Read Thrown By Love for Free Online Page A

settled into the waiting room of the vet’s office and sorted through the magazines on the table next to her. She wasn’t sure of the differences between People and Us , but she picked up the People magazine and flipped through it. What was it about the challenges and triumphs of celebrities’ lives that held such fascination? She found herself reading about the latest romance between a young actor and a musician she’d never heard of. And why was it that the marvel of galaxies and stars—not to mention the miracle of life, for goodness’ sake—never held such appeal?
Her thoughts didn’t stay on such questions for long. Though she stared at the pages, the images that flew in her mind were of Scotty. He’d barely touched her to help her climb over a high section of rocks so they could explore a hidden cove on the beach, but that touch had sent the same fire through her body that his kiss had on the night of the gala. At one point she’d thought he’d kiss her. She’d felt both relieved and disappointed when he hadn’t.
It’d just been too long since she’d had any sort of meaningful relationship with a man. No—she slapped the magazine closed—it’d been too long since she’d had any relationship with a man. Last year one of her friends had set her up with a guy from the city, but that had been a mistake. Within a week he’d had her life planned out; it didn’t take long to see that the plan was mostly to benefit him and his life and—most of all—to entice her dad to invest in his business. She’d cut it off and kept a low profile ever since.
But she couldn’t deny she was attracted to Scotty. It was the strength of the attraction and the instant flare of it that had her mystified.
She was rational, knew there had to be an explanation for her unsettling reactions.
She closed her eyes and pictured him, immediately smiling at the image. She did that a lot, she realized. Smiled when she was with him, when she thought of him. Being around him, just thinking about him, was drawing her out of her carefully tended shell. The armoring bits of it had already fallen away, though she couldn’t put her finger on exactly when or how. She’d once watched a swallow hatch outside her bedroom window, observing with patient awe as the tiny bird poked its head through the egg that had held it warm and safe. She imagined that the expression of wariness and curiosity, the drive to live that had shown on its still featherless face, was showing on her face as well.
She’d never met a man who shared her passion for the mysteries of life, at least not one with the sensibilities of both poet and scientist. The guys in school had been all over the cool science stuff, but they hadn’t understood the mystery and the allure, the beauty of the universe in all its facets. She loved that she and Scotty shared so many interests. They could talk about anything.
She looked up, startled, at a deep woof from behind a closed door. She and a woman holding a shaking Chihuahua shared a laugh before Chloe opened her magazine again.
Yes, she and Scotty could talk about anything, but who was she kidding? She’d never met a man who fired her up in the deep places of her soul.
Yet Scotty Donovan was off limits. She never, ever let herself get involved with ballplayers, especially baseball players. Such a relationship crossed too many lines. It’d be fodder for the press and if it went sour, no one could fire her. But knowing her father, any player who broke her heart would be at serious risk of losing his job.
She flipped another page in the magazine. There, staring up at her from a sidebar, was a photo of Scotty with a gleaming young woman smiling ear to ear. She was gorgeous. All-Star Scotty Donovan and date at the Black and White Ball , the caption read. She peered closer, bringing the page almost to her nose. The guy was not only off limits, he was a player in every sense of the word. Could have any woman he wanted. Probably did.
She