The Look of Love by Mary Jane Clark Read Free Book Online Page B

innocent victim. She doesn’t deserve all the pain she’s been through. She doesn’t deserve to die.
    But in a way it would be doing the poor girl a favor. If she lives, Esperanza is going to have a very tough life.
    Soon she’ll be at peace.

Chapter 16
    THURSDAY, JANUARY 6 . . . NINE DAYS UNTIL THE WEDDING
    T he minute the plane touched down on the tarmac at Los Angeles International Airport, Piper switched on her BlackBerry. She was stoked to see an e-mail message from Gabe about an audition he’d set up for next week in downtown L.A. Still nothing from Jack. Was it possible that he was so upset with her that now he actually didn’t want to have any kind of relationship with her at all?
    Determined not to wallow in worry, Piper updated her Facebook page with information she’d been eager to share since she read it in the airline’s magazine.
    I’M HERE IN THE GOLDEN STATE!
    IT SEEMS CALIFORNIA GOT ITS NAME FROM LEGENDARY QUEEN CALIFIA, WHO RULED A TRIBE OF AMAZONS IN A LAND RIFE WITH GOLD. MEN WERE ALLOWED ONLY ONE DAY A YEAR TO PERPETUATE THE RACE.
    HMMM . . .
    Arriving in the baggage-claim section, Piper scanned the area. She saw a man in a peach golf shirt holding up a paper sign with DONOVAN written across the front. She smiled as she approached him.
    “Hi, I’m Piper Donovan.”
    “How many bags do you have, miss?” the driver asked.
    “Just this one that I was able to fit in the overhead,” said Piper, looking down at the wheeled duffel bag. “When I was a kid, I lost a bag and was totally traumatized.” She didn’t mention that the decision not to check her bag had resulted in the confiscation of the bottles of sterile water and the can of mace her father had insisted she bring.
    The driver took the handle of the bag from her and led the way out to the parking lot and a black limousine. Piper got into the back of the car, appreciating the soft leather and eyeing the refreshments offered on the serving tray affixed to the rear of the driver’s seat. Perrier, juice, nuts, granola bars, and packets of dried fruit. It didn’t get much healthier than that. Too bad what she really wanted was a cheeseburger and fries. Or, better yet, a plate of Jack’s carbonara.
    She missed him.

Chapter 17
    J illian held up her arms as the frothy white wedding gown was slipped over her head. Irene then called in the tailor. While her stepmother watched, Nathaniel fastened the back of the dress.
    Holding out the gorgeous ruffled skirt, Jillian looked at herself in the full-length mirror and frowned. “It’s just hanging on me,” she said.
    “You’ve lost weight over these past months, dear,” said Irene, putting her arm around Jillian’s shoulders. “But it’s much better than gaining. Just think about all the fun you can have trying to put some back on.”
    Jillian climbed up on the stool that Nathaniel had brought with him. Pulling straight pins from the little cushion strapped to his wrist, he fitted the dress to Jillian’s body. The waist, arms, and bodice were going to require some expert needlework.
    “You were so wonderful to do this, Irene,” Jillian said. “To have Nathaniel come here to do the fitting saved me from having to go downtown. I appreciate that you’re trying to make life easier for me.”
    “It’s my pleasure, dear,” said Irene, hugging her. “I know I can’t ever fill your mother’s shoes, Jillian, but I want to be there for you, in whatever ways I can.”
    When the pinning was finished, Nathaniel went out into the hall while Jillian carefully took off the dress. Irene put it on the hanger and zipped up the long garment bag. The tailor returned to take the bag from her.
    “I’ll take the dress down to the shop where we bought it, Nathaniel. They’ll do the actual alterations.”
    After Irene paid the tailor and escorted him to the front door, she went back upstairs. Jillian was already dressed to leave for work.
    “Do you have to go to Elysium right away?” asked