Forbidden Boy

“Hey what?” Julia

“Let’s look up your new favorite project manager!” 85

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Chloe laughed, putting quotes around “project manager” and deepening her voice.

“Ew! No!” Jules squealed, giggling. “I am adopting a strict ‘no bringing work home with me’ policy from here on out.”

“Oh, c’mon!” Chloe wheedled, using the camp counselor voice that suckered Julia

Jules folded. “Okay, you do it though. It’s your idea.” Julia

“Jackpot!” Chloe burst out. “There are seven pages of Remi Moores. There are literally dozens of them. Who knew so many people shared such a weird name? Let’s put our detective hats on. If I were an obnoxious project-managing, land-destroying hipster, where would I be?” Julia

About six pages in, Chloe stopped clicking and excitedly poked Julia

“What does his headline say?” Julia

“Pompous land-hog seeking non-sustainable relationship,” Chloe answered.

“Wait, really?” Julia

Forbidden Boy

squinted at the screen. As much as she wanted to dislike Remi, that didn’t seem right at all.

“No, of course not,” Chloe fessed up. “But I think it would be much more apropos than ‘He who awaits much can expect little.’”

“Is that actually his quote?” Jules asked, her eyes wide with disbelief.

“Mmm-hmm,” Chloe confirmed.

“That’s Gabriel García Márquez. I love that quote,” Jules murmured, impressed. Why did he have to be so smart? Couldn’t he just be the weaselly jerk Chloe thought he was? It would be so much easier.

“Well, unfortunately, there’s no rule that great authors are the exclusive domain of those who don’t suck, so I guess he’s entitled.” Chloe yawned, lazily twirling her hair with one hand as she clicked around the rest of Remi’s profile. “Oh, check out his pictures! This is hilarious!” Chloe had flipped right to a picture of Remi in costume for some sort of campus party at UW—

dressed as the Mona Lisa.

“Well, with the wig . . . and when he tilts his head that way . . . I guess I can see the resemblance.” Julia

They flipped through his other photos: Remi and his friends after a tug-of-war. Julia

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to stop from swooning at how cute he looked in his sweat-soaked T-shirt with mud-streaked cheeks. Remi and his dad at the top of a mountain. Remi at a micro-phone, sound-checking for someone’s band. Julia

“Never in my life have I seen someone look that much worse as a drag queen!” Chloe howled with laughter. “Let’s see—what else can we find out about Mr. Moore here?” Jules read from the screen “Status: single. Here for: networking, friends. Hometown: Seattle. School: University of Washington.”

“C’mon, get to the good stuff!” Chloe urged.

Julia

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Music: the Killers, the Gossip, Mates of State, Sufjan Stevens, Common, Mos Def, Sinister Urge.” Julia

“Wow, so he’s totally got a hero-worship situation with his dad, huh?” Chloe asked.

“Maybe he’s like a little dad-bot—a clone or something!” Julia

“Hey, Jules, how’s this for a crazy idea,” Chloe began thoughtfully, as she got up from the rolling chair. She steered Jules toward the chair by her shoulders and, once Julia

“Uh-huh,” Julia

“You should stalk him!” Chloe said brightly.

“Um, Chloe, hate to break it to you, but that’s exactly what we’re doing right now. We’re total stalkers,” Julia

“Hold on—let’s think about this,” Chloe suggested.

“What if you really did it?”

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“What? Stalk him?” Julia

“Not like actual stalking—no restraining orders required or anything. Maybe ‘spying’ or ‘personal information recon’ is more like it. You know, like, ‘know thy enemy’?”

“Something about that just doesn’t feel okay to me,” Julia

“Jules, you’re going to spend all day with him, all summer. In an environment where talking about building is the norm. Aren’t you the least little bit curious to find out what else the Moores plan on conquering?

With the surveyors and the gates? What better place for someone to casually mention his or her home improvement plans than at a contractor’s site? They’re never going to be up-front with Dad—it would take away all of their bargaining ability. It’s the best way to stay a step ahead,” Chloe pressed.

“You know what? I think you might just be on to something,” Jules conceded slowly. “Going incognito, playing i

Chloe gri

Chapter Eight

!

Julia

She was cutting boards at the circular saw the first time it happened. She had pulled her hair down from its ponytail to put on her safety goggles, so it hung loosely down around her tan shoulders. She eyeballed the length of a board and drew a crisp pencil line across the two-by-four before arranging it on the circular saw.

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