This Tangled Thing Called Love: A Contemporary Romance Novel (3 page)

“What do you say we call it a night, baby?” David glanced at Claire across the table.

Claire nodded with relief. That was another thing she adored about David. Most people would have never suspected that despite all the publicity and the flashy events he had to
attend,
deep down David Lawson was a homebody.

Chapter 3

Upon waking up the next morning, Claire arched her back, relishing the feel of the satin sheets against her skin. Beside her, David lay breathing evenly, still asleep. It had only been a couple of months since she had finally gotten comfortable enough to actually be able to sleep with him in the same bed. Before, Claire would always find an excuse to go home after they made love, but David
had
gotten onto her. One night, he insisted on staying at her place, and ever since then, they had been taking turns between his and her apartments. Granted, David’s
split-level junior four
apartment
in a full service luxury building in Battery Park
was a lot more glamorous than Claire’s
place
.

Clair
e
rose on her elbow and checked the time: it was ten a.m. She snuck out of bed and tiptoed to the bathroom to brush her teeth. She might have gotten comfortable enough to sleep in the same bed with David, but she still wanted her breath to smell fresh when he woke up.

A few minutes later, she tiptoed back into bed and snuggled next to David. Usually, David was always the first to wake up, and together they would go for a four-mile run. No doubt, upon waking up, David was bound to get upset for oversleeping, but Claire was not about to nudge him. She wanted them to spend the morning reading newspapers over breakfast instead of gasping for breath in sweat-soaked clothes. David muttered something incoherent as he flung his arm across Claire’s chest. Careful not to wake him, she maneuvered out of the way and tucked the comforter up to her chin. She loved lounging in bed like this.

“What time is it?” David mumbled groggily, reaching for the clock on the bedside table.
“Ten-thirty?
Claire, are you up?” He turned toward her.

“Huh? What?” Claire could be a good actress when she needed to be.

“Good morning, sleepyhead.” David smooched her. “Well, since we’ve overslept our run this morning, I think there are a few other activities I can think of for us to make up for missed exercise.” He reached underneath her lacy nightgown.

“What exactly did you have in mind?” Claire grinned, thinking that her plan had worked perfectly. After all, she much preferred making love to jogging.

Over breakfast, holding the morning newspaper in his left hand, David shook his head as he lifted a forkful of eggs to his mouth.

“You don’t like your eggs?” Claire worried that her cooking was not to David’s likening. Usually he opted for cereal and milk, but this morning she had prepared the full spread: scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast. She had specifically instructed David’s housekeeper to stock up on provisions to surprise him.

“No, baby, the eggs are superb, although, if you keep this up, I’m going to have to double my morning jogs.” David patted his washboard stomach. “It’s the news that worries me.”

“Yeah? What’s wrong?” Claire poured herself a cup of coffee.

“I just saw something in the paper that might affect my father’s new development plans.” David frowned, his mind still focused on the article. “But I won’t let it spoil our morning.” He smiled at her. “Thank you for making breakfast.”

“You’re welcome.” Claire took a bite of her bacon. If there was one thing she wished she could change about David Lawson it was to make him forget about work on weekends.

“So what do you want to do today?” Claire asked after she had loaded the dishes into the dishwasher. She had replaced her evening dress with indigo jeans and a peasant blouse. That was another recent change: David had suggested that she leave a few of her things at his place, so that she would not have to rush home to change when spending the weekend with him.

“Oh, honey, I’m so sorry. Didn’t I tell you? I have to get back to the office. I’m working on a major deal that is due to close on Wednesday and I’ve got to go over the financials one more time to make sure everything is in shipshape.”

“Oh.” Claire fought back the disappointment. She had been looking forward to seeing David all week, and already, their time together was over.

“I tell you what. Why don’t you go to the pool downstairs, maybe do some shopping? I should be back around seven or so.” David reached for his wallet and handed Claire his credit card. “Do you forgive me?”

Most women would jump at the chance, but Claire wanted David, not his credit cards. Plus, if she knew anything about men, it was that you could not let a man think that you sat around moping for him.

“That’s all right, David. Actually, I’ve just remembered that I have a few work things to catch up on myself.”

“I’m really sorry, baby. I swear I’ll make it up to you next weekend.”

A short while later, as his chauffeur held the black Mercedes door open for him, David asked, “Are you sure you don’t want me to drop you off at your apartment?” “Positive. I’ve got a few errands to run on the way.”

“Oh?” David arched an eyebrow and Claire sensed his eyes lingering on her neckline. “Is this blouse supposed to be open like this?” David buttoned the top button Claire had purposely left undone. “Oh, and let me know if that new neighbor of yours gives you any trouble.”

“I don’t think he will be bothering me anymore.” Claire stammered, wondering what on earth prompted David to bring this up.

After David’s car pulled away, Claire considered her options. She had planned to spend the day with David, but as it had unexpectedly turned out, she now had the entire Sunday to herself. Truth be told, these occurrences were becoming disconcertingly frequent. Lately, she had noticed David spending a far greater number of weekends at the office than Claire would have liked to admit. Of course, she could have taken David up on his offer and hung around to spend a few precious evening hours with him, but as much as she had been tempted to, she knew that she had been right to resist. She was not about to manifest her growing attachment to David by sitting around and moping for him.

Claire smiled with self-satisfaction, remembering the protective way David had buttoned up her blouse. Men, even a man like David Lawson, were highly predictable. The minute you let them think they knew everything about you, they were liable to take you for granted, but as long as you left some mystique, they would keep coming back for more.

Claire headed toward the Subway, thinking that she might take a stroll through
SoHo
. Then she reached for her cell phone and dialed her best friend Lindsay. Lindsay
always worked late on Saturday nights, covering some big event, and Claire was fairly certain that she would be just getting ready to get breakfast.

“Hello?” Lindsay’s groggy voice croaked in the receiver.

“Good morning, sunshine.” With a great effort, Claire stifled a chuckle. “Did you sleep well?”

“I did until you woke me up.”

“Well, good morning to you too. Actually, it is almost two o’clock, so good afternoon.”

“I don’t see anything good about this morning or afternoon.” Lindsay grumbled.

“How about if I buy you breakfast?”

“Well, if you put it that way…”

“I’ll meet you at the crepes place in half an hour.”

“Bye…” Lindsay’s voice trailed off as Claire heard a crashing noise on the other end of the line.

With a guilty grin, Claire hung up. If she had to stay up until all hours of the night to collect society gossip that would be forgotten less than a half hour after it went into print, she would be grumpy too. Yet Lindsay loved her job, and she was damn good at it too. Even in high school Lindsay had always been the first to know all the news.

“Hey!”

In the crepes place, Claire saw Lindsay, already seated with a huge cup of coffee in front of her, wave at her.

“Someone looks awake.” Claire took a seat.

“Yeah.” Lindsay grinned. “Sorry for barking at you earlier.”

“Rough night?”

“Very. I had to cover three openings last night. I got home around six a.m., and then I had to organize my notes so that I could get the report out to my editor. I finally crashed at around eight and then had the pleasure of being woken up by you.”

“Geez, Lindsay, I’m sorry for dragging you out today.”

“Never mind. That’s the life of a tabloid reporter, and ever since the new editor took over, it’s gotten even more intense.” Lindsay shrugged. “But don’t you worry. One day I’m going to write for the
New York Times
, and then everything will be different. No more sweaty nightclubs or teenage celebrities; instead, I’ll be covering museum galas, charity balls, and socialites.” Lindsay’s eyes lit up.

“I’m sure it will happen soon.” Claire felt lame for her platitude, but she was as remote from the world of reporting as she was from dancing.

“Should we order? I’m starving, and you promised to buy me breakfast.” Lindsay turned her attention to the menu. “I’m
gonna
have a ham and cheese crepe. Do you want to share a
Nutella
crepe?”

“I’ll just have some coffee.”

“You’ve got to have more than coffee, or you’ll make me look like a glutton.”

“I just had bacon and eggs with David. I can’t splurge on calories like you.”

“Please.” Lindsay rolled her eyes. “You don’t need to be on a diet.”

“Easy for you to say: you can probably still fit into your high school jeans,” Claire added wistfully. Not that she wanted to fit into her own high school jeans. Not fitting into her high school jeans was a blessing, and she intended to keep it that way.

“Please! You’ve got a great body. I’d kill to have your boobs.” Lindsay frowned, glancing at her own modest chest.

“Boobs can be a real nuisance,” Claire countered, eyeing Lindsay’s stick-thin frame. “You, however, can go bra-less whenever you want.”
And you
didn’t have to suffer through
a
chubby childhood and adolescence
, Claire thought, but she bit her tongue. After all, Lindsay had been there with her to witness her tribulations firsthand.

“By the way, I missed you at the Metro opening,” Lindsay remarked after the waitress had taken their orders.

“Yeah, sorry about that.
David wanted to leave early.”

“Too bad. It would have been nice to get a picture of the two of you and maybe a couple of quotes from David Lawson.” When pronouncing David’s name, Lindsay tilted back her head and pushed up her nose.

“Knock it off. David is not like that at all.”

“Fine, maybe he’s not, but I wouldn’t know, since Mr. Lawson never seems to have time for your friends.”

Claire shrugged. “He’s been working so much lately. He really wants to prove himself at the office.”

“Oh, please! Give me a break. He is the owner’s son. I’d say he’s got the way pretty much paved for him.”

“David wants everyone to know that he earned his position.” Claire sighed. “You don’t really like David, do you?”

“It’s irrelevant whether I like him or not. I’m not the one dating him.”

“But you’re my best friend. Your opinion is important to me.”

“Mine, not Amber’s?”

“You’re both my best friends.” Claire sighed with exasperation. Ever since middle school, they had been an inseparable trio: Amber, Lindsay, and Claire, and the silent rivalry between Amber and Lindsay dated equally far back. Amber was outgoing and bossy, Lindsay was witty and practical, and Claire was thoughtful and caring - the balance between the two. It was hard to say just what exactly united the three friends. Maybe it was that each had qualities the other one lacked, but
suffice
it to say, their friendship had taken them through childhood, adolescence, and college, to the world of adulthood.

“Yeah, I know. I just don’t trust Amber’s choice of men for you, that’s all. After all, she’s the one who set you up with David, right?”

“She introduced us, yes. David is her client.”

“Exactly, and Amber could make one believe that the devil is a saint if she were his PR agent.”

“David is not a devil – he is sweet and charming.”

“Hey, I’m not the one you need to convince of your boyfriend’s virtues. Like I said, if you’re happy, I’m happy for you. But something is telling me there’s trouble in paradise.”

Seven years of being a tabloids scout had honed Lindsay’s instincts well. She could whiff trouble from the slightest of signs.

“It’s not that. It’s just that
lately,
David’s been spending so much time at work… I just wish we could spend more time together.”
Like this Sunday
, for instance
, Claire thought.

“Do you think he might be messing around? I could have him followed – I know people,” Lindsay added in a hushed whisper.