Love in All the Right Places (Chick Lit bundle) by Chris Mariano, Agay Llanera, Chrissie Peria Read Free Book Online Page A

her head. “No, not her. Someone else. I’m sorry I can’t remember her name. Lolo always said she was a talented woman. She spent the time here writing or painting or some such activity, which wasn’t too common around these parts at that time.”
    Something in Gio’s brain told him to leave well enough alone. He had all the information he needed about for the Torres exhibit. Sir Frank and the committee made sure that everything he needed for the exhibit had been delivered to the museum. He certainly didn’t need to go poking around for a mysterious old girlfriend that might not have any significance to his work.
    But he had to admit, he was curious. This was the first that he had heard of an artist friend. Most of what he knew about the governor was on the political side. There were mentions of some girlfriends other than Mamang Pilar, mostly society girls from Roxas or Iloilo, but no one had mentioned unchaperoned trips to the island. Had she been one of the unfinished letters Gio had found among the ex-governor’s things?
    “Wouldn’t it be interesting if the artist ever drew this governor of yours?” Min Hee mentioned out of the blue, startling Gio out of his thoughts. He had almost forgotten that she was there. But she was looking at him. “You may not think I pay attention, but I’d say a sketch of this guy would be a bit more fascinating than his bottle cap collection.”
    She had a point. Gio turned to Genrose. “You wouldn’t happen to know where she lived, do you?”
    “No, sorry,” Genrose answered. “But from what I remember, she was also Aklanon. Maybe she lived in Malay or Nabas. You know, Lolo actually kept some of her sketches. She drew him once. Lolo must have had some crush on her because he kept it in one of the family albums. I think she even had a few sketches of the island. Would you like me to look for them for you?”
    “Sketches of Boracay?” Gio repeated. Sketches of Boracay way before Liz Taylor and her puka shell necklace or Jens Peters and his travel book placed it on the map. He tried not to sound too eager, but he really thought that might be worth looking into.
    “Yes!” Min Hee answered for him, nudging him with an elbow. Her phone buzzed with a soft ring, but she ignored it. “Yes, he’d like to see it. If it’s possible.”
    Genrose looked only too happy to help. “I’ll see if I can find them by this afternoon. You can stay in the area and have merienda with us. How are the adobo and the inubarang manok , by the way?”
    In his curiosity, Gio had forgotten to check on Min Hee as a good host should have. Min Hee wasn’t used to Filipino food, much less local dishes. She might have found the inubarang manok , which was a stew of hardy native chicken in coconut milk and the crushed core of a banana trunk, hard to swallow. Neither were the eatery’s modest interiors a match for the designer pieces that adorned the top resorts along White Beach, including the one where she was staying. It was sparsely decorated, with wooden benches and wide windows open to views of the beach in the north and the hills in the south.
    But to his surprise Min Hee just beamed at Genrose. “Very good!” she said, a wide smile on her lips.
    Gio gave her a small smile. Even if she was lying, he appreciated the effort. But when he allowed his eyes to linger longer on her face, he could almost swear that she was being 100% sincere.
     
    * * * *
     
    Exploring the bat caves of Yapak hadn’t been part of his agenda, but once Min Hee heard the idea, she wouldn’t let it go. Gio instantly regretted even mentioning it. Min Hee begged, demanded, and bargained until he offered a compromise. Thankfully, Genrose’s husband generously offered to be their guide and drove them in his tricycle.
    “Are you sure you want to do this?” Gio asked Min Hee, just to be on the safe side. “They’re bats, in case you didn’t hear me the first time around.”
    “I’m not scared,” Min Hee scoffed.
    He