Read Twisted By Love, Reincarnation Tales, Book 1 for Free Online Page A

Daniels
Associates, and called. He wasn’t in, but she’d been forwarded to
his voice mail. Mooning like a schoolgirl over the sound of his
voice, she almost missed the beep to start her message. Name, rank,
and serial number, call me. Short, sweet, and to the point, yet her
heart was beating ridiculously fast by the time she hung up, and
her palms were sweaty.
    When he called back, she’d apologize for her
bizarre behavior, then she’d accept his invitation for a drink.
    Unfortunately, he didn’t call back before her
ten-thirty meeting.
    There was still no message when she returned
from lunch. Not a big deal. The whole afternoon lay ahead, and she
wouldn’t overdramatize. She was not like her sister.
     
    * * * * *
     
    She’d worked up her nerve, yet after all the
interest he’d shown, Burn didn’t call back. He. Didn’t. Call. Back.
What did it mean? Was he angry? Maybe he’d decided she was a
whacko, and he didn’t want to get involved. But he was the one
doing all the following. Why didn’t he call back?
    Livie went down to the garage at four, having
left some important paperwork in the car. Or at least she assumed
it must have fallen out of her poorly clasped briefcase—like the
pamphlet she’d dropped last night—but no, it wasn’t there.
    Down in the garage, she happened to notice
that Burn’s black Lexus was in the same parking spot as before.
Back in her office, she found that pesky memo she’d been looking
for right on the corner of her desk.
    Five o’clock rolled around, and she hadn’t
finished approving the month-end credit memos. Also, it was Friday
and traffic was a bitch on Fridays so staying a bit later would
only lessen her commute time.
    And if Burn did have an all-day meeting, he
could still call, and they could still nip over to the bar across
the street for that drink.
    To leave or not to leave.
    Six o’clock, Julia stopped in before going
home. “Shopping, Sunday, don’t forget.”
    They’d met in new employee orientation and
had been friends ever since. Ten years. Julia worked in website
design, was easy to be around, and not prone to melodrama even if
she did run her life according to her horoscope and had recently
developed a fascination with reading tea leaves. She also maxed out
her credit cards once a year at the Nordstrom’s anniversary sale,
buying bright colors that didn’t clash with her red hair and spiked
heels that brought her to the mighty height of five feet four.
Julia favored tight clothing that emphasized her hourglass
figure.
    “I’ll be there.” Livie smiled broadly.
    “Can’t wait.”
    Livie pursed her lips, then decided to go for
it. “I’ve got a deep question for you.”
    Julia loved deep questions as much as she
loved examining tea leaves, even if she wasn’t particularly good at
it yet. Her pretty violet eyes sparkled with a go-ahead.
    “If a man doesn’t call you back after you’ve
left a message, how long should you wait before calling him
again?”
    “How many messages?”
    “One.”
    “A woman should wait a day.”
    “Thanks, Julia.” Gee, that was easy. At least
her friend hadn’t asked if she was fifteen years old instead of
thirty-five.
    “Don’t work too late. Oh, and we’ll do a late
lunch at that little place in San Mateo. They use tea leaves, and
I’ll give you a reading.”
    Livie groaned.
    “I haven’t done a reading for you yet.” Julia
was practically begging now. “Please. Pretty please with sugar on
top?”
    The Julia-twinkle got to Livie. “All right.
But if you see anything bad, I don’t want to hear about it.”
    “Hmm, maybe we’ll see something about Mr.
Man-who-hasn’t-returned-your-call. Sunday. Be there or be square,”
she said as she left, then turned back for one last edict. “And
wear tennies.”
    That’s what she liked about Julia. She didn’t
ask for too many intimate details and always remembered important
essentials like footwear.
    Half an hour later, the credit memos done,
Livie popped