasn't going to take up too much of her time. Only one problem remained. She'd have to find a way of warning Jeremy that Hurricane Jessica was on her way.

Elizabeth was so wrapped up in her thoughts as she pushed her cart down the corridor that she didn't see the dark-haired orderly who had stopped to look at her. But she was alerted by the loud crash as the tray he was carrying slid from his grasp.

Elizabeth rushed over to help him pick everything up. As she bent down, she noticed his hands were trembling. Poor guy! Maybe he was afraid of losing his job, or maybe he was just embarrassed at appearing so clumsy. She smiled reassuringly at him.

"Don't worry. It was an accident," she said sweetly. "Anyway, I know what it's like. I'm always dropping things."

The orderly was short and husky, about twenty-five or so, with a hawkish nose and the darkest eyes Elizabeth had ever seen. At the moment they were fixed on her with an intensity that sent a rash of goosebumps skittering up her spine. Why was he staring at her like that?

"I'm Elizabeth," she said when he didn't respond. "This is my first day here."

He nodded. "My name is Carl," he said in a low, husky voice, as if having to speak were painful. Elizabeth felt sorry for him. He was probably just terribly shy.

She reached over to retrieve a paper cup that had rolled out of his reach. When she handed it to him, their fingers touched briefly. Elizabeth experienced a cold shock. As the man hurried off, she couldn't help thinking that there was something strange about him. Or was it just her writer's imagination getting out of hand again? She tried to push her thoughts of him out of her mind as she went back to her cart and continued down the long hospital corridor.

She was nearing the end of the ward when she spotted someone up ahead who looked familiar. Though it was a warm day, the girl was bundled in a heavy sweater. Her head was tucked low, but there was no mistaking the bright cloud of strawberry-blond hair that floated about her hunched shoulders.

"Tricia!" Elizabeth called out.

Tricia Martin paused and looked up, her eyes wide as a startled deer's as she recognized Elizabeth. Then, with a furtive expression, she scurried ahead without a word of hello, vanishing around the corner.

What was Tricia doing here? Elizabeth wondered. And why had she run away like that? Did she think the whole Wakefield family was against her because of Steven? Or-an ugly thought intruded-had she been visiting someone she didn't want Steven to know about? A new boyfriend, perhaps? A lot of the orderlies who worked here were Steven's age.

One thing puzzled Elizabeth more than anything else. It was clear to her, even after a brief glance, that Tricia was no happier than Steven was these days. In fact, she looked truly awful, as if she hadn't slept or eaten in a week. She'd lost weight, and there were dark smudges under her eyes.

The breakup had been Tricia's idea, but she certainly did seem miserable.

Jessica paused outside the door to Room 213. She'd doubled back up the stairs after leaving the elevator. Now she glanced about furtively to make sure Elizabeth was nowhere in sight. Satisfied, she pushed her way inside.

The first thing that caught her eye was a huge plaster cast suspended in midair by a system of cables and pulleys.

"Did you forget something?" asked a pleasantly deep voice.

Jessica's gaze shifted to the tanned, angular face resting against the pillow. Jeremy Frank's ice-blue eyes sparkled at her, and his mouth was curved up in a smile, revealing deep dimples that creased his cheeks all the way to his jawline. Jessica noticed there was also a darling cleft in the middle of his chin. Jeremy Frank was definitely better-looking in person than he was on TV. Jessica was struck speechless for a moment.

"You were in here a few minutes ago," he prompted. "Elizabeth isn't it?"

Jessica cleared her throat. "You're thinking of my sister. She's Elizabeth. I'm Jessica."

His smile broadened. "Twins."

"Identical," Jessica chirped. "That is, we look exactly alike, but if you want to know the truth, Elizabeth is a lot shyer-almost a hermit sometimes. I have to work at getting her to come out of her shell. But that's OK, 'cause I love helping people. That's why I volunteered for this job." She shot him a dazzling grin. "Can I get you a drink of water?"

"Thanks, but I've had plenty."

Jessica tried to hide her disappointment. "Isn't there anything I can do for you?"

"I can't think of anything right now. Except"-he picked up a pen from his bedside table-"you can return this to your sister. She left it here when she signed my cast."

"Can I sign it, too?" she asked, not to be outdone by her twin.

"Sure thing." He handed her the pen. "Don't tell me you're a writer like your sister."

Jessica dimpled. "Nothing that boring. I'm going to be an actress. A TV actress," she hinted outrageously.

"I see," Jeremy said, stifling a smile.

Jessica's heart beat quickly as she held the pen poised over his cast, looking for a spot that wasn't already written on or decorated. As she leaned forward, she lost her balance. Instinctively she put out her right hand and hit him in his other kneecap, jabbing it with the pen. Jeremy let out a yelp, jerking upright so suddenly that one of the cables holding his leg up was pulled loose. He groaned loudly, his face as white as the sheets he was lying on.

Speechless with horror, Jessica could only stare at him.

"Get ... a ... nurse," he croaked.

"A nurse. Sure. I'll be right back. Don't go anywhere."

"Where would I go?" he mumbled weakly.

Jessica dashed out of the room. Her one chance at stardom and she'd probably blown it for good! She found a nurse and managed to babble out what had happened. The nurse shot Jessica a disgusted look before bustling off in the direction of Jeremy's room.

Jessica sank down on a chair in the waiting room. Maybe it wasn't completely hopeless, she told herself. Maybe there was still a chance of showing Jeremy how devoted she could be, of earning his undying gratitude-and a guest spot on his show.

Five.

"I'm not in the mood for a party," Steven growled. "Thanks, Jess, but I'll pass."

"But, Steve!" Jessica dropped down beside her brother, who lay sprawled on the living room couch. It was Friday, and he'd just arrived home for the weekend. "It would be so much fun. Besides, Cara's feelings would be hurt if you couldn't come."

"Cara Walker, huh?" Steven shot her a wise look. "I think I know what this is all about. Look, if you're trying to fix me up with her again, you can forget it."

Jessica stuck out her lower lip. "How can you be so mean? I was only trying to do you a favor. I know how bad you're feeling about Tricia. I thought a party might cheer you up."

Steven's expression softened. "Well, it was a nice thought, but I don't think anything could cheer me up right now."

He went back to peering glumly at the history textbook he'd been trying to read without much success. Forgetting Tricia was proving to be an impossible task. He felt as heartsick about the whole thing as he had the night they broke up.

But Jessica wasn't giving up as easily as that. "You can't just mope around forever. You have your reputation to think of."

"I don't get the connection," Steven said in bewilderment. "What's my reputation got to do with it?"

"You don't want people to start thinking you're a wimp, do you? Only wimps sit around doing their homework on Friday night when they could be out partying."

Steven shrugged. He wasn't the least bit interested in his reputation, Jessica could see. He looked awful, too, as if he hadn't eaten or slept all week-which he probably hadn't. Getting him to stop thinking about Tricia wasn't going to be as easy as she'd hoped. Jessica leaned over and planted an affectionate kiss on her brother's unshaven cheek.

"Come on, Steve, don't be stubborn. You could go just for an hour or so. If you don't have fun, you can always leave. It would mean so much to Cara."

"I see we're back to Cara again."

"And what's wrong with Cara, I'd like to know?" Jessica shot back indignantly. "Honestly, the way you're acting, anyone would think she had two heads and weighed three hundred pounds. In case you haven't noticed lately, Cara happens to be fantastic-looking."

"Great. Then she should have no trouble getting dates on her own."

Jessica resisted the impulse to bat him over the head with a pillow. Instead, she tried to catch him with some different bait.

"I'll bet Tricia's not going to be sitting home tonight," she suggested slyly.

At the mention of Tricia's name, Steven slammed his book shut and scowled up at Jessica. "What makes you such an expert on Tricia all of a sudden?" he demanded angrily.

"Oh, I don't know. I hear things around school-you know how it is." Jessica yawned, pretending to be bored with the whole subject.

"Like what things?" he persisted.

"Well, Cara told me just the other day that she heard from one of the seniors that Tricia's been cutting an awful lot of classes lately."

Steven's frown deepened. "That doesn't sound like Tricia. She's always been an A student."

"Maybe she found something better to do. You remember what happened with Betsy after she started hanging around with that dropout Rick Andover. It wasn't long before she was flunking half her classes."

"Tricia's not like Betsy," Steven insisted stubbornly.

"I don't see how you can defend her after the way she treated you! If you ask me, she deserves to flunk out."

"What else did Cara say about Tricia?" Steven asked.

Jessica suppressed a smile of triumph. The bait had worked. He was hooked. Now all she had to do was reel him in.

"How on earth would I know? I'm not the FBI. Of course, if you're really interested, you could always ask Cara yourself."

"Who says you're not the FBI? Only in your case it stands for Forever Butting In." Giving a weary sigh, Steven rose from the couch. "What time did you say the party was?"

Jessica had to stand on tiptoe to hug him. "Eight-thirty. And don't worry-you won't regret this, Steve. Cross my heart!"

"I think I'm already regretting it."

But Jessica wasn't listening. She was dashing upstairs to phone Cara.

"You told him I was having a party? Tonight?" Cara shrieked into the phone. "Jessica Wakefield, how could you? He'll think I'm the biggest creep in Sweet Valley when he gets here and finds out it was all a big lie!"

"I had to tell him something," Jessica said. "Would you rather I told him you were madly in love with him and were dying for a date?"

"You wouldn't dare!"

"OK, so it's not the greatest plan in the world, but it was the best I could come up with. Just put some potato chips out and we'll invite a few more people. I didn't tell him it was going to be a big party."

"Who can we invite at the last minute?"

"Well, I could ask Liz and Todd. I'll tell Liz I'm doing it for Steve. It's the truth. I'm just making sure he doesn't go running back to that no-good Tricia." She sighed. "The trouble is, no one around here seems to care about the Wakefield reputation except me."

"Gee, that's tough, Jess," Cara said, not bothering to hide the sarcasm in her voice. "What I want to know is what you're going to do about me. What if you can't get anyone to come?"

"You can always pretend you invited a bunch of people but no one showed up."

"Great. Then I'll look like the biggest nerd this side of the Rockies." Cara moaned loudly. "How did I ever let you talk me into this?"

"Just leave everything to me," Jessica said confidently.

"Do I have a choice?"

"Sure. You can always back out. Then some other lucky girl will probably snag Steven."

There was a brief silence at the other end. "Well, when you put it that way..."

Jessica laughed. "Trust me, Cara. You won't be sorry. Just put on the sexiest outfit you own. Nature will take care of the rest. Don't forget, Steve's only human."

Six.

"Hi, everybody! Hi, Steve! I'm really glad you could come."

Cara greeted them at the door. She was wearing a splashy Hawaiian-print halter dress. It was cut so low in back that Steven could see the white lines from her bikini crisscrossing her dark tan. She had pulled her long brown hair into a ponytail over one ear so that it snaked seductively down her bare shoulder.

From the moment he saw Cara, Steven was sorry he'd come. It was a mistake. He never should have let Jessica talk him into this. It was an effort to control the sudden urge he had to run to the nearest phone and call Tricia. What was she doing right then? Who was she with?

Anger pounded in his temples, and his face grew hot at the thought of Tricia with someone else. He'd spent the entire week trying to make himself hate her, but it was no good. Each time he pictured her-golden-haired and fragile, with those great misty blue eyes-he wanted to take her in his arms, to protect her from- From what? he asked himself. Tricia didn't want his love or his protection. She'd told him so herself. Yet there had been something about her, something that twisted his heart at the memory of how she'd looked the night of their breakup. As if she still loved him. As if what she was saying had hurt her more than it was hurting him.

He knew he was probably just imagining it because he wanted so much for it to be true. A part of him still didn't believe she could end it like that. You couldn't stop loving someone just like shutting off a faucet. At least he couldn't.

At first he'd been so angry at Tricia that he couldn't see straight, but lately he'd been remembering all the good times they'd had together. Tricia's presence in his life had been like the sun and the moon and the stars all rolled into one.

"Looks like we're practically the first ones to get here," Jessica commented as she looked about the nearly deserted living room. Only one other couple had arrived so far. She waved to Lila Fowler, who was sitting on the couch talking to her date, a boy Jessica didn't recognize.

Cara blushed. "Uh, well ... a bunch of people called and said they couldn't make it."

"Don't worry," Jessica assured Cara. "I think it's much nicer this way. I hate big parties. They're so noisy. This is much more intimate." She turned to her date, handsome soccer player Aaron Dallas. Don't you agree, Aaron?"