This Tangled Thing Called Love: A Contemporary Romance Novel

by Marie Astor

  For all his insistence on David’s leading a respectable lifestyle, Allan Lawson had hardly followed his advice in his own youth. Renowned as one of the most notorious bachelors of his time, Allan Lawson had dated an endless string of socialites and actresses in his twenties and thirties, many of whom had aided him in furthering the success of Lawson Enterprises, his only true love. It was not until he turned forty that Allan Lawson thought of procreation and married Sylvia Lipnick, a then thirty-year-old socialite and model, an orphan and an heiress to a sizeable fortune that her father had amassed through an extremely profitable, if not particularly glamorous, textile business before he conveniently met his end in a plane crash. Mrs. Lipnick had passed away shortly after her husband from complications during plastic surgery, and at the age of twenty-one, Sylvia Lipnick had been left to her own devices, aided by a sizeable inheritance that insured that she would never have to worry about making a living. Yet, despite her good looks and ease of means, the higher echelons of society were closed to her because of her humble origins. Rather than marrying second best, Sylvia parlayed her stunning looks into modeling, and for almost ten years graced the covers of all the major fashion magazines. When she turned thirty, the calls from her agent dwindled, as did her invitations to the gatherings and galas that she had grown so accustomed to being a regular at. It was then that she met Allan Lawson, a self-made real estate tycoon, and fell in love on the spot. The two were married in a lavish ceremony at the Plaza Hotel in New York, and exactly nine months later, David Lawson was born.

  A birth of a son was all that Allan Lawson needed to complete his existence. He had already achieved the highest of goals that he had aspired to accomplish by creating Lawson Enterprises. Now, he was anxious for an heir to one day take over his legacy. Thus, from his very birth, David was molded into his father’s successor, David’s likes or dislikes being of little consequence as Allan Lawson oversaw with hawk-like attention his son’s progress from a child to an adolescent to an adult.

  If Allan Lawson had hoped for more numerous progeny, he never voiced his disappointment. After all, he knew that Sylvie was past her prime childbearing years when he married her, but then he did not marry her for procreation alone. His self-made past limited his choice of society brides to those with high standing, but little money, and Allan Lawson found the thought of marrying a woman who was merely after his money detestable. So, when his eyes fell on Sylvie Lipnick, he knew that he had found the right match. Her sizeable fortune insured the genuineness of her feelings for him, and even though hers was not the most stellar pedigree, Allan was certain that the growing success of his venture would enable him to rewrite his and Sylvie’s pasts. So, when after bearing him a son so dutifully, Sylvie failed to produce further offspring, Allan never said a word.

  Eight years later, Sylvie surprised her husband with a daughter, and although he would have preferred another son, Allan reacted to the event amicably. He might not be able to spare her much attention, but his daughter would want for nothing, and when the time would come, she would marry the best of the New York set.

  David shook his head. So much for his father’s plans. As far as he could tell, Stephanie was not about to marry anyone. He still could not believe that his little sister had been to one of those rehabilitation clinics. Thankfully, it was not for drug addiction, and she had only spent a couple of weeks there, but still, the idea was frightening. His little sister. David frowned. He had been so excited when Stephanie was born, so anxious to be the elder brother. He’d sworn to protect his baby sister from all the evils of the world; to show her how to catch hermit crabs and brave the surf and not get caught when eating peanut butter out of a jar. To know that little, golden Stephanie had battled an eating disorder was disheartening to say the least, and the fact that she had battled it for months, alone, at some obscure location in Europe was almost too incredible to believe, and yet it was true. Why hadn’t she called him for help? And why didn’t he go and check on his little sister? It turned out that David was not all that good at being an elder brother after all, but then, Stephanie was not that little anymore. She would turn twenty-six this fall. Well, at least it seemed that Stephanie had escaped their father’s plans for her, although at a significant cost. The change in his sister’s behavior did not escape David. The childish mannerisms, the odd flightiness – that was not the Stephanie he remembered, and David made a mental note to keep an eye on his little sister.

  David glanced at the clock. Now would be a good time to see Claire. At least she seemed to be enjoying herself. Social rituals did not appear to bother her as much as they did him. His mother’s arrangement, and David was certain that it was his mother who had insisted on putting them into separate rooms, was ridiculous. A few months ago he might have complained. Not that sex with Claire was all that exciting. She had made it clear from the beginning that she liked to keep things simple, and David did not object. He had had all the wild sex a man could wish for in a lifetime, and if his future fiancée’s tastes were on the tamer side, that was just as well with him. He even had found it refreshing, until he met Claudia. So now, David was almost thankful for his mother’s prudishness, for he could not imagine himself having sex with Claire when his tryst with Claudia was still fresh in his mind. They had stayed together through the night, making love until dawn, and David had not gotten home until seven in the morning. At that point, all he could do was crash down in exhaustion for a few blissful hours of sleep, until it was time to pick up Claire. She damn near almost caught him too, questioning him about that extravagant gift of hers – a Miro lithograph. It had to be expensive, which meant she actually loved him, but then David knew that all along. That was the reason why he started dating Claire in the first place. Plenty of girls wanted him, but David did not want a girl who was only interested in his bank account.

  So, maybe David had never been wild about Claire, but then up until recently, David was certain that he was simply incapable of feeling this way about a woman, any woman. At least he respected Claire and felt at ease around her. He liked her quiet ways, and he could see himself being happily married to a girl like that. There would be no lavish parties, no dizzying soirees like his mother was so fond of throwing and his father so stoically endured. His and Claire’s life would be as peaceful and as quiet as possible for the future head of Lawson Enterprises.

  Then Claudia came into his life. The mere thought of her name was enough to send David’s pulse into overdrive, filling him with momentary remorse. Claire was such a nice girl, and here he was, lying to her, being in love with another woman. But then he was sure that the five carat platinum Harry Winston ring he was about to give Claire would more than make up for his indiscretion. He might be having a passionate affair with Claudia Block, but it would be Claire, not Claudia, who would meet David at the altar and take the marriage vows with him. And Claudia? Claudia would always be the love of his life, but like all great loves, theirs too would end in heartbreak.

  Claire was about to zip the back of the Marchesa gown that Stephanie had lent her when there was a knock on the door. She pulled the zipper up and rushed to the door. When she saw David standing on the threshold, her spirits soared. It was not as if she was not enjoying meeting David’s family or appreciating their hospitality. She was, but she had barely spent a moment with David alone since their arrival, and it was exhausting to constantly be trying to make a good impression.

  “Hey, gorgeous.” David winked at her.

  “Hey, yourself.” Claire pulled him inside the room, closing the door behind them, conscious of David’s gaze upon her. She loved it when David complimented her. “I missed you.” She waited for him to kiss her, but David merely smiled.

  “I missed you too. That’s a stunning dress,” he added, looking nervously around the room, his hands shoved in his pockets.

  “Stephanie lent it to me.” Claire decided to omit the fact that she was unable to fit into the dress that David’s mother had chosen for her. “You don’
t mind, do you?” she added, noticing the frown on David’s face.

  “No, no it’s not that. I can’t believe I forgot to tell you about the black tie nonsense. I feel like a major space cadet.”

  “Don’t worry about it. Stephanie’s gown fit me perfectly, and it’s brand new.”

  “Yes, she’s always loved to shop,” David said distractedly. “Claire…” David took a step closer toward her and took her hand. His unusually cool hand felt strangely limp in hers, and Claire thought that she sensed him trembling.

  “David? Is everything all right?”

  “Claire, will you marry me?” David promptly dropped on one knee. Pulling a velvet jewelry box out his pocket, he popped it open, almost comically, holding its contents up for Claire’s inspection.

  Claire stared at the enormous diamond that seemed all the brighter against the dark velvet background. Her head spun. This was it, the big moment she had spent her entire adolescence and adulthood convincing herself was not important, but now, faced with it, she knew that she had been a liar. David’s four-word question meant the world to her.

  “Yes,” she whispered, her breath catching in her throat. This was not at all how she had pictured her reaction. She thought she would be calm and collected. She had not expected the onset of tears, the violent heart palpitations.

  “I’m so glad, baby.” David rose to his feet, exhaling, as though he had expected her to say no. “Do you like the ring?” he added as he slipped the ring on her finger. It fit perfectly.

  “I love it.” Claire stared at the gleaming rock on her finger. She was going to be Mrs. David Lawson – something that she now knew she had inwardly longed for ever since she had laid her eyes on David Lawson.

  Chapter 13

  “I am glad the weekend is over.” David winked at Claire. Her perplexed expression was not lost on him. The girl wore her heart on her sleeve, and she was clearly worried about hurting his feelings by agreeing with him. Throughout the two-day ordeal, Claire had been a real trooper, chatting with his mother, admiring his father, and what touched David most, Claire seemed to hit it off really well with his sister. Stephanie could use a friend, especially a friend like Claire, who was so well grounded, so sure of what she wanted out of life.

  “I am a bit tired.” Clair smiled sheepishly.

  “I can’t blame you. I love my folks, but they can be overbearing at times.”

  Overbearing. David almost choked on his own euphemism. Downright stifling was more like it for his father, and supercilious for his mother. But this visit, thanks to Claire, was not nearly as torturous as the others that David remembered. Once he made the happy announcement of their engagement during the dinner party, his father had undergone a visible transformation. The old coot even teared up as he wished David and his fiancée great happiness, making David feel sentimental, even remorseful. Perhaps his father was not as aloof as he thought, perhaps Lawson Enterprises was not the only love of his life. Maybe he could, after all, spare some for his children.

  All evening long, David could not wait for the interminable party with its long list of distinguished but irrelevant attendees to end. There were owners of major engineering and architectural firms, high-ranking politicians, board members of well-known charities – all had scurried to oblige Allan Lawson’s invitation, but no one of true relevance was there. There were no family members except for his parents and Stephanie.

  From early childhood, David had gotten used to their bare-bones family. There were no aunts or uncles to wish him a happy birthday, no cousins for him to race around the Christmas table. Both of his grandparents had passed away before he was born, and both of his parents had been only children. Still, that did not mean that the Lawson household was ever quiet during the holiday times. David’s mother was known for her elaborate parties, and his father’s name never failed to generate an impressive list of guests. But to David these gatherings seemed meaningless and hollow. Even as a child, he could sense the true reasons that drew the numerous attendees from their own homes to that of the Lawsons. Business, it was always business. He remembered envying his boarding school classmates as they returned to school after every Christmas break with stories of large family gatherings, boasting of numerous gifts that their aunts and uncles had lavished on them, complaining of petty fights with their cousins, while David secretly longed to be a part of it all.

  It was not the presents that David envied. His parents had made sure that he never wanted for anything, and he had never had to make a Christmas list for Santa. His father had explained it from the very beginning that money was the source of the parcels under the Christmas tree, not magic. It was the jolly, almost unbearably warm sense of family togetherness that David had secretly hoped for every holiday break, only to be disappointed every time. Christmas at the Lawsons’ meant black tie, live music, a seven-course dinner, and scurrying footsteps of the cook and the hired caterers. There was no reason why a business deal could not be closed over the holiday. According to David’s father, money never slept and neither did Lawson Enterprises. Important-looking, portly men filled the house along with lanky, beautiful women on their arms – women like David’s mother, with luminous skin and silky hair but restless eyes.

  So it had seemed to David a perfectly good decision to announce his engagement in the room full of strangers. For as long as he could remember, his father had combined business with pleasure, and he knew how much his father enjoyed it when David followed his example. The current president of Lawson Enterprises would be announcing his resignation next year, and that was the job David was after – an impossibly ambitious goal had he not been the son of Allan Lawson, but quite an attainable one if he managed to convince his father that he was ready for the job. He was already an executive vice president, and being the son of Allan Lawson, it would not be unfathomable that he jump the few remaining corporate ladder steps to the presidential seat. Nepotism notwithstanding, David knew that he could do the job well. Already he had introduced changes to the business that had brought in significant revenue increases. As the son of Allan Lawson, David had not only come into a life of privilege, he had also inherited his father’s brains.

  But when David saw his father’s eyes turning misty as he announced his engagement to Claire, David was instantly filled with shame for his calculated decision. He should have broken the news to his father in the privacy of the family circle instead of turning it into a circus production. His father’s unexpected softness made David regret his cynicism toward Claire. How could he have lied to her like that? Yes, Claudia was intoxicating, but Claire was so full of goodness. David imagined himself seated next to his future wife at a dinner table, surrounded by a brood of raucous kids. There would be laughter during Christmas time and lists made for Santa. He vowed to change his ways. Tomorrow, he would tell Claudia that it was over between them. He would be a better son, a better brother, a better fiancé. Tomorrow would turn over a new leaf for him and for the Lawson family.

  Filled with precarious hope, David longed for the party to end so that he could share a celebratory cigar and a glass of scotch with his father. Finally, one by one, the important guests started to take their leave, and his father slunk away into his study, leaving David and his mother to tend to the less significant guests. David had observed his father perform this maneuver at countless parties and had always taken his host duties seriously, but tonight was different. Tonight he could not wait to hear his father repeat his congratulatory words without anyone’s but David’s ears to hear.

  “Is anything wrong?” Allan Lawson’s eyebrows rose in unmasked surprise when David appeared on the threshold of his study.

  “Everything is fine, Dad.” David treaded gingerly, instantly wondering if he had overlooked yet another one of the invisible boundaries that his father never tired of erecting. “Would you like a cigar?” During one of his overseas business trips, David had smuggled in a box of Cubans. To tell the truth, the cigars were nothing special, but he had felt a chi
ldlike exhilaration while carrying the box, hidden deep inside his bag, past the customs and had since smoked the cigars only on special occasions. In his mind, tonight more than qualified.

  “Has everyone left then?” Allan reached for the cigar and squinted at the label. “Cubans, huh? You know the U.S. has an embargo on Cuba, don’t you?”

  “Yes, Dad. These were a gift.” David blushed, disappointment flooding his mouth with acridity.

  “You’ll see to the guests then?” Allan placed the cigar back into the box. “And get rid of these, will you? We wouldn’t want the Lawson name to be linked with contraband.”

  “Yes, Dad.” David clenched his teeth to keep his voice even. As he turned around to leave, his heels squeaked loudly on the parquet floor – the only sign of frustration he could allow himself around his father.

  “And David?”

  “Yes?” David turned around, irritated by the hope that refused to die in spite of himself.

  “You’ve chosen well, son. Claire is exactly the kind of wife the president of Lawson Enterprises needs.”

  With a curt nod, David stumbled out into the hallway.

  As David bid the departing guests goodbye, the smile returned to his lips. He had accomplished what he had set out to do, and the old man could sock it. Claire was there by his side. She seemed to take right to the task as she smiled, mouthing graceful thanks to the endless stream of congratulations. David’s smile grew brighter. He had made the right decision. Claire would be a terrific wife.