“Are you kidding? He’d have to be dead not to appreciate you in this dress.”
“Thanks.” Natalie smiles and then walks over to grab her phone and check the time. “I should probably get back to work. I’ve been gone longer than I intended.”
“So how are things going with Blair?” Lindsay gathers all the rejected dresses into one pile. “Is she still pissed at you?”
Natalie fingers the band of material around her waist. It’s silky soft, but has some kind of firm support beneath it, too. “I invited her to come dress shopping with us. It’s her day off, but she said she was too busy.”
“Don’t worry, she’ll come around. After all—I did.”
Lindsay doesn’t like how Anthony handled the situation with the bakery, but after seeing how happy Natalie is with him, she’s agreed to give him a chance. Plus, Lindsay liked that he didn’t give up easily—said Anthony might be enough man for her, but that the jury was still out.
The salesgirl who’s been helping them knocks on the dressing room door, and Lindsay opens it to hand her the rejected dresses. “We’re going to get the blue one,” she tells her.
“Wonderful!”
When the door is closed again, Lindsay helps unzip Natalie.
“I hope she does come around,” Natalie says, worried. She knows Blair feels betrayed. What sucks is, Natalie gets it. If the situation were reversed she’d feel the same way, because in Blair’s eyes Natalie is putting a man first. But what Blair doesn’t understand is, she isn’t putting a man first. I’m putting myself first. And it’s been a long time since she’s done that. If she’s honest, she can’t remember ever doing it. It feels healthy, like finally having a scab heal over. I need this.
“We still haven’t watched all the Star Wars movies,” Anthony complains. He calls to tell her he wants her in his bed again as soon as possible.
“We watched the two best ones.” They watched the original Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back, but the last time they tried to watch Return of the Jedi, they couldn’t stop making out. She’s been at his house a lot the past few weeks. They even had a barbecue-slash-star-party with Chloe and Serena. Both girls had a good time and Chloe thought it was cool how Anthony knew so many constellations.
He snorts. “That’s not enough.”
“Are you pouting?”
“Of course I’m pouting. I’m a selfish asshole and I demand satisfaction.”
“I found a dress for the Science Award Banquet.”
“Perfect. Why don’t you put it on and come over here and show me, then I can have some fun taking it off you.”
Natalie laughs and leans back on the couch. She’s going to see a movie with Lindsay and Chloe tonight. And then the rest of the week after work she has salon appointments set up. “Very funny. I’ll call you after the movie, but I’m not coming over.”
He grumbles.
“I saw the article about you in the paper,” Natalie says. The Seattle Times had been trying to interview Anthony for ages and Maya finally forced him to speak with them. “I liked it. I never knew you taught astronomy to kids in the Central District. You’re full of surprises.”
“Yeah, whatever. Today’s newspaper is tomorrow’s cat-box liner.”
Natalie can’t believe she ever thought Anthony was full of himself. If anything, he seems to hate being under the spotlight. Not to mention the closer the award banquet gets the worse his mood seems to be.
“I liked that present you left me, Miss Natalie,” he murmurs, changing the subject.
Her face grows warm and she glances around to make sure she’s still alone. “I thought you might.” She left her used panties on his pillow when she was at his house last time.
“You’ll be pleased to know I’ve made good use of it.”
“Did you?” Natalie’s breath catches. “You might have to show me exactly what you did.”
His voice takes on a husky tone. “Only if you show me, too.”
She wonders if she could ever be that bold and thinks with Anthony it’s possible. “Maybe,” she whispers teasingly. “Maybe we’ll show each other.”
There’s a pause. “You’re killing me. I want to see you now.”
“We’ll be together this weekend after the banquet.” Anthony booked a room for them at the Olympic Hotel.
He groans. “I don’t know if I can wait that long.”
By Saturday, Natalie has her hair freshly foiled, nails and toenails done, legs and eyebrows waxed, and she’s been consuming nothing but salad and green smoothies all week, determined to look great in that dress.
“I’m tired of eating so healthy,” Natalie complains to Lindsay and Chloe as they help her get ready for the banquet. “Next week I’m having a chocolate pastry every meal along with a bowl of whipped cream for dessert.”
“Your first prom,” Lindsay sighs, putting her hands together. Natalie told her how she keeps thinking of this whole thing like prom, and the notion stuck. “They grow up so fast.”
“How come you never went to prom, Mom? Didn’t you want to go?”
Lindsay just finished blow-drying Natalie’s hair straight. It looks blonde and shiny thanks to the recent foil and the glossing serum she ran through it. Her tackle box of makeup is sitting on the dining room table.
“Nobody asked me. Though looking back on it now, I should have just gone with friends.”
“Yes, you should have,” Lindsay agrees.
“I think prom sounds fun. I hope I get to go when I’m older.” Chloe looks through Lindsay’s tackle box. “And I can’t wait to start wearing makeup.”
“All in good time,” Natalie says. She glances over at the clock. There’s more than an hour to kill before Anthony arrives to pick her up. “And speaking of fun, let’s have some right now. I want to rock out.”
“You do?” Both Lindsay and Chloe look at her with surprise.
Natalie nods. “You guys are always doing it and I’m tired of missing out.”
And before you can say fun-kay, the three of them are dancing to a 70s playlist that Lindsay put together. There’s “Rollercoaster” by the Ohio Players, “Play That Funky Music” by Wild Cherry, and “Sexy Thing” by Hot Chocolate.
Chloe is jumping up and down waving her hands in the air. Lindsay looks like she needs a stripper pole. And Natalie is bumping and grooving her hips to every song.
When the Commodores’ “Brick House” comes on, Natalie starts to laugh. Instead of feeling ill at ease with herself as she has for years, she realizes she’s come to embrace her curves. She decides that being a ‘brick house’ ain’t half bad.
Anthony hears music through the front door when he arrives with the limo to pick up Natalie. “It sounds like the party has already started in here,” he tells Lindsay and Chloe after they let him in.
Lindsay laughs. “Oh, it has, believe me.”
He looks around for Natalie and when he sees her coming down the stairs his chest tightens. She looks beautiful and sexy, basically every man’s dream. But the lady’s with me. He’d been viewing this whole evening as a chore, but having Natalie at his side is going to make it far more bearable.
When she sees him a smile breaks out on her pretty face and Anthony can’t stop himself from smiling, too. He relaxes. Everything about Natalie makes him happy. Maybe this night will be all right, after all.
Her dress is light blue and when she comes closer he sees it matches her eyes. She looks stunning. Not to mention the way it shows off every curve.
“I approve, Miss Natalie.”
“Do you?” she smiles.
He leans closer. “You look dazzlingly beautiful.”
She meets his eyes and he’s glad to see she believes his compliments now. There’s no hesitation on her part at all.
Natalie steps back and takes him in, too. He’s wearing a black Armani tux, a crisp white shirt, and a black bow tie, his dark wavy hair tamed with gel. Her eyes roam from head to toe and then settle on his face.
“I g
uess you look okay.” A teasing smile plays on her mouth.
“Now, don’t hurt yourself with the compliments.”
Natalie’s expression softens and she steps close to cradle his face with those cool fingers. “I think you look beautiful, too.”
“Thank you.” Oddly, there’s real pleasure at her words.
The two of them gaze at each other. It’s only been a week, but it feels like a long time. Anthony wishes he could pull her into his arms and kiss her until they’re breathless. It’ll have to wait until later, though.
Before they leave, Natalie heads back upstairs to grab her wrap, and Anthony reaches into the front pocket of his jacket to give Lindsay a couple extra tickets for the afterparty. “I hope you and Oliver are coming. I know Natalie really wants you there.”
“Take good care of my sister tonight,” Lindsay says, closing up a tackle box. “Or you’ll be answering to me.”
“Of course.” Anthony is surprised at her tone. “I plan to take excellent care of her.”
Lindsay nods, her brown eyes studying him. “Actually, now that I see you two together I feel a whole lot better.”
“Excuse me?”
“You’ve got it bad, don’t you?”
He doesn’t even bother pretending he’s confused by her words. “Yes, I do.” He sighs. “Very bad.”
Lindsay breaks out into a smile and pats his arm. “Trust me, Anthony, she’s worth it. You won’t be sorry.”
They arrive at the convention center and the place is packed with cars and people all over the streets. There are big white news vans with cameras attached. Reporters who look like paparazzi. It’s basically a circus.
“There’s literally a red carpet!” Natalie squeals. “Are you seeing this, Anthony?”
“Yeah, I see it.”
They walk down the red carpet together, cameras clicking away. Natalie’s forehead and underarms are sweating. She feels like a movie star. When they get to the door, somebody is alerted and they’re escorted to a large ballroom. As a nominee, Anthony is given a special red pin to wear on his jacket.
“You’re sitting at the governor’s table, Dr. Novello,” their escort tells them.
The governor’s table? Natalie feels like she’s going to faint.
“Did you know about this?” she asks.
Anthony nods. “We’re VIPs tonight, Miss Natalie.”
She studies his handsome face. He’s smiling at her, but it isn’t quite right. The smile looks forced and she suspects Anthony would rather be hanging out with a telescope in his backyard or writing equations on a whiteboard—anywhere but here.
Reaching down, she takes his hand in hers and for a moment his face eases. “It’s okay to be nervous. Anybody would be.”
He squeezes her hand. “I’m glad you’re here. It helps.”
After that Natalie puts on her best public face as she finds herself introduced as “Dr. Novello’s girlfriend” to the governor and her husband, the mayor and his wife, the dean of the university, and a dozen more people with important-sounding job titles. Rick—the friend of Anthony’s whose house she went to for her first star party—is there. Turns out he’s head of the Astronomy Department.
“I didn’t even recognize you,” Natalie tells him. “I only know what you look like in the dark.”
He grins. “I get that a lot.”
Anthony and Natalie are pulled into one conversation after another. There’s plenty of small talk and as usual, most people are delighted when they find out she’s a pastry chef, since almost everyone loves sweets. She manages to talk about La Dolce Vita a bit and people are enthusiastic about stopping by.
Of course, most of the women are gawking at Anthony, though they try to hide it. A few make comments to her about how lucky she is. Natalie just smiles politely in agreement. In truth, she’s been ogling him herself every chance she gets.
What’s strange is a lot of the men are staring too, but at her. Since her makeover, she’s gotten far more male attention than she used to, but this is the most yet. She feels confident and sexy, and wonders if that has more to do with it than anything. Every time she glances at the mayor, his eyes are on her. She can’t wait to tell Lindsay, who will for sure get a kick out of it.
The Mayor of Seattle was checking me out all night!
After a while, all the niceties start to wear on her. The sea of well-clad bodies, the air thick with perfume, sweat, and alcohol. Natalie’s cheeks ache from all the smiling and to make matters worse, she’s on her own. The nominees have all been pulled away into some special pre-ceremony meeting.
Natalie wanders around, admiring the opulence. The decorations have a baroque theme, which she enjoys, but seems surprising considering it’s an award banquet for scientists. She would have expected something more modern. Eventually, she makes her way over to the bar and gets another glass of wine, since she misplaced her first one.
And that’s when she sees him across the room.
Peter.
It’s been ages since they’ve seen each other in person, not since the divorce. They talk on the phone about Chloe occasionally, but even that’s become more infrequent.
Despite everything that’s happened, Peter still looks endearingly familiar. The way his dark suit hangs on his lanky frame and the finicky set of his shoulders brings to mind all the years they shared. Maybe it’s because he was her first love, or because he reminds her so much of Chloe, but she knows there will always be a tiny place in her heart for him.
Peter’s blond head is tilted to the side as he talks to someone, and there’s a bitter taste in her mouth when she sees it’s Lena. Even from this distance, Natalie can’t help but notice that Lena is striking. Deeply tan with long golden hair. She’s wearing a strapless red dress that showcases her spectacular arms. Her shoulders are too muscular though—like a linebacker.
Natalie stands still, watching them both.
Then to her surprise, Peter and Lena are walking toward her. Did they see me? The convention center is large and crowded, but they seem to be headed directly her way.
Natalie braces herself. She ignores Lena and concentrates on Peter. When he’s almost up to her, she swallows and then speaks.
“Hello,” she says, trying to be pleasant.
Peter nods and smiles briefly, but he and Lena continue to walk past.
Huh?
Natalie whirls around. “Peter?”
This stops him. He turns. Searches.
“Right here, hello?” She gives a small wave.
He walks back toward her with a polite smile. “Hello, there!” He’s using his enthusiastic dentist’s voice.
“Peter, it’s me.”
“Yes?” He’s still smiling politely and that’s when she realizes the truth.
He doesn’t know who I am.
“It’s me, Natalie.”
Peter’s smile falters. He looks into her eyes, and she sees the moment when truth and recognition collide.
“Natalie?” his voice sounds as high-pitched as Mickey Mouse.
“Yes.” She nods. “It’s been a while.”
His brows slam together and his mouth drops open. All the color drains from his face and he looks disturbingly pale.
“Peter, are you okay?” She puts her wine glass down.
His eyes are galloping all over her now, her body and face, back and forth.
“What happened to you?” he sputters, still sounding like Mickey. “I didn’t even recognize you!”
“I’m not sure what you mean,” she says coolly, though he’s already talking over her.
“Your hair and your body. And your face. My God, you’re wearing makeup!” He stares at her feet. “And high-heeled shoes!”
Natalie glances down at her gold peep-toe sling-backs. “So I am.”
Peter is shaking his head. “What did you do to yourself? You look like a completely different person!”
“I wouldn’t go that far. I lost some weight and lightened my hair. That’s about
it.”
“I can’t believe it.” He’s still staring at her. “You’re . . . You’re beautiful,” he stammers.
Natalie’s eyes widen. Fourteen years of marriage and those words never crossed his lips, not even once. “Thank you.”
She glances over at Lena, who is standing beside Peter with a scowl, though he appears to have forgotten she’s even there.
In contrast, Peter is now smiling. The color is back in his face. “Really, Nat, you look incredible. What a change!”
Natalie nods and knows she should be relishing this moment, and she is. He cheated on her. Dumped her for another woman. But guess what, Peter? I didn’t curl up and die.
“Bravo,” Lena says, suddenly wearing a fake smile. “I’m so happy to see you followed my advice and got back on track with your life.”
Natalie bristles and decides the best thing is to ignore her.
Peter is talking animatedly. “Obviously it’s been a while since we’ve seen each other. I had no idea all these changes were going on. Chloe never said a word! And here we are running into each other at this science banquet, of all places.”
“What are you two doing here?” Natalie asks.
“I’m not even sure.” Peter laughs and rolls his eyes. “Lena somehow managed to get tickets. She was so desperate to come to this thing, you wouldn’t believe. It was downright comical.” He turns to Lena. “Wouldn’t you say?”
Lena doesn’t seem to appreciate his humor though. “It’s a major event,” she says in a tight voice. “As a life coach, I need to be here for my clients.”
“You have clients here?” Natalie asks.
“No, of course not,” Peter answers for her. “Her brother’s wife’s decorator or somebody managed to get her some tickets. Though you wouldn’t believe how much we had to shell out for them. Crazy.”
Lena’s eyes flicker with annoyance. “It’s important that I be seen here, so I consider it a business expense.”
Peter nods, but clearly isn’t buying it.
“What are you doing here?” Lena asks her. “I have to admit I’m surprised.”
“Oh, I’m here with my boyfriend.”
“Ah, yes.” Lena’s smile turns condescending. “Good for you, Natalie. I was so happy when I heard you were dating someone. That you’d opened your heart to new possibilities. I understand he’s an elderly gentleman? Some kind of professor? It’s nice that you finally found someone on your level,” she pauses to let the insult sink in, “and it’s very nice that he was able to get you both tickets to such an important event.”
Year of Living Blonde (Sweet Life in Seattle, Book 1) Page 35
