Adam nodded at her with a serious expression. “I’ll be sure to do that.”
I covered my mouth, stifling a laugh.
Spencer turned to the parents. “So. Which one of you bribed the admissions office? I mean, what are the odds that we’d all get in? It’s not as if Linden is easy to get into. Isn’t the ratio something like six apps to one admission?”
“Eight, I think,” said Mrs. Flanagan. “But the reason it worked here is because you’re all very different, and you’re all very interesting.”
“Some more than others,” I coughed, and Heather laughed.
“And that’s what they want. Variety.”
“So, maybe it helped that we were in your corner, and that we’ve given the school copious donations—” my dad added.
“And changed the world and brought glory to the Linden name along the way. Don’t forget that,” Spencer’s dad chimed in.
“And instilled school spirit in our offspring,” Adam’s dad said.
“They could do this all night,” said Spencer, scooting over closer to me.
“I know,” I agreed.
“Do we have all night?” he asked.
I shook my head. “I don’t think so. Actually, I think we’re supposed to be somewhere. Right, Heather?”
She glanced at Dean and then back at me. “Yes, that’s right. We’re supposed to see, um, the beach. At night. You were going to get pictures.”
“I was, wasn’t I?” I took Spencer’s hand and we edged toward the steps down to the beach.
“Come on, Adam!” Heather whispered, dragging him away from the Linden-fest.
We all ran down to the beach. As soon as we hit the hard sand, Heather turned and started doing back flips, springing down the beach doing one after another, just like she used to.
“Look out for the sand crabs!” Spencer called after her.
Heather stopped, waved at him, caught her breath, and then kept going, laughing and flying through the air. Dean followed along beside her, trying to walk on his hands, tipping over every other step.
“Hold on—wait for me!” I cried. I wasn’t any good at back flips, but I knew how to do handsprings.
“Great. The tumbling twins are back,” Spencer complained.
“I don’t think they ever left. They were just in hiding,” Adam said.
When I caught up with Heather, we hugged, laughing and out of breath. It was a nice feeling. So many things had changed, but so many hadn’t, too.
I couldn’t wait to head off to college with this group of friends.
And Spencer. Especially Spencer, I thought as he ran up to me and picked me up in an awkward hug, trying to twirl me over his head.
“What do you think? Is this ballet-like?” he asked.
“Not even close!” I shrieked as we both fell to the beach, arms and legs tangled.
“Sorry,” he said, cleaning sand off of my arms, then my face. “You okay? Sorry.” He brushed sand off of my mouth, his fingers lingering on my lips.
“Just kiss me already,” I said, “and we’ll call it good.”
About the Author
Catherine Clark is the author of WISH YOU WERE HERE, SO INN LOVE, ICING ON THE LAKE, MAINE SQUEEZE, BANANA SPLITSVILLE, ROCKY ROAD TRIP, BETTER LATTE THAN NEVER, and THE ALISON RULES. She lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota, with her husband and daughter. For more about Catherine and her books, visit her online at www.catherineclark.com.
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ALSO BY CATHERINE CLARK:
Banana Splitsville
Rocky Road Trip
Better Latte Than Never
Wish You Were Here
So Inn Love
Icing on the Lake
Maine Squeeze
The Alison Rules
Credits
Cover art © 2008 by Sasha Illingworth
Cover design by Jennifer Rozbruch
Copyright
PICTURE PERFECT. Copyright © 2008 by Catherine Clark. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
Adobe Digital Edition May 2009 ISBN 978-0-06-195740-6
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About the Publisher
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Table of Contents
Cover
Title Page
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
About the Author
Other Books by Catherine Clark
Credits
Copyright
About the Publisher