A Touch of Heaven

A Touch of Heaven

Paige Foster planned the
perfect get-together for her best friends from high school in honor
of their ten-year class reunion but her plans go up in smoke when
an impromptu trip to The Pleasure Dome, an elite club that features
the hottest male dancers in the country, ends up on their to-do
list. Forced into going, she complains until she meets Simon—the
main attraction.

When Simon looks into the
audience before his act and sees familiar faces from his past, he
has second thoughts about his performance—until he sees Paige and
old memories come flooding back. Knowing she won’t recognize him as
the shy, awkward boy he used to be, he breaks club rules and pulls
her to the stage during his act.

The heat they generate
doesn’t dim when the lights go down and what should have been a
one-night stand turns out to be something more.

Will Paige accept Simon when
she finds out who he really is or will the secret he’s hiding be
the end of their affair?

2005 eCata Romance Reviewers
Choice Award WINNER!

Elise
 
at
 
Ecata Romance
 
gave it
 
5 out of 5

”A Touch of Heaven has a beautiful message for all
of us. I highly recommend this beautiful and meaningful novel."

Tammy
 
at
 
Fallen Angel
Reviews
 
gave
it
 
a
Recommended read and a 5 out of 5

"A Touch Of Heaven is a
heart-warming story that will draw you in and have you wishing for
your own touch of heaven....an engaging story with exciting,
passionate characters and a fast paced plot that will have you
cheering."

Janalee
 
at
 
Love Romances and
More
 
gave
it
 
5 out of
5

"What an absolutely wonderful and
heart-warming story this was to read. Ms Graison’s writing is
faultless and divinely delivered. Do not hesitate a moment, get
this fantastic love story today. You are going to love
it."

A Touch of Heaven

by

Lily Graison

Smashwords Edition

Copyright © 2010 Lily Graison

All rights reserved. No
part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or
by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying,
recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system,
without written permission from the author, except for the
inclusion of brief quotations in a review
.

Digitally Released September 2005

Second Edition May 2010

Second Edition

* * * *

Chapter 1

Paige Foster juggled the shopping bags in
her arms, stopping briefly when one slipped, before continuing the
climb to her apartment. The last of her shopping done, she now
possessed more wine than any six people needed and enough food for
a small army.

She reached her door, fumbling with her keys
when she heard the phone ringing inside her apartment. With a
silent curse she shoved the key in, unlocking the door before
rushing through the doorway. Placing her bags down on the couch,
she headed for the phone and snatched up the receiver.

"Hello."

"Ready for a weekend of debauchery?"

"Megan!" Paige squealed, happily. "Oh my God
it's so good to hear your voice."

Megan's laughter sounded like music to her
ears. She smiled big before lowering herself into a nearby
chair.

"I know. I hate we hardly get to talk
anymore."

"Me too," Paige smiled, sadly. "You are
still planning on coming this weekend, aren't you?"

"Oh, I wouldn't miss it! Who else have you
heard from?"

"Well, Heather called. She won't be in until
Friday evening."

"Why so late?"

"Something about a last minute re-shoot. She
called yesterday bitching about her co-star stepping into her light
and making her look pale or some such crap." Paige laughed, leaning
back into her chair and thought of her now very famous friend.

Heather Mathis, one of Riverdale High's
elite, currently lived her dream in New York. She left everything
behind and moved to the Big Apple right after graduation. The Queen
Bee, or so they called her, graced billboards and appeared in
countless movies. Of all the girls in their clique, Heather was by
far the most successful.

"Anyway, you know how Heather is," Paige
grinned. "She apparently hasn't changed much."

"Did you really expect her to?"

"No, but I hoped. If the others are still
self-centered like they use to be, we're going to be in
trouble."

"We'll just ignore them like we always
did."

Paige laughed. "Sounds like a plan to
me."

"Have you heard from the others?"

"Yes. Amy, Courtney and Kim are all coming
in on Thursday, so I guess it will just be the two of us until
then."

"Well, you aren't going to hear me complain.
I miss the one-on-one chats we use to have."

"Me too," Paige said, remembering her
closest friend and their talks fondly. She and Meg were inseparable
in high school and their friendship stayed strong throughout the
years. "So, when does your plane land?"

"I should get in around seven Wednesday
evening. Are you still picking me up at the airport?"

"I'll be there."

"Great! Well I still have a few class
assignments to go over with the substitute and I need to talk with
the Dean, so I'll see you tomorrow."

"Okay, Meg. I can't wait to see you."

Paige practically bounced in her seat by the
time both girls said their good-byes. Four years had passed since
she'd seen her oldest friends and the Riverdale High ten-year class
Reunion drew closer by the day.

Of the friends, Meg and
Paige were the closest. The once-shy brunette now held the title of
`
professor'
at a
very prestigious college in up state New York and Paige couldn't
wait to see her again. Getting a chance to reminisce with her
oldest friends is exactly what she needed. Living in L.A. was
lonely, but she hoped to ease some of the pain she felt with the
weekend's planned activities.

They all decided to crash
at Paige's apartment for a little
girl's
weekend out.
She lived the closest to
Riverdale and it made more sense than everyone renting a hotel
room.

After graduation, every one moved on with
their lives, moving to the far corners of the country, herself
included. Her mother moved them to L.A. and together, they
established the large art gallery Paige now owned since her
mother's passing two years ago.

Being away from her friends left a hole in
her life, but she felt liberated. She did whatever she wanted, and
dated whomever she saw fit, without having to have her friends'
constant approval.

The girls would soon be all together again
and Paige couldn't wait. No matter how inferior her friends made
her feel, seeing them again left her feeling giddy with excitement.
She'd looked forward to this all year long.

* * *

Paige paced nervously in front of the large
windows at LAX, awaiting the arrival of Megan's plane. She hadn't
seen her since her mother's funeral. They tried to talk at least
once a week since Paige felt so isolated living in L.A. alone.

She felt completely out of touch with the
real world. Running the gallery took up most of her free time.
Although her employees were around her same age, she learned the
hard way not to mix business with pleasure. Watching her days turn
to nights from behind the glass windows of her gallery wasn't the
life she imagined for herself, but like it or not, it's all she
had.

L.A. was a large city and
although Paige loved her life there, her limited amount of friends
just didn't seem like enough. She missed the
gang
and the reunion seemed like the
perfect excuse for them all to get together again.

Paige walked over to the small crowd
gathering, awaiting other passengers. Straining her neck, she waved
when she saw the bright smile she knew belonged to Megan. She let
out a squeal when her friend looked up and saw her.

She quickly pushed her way through the
crowd, making her way toward Megan. Tears and laughter erupted when
the two girls finally made it to each other and the other occupants
of the airport couldn't help but smile at their squeals of
excitement.

"Oh God Paige, I'm so happy to see you! Let
me get a good look at you," Megan said, pulling back from her.

Paige stood up straight, preening for her
friend and grinning like an idiot. Hours spent at the salon getting
her long blonde locks highlighted and her tan a warm golden brown
apparently paid off. Megan seemed to approve.

"My, my," Megan grinned. "Who is this woman
you've become?"

"I'm not that different."

"Sure you are. Just look at those
curves!"

Paige agreed with her there. No longer the
wafer thin, petite girl from high school. Her five-foot-three frame
filled out, womanly curves now graced her petite figure and she
smiled knowing all her hard work in the gym finally paid off.

"Well, I can't say you've changed much,"
Paige laughed. Megan's brunette hair was still cut short—the ends
just barely touching her shoulders. She'd added a few streaks of
highlights since the last time they were together. Her clothing
style had taken a turn for the better it seemed. No longer did she
see the wild colors or prints. A very stylish gray pants suit made
her look every bit the professional she was.

"You know me," Megan said. "I'm scared of
change."

"Liar."

Both girls laughed before Paige sighed
happily. "I've missed you so much."

"Don't you dare cry, missy!"

Paige grinned. "I can't help it. You know I
get emotional over nothing. It feels like I haven’t seen you in
forever."

"I know," Megan said, the two finally
turning and making their way over to the baggage carousel to gather
Megan's luggage.

It only took a few minutes before they
spotted her bags. They made the slow progression through the hoard
of people trying to escape the airport and they both laughed once
making it outside.

"Let's get out of here. We have tons of
catching up to do before the others get here tomorrow."

"I'm right behind you."

* * *

Chapter 2

Paige held her sides with both hands. The
constant laughter had her in stitches. The four friends who'd
managed to make it into L.A. early sat around her living room
telling stories of the last ten years of their lives. She
constantly wiped her eyes, tears streaming down her face from the
best laughing fit in ages. She couldn’t remember the last time
she’d laughed so hard.

After more wine than any of them needed,
they were all in gossip mode and the girls we're spilling every
little dirty secret they knew.

"And then Kim tells him, `Multiple orgasms
are a must, so if you can't deliver, then let me know up front. I
would hate to waste the next forty-eight hours of my life if you
aren't going to please me'." Amy's face was red by the time she
finished trying to imitate her fast-talking, very blunt friend.

The room burst into another round of giggles
before Paige said, "Oh, Kim, you didn't?" She stared at the most
flamboyant of her friends. Kim was by far the most outrageous
person she'd ever met. She was blunt and spoke her mind no matter
what the circumstances.

The loudest of the group, she hadn’t changed
much from what Paige could tell. Always the comedic relief, nothing
that came out of her mouth surprised anyone.

Kim looked much like she did in high school.
Her short brown hair looked flirty, just like her. Her
five-foot-five frame still thin but there wasn't anything skinny
about her. The most voluptuous of them all, Kim used sex like a
weapon. Anywhere and anyway is what Kim liked and the men she
picked to fill her nights weren't your average Joes.

"What?" Kim said, smiling. "He was cute but
come on; I don't have time for casual sex. I'm not getting any
younger. If I plan on meeting mister right, I have to weed out the
mistakes before I wake up one day and realize the man next to me
has very few sexual skills and his penis isn't even that large in
the light."