The Juliet Club by Suzanne Harper Read Free Book Online Page A

sunny, sweet-tempered, and forgiving friend, he might have punched Giacomo in the nose.
    Instead, feeling saintly, he said, “Perhaps you will meet a new girl in this seminar. Perhaps she will be beautiful. Perhaps she will fall in love with you—”
    â€œUndoubtedly she will fall in love with me.” Giacomo grinned as he said it, but Benno knew he was only half joking. Girls were always falling in love with Giacomo.
    â€œBut as for being beautiful . . . the girls in this class have already been recognized as brilliant scholars, so the odds are against it.” Giacomo took a disconsolate bite of his apple and scanned the courtyard again.
    â€œLet’s think of happier things,” he said. “The future is not here yet, but the present shows remarkable promise.” He tilted his head toward the crowd. “After all, it’s the start of another summer season and we stand in a courtyard full of starry-eyed, romantic girls from around the world. What do you think, Benno? Do you see any possibilities?”
    â€œI always see possibilities,” Benno said, a little disgruntled. “I would rather see probabilities, as you do. Or absolute certainties. That would be even better.”
    â€œYou need to have more self-assurance, Benno. That is the key. No girl is attracted to someone who lacks confidence.”
    â€œThank you for the advice,” Benno said. “I never knew it was that easy. Of course, now that you’ve pointed that out to me, my troubles have vanished.”
    Giacomo smiled to himself. “Well, let’s see if we can find someone for you.” He inclined his head slightly toward a girl with blue-and-magenta streaks in her hair. She was laughing loudly and occasionally giving one of her friends a shove to punctuate a particular comment. “She seems fun.”
    Benno looked at the girl out of the corner of his eye. “Too jolly.”
    â€œMmm, you’re probably right.” Giacomo’s restless eyes landed next on a girl with thick brown braids and plump, rosy cheeks. She wore stout hiking boots and carried a backpack that looked serious enough for a climb up Mount Everest. “And her?”
    â€œToo hearty.”
    â€œUnfortunate,” he agreed sadly. “What about that one?”
    Benno followed Giacomo’s gaze. “Ah, si. ” This girl looked a little bit more promising. She was tall and slim, with hair the color of dark honey, pulled back in a neat braid. Gold-framed glasses perched on an entirely acceptable nose. She had a rather grave air, as if perhaps she had a secret sorrow that only a warm and witty person such as himself could dispel. . . .
    Benno pulled himself up short. He had made the mistake before of creating an elaborate story about a girl based on nothing more than the way she tilted her head or the kind of shoes she wore. He had learned to his sorrow that appearances could be very deceiving. Teresa, for example, had worn a micro-mini skirt and stiletto heels that had given him entirely the wrong impression.
    â€œSo, what do you think?” Giacomo asked.
    Benno refocused his attention. “She is an American. Without a doubt.”
    â€œAnd how did you make that deduction?” Giacomo found Benno’s Sherlock Holmes act quite amusing, and encouraged it whenever possible.
    Benno gave a disdainful sniff. “She’s wearing khakis .”
    â€œAh, yes.”
    Benno added, his head cocked to one side. “Smart and studious.”
    â€œBased on?”
    â€œThree books stuffed in her purse,” Benno pointed out. “And she’s not just listening to the tour guide, she’s taking notes .” He clucked disapprovingly.
    â€œMmm.” Giacomo glanced at Benno. “But perhaps you would consider asking her out for a gelato, just to practice.”
    But Benno was already shaking his head. “Her nose is too pointy,” he said hastily. “You know I hate pointy