Julian (Beautiful Mine #1) by Gia DeLuca Read Free Book Online

gentle smile. She walked over to my bedside and raked her delicate fingers through my hair, her nails tickling my scalp. “I have a thought. Let’s go get breakfast. We can go for a walk after.”
    “You don’t have a car,” I said dryly as the image of her stumbling inside last night took center stage in my head.
    “What are you talking about? Yes I do,” she insisted, her face falling when bit and pieces of the night before probably started to return to her memory.
    “It’s not here,” I said. “Some guy dropped you off here last night.”
    “What did you see?” she asked without pause, nibbling on her fingernails.
    “I don’t want to say.” I shook my head and breathed out.
    “You have to tell me. Please.”
    “I don’t want to talk about it.”
    “Did something bad happen to me?” she asked innocently. “I need to know. I didn’t mean to drink so much last night. It won’t happen again. Please, just tell me what you saw.”
    She wasn’t worried about something bad happening to her. She wanted to know if he kissed her goodnight under the pale moon and starry sky and falling snow. She wanted to know if he looked deep into her beautiful blue eyes and brushed her cheek with his hand as he told her he’d see her tomorrow. He didn’t do any of that, and I didn’t have the heart to tell her, though it would’ve given me great pleasure for her to stop fawning over that idiot.
    “That was your ex, right?” I asked, sucking in a breath. “The one who cheated on you?”
    Her eyes lit up as she stifled a smile. The thought of that loser put a smile on her face, and yet she wouldn’t even give me two seconds.
    “Julian,” Evie said tenderly, taking a seat on the bed. “It’s so much more complicated than you know.”
    “I heard his car pull up,” I said, my voice low with resentment. “I looked out the window. You climbed out. Almost fell down. And then stumbled to the door. He pulled away. Shall we go?”
    I didn’t want to look at her. I didn’t want to see her sweet face fall.
    “I’m going to go change,” she said, standing up. I could hear her trying to hide the disappointment in her voice. “I’ll be right back. Don’t move.”
    The second she was gone, I hoisted myself out of bed and walked slowly to the bathroom to get ready. I wanted to prove that I was worthy of her love, her attention. I wanted her to think of me and smile the way she did when she talked about that asshole. I was tired of being some patient she felt sorry for. I didn’t want her to touch me like I was a sickly child. I wanted her to touch me like I was a man.
    I disrobed and stepped into my tiled shower, washing myself from head to toe. I toweled off a few minutes later, combed my hair with brill cream, and finished getting ready.
    “Julian!” I heard her call from the other side of the door.
    A white towel draped around my waist, I popped the lock on the door and swung it open,. Her lips formed an “O” shape as she took me in.
    “You did this by yourself?” she asked, astounded. She couldn’t take her eyes off me, and I could’ve sworn she was breathing me in as the steam from the bathroom escaped from behind me. “You look… good.”
    I shrugged and looked past her, heading to my closet.
    “I just mean, you, um, you look healthy,” she stammered. “Don’t read into it.”
    “I’m going to dress myself today,” I announced. “If you don’t mind.” I pointed toward the door and she left the room, still stunned and silent.
    I carefully changed into jeans and a polo, forgoing my usual lounge clothes for something that made me look a little more normal. As I walked around, I realized my clothes were noticeably tighter on my body, which was finally beginning to fill out a bit.
    “You can come back in,” I announced.
    She stepped back into the room, her eyes never leaving me for one second as she took me in like I was a complete stranger to her, someone she’d never seen before in her