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But Jase laughed. "There's no Internet cafe like New York,
sorry. But I think the library has a few computers. It's not
far."
On the way to the library, Jase smiled and said hello to
everyone he passed. The people nodded at Luis with polite
smiles, but they all gave him the same cautious glance, as if
he'd just arrived from another planet. When they entered the
library a middle-aged woman told Jase he was looking good
since she'd seen him last. Jase told her Luis wanted to use a
computer. She frowned at Luis, scrunched her lips, and
pointed to three ancient computers along the far right wall.
They crossed to the computers and Luis looked down at
them with his palm on his chest. "I've never seen anything
like this." They were huge, with massive screens and cracked
plastic cases. The sides were smudged with ink stains and the
screens were dotted with fingerprints. "I should have brought
a bottle of window cleaner with me."
But Jase didn't reply. His head was turned and he was
staring at the back of the library. There was some sort of
children's event going on. There were three rows of pre-
school children sitting in tiny chairs lined side by side in a half
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circle. Trey was sitting in the middle of the half circle talking
to the children. Trey's face lifted with animation, and his eyes
bulged. He was using exaggerated movements with his arms
and his hands. Luis couldn't hear what Trey was saying, but
he heard the children laughing and giggling at his remarks.
"You'll be okay here for a minute," Jase said. He was
staring at Trey. There wasn't a question mark at the end of
the sentence.
"I'm fine," Luis said.
"I'll be right back."
Luis sat down in front of the computer screen and dropped
a few coins into a slot to boot it up. But as the screen
appeared, Luis followed Jase instead of the computer. By the
time Jase went to the back of the room, the children started
applauding and Trey stood up from his chair. When Trey saw
Jase coming toward him, Trey tilted his head and smiled so
wide something in Luis's stomach thumped. Then his heart
started to race. Though he couldn't hear what they were
saying, he could see their expressions and the deep, intense
way they were gazing at each other. One of the children
started tugging at Trey's jacket and Trey didn't even realize
the kid was doing it. Trey was too busy staring into Jase's
eyes and concentrating on everything Jase was saying to him
as if it meant life or death.
Luis sat back and sighed. He didn't even open Elena's web
page to see all the comment his readers had left. All of a
sudden, a dark, disconnected feeling came over him and he
couldn't concentrate on anything but Jase and Trey standing
in the back of the room, laughing and joking with each other.
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In all the time Luis had known Jase, he'd never seen him look
at another man this way.
For the next ten minutes, he pretended to concentrate on
the computer. When he saw Jase turn and start walking back
to where he was sitting, he clicked it off and stood up. He
didn't want Jase to know there was anything wrong.
"Did you get what you need?" Jase asked. He was smiling,
but his voice wasn't animated anymore. Though he was
talking to Luis, he seemed to be preoccupied with something
else.
"I read a few things," Luis said. "I can post something later
with my laptop at the house. It's the Internet. It can wait."
They left the library in silence and started walking back
toward the middle of town. But when they reached Bishop
Street, they ran into Isabelle and Mary. The two women were
coming out of a florist shop, murmuring to each other.
Isabelle looked up first. "There you are," she said. "We've
been looking all over for you guys." She was wearing her lime
green sweatsuit with matching running shoes.
"Where were you?" Mary asked.
"The library," said Jase. He was smiling, but there was
something different about the way he was acting. He was
rocking on his feet and fidgeting with the boat keys.
Mary stepped forward and grabbed Luis by the hand. She
pulled him next to her and said, "We need to borrow Luis for
a little while."
"Borrow him?" Jase asked.
Luis looked up, then down. He couldn't begin to guess
what they were talking about.
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"We need to pick up a few things for the wedding, and Luis
has to be with us," Isabelle said. She grabbed Luis's other
hand and said, "It's girly stuff that would only bore you to
death. You go into town and hang out somewhere. Luis will
meet you back at the boat in an hour."
Ah well, Luis thought. Here they go again. They were
treating him like the woman in the relationship. He glared at
Jase, pleading with his eyes for help. But Jase still seemed
preoccupied with the conversation he'd had with Trey in the
library. The next thing Luis knew, Mary and Isabelle were
dragging him down Bishop Street to a little boutique on the
corner. Jase remained in the middle of the street with his
hands in his pockets, gazing down at the pavement as if he'd
just lost his most valuable possession in the world and knew
he'd never get it back.
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The Virgin Billionaire's Wedding
by Ryan Field
Chapter Thirteen
When they entered the boutique, Luis looked around and
sighed. It was one of those combination clothing shops,
jewelry stores, and candy counters. The sign outside read
"Nicholas Fashions, Notions, and Sweets." Mary told him it
was actually her shop but she only worked there once in a
while when the manager needed extra help. She smiled and
said she'd always wanted to own a store where women could
go to find pretty, delicate things you couldn't find anywhere
else. Good chocolate had to be treated with the highest
regards. So far, this shop had been a huge hit both for the
women in town and for the many women in surrounding
towns. Mary said they came from as far as Anchorage to
check out her merchandise and eat the chocolate.
Luis just smiled and nodded. He grabbed a few dark
chocolate truffles and sat in an overstuffed pink velvet slipper
chair near the dressing room. He pretended to enjoy himself
while Mary tried on a few dresses for the party. She told Luis
she had already purchased something new, but that was [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]