Probably because I hadn’t known them growing up. To them I was just Lori Archibald, the nerdy, rule-abider in their pre-med classes and never the “silent girl” I had been in Sarasota, the Florida town where I grew up.

  I was born with a very small cleft palate that didn’t extend into a cleft lip and ironically, made the birth defect a hundred times more difficult to discover. Kids in pre-school made fun of me for my nasal voice and things got worse in grade school where I entered the first grade being practically mute for fear of being made fun of.

  It was only when our old G.P. retired and we had to switch to a new general practitioner that I was diagnosed. That woman changed my life, she’s the reason I’ve always wanted to become a family doctor growing up. To change lives in return. I had a small surgery and solved the defect. But I still was made fun of as I was behind with my speech development and had a slight lisp, which turned me into an overly shy kid without many friends. And even years later, now my speech is perfectly normal, I sometimes feel like I still haven’t found my voice. At least if my fear of confrontation is any indication.

  Anyway, the night of our gnome grand larceny made me feel for the first time like I belonged. Sadly, that’s also the night that stuck me in the friend zone forever. With Jace, it’s never been a problem. He’s always been too wild for me. But Aiden, poised, sweet, caring, fun, gorgeous Aiden, is my soulmate. Only he doesn’t know.

  Palpitations make my heart throb again as my mind goes back to the ivory envelope adorning the hall floor. I can’t be alone in my apartment with the dispatch from heartbreak central. And I sure as hell can’t open it by myself.

  I roll a finger inside the neck of my blouse. I need air. I need to get out.

  I stand up, top the cats’ water and food, fill the hens’ feeder, collect their eggs that I’ll sell at Saturday’s farmers’ market, grab my keys, and get back out of the house merely twenty minutes after getting in.

  We hope you enjoyed this exclusive extract. It’s Complicated is available to buy now by clicking on the image below:

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  Thanks to all of you who have been clamoring for Thomas to have his story written since meeting him in the first book in the series, Not in a Billion Years.

  A book about him wasn’t initially planned, but Thomas is one of those characters that gets under the skin and demands attention. I developed a major writer’s crush on him in book one, and I suspect you did, too, if you’re reading this. Anyway, thank you for pushing me to write this book. I hope it delivered all the swoons, that you fell in love with Thomas a little more, and will want to keep him as one of your favorite book boyfriends. I will.

  Thanks to my editor, Rachel Faulkner-Willcocks, for always making my stories the best they can be. Thank you to Candida Bradford and Susan Sugden for helping to improve my prose.

  Thank you to the production team at Boldwood Books for their incredible formatting skills. And to the marketing team for helping me put this book in front of as many eyes as possible.

  Thanks to readers and reviewers for all your nice comments and pretty posts, or simply just for reading my stories.

  And finally, thanks to my family for their constant support.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Camilla Isley is an engineer who left science behind to write bestselling contemporary rom-coms set all around the world. She lives in Italy.

  Sign up to Camilla Isley’s mailing list for news, competitions and updates on future books.

  Visit Camilla’s website: www.camillaisley.com

  Follow Camilla on social media:

  ALSO BY CAMILLA ISLEY

  The Love Theorem

  Love Quest

  The Love Proposal

  Love to Hate You

  Not in a Billion Years

  Baby, One More Time

  It’s Complicated

  The Love Algorithm

  First published in Great Britain in 2024 by Boldwood Books Ltd.

  Copyright © Camilla Isley, 2024

  Cover Design by Alexandra Allden

  Cover Images: Shutterstock and Getty

  The moral right of Camilla Isley to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  This book is a work of fiction and, except in the case of historical fact, any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

  Every effort has been made to obtain the necessary permissions with reference to copyright material, both illustrative and quoted. We apologise for any omissions in this respect and will be pleased to make the appropriate acknowledgements in any future edition.

  A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

  Paperback ISBN 978-1-83751-952-1

  Large Print ISBN 978-1-83751-951-4

  Hardback ISBN 978-1-83751-950-7

  Ebook ISBN 978-1-83751-953-8

  Kindle ISBN 978-1-83751-954-5

  Audio CD ISBN 978-1-83751-945-3

  MP3 CD ISBN 978-1-83751-946-0

  Digital audio download ISBN 978-1-83751-947-7

  Boldwood Books Ltd

  23 Bowerdean Street

  London SW6 3TN

  www.boldwoodbooks.com

 

 

  Camilla Isley, The Love Algorithm (True Love)

 

 

  Thank you for reading books on GrayCity.Net
Share this book with friends