Sweet Unrest Read Online Free

looked over the crowd to see if I could find any better shots to distract myself from the strange sensation that had washed over me.
    That’s when I saw him.
    He was standing slightly apart from the rest of the employees, leaning against one of the ancient, tangled oaks that lined the wide alley leading out to the Mississippi. Maybe it was the way he held himself, apart and confident, but where most of the other guys in the crowd wore the styles of an earlier century like kids playing dress-up, this guy’s clothing seemed to suit him.
    And then I really looked at his face, and my breath caught in my throat. Above sculpted cheekbones, his eyes were fringed by dark, thick lashes that softened his otherwise angular face. His lazy tumble of honey-colored hair glinted like molten gold in the sun. He had an almost aristocratic beauty. It might have been a cold beauty, but the warmth of his sun-bronzed skin balanced the rest of his features.
    But he was tense. The slash of his mouth, set in a hard line over his strong, sharp chin, was completely at odds with the way he casually lounged against the tree. Occasionally he would grimace in what might have been irritation … or maybe pain.
    Then he looked up and saw me, and our eyes locked.
    And I felt my world shift. I couldn’t look away from him.
    His face softened then. The tension left his jaw, his lips parted slightly, and he tilted his head to the side as he examined me. He seemed confused, like he was trying to put together a difficult puzzle as his gaze swept slowly over my body—down my rumpled outfit to my worn shoes and then back up again. His eyes narrowed as they met mine again. I was about to turn away, uncomfortable under his scrutiny, but all at once, his eyes—a green so vibrant and true that the color was clear even from that distance—danced with amusement.
    Embarrassed to be caught staring, and even more embarrassed by the laughter in his eyes, I turned away so I could breathe again. I willed my heart to slow back down, took a few deep breaths to steady myself, and turned back.
    But he was gone.
    My dad’s voice droned on in the background as I looked around for the guy. Suddenly, the day felt too bright, the crowd too close. No matter where I looked, I didn’t see him. His absence felt like I’d just lost something important, but I didn’t know why. I was so lost in my thoughts, I didn’t hear my dad finish or notice the crowd begin to disperse. I was too busy thinking about the guy with the startling green eyes.
    He’d looked a year or two older than me, which made me wonder if he was one of the college students my dad had invited down from Chicago to work on the plantation for course credit. If that was the case, maybe I’d seen him before—maybe on campus?—which was the only way I could think of to explain the strange sense of familiarity I’d experienced when he looked at me. That would also go a long way toward explaining his small smile and the laugh in his eyes when he caught me staring. He probably thought I had a crush on him. Some silly high school girl shooting higher than she had any right to aim.
    But a guy that striking … It seemed like I would’ve remembered him.
    I was berating myself for my own stupidity at looking so, well … stupid when I realized my dad was trying to get my attention. I mentally shook myself and headed over to him.
    “Lucy, I want you to meet Chloe. Mina’s daughter,” he added, in case I’d forgotten. “She works here at Le Ciel as a tour guide.”
    Chloe had the same wide mouth and dazzling smile as her mother, and when she turned it on me, I couldn’t help but smile back. She was every bit as beautiful as Mina, and almost as tall, too—much taller than my average height. Her skin was a bit darker than Mina’s, and she wore her hair braided into long, smooth dreadlocks that moved like water when she turned her head. Some were tipped with silver beads that chimed happily when they clinked