Barefoot in Pearls (Barefoot Bay Brides Book 3) Read Free Page B

and she’d “meet” him in an hour. Just the thought gave her a swift set of chills. The universe was already working its magic. Now she’d have all evening to get to know him, find out about this “construction” he was involved in, and try to delay it until she figured out exactly what that “hill” in North Barefoot Bay really was.
    And what had Grandma always said about meeting The One? Don’t tell him. If he doesn’t realize it, then…Ari wasn’t going to think about that.
    Right now, her faith in the universe was too strong.
    * * *
    There were few things that pleased Luke McBain as much as a good coincidence. Oh, he liked himself an ice-cold Sam Adams on a hot summer day, and he’d been known to nearly kill a man in order to catch even one inning of a Red Sox game on the only television in a Third World country, and, yes, he had a secret collection of Louis L’Amour Westerns that had given him hours of entertainment. But coincidences were right up there with wonderful things he deeply enjoyed.
    All those people who said, “Everything happens for a reason,” could suck it. Nothing happened for any reason, it just happened. Like two days before he was to fly back to France, Gussie had heard that Cutter Valentine, Luke’s old high school buddy and a superstar pro baseball player, was planning to move to the little island where she lived and worked. And Cutter needed a house built.
    Of course, Luke was all over that. He’d cruised by Cutter’s mom’s house, got the guy’s phone number, and wham, Luke got what he couldn’t get before: the chance to start his building contractor business stateside.
    And today he ran into—literally—the very woman who just happened to be in the wedding party with his sister. A coincidence—nothing more, nothing less.
    And not a bad coincidence at all, considering the woman was damn near edible. The minute he laid eyes on her today, he’d wanted…more. He hadn’t needed to check her pulse, but he sure needed to make some contact. The attraction was raw and instant and real, and totally unexpected.
    It had been a long, long time since he’d felt anything remotely like it.
    Leaning back on his chair in the last row of friends and family gathered to witness a sunset wedding on the beach, Luke let his gaze rest on the onyx-haired beauty who’d just glided down the sandy aisle. Of course, now that he saw her in the bridal party, he deduced that this was “Ari,” his sister’s close friend and business partner.
    She was barefoot, like every guest and attendant around, wearing a strapless sapphire-blue dress that clung to feminine curves and showcased toned shoulders and a long, slender neck. Her gorgeous black hair was no longer falling out of a ponytail, but swept up, decorated with tiny diamonds that sparked in the light and gave her the air of a magical princess.
    A low, slow, powerful burn started in his gut, the heat actually emanating right into fingertips that suddenly itched. He wanted to touch that hair. He wanted to take it down and spread it over a pillow and bury his face in it.
    Holy hell, this wedding might be interesting after all.
    As she turned to face the audience, her gaze went straight to Luke. Directly, wham , like she knew he was there, which seemed impossible since he’d slipped into his seat in the back at the last moment. But the instant their eyes met, he startled slightly, the impact undeniable.
    Neither one of them looked away. Even when the bride came up the aisle, flanked by some famous parents and demanding every eye at the wedding, Arielle held his gaze.
    Long. Direct. Damn. Hot .
    She looked away first, forced to slide her attention from him to the bride, if only for propriety, but that lasted less than two seconds before she glanced at him again, this time with a challenge in ebony eyes that reminded him of ancient warrior princesses. Not that he’d ever met an ancient warrior princess, but if he had, she’d look like this woman.