Read Julian (Beautiful Mine #1) for Free Online

twice.”
    As I left the Garner-Willoughby mansion a short time later, I thought about Julian. I wondered what he was going to be doing that night, all by himself. I knew he was used to being alone, but a part of me could tell he was enjoying my company. I could see it in his eyes, or when he would subtly smile whenever I’d razz him and challenge him a bit. I wondered if he ever wished he could go out with friends his own age and have a normal, young adult life.
    I pulled into the parking lot of Carys’ apartment complex, and within minutes, all 5’9’’ of her sauntered out. Her shoulder-length, platinum blonde hair was polished and flat-ironed with nary an out of place strand, and she wore her highest nude pumps and shortest black dress. I always felt impossibly plain next to her, but she’d been my best friend since third grade when her family had moved onto my street, and I’d grown used to the spotlight always being on her anywhere we went.
    “Hey, chick!” Carys said as she hopped into my car. A mix of spicy, floral perfume and hairspray filled the car. “Ready to hit the town tonight?”
    “I’m so ready,” I said, pulling out of the parking lot. A light sprinkling of snowflakes dusted the windshield as I drove, and I chuckled a little at the fact that it was still winter and Carys was dressed like she was going to be partying it up in Cancun. “It’s been forever since I’ve been out.”
    For a split second earlier that afternoon, I’d contemplated canceling on Carys and sticking all the money in savings. I wanted to buy my dad a snow blower for next winter and my mom a diamond necklace, and Alexa needed a new wardrobe. I could just hear my dad’s lecture about money being “easy come, easy go” and the value of a dollar. But I needed this. Just one night to celebrate the fact that things were finally headed in the right direction for me.
    Carys reached over, turned the radio on, and began singing along to one of our old favorite songs from high school. “Oh, my God. Remember this?”
    She screeched along to the lyrics. Though she couldn’t carry a tune to save her life, it never stopped her from belting her heart out.
    “Where are we going tonight?” I asked.
    “I didn’t tell you?” she said. Her eyes lit up as she turned to me and placed her hand on my shoulder. “I found out through some people at work that Spencer is in town this week. Aaaaand I heard he was going to be at Mulligan’s tonight. I think we should go there. And I think you should show him what he’s been missing these last few years.” Her lips curled into a devilish smile.
    “I can’t,” I objected, panic instantly flooding my body. I wanted to turn around. I wanted to puke. I hadn’t seen him in years, not since he dumped me before he left for college. “This is weird. I look horrible. Why didn’t you warn me?”
    Without hesitation, Carys whipped out a stick of berry lipstick and a mammoth tube of mascara and began working her magic on my face as I drove. She flung her makeup back into her purse and pulled a hair tie off her wrist as she swept my dark hair into a top knot and secured it.
    “Lose the cardigan, dork,” she said, tugging at my sleeve. With her help, I wriggled out of it, my skin immediately prickling from the frigid air. “There. Gorgeous. Any other excuses?”
    I pulled into the parking lot in front of Mulligan’s, scanning the area for a sign of Spencer’s presence and wondering if he still had his black Range Rover. My heart pounded hard in my chest at the thought of bumping into him. I’d played that scenario in my head a million times over the years, but I never thought it would actually happen.
    Being rejected by someone who once loved you like crazy would give a girl a complex. I spent years fantasizing about the day I could prove to Spencer I was good enough for him and that he’d made a huge mistake walking away from me. From us.
    Inside the warm bar, I flirted my way into a