More Than Neighbors by Isabel Keats Read Free Book Online Page A

is my friend Leo. He really liked your painting and wanted to meet you.” The young man shot him a sullen look.
    “She’s my angel,” he warned, possessively squeezing Cat’s waist even tighter.
    Leopold was a bit thrown but said very seriously, “That’s good, you’re a lucky chap.”
    Reassured, the younger man gazed at Cat adoringly and asked, “Are you coming to my birthday party?”
    “Of course, sweetheart, I wouldn’t miss it for anything in the world,” Cat replied, ruffling his hair again. Satisfied, Peter spotted a woman with his same dark hair signaling him from a corner of the gallery.
    “Mum’s calling me.” The young man took a few steps away, then suddenly turned back to Cat and pointed at Leopold. “Angel, he’s not invited.” With that, he ran to where his mother was waiting.
    “I’m sorry, Leo, but you heard him. You’re not invited to his party.” There was a flash of mischief in her large brown eyes.
    “I’ll try to get over this new blow to my self-esteem,” her neighbor declared solemnly. He raised an eyebrow and added, “My angel?”
    “Peter heard Diego call me that once, and ever since then, it’s been his nickname for me.”
    Leopold stared at her with an indecipherable expression. “And you, do you paint, or just teach?” he eventually said.
    “Oh, I paint, but I don’t have much time for it. I’ve only finished a few canvases,” she answered.
    “Have you tried to sell them?”
    “No. I’m not ready to exhibit.” Catalina hoped that her brief explanation would put an end to his questioning. Though Leopold could tell that she wanted to change the topic, that didn’t stop him.
    “Why won’t you exhibit? Are you scared of criticism?” he persisted.
    Cat thought carefully before responding, rolling one of her glossy locks of hair around her forefinger. “I don’t think it’s that, exactly,” she finally answered. “It’s more a matter of intimacy.”
    “Intimacy?” The answer intrigued him.
    “Gosh, Leo, you’re like a bloodhound following a trail.” She seemed annoyed.
    “Woof! Come on, Catalina, don’t try to change the subject. Intimacy?” he repeated.
    “I don’t know, that’s just how I feel. Exhibiting my work would be a bit like being naked in public.” She was speaking slowly, as if searching for the right words.
    “Interesting. I’d never have thought you were a shy person.”
    Now Cat looked at him with visible irritation. “And I’m not, but . . .” She shrugged, unable to clearly articulate her feelings.
    “Have you ever shown anyone your paintings?” Leopold wasn’t ready to end his interrogation before he’d gotten satisfactory answers.
    “Only Diego.”
    “And?”
    “He thinks I should exhibit.”
    “But you don’t feel ready. I see.” Leopold noted her flushed face and uncomfortable expression. “What about me? Would you show me?”
    “If you’d asked me yesterday, I’d have flatly refused. I thought you had all the art sensibility of the Terminator. But today, I’m not so sure.” Once again, Cat inspected him thoughtfully. “You really do look very handsome in that tuxedo, Leo. It’s beyond me how the beautiful Alison could’ve let you get away tonight,” she said with a glint in her eye.
    “Catalina, dear, don’t try to distract me.” He put a finger under her chin, tilting her head, and repeated, “Will you show them to me?”
    “We’ll see,” she replied, staring up at the ceiling.
    A group of people, most of them parents of the students, approached then to congratulate Catalina on the exhibition and say good-bye. Leopold took the opportunity to discreetly walk away and hide in a corner, where he phoned his friend Harry. “Hullo, Harry. Have I woken you? Then I’m doubly sorry, old boy. Tell Lisa I’ll try to make it up to her somehow. I need a favor . . .”
    When he hung up, he returned to the group surrounding his neighbor. “I’m off, too.”
    “Good night, Leo. I really