This Tangled Thing Called Love: A Contemporary Romance Novel by Marie Astor Read Free Book Online

waiter.
    “Excuse me?” Claire’s drink almost spurted through her nose. “You’ve only just met him. How could you possibly fall for him? You don’t know anything about him.”
    “Come on. Are you telling me you don’t believe in love at first sight?”
    “No,” Claire’s voice was firm. “I don’t. I believe in mistakes at first sight.”
    “What about David, though? Didn’t you fall for him right away?”
    “Absolutely not. Well, sure, I liked his looks. You’d have to be crazy not to, but I wasn’t going to start liking him until I got to know him better.”
    “Are you telling me that you’re rationalizing love?”
    “You could put it that way if you’d like.” Claire nodded, deciding not to mention the fact that for someone who had a new boyfriend every month, lust would be a more appropriate term.
    “I know what you’re thinking.” Amber frowned, after the waiter had brought their appetizers.
    “What?” Claire innocently dug at her pate.
    “You’re thinking that I don’t know what I’m talking about. You’re thinking that I’ve never really been in love.”
    “Well, have you?”
    “Once.”
    “When was that?” Claire frowned. Given the fact that they had been friends since middle school, she was fairly certain that she had witnessed all of Amber’s relationships, and all of them had been brief.
    “In my senior year, during study abroad.” Amber looked away. “And I never felt the same away about another man since. But I think that Adam just might be a game-changer. Here’s to love.” Amber raised her glass, making it clear that the subject was closed for now.
    “Just don’t rush into it, okay? Get to know him first.”
    “Oh, Claire, where is your sense of adventure? You’ve got to loosen up a bit.” Amber finished the rest of her drink.
    On her way home, Claire thought about Amber’s words. Contrary to Amber’s opinion, she did have a sense of adventure.
    Granted, she did not swing from the chandeliers, but then neither did she hide under the covers, Claire assured herself as she pressed the elevator button. Yes, maybe she did tend to play it a bit safe, but that was the way she liked things. One had to know where one stood; otherwise, all kinds of unpleasant things were bound to happen, and of all people, Claire had learned that not knowing your limitations was bound to bring you crashing down.
    “Hold it!” The elevator doors were about to close when a muscular arm jammed them open.
    Startled, Claire stared at the switchboard stupidly, unable to locate the “Door Open” button.
    “Sorry about that.” The owner of the arm slipped inside the elevator. He was dressed in jeans and a black T-shirt that clung to his lean, muscular torso. His dark brown hair brushed against the nape of his neck. In one hand he was carrying a can of black paint and in the other a large paper bag. Two earphone wires swirled from his neck to his chest and over his taut stomach to the iPod that was tucked into the front pocket of his jeans. “Could you press twelve, please?”
    “Sure.” Claire held her breath and lowered her eyes, hoping that she would not be recognized. There was no place like the elevator to illustrate the theory of relativity – an elevator ride that normally lasted only a couple of minutes now felt like an eternity.
    The man pushed his back against the wall and exhaled as he unplugged his earphones, letting them hang on his neck.
    “Crazy day,” he grinned at Claire. “Oh, forgive me. How rude of me. It’s Claire, right? I’m Alec – your new neighbor. We met before…”
    “Hello.” Claire smiled tartly and felt her face grow warm in spite of herself.
    “I hope I haven’t been bothering you with the music.” Alec smiled apologetically. “I’ve gotten these.” He motioned at the earphones.
    “It’s fine, really.” Claire forced herself to ignore the distant sounds of tango that were emanating from the tiny earphones.
    “I promise you it won’t