They had the wedding in Seattle. It took some doing, but they made it a family event. Friends and relatives flew in from Italy and others came up from California and Arizona. She could tell Anthony was pleased. It also endeared her to his parents, who were thrilled he was marrying “for real” this time.
And now here she is, two months later, in her former bedroom listening to her husband as he attempts to climb in through the window. The idea sounded sexy when he used to tease her about it, but the reality is proving to be more unnerving than erotic, since her bedroom is on the second floor.
Clang! Thump!
Natalie jumps as the ladder outside shifts again. She rushes over to the open window and looks down. She can see the top of Anthony’s dark hair as he makes his way up. He’s closer than she thought.
Quickly she runs over to the bed and positions herself. She’s wearing Princess Leia’s gold bikini, which she ordered off the Internet. It’s skimpy and daring and she knows Anthony is going to love it. She even pulled her hair up into a braided ponytail, letting it fall over her shoulder. Before their wedding, she considered coloring her hair back to her natural color again. Anthony told her he didn’t care either way, but in the end she decided to keep it blonde. Oddly, she feels more like herself this way. For years she thought of herself as a plain Jane, but turns out she’s really more the blonde pin-up girl type. Who knew?
There’s a commotion at the window and Natalie’s pulse quickens when she sees Anthony’s handsome face appear over the edge. He grabs the sides of the window, hoisting himself into the room with his usual grace, though she can hear the ladder bumping into the side of the house. I’m not letting him leave that way, no matter what he says.
He strolls over to her and then stops at the foot of the bed. Anthony’s eyes roam her body from head to toe, lingering on all the important parts. He’s wearing a long brown cape with a belted tunic beneath it. A sword is sheathed at his side. Natalie likes what she sees, but changes her expression to one of anguish.
“I’ve been captured and taken prisoner! Can you help me escape, Aragorn?”
Anthony strokes his stubbled jaw thoughtfully, his dark eyes still lingering on her nearly nude body. “It’s possible, Princess,” he says in a low growl. “For the right price.”
“My family is wealthy. If you rescue me, I can assure you’ll be handsomely rewarded.”
“Money?” he scoffs. “I have no use for your money.”
She studies him boldly. “What other reward interests a man like yourself, then?”
Anthony’s expression goes hot as he steps closer. His hand drops to her ankle, fingers gliding slowly up her bare leg. His touch is electric.
Natalie sucks in her breath as excitement skitters through her. “Perhaps there is something else I can offer,” she says in a husky voice, meeting his gaze. “Perhaps you’d enjoy a taste of my charms?”
He nods with approval. “A taste of your charms will do nicely.”
And then he grins.
The End
Thank you so much for reading YEAR OF LIVING BLONDE! I hope you enjoyed spending time with Natalie and Anthony. If so, would you please consider the following:
1. Write a review on Amazon to help other people find this book. Click here to go to the Amazon review page.
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Don't miss the next book! Blair and Road's story… RETURN OF THE JERK. Release date September 17, 2015. You can buy it here from Amazon.
Wedding cake baker Blair Thomas loves her life. Her business is thriving, her Seattle condo has a great view of the water, and her refurbished '65 convertible Mustang “Isadora” is the coolest car ever. She barely even thinks about that jerk she married five years ago. The one who abandoned her after only four months of marriage. The one who left a note on her pillow saying, “See you later, babe.”
Seriously, who does that?
So what if she was once obsessively in love with him. He's her best friend's older brother and for years he barely even knew she was alive. He never loved her, and he only married her because of a drunken mistake. At least she's over him.
Definitely over him.
The only problem is Blair never got around to divorcing him so technically they're still married. And after five years of traveling the world-Nathan “Road” Church-has finally decided to come home. He arrived on Blair's doorstep this morning, and now he's in her bathroom taking a shower. The nerve of him! Oh, and did I mention, he's still hot? Blair doesn't know what to do.
The jerk has returned.
“Steamy and fun, an irresistible story of one woman's obsession and the jerk-like object of her unrequited love...”
Warning: Contains one sexy jerk, humorous situations, a heroine with obsessive compulsive disorder, cussing and swearing, steamy love scenes, and references to a part of the male anatomy that doesn't crow like a rooster-but certainly rises in the early morning.
SWEET LIFE IN SEATTLE
Year of Living Blonde, Book 1
Purchase from Amazon
Return of the Jerk, Book 2
Purchase from Amazon
Some Like it Hotter, Book 3
Coming Soon
OTHER
Fire Down Below
Purchase from Amazon
I am extremely lucky to have had so many people help me on my journey to getting Year of Living Blonde published. Thank you to my first reader and sister-friend, Erika Preston, who always has my back and was both kind and brutal (ha!) with her edits. Erika, as usual your advice was invaluable, especially with Chloe and the travails of Natalie as a divorced mom. (And sorry I didn't call the book “Year of Living Chloe”! Ha ha…) I'm also immensely thankful to Hot Tree Editing, especially Olivia Ventura and Becky Johnson, who did a fantastic job editing and were instrumental in turning Year of Living Blonde into such a silky smooth read. I'm so grateful to my amazing friend Susan Gideon who both beta read and proofread the final manuscript. Susan, you have an incredible eye for detail! I'm beyond thankful for all your help and the time you spent. Thank you also to Christine Borgford at Perfectly Publishable for the beautiful job with the interior formatting & design. It looks amazing and I couldn't be happier. Writing is a solitary endeavor, but I'm lucky to have the Plot Princesses, a group of very talented writers to keep me company and keep me on track. Thank you Amy Rench, Haley Burke, and Tami Raymen, for all your encouragement and for always making me laugh. I want to thank my wonderful husband, John, for his never ending support and for his thoughtful help with some of the technical aspects of this book. (The liquid nitrogen on the axe was his fantastic idea.) John, you're my favorite geek, my biggest fan, and I wouldn't be here doing this without you. Thank you also to my boys, the geeklings, for thinking it's pretty cool their mom is a writer, even though she writes books where people kiss. (I know, yuck.)
Andrea Simonne grew up as an army brat and discovered she had a talent for creating personas at each new school. The most memorable was a surfer chick named “Ace” who never touched a surf board in her life, but had an impressive collection of puka shell necklaces. Eventually she turned her imagination towards writing. Andrea still enjoys creating personas, though these days they occupy her books. She’s an Amazon bestseller in romantic comedy and the author of the series Sweet Life in Seattle. She currently makes her home in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and two sons.
Some of the places you can find her are:
www.andreasimonne.com
Twitter
Facebook
Goodreads
[email protected]
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