“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.”
“I know, I’m in shock every time I pass a mirror.”
Lindsay studies her. “All right, I need you to go put on some lip gloss. Actually, there’s some in my purse if you want to grab it.”
“Why?” Natalie picks up Lindsay’s glass of wine.
“I need it for the photo.”
“What photo?”
“The photo we’re going to use for all these online dating sites I’ve just signed you up for.”
Natalie nearly chokes on her sip of wine. “Please tell me you’re kidding!”
“Of course I’m not kidding. In fact, you’ve already got some responses, though these guys must be total losers. Who would want to date someone without even seeing what they look like first?”
Natalie doesn’t move. “I am not going out on a date with anyone.”
“Why not? Just think how much it will bug the ass clown when he hears about it.”
“He’ll be happy. He wants me to find someone new.” She puts the wine glass back down.
Lindsay smirks. “Trust me. It’ll get under his skin. He’s a man and all men are territorial over their women. Peter only said that because he doesn’t think you’ll ever meet someone.”
Natalie wonders if that’s true. She doubts it. He has Lena now, so what would he care?
Lindsay places her computer aside and picks up her camera from the coffee table. It’s a big heavy thing with a monster lens. She angles it and peers through the viewfinder at Natalie. “Oliver is back in town, so I invited him over for dinner tonight.”
“I didn’t even know you two were still together. I mean, you’ve basically moved in here.”
“Oliver’s down with it. He knows why I’m staying here.”
“You don’t have to stay if it’s causing you any problems.”
Lindsay shakes her head. “It’s not, and I want to stay. You need me.”
Natalie goes into the kitchen to get a glass of water with lemon when she hears the doorbell ring. Lindsay answers it and there are shrieks and exclamations from the other room and then a man’s voice, which Natalie assumes must be Oliver.
A few moments later, a tall muscular guy with spiky bleached hair walks in smiling, presumably because Lindsay has wrapped herself around him like a vine. Her longs legs are around his waist and he’s carrying her while juggling a large brown paper bag of what looks like takeout food.
Eventually the two separate. “Here he is,” Lindsay says, still holding on to his arm, her cheeks flushed.
“Hi, Oliver, we’ve met once before. It’s nice to see you again.”
Oliver nods, his eyes roaming over Natalie’s hair, face, and body. “You look really different. And let me just say—wow.”
Natalie’s face grows warm. “Thank you.”
“I know, she’s hot, isn’t she?” Lindsay winks at Natalie. She turns back to Oliver. “And you brought the food like I told you—awesome. What kind is it?”
“Vegan Chinese.”
Lindsay makes a face, but Oliver just smiles. “You’ll like it, trust me.”
Natalie is amazed that her sister invited Oliver for dinner and then asked him to bring the dinner, too, but Lindsay is always getting away with stuff like this and the men she dated never complained. If anything, they loved it. As far back as she can remember, Lindsay has always been the dumper and never the dumpee.
Natalie takes the bag of food from Oliver, who seems happy to relinquish it. She pulls the containers out and places them on the table along with plates and chopsticks. As she’s filling a pitcher with ice water, she hears another car and goes to the front door to find Chloe arriving home from riding lessons. She carpooled there with a friend, and Natalie waves to the other mom from the front porch.
They both come into the dining room where Lindsay has taken over with the ice water, filling each glass.
“What are we having for dinner?” Chloe asks. “Is it something I like?”
“Oliver brought vegan Chinese,” Lindsay tells her.
“Cool!” Chloe tries to sit down at the table, but Natalie tells her to go wash her hands first. Luckily Chloe has already changed out of her riding clothes.
“I noticed Lindsay’s axe is still stuck in your front door,” Oliver says to Natalie as he pours soy sauce on his rice. “I tried to pull it out, but it’s really stuck. I could try prying it out with a tool, but I think it would damage the door too much.”
“You really don’t think you can get it out?” Lindsay asks.
“You can’t pry out Excalibur with a tool!” Chloe says, coming back to the table. “It has to be pulled out by hand. Only someone worthy can do it.”
Oliver looks confused. “Am I missing something?”
“Chloe’s named the axe,” Natalie explains.
“I’m going to hang a wreath on it,” Chloe continues. “It’ll be our Christmas axe. We’ll have to get some of those twinkly lights for it, too.”
Natalie takes a sip of water. “Your dad won’t be happy about that.”
“Yeah, the ass clown is going to have a heart attack if he sees that,” Lindsay says.
“That’s enough, Lindsay.” Natalie shoots her a look. “I don’t want you calling him ass clown in front of Chloe.”
“Why not?”
“Because Peter is her dad and she loves him.”
Chloe picks up some broccoli with her chopsticks. “I just wish Daddy would come home.”
Natalie and Lindsay’s eyes meet across the table.
Oliver dishes out some more food from one of the takeout boxes. “I suspect you’re going to have to get a new front door.”
Lindsay gives Natalie an apologetic smile. “Sorry about this.”
In truth, Natalie’s not that surprised about the door, since Peter had already come to the same conclusion. It wasn’t long ago he left an angry voicemail telling her to order a new front door and “give Lindsay the goddamn bill!” It’s the only way they communicate anymore—by phone. It’s clear he’s avoiding her. He’d started picking up Chloe with a call from the driveway, and she hasn’t seen him face-to-face in months.
Natalie sighs as she considers her ornate-styled front door. It’s silly maybe, but she’s fond of it. Their house was built back in the nineteen-forties, and that thick door was the original one put on the house.
After dinner, Chloe leaves the table to go do homework in her bedroom and Natalie goes to help her with a few things. When she comes back downstairs, she discovers Lindsay and Oliver are still sitting a
t the table. She tells them goodnight, but Lindsay stops her. “Let’s have Oliver take a quick photo of you before you go to bed.”
Natalie frowns. “I already told you I’m not going on a date with anyone. I’m not ready for something like that.”
“Come on, don’t be a coward and besides, Oliver will take a fantastic photo.”
“I’m not a coward! You have no idea how hard it’s been for me since Peter left. Everything is on my shoulders.”
Lindsay picks up her water glass. “Do I need to remind you that I’ve been divorced twice?”
“It’s not the same thing.”
“Oh, and why is that? Mine don’t count?” Lindsay rolls her eyes. “You’re such a martyr.”
“I’m not a martyr. You were barely even married to your husbands. The first one was less than a year. The second one was like fifteen minutes! It’s different when you’ve been together as long as Peter and I have, and you never had a child to think about.” Natalie stops, wishing she could take that last part back. Lindsay had desperately wanted a baby, but for some reason was unable to get pregnant.
Lindsay gives Natalie a level stare, then looks away.
“I’m sorry about the child part,” Natalie says. “But not the rest.”
Oliver glances between the two sisters and then leans forward, putting his muscular tattooed arms on the table. “Listen, it’s obvious you two care about each other. You guys need to stick together.” He turns to Lindsay. “Maybe you should back off and let her decide when she wants to start meeting new guys.”
“Maybe,” Lindsay mutters. “But what is she waiting for?”
“Don’t be like that,” he says. “Give her the time she needs.”
He then turns to Natalie. “And you’re lucky to have a sister who cares about you so much. I know for a fact Lindsay would lie down in traffic for you.”
Natalie takes a deep breath. “I know.”
Lindsay turns to her. “I know you always feel like you have to take care of everyone, and that you practically raised me, but the only person you have left to mother is Chloe.”
Later, after Natalie is upstairs in her room, Lindsay comes to find her to let her know she’s going home with Oliver. “It’s just for tonight. We haven’t seen each other in weeks and I’m horny as hell.”
Natalie smiles. “I really like him, and I can see why you said he’d pass the Bandito Test.”
“Yeah, he’s all right. Plus, he’s a hunk.”
Oliver is unconventional in his looks, but Natalie has to agree he’s sexy. Especially in that bad boy way Lindsay likes.
“Try not to break his heart, okay? He doesn’t deserve that.”
Lindsay tosses her hair. “Hey, I’m not breaking anybody’s heart here. Trust me, he’s getting lucky tonight.”
“I’m sorry about what I said earlier. I know your divorces weren’t easy for you.”
Lindsay waves her off. “Don’t worry. Water under the bridge.”
“I couldn’t believe it when Chloe said she still wants Peter to come back.” Natalie lets out her breath. She can’t stop thinking about it. “I didn’t know what to say.”
Lindsay studies her. “What would you do if he came crawling back?”
“I wouldn’t take him back. How could I ever trust him again? Though, I have to admit I hate to see Chloe hurting.”
“I know, me too.”
“Besides, he’ll never come back. He’s happy with Lena and you’re right, I probably should try getting out there. I need to move on. I am being a coward.”
Lindsay comes over to give her a hug. “No, Oliver is right. You should wait until you’re ready. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Natalie listens a few minutes later as Oliver’s van starts up outside and they drive away.
The question is—will I ever be ready?
Anthony sits back in his chair at the control room in Waimea. It’s been a productive night. The cloud cover cleared and for the second night in a row they’ve been able to open up the telescopes. He’s tired, but exhilarated that his team was able to accomplish so much. Glancing toward the control room windows, he sees that it’s almost dawn. The first orange and purple rays are peeking over the edge of the sky.
“I’m packing it in,” Anthony says, shutting down his computer. “I’ll see you guys tomorrow. Thanks for all your help.”
A couple of his students are still working and wave good night. His assistant, Maya, has already gone off to bed.
Andrew, his support astronomer at Keck, nods. “See you tomorrow. It’s been a great night.”
Anthony steps outside into the crisp early morning. He starts walking back to his room, but realizes he’s not tired enough to sleep, so sits on one of the benches outside. The mountain air tastes brisk and clean.
He keeps thinking about Natalie’s phone call, and the way she called him an asshole the last time he saw her.
She was rude as hell.
He’s deserved that from a few women, but ironically, he didn’t deserve it from Natalie. Though at least she apologized.
Just before he flew out to Hawaii, he’d found out he was nominated for the Smyth Medal for astrophysics. It’s a huge honor and he should be thrilled, but for some reason isn’t feeling it.
The ceremony is being held in Seattle this year. Winning that medal is a long shot, but a nomination in itself is highly prestigious. He even called his parents, inviting them to attend, though he doesn’t know why he still bothers.
“You should be using your brains and talent to help people,” his father told him after he got his Ph.D. in astrophysics. “No offense, but this degree is a joke. I’ll never call you Doctor.”
Anthony tried not to let the effect those words had on him show. “Do you think Einstein was unimportant?” Anthony had asked. “Or what about Hawking? How else can we learn about our world and our universe?”
“So now you’re comparing yourself to Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking?”
“Of course not, but Einstein and Hawking didn’t get there by themselves. They built their theories on the work of others.”
“No wonder you have such a high opinion of yourself. I didn’t realize you were putting yourself into a class with two of the greatest minds of the last century.” His father glanced at his Rolex impatiently. Some things never change and his father’s schedule was one of them.
Anthony knew there was nothing he could say that would make any difference.
He wonders if his parents will bother coming to the ceremony. Even if he won the medal, his dad would act like it was nothing important.
I’m not saving lives, after all.
He gets up and walks back to his room. The accommodations at Keck are austere, but it doesn’t matter, since all he does is sleep in them.
Once he’s lying in bed, though, he’s restless. Can’t shut his mind off. He tries reading, then finally grabs his cell phone before realizing there’s no one he can call. Who would be awake at this early hour? And then he remembers Natalie and grins.
This should be fun.
He searches back through his call log until he finds her number. She answers on the third ring.
Her voice sounds frantic. “Please don’t tell me one of the ovens is down.”
“Not as far as I know.”
Natalie pauses. “Who is this?”
“It’s Anthony, your evil landlord.”
“Really?”
“Yes, it’s really me. The landlord you love to hate.”
Another pause. “I wouldn’t say I hate you.”
“But I’m not your favorite person, am I?”
The phone is quiet.
“Come on, Natalie, be honest. I can take it.”
“No, you’re not my favorite person.”
Anthony smiles at her bluntness. “You’re breaking my heart.”
Natalie laughs softly. Her early morning voice sounds a little husky and he kind of likes it. He pictures her sultry mouth close to the phone and feels
a stirring of desire.
“So, why are you calling?” she asks.
“I figured I’d get my daily insult.”
She laughs some more, though he can tell she’s nervous. If he had to guess, he’d say few people made Natalie nervous. “Someone has to do it.”
“And you’re just the woman for the job.”
“Otherwise all you’d hear is how pretty you are.”
Anthony blinks with surprise. “That’s sweet. Do you really think I’m pretty?”
“Just like Cinderella.”
“I’m still looking for the glass slipper that fits, though.”
“Can you hang on a second?” He hears beeping in the background and what sounds like her putting the phone down. The beeping stops and he hears scuffling noises. It’s quieter than he’d expect a busy bakery to sound at this hour. Eventually she comes back on the line.
“Are you still in Hawaii?”
“Yeah, though tomorrow is our last night of telescope time.”
“What’s it like there? Is it just a room with a big telescope inside?”
“Not quite.” Anthony explains a bit about the Keck’s twin telescopes on Mauna Kea. “Each one is eight stories tall and weighs 300 tons.”
“Wow.”
“Definitely awesome,” he agrees.
“So what are you looking for?”
“Quasars. But my main research is with long gamma-ray bursts.”
“Gamma rays? Like The Hulk?”
“Yeah, except I’m not turning green and tearing the building apart.”
“Cinderella would never do that.”
“Of course not. I’m just a sweet old-fashioned girl.”
Natalie laughs. He really likes the sound of her laugh. She’s always so stern it’s a surprise to discover she laughs easily on the phone. Even though he’s not particularly attracted to her, he kind of wishes he could see what she looks like right now.
“So, what are your extenuating circumstances?” he asks.
“What do you mean?”
“When we spoke the other day, you said you didn’t normally go around calling people names, but had extenuating circumstances.”
“Oh.” She pauses. “I’ve been going through a divorce.”
Anthony nods in understanding. “That’s rough. I’ve been there myself, though it was years ago.”
Year of Living Blonde (Sweet Life in Seattle, Book 1) Page 13