Island Getaway, An Art Crime Team Mystery Read Online Free PDF

after putting on
the lacy panties, which weren’t scratchy at all, and the satin bra,
which did wonderful things to her chest. She didn’t exactly have
cleavage—she’d need implants for that, not just a new bra—but the
extra padding made her appear a bit better endowed, and that did
wonders for the slippery silk dress. It draped very nicely over her
enhanced bosom, skimmed her waist, and fit just right across her
hips, before falling to swirl around her calves. The silver sandals
were dainty and elegant without making it hard to walk, and the
chandelier earrings brushed her neck with every step. They made a
very faint tinkling noise that no one but Annika could hear, and
for some reason, that made her feel happy.
    She’d learned long ago that her hair was
impossible. There was a lot of it, but it was incredibly soft and
had no body. It was as if she’d never outgrown her baby-hair. If
she cut it short, it turned flyaway, so she kept it long and
confined. For the occasion, she’d pulled the front and sides back
and secured them with a clip at the back of her head, while the
rest was left alone to flow down her back. Scraping it all back
into her usual severe knot just seemed wrong when paired with the
soft and pretty dress.
    Nick had said he’d pick her up in the lobby
at seven, and he was right on time. The part of Annika that had
been worried he might not show up—because really, why would a man
like Nick want to have dinner with her?—settled down when she saw
him come through the doors from the street.
    He’d changed, too, although the gray suit he
was wearing now looked a lot like the navy suit he’d worn earlier.
He’d replaced the white shirt with a pale blue one—almost as if
he’d known she’d bought this dress and he’d wanted them to
match—and he was without a tie. The shirt was open at the neck,
showing a triangle of warm skin, and for a second, it was all
Annika could do not to embarrass herself by gawking like a
star-struck teenager.
    She’d seen her share of good-looking men.
New York City was all over actors and models, and most of them were
handsome. At the moment, however, she was fairly certain Nick Costa
was the best-looking man she’d ever seen. Tall, dark, and handsome
didn’t even begin to do him justice.
    And it wasn’t just that he was
gorgeous—although he was. There was something else, too: something
in the way he held himself—confidently, but without being
arrogant—and in the way he moved—smoothly, like a black panther...
or a cat-burglar.
    The thought made her realize that she knew
nothing about him. Just because she’d spun tales about him saving
bridges and companies and the world, didn’t mean he was one of the
good guys. Maybe he really was a cat-burglar. Maybe he was part of
a gang of purse-snatchers who targeted travelers and stole their
luggage. Maybe that’s why he was sticking close to her. He knew who
had stolen her bag, and he wanted to make sure she didn’t realize
it.
    She bit her lip, waiting for him to come
closer. Wondering—a little belatedly—whether going out with him
would be a good idea.
    But then he saw her and smiled, and just
like that, all her many conjectures went out the window. Annika
realized she didn’t care what he might have done or why he’d
insisted on taking her to dinner. She had the opportunity to spend
the next couple hours with him, having a nice meal in a nice
restaurant in a town she’d never visited before and likely would
never get to see again, and she was damned if she was going to let
stupid suspicions stand in the way of having a good time. For the
rest of the evening, she would simply enjoy being in Stockholm,
with Nick. Tomorrow was soon enough to return to reality.
    Hot damn.
    Nick had suspected there might be a pretty
girl hiding under the staid clothes and tightly buttoned
appearance, but until he saw her all dressed up and ready for
dinner, he’d had no idea how right he’d been.
    She was lovely. Not