Julian (Beautiful Mine #1) Read Online Free PDF Page A

yellow house with the blue shutters.”
    Julian stared and said nothing. My entire house could probably fit into half of the dining hall at Julian’s house.
    “So, what do you think?” I asked, breaking the silence. “Pretty impressive. I know.”
    “Quaint,” he said. At least he was being honest.
    “I grew up there with my parents and little sister. I had my own room, but yes, it’s a very small house. We’re a pretty close family, though, so it’s not that big of a deal to be crammed in there together. You know what’s weird?”
    “What’s that?”
    “Growing up, it never felt small to me,” I said with a nostalgic smile. “It always felt cozy. Perfect.”
    “The Halverford Manse is the only home I’ve ever known,” Julian replied, shuddering from the cold air that seeped in through the cracked window. “My family’s not close at all. Maybe our house is too big.”
    “I don’t think it works that way,” I said. I reached underneath my seat and pulled out a CD case, tossing it in his lap. “Pick something.”
    Julian unzipped the case and carefully flipped through my music collection. “Iron and Wine?”
    “You like them too?” I asked.
    “Love them,” Julian said.
    “I’ve never met anyone else who even knew who they were,” I mused.
    “Sam Beam’s lyrics make you think of everything in a different way,” Julian said, reaching over to turn up the volume as the distinctive guitar plucking of Resurrection Fern began to play.
    “Should we head back?” I eventually asked after noticing the falling needle of my gas tank and the flashing icon in my dashboard telling me to get gas now .
    “Yeah, we can,” he said almost regrettably. “I am getting a little hungry.”
    “I don’t really feel like cooking tonight. Can we just stop at a drive-thru, or something?”
    “I’m not supposed to eat fast food,” Julian protested. “It’s not healthy.”
    “I think we can make an exception, don’t you?”
    I pulled into the drive-thru of the nearest fast food joint and ordered two cheeseburger meals before heading back to the mansion.
    “We should eat at the kitchen table tonight instead of your bedroom,” I said as I helped him out of the car. He gripped my arm as we shuffled on the frozen-snow covered sidewalk to the back entrance. I sat him down at the table and grabbed two plates. “I can’t believe it’s dark out already. Looks like it’s going to rain.”
    Julian quietly shoveled food in his mouth and nodded.
    “I think it’s an early-to-bed kind of night,” I said, watching him devour his greasy dinner. “You really like that, don’t you?”
    “It’s pretty good,” he replied, rolling his eyes.
    I smiled, secretly proud of myself for getting him to eat so well all week. He would start putting on weight in no time. I planned on making him a huge breakfast the next morning. I refused to let him subsist on plain oatmeal and wheat toast any longer.
    Julian finished his dinner, and I helped him upstairs and into his bed.
    “Was today all that bad?” I asked, pulling the covers over him.
    “I actually had a really nice time today,” he said, his eyes meeting mine. It was probably one of the nicest things he’d said to me all week.
    “You and your backhanded compliments,” I snickered.
    Without warning, Julian moved his hand up to my face and brushed a strand of hair out of my eyes. “That was bugging me.”
    He was starting to come out of his shell, even if only in small increments. I was sort of starting to love my job, and spending my days with Julian was actually becoming fun.
    “You can call me Jules, if you want,” he said.
    “Like Jules Verne?” I asked. “I like Julian. It suits you better. It’s sort of all buttoned-up and proper, like you.”
    “I’m not buttoned-up,” he scoffed.
    I laughed, the tension in my body fading slowly. “I bet to differ.”
    Julian sat up in his bed and inched closer to me, and for a brief moment, I felt like he wanted to