Read Online The Time-Traveling Fashionista by Bianca Turetsky - Free Book Online Page B

jaw from dropping. Maybe Anna was one of those people who looked really, really
     good for, what was she, thirty?
    “Seventeen. But not for long; I’ll be eighteen next month. In a few years, I’ll be an old maid!” Anna said. Louise laughed,
     but Anna didn’t crack a smile.
    “Do you have a boyfriend?” Louise did her best to play along.
    “Well, there’s someone, I suppose.” Anna blushed and lowered her gaze. “He works on this ship. We have been spending a bit of time together. He’s so handsome.”
    “That’s great. I’d love to meet him!” Louise exclaimed, happy for her new friend. Who was this guy?
    “Pssst,” a voice hissed from behind a paper. “Pssst.”
    Louise’s eyes darted over to Anna. Were they being too loud?
    “Psssst.” The sound was coming from behind a newspaper at a nearby table.
    The
Atlantic Daily Bulletin
lowered, revealing Benjamin Guggenheim’s face.
    “I was hoping I would run into you. But I see you’ve found me out instead.”
    Louise blushed. “I didn’t mean to, I mean, we were just passing through.”
    “Well, I am certainly glad you did. Can you believe this ship has its own daily paper?” he asked as he folded up his periodical
     and got to his feet, linking his arm through Louise’s elbow. With his chiseled jaw line and intense green eyes, he was even
     more handsome than Louise remembered. “Let’s go for a walk, shall we?”

“It’s a bit brisk. Perhaps you can get Miss Baxter a coat?”
    “Yes, sir,” Anna replied to Mr. Guggenheim, rushing off before Louise had a chance to argue. They were walking outside on
     the partly shaded first-class promenade.
    “Well, Miss Baxter, I must say, I’ve been hoping we would have a chance to take a stroll,” he said as they walked slowly along
     the ship’s wooden deck.
    Why couldn’t Todd act a little bit more like this?
Louise wondered, thinking back to the embarrassing scene that played out in the school hallway yesterday.
Where did all the chivalrous men go?
    Louise looked down, blushing. She was burning up, despite the freezing temperature. Brisk wasn’t the word for it—they seemed
     to be taking the arctic route to New York.
    “Isn’t the view marvelous?” he asked her, arms clasped behind his back.
    “Yes,” Louise replied. “I love the ocean.” The sky was a clear and cloudless expanse reflecting off the never-ending calm
     cerulean blue sea.
    They walked quietly, turning around at the bow to retrace the same steps. The boat must have been a mile long.
    “And the ship is truly the epitome of opulence, is it not?”
    “Yes, it is,” Louise replied enthusiastically, secretly realizing she was starting to get bored.
Do these people actually speak about anything?
She had never exchanged so many pleasantries in her life.
    “I love your museum,” she began, trying to steer the conversation toward something more interesting, like art. And it was
     truly one of her favorites.
    Her parents had taken her into New York City to see a Julian Schnabel retrospective at the Guggenheim Museum last summer.
     She remembered how magical it had felt the first time she had walked up the magnificent white spiral walkway under the skylight
     while looking at some of the most beautiful modern abstract paintings she had ever seen. Some were made on broken plates,
     some on green army tarps, some on velvet. She saw a whole landscape within those brushstrokes. She could have stayed in that
     rotunda forever.
    “My museum?” Benjamin replied, seemingly perplexed. “What exactly are you referring to, my dear?”
    Oops. Does the Guggenheim Museum not exist yet?
    Louise panicked. “I’m sorry, I mean, your… castle.” He gave her a confused look.
    “I mean your… your estate,” Louise stammered.
This guy must have an estate, right?
“It’s so beautiful it reminds me of a museum.”
    He was still looking at her strangely. “Thank you. Please come back for a visit whenever it suits. We would love to have