Stella waited for her to go on, to mention her dad and the affair that had brought them to New York, but she didn't.

Lola shot Stella a why-do-you-have-to-be-such-a-horrid-person look, but Stella just sneered back. She wasn't horrid, she was honest.

BUY SLOANE SISTERS

It was true that London had been awful this past year, but Stella was supposed to go to the Millshire Preparatory School this fall, the most elite school in London. She had already gone shopping with her best friends Pippa and Bridget for outfits for the entire first semester. But now she'd be attending Ashton Prep, an all-girl school where they wore uniforms every day. It was such a waste to leave London now, with a new wardrobe that would only get to come out and play on the weekends.

Stella bit a cuticle. She hated New York City. She hated that she had to leave her friends, her school, her clothes, her life behind. But more than anything, she hated Cloud McClean, that unitard-wearing, pop-singing twit who had stolen her father, Duke Theodore "Toddy" Childs, from her mom—from all of them.

After she'd found out that her dad was cheating with the Britney Spears of the U.K., she hadn't wanted to talk about it or think about it. Even now, Pippa and Bridget were the only two people outside her family who knew why her parents had divorced.

"Sorry, Mum," Stella finally said, so quietly she doubted Emma could hear. Her mom pressed her finger to her temple and sighed. Even when Emma was nervous or upset, she still looked beautiful. Her light blond hair fell just to her shoulders, and her weekly facials gave her skin a permanent glow.

"Look!" Lola shouted.

The limo sped north up a wide avenue, and Stella watched the shops pass one by one—Armani, Versace, Donna Karan, Chloé—feeling like she'd spotted a few old friends. Stella slid into the middle seat to look over Lola's shoulder. A girl with enormous black Gucci sunglasses waltzed out of Donna Karan, clutching a handful of shopping bags from Searle and Prada.