The Bachelor - David Dower (freenovel24 .txt) 📗

until they reached land and Julianne began to work on her computer. Zach came back with a bottle of champagne.

“So, you guys ready for the shopping spree?” he asked. He looked at Julianne and added, “Where do you want to go, Jules?”

“Specifically?” she asked.

He nodded. Pauline looked confused.

She hesitated a moment, knowing her friend would have a shock if she found out she’d be going to Chicago for work. “The Book Table, Lake Street, Oak Park.”

“Oh! I wanna go to Sabon! They have really good salt scrubs there and I might just need it in the island!” Pauline squealed with delight. It’s a good thing she did not question her choice of shopping.

“Well then, Sabon it is,” Zach winked at her.

Julianne couldn’t help but roll her eyes.

 *****

Zach chose to spend most of his time with Pauline during their time at the yacht and the plane. Because he would spend most of his time with Julianne by the time they reached Chicago.

They landed at O’hare International Airport just before lunch. A limo was already waiting for them and it took just about twenty-three minutes to arrive at Merlo Restorante where they had lunch. Zach tried to be patient with Julianne the whole journey. She was too attached to wherever her mind was going and it appeared like she didn’t have company. Yes, she rode with them in the limo but her eyes were too busy looking outside the window and even when they were eating, she was scanning the menu, reading almost everything written on it.

For the first time in his life, Zachary felt like a loser. True, Pauline was paying him too much attention, but he didn’t want her attention. He wanted the attention of the woman wearing the baggiest shirt he had ever seen and those blasted eyeglasses. If he asked them a question, Pauline would give him about a thousand words worth of answer, but Julianne contented herself by answering with a nod or a shrug, and if he was lucky, she would utter a yes or a no. So much for a writer, he often grumbled inside his head.

After lunch, they drove to Washington Street in less than fifteen minutes.

“I think we might have a problem,” he uttered, breaking Pauline’s narrative about her high school life. He saw Julianne stiffen from the corner of his eye. “You both want to go to two different places and we won’t have enough time to actually go together. So—”

“Oh, you can just drop me off at Sabon and you and Julianne can go ahead. We’ll meet at some point,” Pauline offered the most splendid solution and he had the urge to give the woman a grateful hug and maybe a kiss.

“That’s solved then,” he said with contentment, his face lighting up with laughter.

“No, I think it would be better if—”

“Julianne, no arguments,” Pauline said, holding her hand. “I’ve noticed you and Zach haven’t really had moments together at the yacht and at the plane so it’s only fair that you get to know each other. Anyways, I won’t take that long at Sabon and I’ll just follow where you two are after. Where are you going again?”

“I’ll have the driver get you,” Zach offered when Julianne hesitated.

“Well, that’s settled then!” Pauline said with delight.

“What do you think, Jules? Is it fine with you?” he asked.

He saw her look at the camera, hesitated, and said, “I guess.”

He almost jumped with joy because that was the longest sentence she had ever addressed towards him since their talk at the island. All these sensations he had was all new to him and they were all because of one lady who he would have possibly just ignored if he ever met her in the streets before the show happened. He had been wondering all night long why, of all women, he found himself fond and attracted to Julianne.

The car parked outside Sabon and Pauline jumped out, giving them a good luck flying kiss. Zach looked across at Julianne and smiled. “Happy?”

“I don’t want to talk to you,” she murmured, the back of her fingers against her lips, her eyes looking outside the window as the car started down the road once again.

“What?” he pretended not to hear and leaned over.

“I said, I don’t want to talk to you,” she repeated louder.

“What? I can’t hear,” he kept up with his pretense. He surprised her by playfully jumping over beside her. She immediately scooted away and he immediately followed, joining them hip to hip.

“What—” she snapped her head towards him and he smacked his lips against hers, taking her by surprise. “What do you think are you doing?” she gasped.

“Acting on my desires,” he beamed at her boyishly.

She pushed him none too gently and he laughed. “Get away from me.”

“Okay, okay,” he said with a chuckle. “So, I guess I’ll know your pen name after all,” he said, changing the subject.

 *****

Julianne was still not fully recovered from the shock of his kiss when his statement froze her. Today was supposed to be the first time her readers would get to see her face. And today would also be the first time that someone else—other than Diane—would get the chance to know both her names.

But it didn’t matter. She didn’t care. She just wanted to go to the book signing as she promised her fans. She would do it and she wouldn’t let anyone like Zachary Astor ruin this day.

“Can I ask a question?” he asked.

As much as she wanted to say no, she knew he would go ahead with it anyway so she kept quiet.

“Why do you hate me?”

His question startled her. “I don’t hate you, I just don’t like you.”

“Okay…I don’t think I like that answer either,” he uttered and she almost smiled. Almost. “And why don’t you like me?”

“Do I need to give you the answer to that?” she asked.

“Come on, you hate me because I picked you? Am I not forgiven yet? I’m taking you to your book signing,” he said with a childish tone.

What’s wrong with this guy?

“But I’m still here, aren’t I?” she asked.

“Okay, I’ll make you a deal,” he said, clasping his hands together.

“What deal?”

“Since I’m not yet ready to let you go--no, listen first,” he said hastily when she opened her mouth in protest, “I’ll make a proposition for you. You stay in the island and you can do anything you want and I’ll take you to every damn book signing you want.”

“You’ll leave me alone?”

She looked at him as he thought for a moment. “No, I don’t think I can do that.”

“Just as I thought,” she sighed, leaning against the backseat. “But why?”

“Why what?”

“Why do you want to keep me? I am sure not your type—”

“How can you say that? Of course you’re my type.”

“No, I’m not,” she insisted.

“Well, yes, usually you are not my type but now you are. I’m fond of you and I find you beautiful.”

Julianne’s mouth fell open with his tactfulness. “You’re making fun of me, I know it.”

“What? Of course not!” he objected, sounding like a three-year-old.

“Of course not,” she mocked, looking out the window. “We’re here.”

“That’s a shame,” he murmured behind her as they climbed down the car.

 *****

Zach was literally shocked when he saw the number of people lining up outside the store. There could probably be close to a hundred.

She is going to sign one hundred books?

Who is this woman?

His question was answered by the big tarpaulin standing beside the entrance of The Book Table. His eyes widened in shock.

He chased after Julianne who was already about five meters away from him. “You’re J. Green?” He asked. He realized he should have lowered his voice because a sudden cry rang out from the frontlines.

“J. Green? Oh my God! That’s J. Green!” a teenage girl shouted.

“Can’t you keep your mouth shut just even for a second?” Julianne hissed up at him. The crowd started to get uncontrollable now and some guys from the bookstore had to help them get through.

“You’re J. Green?” he asked once again the moment they were safely inside the bookstore.

She was not able to answer because a black-haired woman who was about thirty with really good curves was approaching them with a smile. “Julianne! Oh, thank God you came! I thought we have to cancel the event and—” she stopped when she spotted him. “Zachary Astor?” she asked with awe, and then her eyes went back to Julianne who was looking kind of uncomfortable. “I thought you are going to get yourself out of that competition?”

Zachary was confused. Doesn’t this woman watch the television?

“You mean you don’t know?” Julianne asked aloud.

“Know what? That you’re still in that show? No, I did not bother to watch that—sorry for the word,” she said to Zach, “that stupid show,” she finished.

Zach just shrugged. He wouldn’t like the show himself and if not for the bet, he wouldn’t dare enter.

“Well, now you know that I’m still in it,” Julianne then threw him a stingy look, “thanks to him.”

“Hey,” he threw his hands up.

“We’ll talk about this later,” Diane said. “Right now, you have to get behind that table and start signing. Those poor people have been here for hours waiting for you.”

“I’m sorry,” Julianne said and followed her friend.

Zach felt lost. He didn’t know what to do. Hell, he was still in shock that he was dating—if you would call it that—J. Green, the author of the suspense novel Broken Bones that stormed not just the entire New York City, but twenty other countries. And hell again, he read the book as well. And hell once more, almost everyone read it!

The book was about the three teenage high school students who discovered the remains of a dead body during summer camp. Wondering why the story was read by almost everyone and not just the teenagers? Because the story progressed to reveal an exciting government conspiracy, revealing in the middle of the book that the body belonged to the present president of the USA who was in fact an impostor. That was why the book was such a hit. It did not only interest the teens, but all kinds of readers as well. It was like Harry Potter all over again—minus the magic parts of course.

Zach stared as the bookstore finally opened its doors to let people in. There were reporters and cameras as well, but Julianne seemed unperturbed by the awe and attention she was getting from her fans. For the first time ever, Zach was stirred and amazed by a woman, not just because of her beauty but because of what she had made herself to be. And she didn’t care that she was famous at all and he, for one, could attest that this was no feigned humility.

“Ms. Green, can you tell us how you came up with the story?” a petite woman asked, holding a recorder before her.

“It just popped out, I guess. No special phenomenal stuff happened.” Julianne answered calmly. Zach saw that unlike in the island, with all the cameras and lights, she was not at all uncomfortable. Even with her baggy shirt and her messy hair—which for him was perfect—she didn’t mind nor she made any movement that indicated she was conscious with how she looked. She completely, utterly, didn’t care.

There were more questions about her upcoming books which she didn’t share, and then, the book signing began.

As he looked at Julianne, sitting there, signing books with her awesome smile, Zach felt disturbed. Disturbed because the woman was getting into him in a different way and he was not sure if he knew how to handle that. He was finding it difficult as it was already.

Earlier in the car, he himself was surprised that he kissed her out of nowhere just like that. The action came before the thought even crossed his mind. With Julianne, he could do crazy and childish things he never imagined he could.

He looked at her eyes—behind those blasted eyeglasses—and her hair that naturally suited her. He looked at her smile and