Blue-Eyed Soul Read Free

perfectly normal for someone like him to move to the middle of nowhere.
    A few minutes later, Carl disappeared upstairs, apparently to fetch something Mr. Hollywood wanted. Then, much to Aleks's annoyance, Remey turned his attention to Aleks, approaching the counter.
    "I apologize, I didn't mean to interrupt."
    Aleks shook his head, casting the young man a sideways glance. "It's fine." He reached over and grabbed the bags, a couple of boxes tumbling onto the counter when he fumbled.
    Remey gestured to the reeds. "That's a lot of reeds. Stocking up?"
    Aleks wasn't sure why Remey seemed to think small talk was the thing. But his mother had raised him not to be rude, so he shook his head. "No. I teach music over at the high school and these are for the school clarinets."
    Then Remey Dufresne smiled at him. Damn it. Bright blue eyes lit up and his whole face sort of scrunched up as he let out a pleased little laugh. "Oh wow! That's great. So there's a good music program here?"
    Aleks's brows lifted and he did his best to try not to notice how pretty--and, damn it, there really wasn't another word for the flawless skin, cherry red lips and long lashes--Remey was. "Do you... have a kid?" He looked way too young, but Aleks couldn't figure out why else he'd care about the school music program.
    Remey laughed again, shaking his head. "No, no. I'm super-involved in music education funding, though. It's important. I work with some organizations that fund programs and stuff."
    "Here you go. I knew we had some up there." Carl creaked his way down the stairs and set a handful of boxes on the counter.
    Remey smiled and nodded as Carl started to bag up his guitar strings, turning slightly toward Aleks. "So the program, is it a good one?"
    "Aleks here tries his best to make it that way," Carl put in, and Remey grinned, holding out his hand.
    "Aleks?" he asked, his voice trailing off a little.
    "Aleks Kelly," Aleks answered, putting his hand into Remey's and shaking it briefly.
    "Remey Dufresne."
    "I guessed," Aleks said dryly, jerking his head toward the street. "Most people in Haven don't go around with their own press entourage."
    Remey flushed, sliding his hands into his pockets. "I don't, either. Not willingly anyway."
    Aleks didn't say anything. The guy wanted sympathy? It wasn't his town that had been overrun with outsiders with nothing better to do than loiter or clog up the streets with their giant SUVs, while waiting for Remey to go out to buy a Red Bull or something.
    Aleks grabbed the bags of reeds off the counter, nodding at Carl. "Charge my account, Carl, and thanks. I'll make sure you get front row seats." He chuckled, digging for his keys in his front pocket. "I'm not guaranteeing you won't go deaf if I can't get them to practice hard enough..."
    Remey glanced back and forth between them. "Front row seats for what?"
    Aleks pressed his lips together, but Carl chimed in when Aleks didn't answer.
    "Annual holiday concert at the Winter Festival. You gotta make time to come. Lots of stuff happening and you'll get to meet the whole town."
    Aleks rolled his eyes. "He doesn't want to meet the whole town, Carl."
    Remey blinked, brows knitting. "Sure I do. Why wouldn't I?"
    Aleks shrugged, giving the young man a challenging look. "I doubt our little festival is your type of thing." He glanced over at Carl. "Thanks again, Carl. Tell Myrna I send my love, and I'll see you guys at the football game tonight." Then he turned to leave, but not before he caught the frown on Remey's face.
    As Aleks tossed the bag of reeds onto the front seat, the door to Carl's shop jingled open and Remey stepped out, holding up a hand.
    "Aleks, wait. I..."
    Aleks didn't know what Remey had to say to him, but it turned into a moot point when the paparazzi swarmed, all of them shouting at him, snapping pictures and shoving recorders into his face.
    Aleks gave him a long, pointed look. He wanted nothing to do with the media circus following Remey everywhere and