Amanda's Guide to Love by Alix Nichols Read Free Book Online Page A

than give Julien the pleasure of telling everyone that
upstart Amanda Roussel was finally where she belonged.
    She pushed the phone away and began
to pace the room. Her original plan for the afternoon had been to research five
or six companies and submit applications, but it was getting late and she was
exhausted. Not that she’d done much today besides making a few phone calls and
writing cover letters. But she’d spent a month holed up in her little
apartment, unwilling to see anyone who wasn’t a potential employer or go
anywhere that wasn’t related to a job interview.
    It had been a tough, lonely month . . .
well, lonelier than usual. She hadn’t had any fun, and she’d hardly smiled in
four weeks, except for that crazy weekend in Deauville, a.k.a. her
one-night-plus-one-morning stand with Kes , the
Gypsy gambler.
    Amanda shook her head to drive the
image away. That drunken casino trip had been the most stupid, reckless thing she’d
done in her whole life.
    It had also been great fun.
    She sometimes daydreamed about
going to the Deauville Casino again on the off chance she’d run into Kes. Those
fanciful, harmless reveries helped her forget her troubles . . .
except when they developed into full-fledged sexual fantasies and got so out of
control she ended up touching herself. She usually fell asleep within five
minutes after ward and slept like a baby.
    The weird thing was that she no
longer needed Faceless Man.
    For years, Amanda had fantasized only
about Rob, including during the time they were together. After he jilted her
for Lena, she willed him out of her mind. Even on the coldest, loneliest nights
in her immaculate bedroom, she refused to resort to his avatar to ease into sleep.
    As for the men she had dated over
the last two years, they were useless as fantasy material. Whenever she tried
to imagine a hot sex scene, they’d keep on talking about profit margins and
racing cars instead of ravishing her. She suspected this had something to do
with the quality of her real-life dates with them. But she couldn’t be certain.
    Then about six months ago , after a particularly unpleasant relationship
fiasco, she came up with Faceless Man.
    Technically, Faceless Man did have
a face. He definitely had a mouth that he put to good use. But his features
were always obscured or blurred, making him completely unidentifiable. She
didn’t even know if he was handsome or ugly, blond or dark-haired. What he
looked like didn’t matter as long as his V-shaped torso showed up every time
she summoned him.
    Which she hadn’t done in a month.
There was no denying that Kes had unseated Faceless Man—and managed to keep his
face and personality in her “Deauville Revisited”fantasies.
    Disturbing, that.
    Of course, she’d never act on those
dreams. The whole point of having a one-night stand was not transforming
it into an affair. She certainly didn’t need one at this point in her life.
Especially not with someone like Kes.
    Amanda stopped pacing. A
distraction was in order to break her from these unproductive thoughts about
her hopeless job situation and her pathetic love life. She grabbed her purse
and headed out.
    Her destination was La
Bohème, the bistro her bartender friend Jeanne had recently bought in the Ninth
Arrondissement. Amanda missed her and was finally ready to talk about the
recent events.
    When Jeanne finally got one of the
waiters to replace her behind the bar, she joined Amanda, who was sipping sparkling
water at the little table by the window.
    Jeanne savored her beer. “It’s been
a month, at least. Is everything OK?”
    “Yes, I’m fine.”
    “I tried to call you , left several voice mails, and you just texted back
that you were fine.” Jeanne narrowed her eyes. “Come on, Amanda, we’ve known
each other six years now. Are you sure you’re fine ?”
    “I’m in good health, if that’s what
you’re worried about.”
    “I’m glad to hear it. But it doesn’t
answer my question.”