Gaining Visibility by Pamela Hearon Read Free Book Online

expected, he carefully placed it on the ground and stepped back to study it.
    Ah! A stonemason, then. A fitting job since he appeared to be made of the same matter.
    So what did that imply about her work with antiques? She pushed the thought away.
    He knelt and chiseled delicately around the edge of the rock, shaping it to snuggle tightly against the one it would rest beside.
    Julia brewed a cup of coffee and decided to sit on her balcony, enjoying it along with the view. Invisibility had its advantages and watching Adonis unobserved was one of them. Today he wore a T-shirt, which pulled taut across his chest even when he wasn’t in motion. Drenched in morning sunlight, he was the epitome of raw masculinity with the heat shimmering off him like it did on the sea below.
    The sculpture he was paving around drew her interest. An iridescent ball rested within what appeared to be a clamshell or a sunburst folded in half. The effect was that the ball could be a pearl or an eye or even the moon. She would check it out more closely if she found a time when the stonemason wasn’t around.
    His dark eyes unnerved her yesterday with their piercing stare. They hummed with the same power she could see coiled in his movements now as he worked the hammer, the same power that resonated in his voice.
    She wouldn’t want to get in this man’s way.
    As if he’d heard her thoughts, he stood abruptly and threw his hammer in disgust. It thudded against the wall behind him. Picking up the stone he’d just placed, he hurled it and some colorful phrases in the direction his hammer had taken.
    Julia chuckled at his temperamental actions. A stone that didn’t fit exactly the way he wanted? Big deal. Suck it up, pretty boy. If that’s the worst thing life throws at you, count your lucky stars.
    He stalked off, and she redirected her attention to the view of the countryside.
    Surrounding the hotel property, houses clung like plants to the hillside, a spring garden in pastel hues, drawing water and life from the jewel of sea below. Not a single cloud marred the infinite blue stretch of sea and sky. Heat was already evident, even in the shade of her balcony, but it wasn’t a stifling heat. It was a warm bath set to the perfect temperature.
    She drew a dreamy breath. Her planning and training and hard work paid off. The interior decorating company she’d started five years ago had shown a fine profit for three years despite her personal setbacks. She’d even been able to expand and take on a partner. And soon, she would begin her conquest of the Cinque Terre. She would conquer this ruggedly handsome terrain just like she conquered the cancer and the depression and the weight gain.
    Voices below the balcony caught her attention. One she thought she recognized from yesterday as the stonemason’s. She stood up, catching sight of two figures lingering in the shade beneath the balcony next to hers. Sure enough, Adonis and a young man sipped dark liquid from espresso cups, deep in conversation.
    As they talked, a well-endowed blonde sunbathing by the pool stood up to adjust her nearly nonexistent bikini. The young man gave a low whistle, making a motion as if squeezing a proffered breast.
    Adonis’s snort held a derisive edge. “ Americana, ” he muttered. He leaned over and picked up a large, round rock and squeezed it, giving an exaggerated grunt. His companion laughed as Adonis tossed the rock away.
    Julia felt her face heat as Frank’s remark that she now came equipped with jawbreakers surged to the front of her mind. He’d been trying to cover his revulsion at her appearance . . . had sought to make light of the horror he tried to hide.
    She blinked away the tears. If he’d stuck around, he would’ve been surprised by how supple her fake breasts had become over time, almost lifelike really.
    But he hadn’t stuck around.
    She’d been fading in Frank’s visibility for years.