Year of Living Blonde (Sweet Life in Seattle, Book 1) (18 page)

“Face it,” Marcus says with a smile. “You’re a hottie now. Sizzle!”

“Thank you,” she tells him, dumbfounded. “It’s fantastic. Truly.”

After paying, she follows Lindsay and Blair outside. They walk down the street toward some of the department stores, but Natalie keeps stopping to stare at her reflection in every passing window. There’s a sense of freedom pulsing through her. Though she’s worried, too, worried she’s going to go into shock later. She doesn’t do well with big changes.

“You look really pretty,” Blair tells her, coming up to stand beside her. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you with makeup on. It brings out your features.”

Lindsay grabs her arm. “Come on, my beautiful sister, now we need to get you into some decent clothes. No more black and no more pants so baggy and ugly that they look like garbage bags.”

Natalie knows she should be insulted, but she’s in too much of a daze about her hair and makeup. “My clothes do not look like garbage bags,” she finally says.

Once in the dressing room, she realizes Lindsay is telling the truth. Her new hair is shining a light on everything. Between her huge
Lord of the Rings
hoodie and her baggy pants, she’s drowning in her own clothes.

How could I not have noticed this?

“Here you go.” Lindsay knocks on the dressing room door. She hands Natalie a few more items to add to the pile she already has in front of her.

When she sees the sizes Lindsay has brought, she balks and tries to hand them back. “Size ten? That’s way too small. I’ll never fit into those jeans.”

“Just try them on, okay?”

“Fine.” She takes them, thinking this is a waste of time. To her astonishment, she zips them right up.

Natalie stares down in disbelief. They fit perfectly. Turning to the side, she’s amazed when she sees her own rear view.

I remember that ass.

It’s been a long time since she’s seen it, and she’s certainly never seen it encased in a pair of modern-cut jeans before.

She tries on the rest of the clothes Lindsay and Blair have picked out. Some of them don’t work at all.
Tight leather pants? Pencil skirts? I don’t think so.
But most of them do. There are skirts, sweaters, and more jeans. And the colors are like a rainbow—emerald greens and vibrant purples.

In the end, she decides to buy everything—even the black leather pants and pencil skirts—and puts it all on credit, figuring
what the heck.
She hasn’t gone clothes shopping in years.

“I can’t wait to see you in these clothes,” Lindsay says. “You are going to look so hot. You’ll be turning heads left and right.”

“Oh, speaking of hot, that reminds me, Graham gave me Anthony’s cell number.” Blair pulls her phone out and brings up the number, handing it over to Natalie.

“Did you tell him why I wanted it?” She copies the number into her own phone.

“Yes, and I’ve never seen Graham laugh so hard.”

“He thought it was funny I called Anthony an asshole?”

“He thought it was funny
any
woman would call Anthony an asshole. Apparently, that’s not the kind of endearment Anthony’s used to.”

NATALIE STARES AT
Anthony’s number on her phone. Why on earth did I think calling him would be a good idea?

She’s sitting on the bed after putting away all her new clothes. Lindsay is downstairs starting dinner. At Lindsay’s urging, she’s wearing new jeans with a low-cut cornflower blue sweater. Every time she passes a mirror, she has to stop and stare at herself. Having never been a vain person, Natalie can’t remember the last time she felt good about her appearance, and is hovering between elation and panic.

She runs a hand over her long blonde hair and resists the urge to pull it back into her usual ponytail.

It’s Saturday night,
she thinks, staring at her phone. Anthony is probably out somewhere with a beautiful woman at his side.

Oh, grow a pair already.

She hits call and starts rehearsing her apology speech. His phone is ringing.

“Hello?”

It’s
him.
Yikes! Shit! Her mind goes blank. She can’t even remember why she’s calling. All she can focus on is his sexy sounding hello. It’s just right. Deep enough to be manly, but not deep enough to be creepy.

“Hello?” he repeats.

There’s silence when he hangs up.

The Professor isn’t very patient, is he?
How does he know there isn’t a pathetic overworked baker on other the end, trying to get her nerve up to speak?

Natalie takes a few calming breathes.
I can do this.

And this time when his phone rings and he answers with that super-hot “Hello,” she’s ready.

“Hi, this is Natalie from La Dolce Vita.”

There’s a long moment of silence.

“I feel really bad about what happened between us,” she goes on. “I wanted to call and apologize.”

“Natalie?”

He sounds distracted, as if he doesn’t want talk to her. Which isn’t that hard to imagine, considering she called him an asshole right to his face.

“Yes, it’s Natalie.”

“How did you get this number?”

Natalie hesitates. “Graham gave it to me.”

The phone is silent and Natalie decides to keep talking. “I just wanted you to know how terrible I feel about what happened. I never should have said what I did to you.”

“Listen, I’m kind of busy right now.”

“Oh, okay.”

The phone is silent in her hand and it takes her a moment to realize he isn’t on the line anymore.

He hung up again!

Natalie puts her phone down on the nightstand and stares at it, frowning. And then she picks it up. Hits redial.

“What now?” he growls.

“Look, I’m trying to apologize. Or maybe you don’t get it.”

“Yeah, I get it.”

“The only reason I’ve been forced to call and interrupt whatever important thing it is you’re doing on a Saturday night is that you’ve been avoiding me.”

“What are you talking about?”

“You haven’t come into the bakery, and it’s obvious why. I wouldn’t want to go someplace where someone called me an asshole, either. At the same time though, it’s very annoying because you aren’t giving me a chance to apologize!”

The phone is silent.

“You’re crazy,” he finally says.

“I know it seems that way, but I’m not normally like this. I have a daughter. I’m a successful business owner. There are extenuating circumstances in my life right now.” Natalie knows she’s babbling.

“Look, I haven’t been avoiding you or your bakery. I’m in Hawaii.”

“What?”

“I’ve been here for ten days.”

“So . . . you’re on vacation?” Natalie groans inwardly.

“No, I’m at the Keck Observatory on Mauna Kea.”

“What’s that?”

“It’s a telescope observatory. That’s what I do. I’m an astronomer.”

“So you’re looking through a telescope right now?”

“No. Right now I’m in bed sleeping.” He sighs with irritation. “Or trying to.”

“I see, so you’re in bed sleeping and that’s why you’re busy?” She tries to give a light-hearted laugh, though it sounds more like she’s coughing. Her stomach is filled with a swarm of butterflies.

“Yeah, I’m going to be awake again all night and could use some shut-eye.”

Natalie wonders if it’s possible to still salvage this. “I’m sitting in bed right now, too, though obviously I’m not sleeping, but I do keep baker’s hours.”

Anthony doesn’t reply.

Natalie glances down at her new clothes and an odd boldness comes over her. “So, what are you wearing?” Instantly, she’s mortified at her dumb attempt at flirtation.
The bleach must have gone to my brain!
“Oh, my God! I can’t believe I said that. Erase it from your mind.” She sucks in her breath. “Though you probably can’t because you have a photographic memory!”

“Damn, you really do sound crazy.” Though she senses humor behind his words.

She sighs. “I know. You probably want me to let you go, huh?”

“Yeah, I do.”

“Can you at least tell me where we are on the bakery expansion? Have you considered the numbers I gave you yet?”

“It’s only—”

“I mean, I hope you were able to memorize them like you—”

“Stop, just stop talking,” Anthony tells her. “Jesus, are you always like this?”

“Always like what?”

“Pushy.”

“No, of course not.” She pauses. “Well, maybe.”

“That figures.”

“I’m actually a very boring person. All I do is work. Though I did start a boxing class recently.”

“
Boxing?
” Anthony starts to laugh. “Seriously?”

“Is that funny?”

“Yeah, kind of. Actually, boxing sounds right up your alley.”

“It does?”

“I’ll bet you’re good at throwing a punch.”

She wonders whether she should correct him. Obviously, she hasn’t been boxing very long and has no idea what’s she’s doing. In the end, Natalie decides she likes his impression of her as a tough girl. “Hey, that’s the way I roll. I’m a badass.”

Anthony laughs some more. “Good to know.” He pauses for a second. “Were you serious when you said you were into
Star Wars?
”

Natalie sighs. “I know that sounds pathetic. I’m not
that
into it or anything. I do have a life.”

“That’s all right. I’m into
Star Wars,
too.”

“You are?” And then Natalie remembers his phone’s ringtone.

“Yeah, what’s your favorite
Star Wars
movie?”

“
Empire Strikes Back.
”

“Good choice.”

She opens her mouth to ask him what his favorite movie is, but doesn’t get a chance.

“All right,” Anthony says. “It’s probably the sleep deprivation talking, but I’m going to consider accepting your apology.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, I could tell it was heartfelt.”

Natalie laughs. “You’re just saying that. I was actually angry when I called you again.”

“I know, that’s why I’m only
considering
whether to accept it.”

“Maybe we could have a truce where I promise not to call you any more names?”

“I’ll think about it.”

“Okay.”

“And it’s a white T-shirt and black boxer briefs,” Anthony says.

“What is?”

“What I’m wearing right now.”

“Oh.”

He chuckles. “Goodnight, Natalie.”

A white T-shirt and black boxer briefs.
Anthony’s voice is still echoing in her head. Is that what he always sleeps in? It’s such an intimate detail.

I’ll bet he looks fantastic.
Of course, he’d look fantastic in anything.

Was Anthony flirting? No, he was just making a joke. She doesn’t want to start having delusions. Men like Anthony never look twice at women like her.

She decides the phone call with Anthony went pretty well. They ended the conversation on a good note and it sounds like he mostly accepted her apology. Blair will be pleased. Maybe he’ll be nicer about leasing them that space now.

Natalie heads downstairs. She finds Lindsay hasn’t started dinner yet and is sitting cross-legged on the couch with her laptop. There’s a glass of wine at her side.

“Why haven’t you started cooking yet? Chloe will be home soon.”

“There you are.” Lindsay looks up and is taken aback. “Wow, this is going to take some getting used to. You look so different it’s startling.”