Picture Perfect (The Wilsons) by Alicia Roberts Read Free Book Online

applied a few coats of mascara before grabbing her handbag and rushing downstairs. She planned to have one round of drinks with the girls, before heading out to the beach, having a quick stroll around and then enjoying a light lunch. In the afternoon they could go shopping in the main island village and by evening more wedding guests would arrive and they'd all have dinner together.
    The small bar was empty at this hour, and as soon as she entered she was greeted with squeals and hugs. 
    Michelle, Grace and Angie lived on the West Coast, Stef lived up in Maine and Penny lived in Chicago. It was great to see everyone again - they'd been friends in college and had moved in different directions since their graduation. Sometimes Lea wondered why the girls were friends with her - they were intelligent, had great careers and unlike Lea, they'd actually graduated instead of dropping out mid-way.
    But she didn't question her luck too much and instead, ordered everyone a round of tropical cocktails, "The cute, colorful ones with umbrellas," Steph specified to the bemused bartender.
    Within two hours, Lea had been forced to forget the plans she'd drawn up, and they'd gone through three rounds of drinks and a round of vodka shots as they caught up on each others' lives, and Lea remembered belatedly that she'd skipped breakfast. She wasn't hungry or tipsy, but she felt like it might be time for lunch. When she mentioned this to the girls, they all agreed and decided to head out in search of a cute, beach-side eatery.
    They left the bar and turned the corner to enter the main hotel lobby and Steph bumped into a tall, broad-shouldered man.
    "Oops," she giggled, and grabbed at the wall to steady herself.
    Lea glanced from Steph to the man and realized with a sinking heart that they'd bumped into Adam. He was looking at her in amusement, as if she'd orchestrated this encounter, and she felt herself blushing and feeling annoyed.
    "What are you doing here?" she asked.
    "On my way back from a nice walk." He took in the group at a glance. "These your friends?"
    Steph exchanged a glance with Grace and giggled again. "I'm Steph," she said, smiling at Adam, "And these are Lea, Michelle, Grace and Angie."
    "It's nice to meet you all," he said smoothly. "And I already know Lea."
    He glanced at Lea again, his eyes boring straight into her soul, and it seemed to her that his look implied just how well they knew each other. She remembered the feel of his hands drawing her close to him, squeezing her ass, and she felt the heat spreading down from her face to her neck.
    "We're just on our way out," she said haltingly. "They're here for the wedding. They came a bit early, everyone else is arriving tomorrow."
    Stop rambling said the voice in her head.
    "I see. Well, I'll let you ladies enjoy yourselves."
    He gave them all a dazzling smile and Lea noticed with growing irritation that everyone seemed to have fallen under his spell. "Come on guys," she whined, "Let's get going."
    They all crowded into one taxi and poured out in front of the restaurant. As soon as they were seated and waiting for their lunch to arrive, the questions began, exactly as Lea had expected. She was just thankful that they hadn't started quizzing her within earshot of Adam.
    "Nah, he's just a guy I met," she said, trying to brush off their queries. "We just kind of met at the hotel."
    She didn't feel like detailing exactly how they'd met. She didn't even feel like talking about him.
    Michelle and Grace looked at each other and Grace said, "He's cute."
    They all laughed and Ang ie leaned forward. "I think he's into you, Lea."
    "Yeah? I don’t really think so."
    "Oh my God!" Steph exclaimed so loudly that two diners turned to look at her. "You're into him. You are totally into him aren't you?"
    It was like the proclamation of the Delphi Oracle, Lea thought bitterly, as all the other girls agreed with Steph. " Puh-leeze . I'm not into him."
    "Oh, you totally are. What happened, did you