I Thought You Were Dead by Pete Nelson Read Free Book Online

relationships went on, the more confusing they became, and the whole point of his relationship with Tamsen was never to let it get that far. Keep it simple. She wasn’t really wrong for him except insofar as she wasn’t really available either. Had she been fully and immediately available, asking for or expecting more than he could offer, he’d probably run the other way, though winning her affections was nevertheless his goal. It didn’t make sense, but it was fun as long as he didn’t overthink it. He knew he wasn’t going to have much luck explaining that to his sister. After the divorce, he and Bits had talked on the phone at length about what went wrong and how he and Karen had been a bad match from the start, and how Bits had had misgivings as early as the wedding.Paul made her promise that if she ever had misgivings again, she would speak up immediately.
    â€œWhat’s her name?”
    â€œTamsen.”
    â€œTamsen? I like it. What sort of name is Tamsen?”
    â€œIt’s an old family name,” he said. “French, I think.”
    â€œShe has a last name?”
    â€œProuty.”
    â€œAnd she’s old enough to name all four Beatles?”
    â€œPete Best, Stu Sutcliffe, Billy Preston, Brian Epstein, George Martin, and Alan Freed too. She’s only five years younger than me.”
    â€œYou’re sure you’re ready to date someone from within your actual peer group?” his sister said. “That sounds like a pretty big step.”
    â€œYou’re the one who told me I needed someone who could kick my ass,” he said.
    â€œShe kicks your ass?”
    â€œNo,” he said, “but she could.”
    â€œHow did you meet?”
    â€œWe had lunch together,” he told his sister. “Strictly business. At first.”
    Tamsen had called to ask if he’d be willing to link his book’s Web site to an e-commerce site she was working for. His name was on the cover of a book called
Windows 95 for Morons,
but he’d only finished the project, he explained, after taking over for the original author, who died before he could turn in the first draft. She told him not to worry about it. Her employer, a company called WebVan.com, just needed actual content to attract browsers to their Web site, meaning articles, news items, humor pieces, short stories, even poetry. That first phone call, they talked for over an hour. When she said she was going to bein Worcester for a business conference and suggested they meet for lunch, his heart raced.
    â€œIs she divorced?”
    â€œYeah, but I wouldn’t want to see someone who wasn’t.”
    â€œKids?”
    He shook his head.
    â€œThey tried but they couldn’t get pregnant.”
    â€œSo what’s this other relationship she has?” Bits asked. “It’s not serious?”
    â€œHe’s a radiologist,” Paul said. “Stephen. He and his wife are separated and getting divorced, but they have two boys, ten and twelve. I guess it makes things fairly complicated. Her best friend, Caitlin, told me she likes me much better.”
    â€œâ€˜She,’ Tamsen, or ‘she,’ Caitlin?”
    â€œCaitlin likes me better than she likes Stephen,” Paul clarified. He’d met Caitlin at a dinner party and had “passed the best-friend test with flying colors,” according to Tamsen. He usually felt as if he came off more awkward than charming, but it had been a fun party. Caitlin had confided to Paul, in the kitchen, that Stephen was predictable and a bit boring, almost a slightly taller version of Tamsen’s ex-husband. Caitlin said she thought Tamsen needed someone who brought out her creative side.
    â€œBut as I said, she’s free to see whoever she wants. And so am I. Not that I want to. We have a deal to be completely open and honest with each other and nonjudgmental. We can say anything to each other.”
    â€œThat’s the