“I can’t believe I’m looking at a whole galaxy!”
As she’s staring through the viewfinder, a couple of people approach them.
“Anthony, you brought more of these addictive cookies!” a woman about her own age is saying to him. She’s Hispanic and has short, curly, dark hair.
“I did more than that,” Anthony tells her. “I brought the baker who created them.”
“Really?” The woman turns and Natalie notices she’s carrying her container.
Anthony introduces Maya, explaining that she’s his assistant. He also introduces the two guys with her as two of his postgraduate students.
“Are you really the creator of these insane cookies?” Maya asks, chewing on one. “Anthony brought them to Keck and we couldn’t get enough of them.”
Natalie glances at Anthony in surprise. “You took my cookies to Hawaii?”
“Yeah, not that I got to eat any with these vultures around.”
Maya points at Natalie. “You are a freaking genius.”
Natalie laughs. Coming from a group of people whom she suspects actually are all geniuses, it’s an interesting compliment. “Thanks, I’m glad you like them. I’m curious, though. Is it my imagination, or do all astronomers really like desserts?”
They laugh. “We like anything that helps us stay awake at night,” Anthony tells her.
“So that’s why you like coffee so much.”
“Basically.”
Maya turns to Anthony. “Have you finished your SWIFT proposal yet?”
“No, we’re still pulling it together.”
The four of them start talking about various projects. Natalie hears the words grant and proposal a lot. She looks through the telescope again, studying Andromeda as they talk. This astronomy stuff is pretty cool. There’s something about seeing another galaxy that makes her problems seem awfully small.
“I heard the Seattle Times wants to interview you about your nomination for the Smyth Medal,” Navez says.
The comment captures Natalie’s attention and she tunes back in to the conversation.
“Yeah,” Anthony sighs. “They left a message the other day.”
Maya motions toward Anthony. “I’ll say this much. You’re sure to get tenure now.”
“Maybe. I’m still a long shot to win.”
“What is this Smyth Medal I keep hearing about?” Natalie asks everyone.
“It’s a medal given out by the Smyth Institute of Science,” Maya explains. “They give out awards every year for a major contribution in one area. It’s really prestigious and Anthony’s been nominated for astrophysics.”
“Wait a minute, is this the Science Awards Banquet I keep hearing about on the news? That sounds like a really big deal.”
They all nod. “It changes location every year,” Maya tells her. “This year it’s happening in Seattle at the Convention Center. It’s not as big as the Nobel, but it’s definitely a big deal, especially for scientists.”
They talk a little more and eventually Maya, Navez, and Brad decide to wander off and chat with other people, leaving Natalie and Anthony alone again.
“So why do you think you’re such a long shot to win that medal?” Natalie asks.
“The competition is really tough. It should help me gain tenure, though. Maya was right about that.”
“Well, good luck. I hope you win!”
“Thanks.”
Natalie grins. “And what is this I hear about my cookies in Hawaii?”
Anthony rolls his eyes in mock exasperation. “All right, I admit it. I took a dozen with to Mauna Kea.”
“I’m honored.”
“You should be. It was right after you called me an asshole and I didn’t want to go back into the bakery, so I had to ask Maya to buy them for me.”
Natalie shifts uncomfortably. “I apologized for that. Should I apologize again?”
“It can’t hurt.”
“I’m sorry.”
He doesn’t say anything, just puts new coordinates into his telescope’s keypad.
“Can I ask you something?” she asks.
“Sure.”
She bites her lip. “Why do you like me?”
Anthony continues what he’s doing, a smile playing around the edges of his mouth. “What makes you think I like you?”
“Because you invited me here tonight. What is it you see in me, exactly?”
“I don’t know.” He attaches the keypad back to the telescope. “In truth, I’ve wondered about it myself.”
“What kind of answer is that?”
Anthony chuckles. “I’m just being honest. You’re not exactly easy to get along with.”
“I’m not sure why I’m always giving you such a hard time.”
“I am.”
“Why is that?”
“It’s because you’re into me.”
Natalie’s face grows warm. “No, I’m not.”
His hand is still on the telescope. He gazes over at her. “Yeah, you are.”
“I’m not.”
Anthony lets go and moves closer. She can smell him again, his woodsy soap. He’s taller than her and she has to look up at him.
“I’m not into you,” she insists, though her pulse quickens.
Their eyes meet. He’s so near now, she can see the dark fringe of his lashes. The stubble of his beard. She shivers with anticipation.
“Yeah, you are, but it’s okay,” he says softly, leaning close, “because I’m into you, too.”
And then he kisses her. Natalie is dizzy with shock.
Anthony is kissing me!
It’s the first time she’s been kissed by a man other than Peter in fourteen years and it feels odd. Odd, but good. Very good.
She closes her eyes and gives in to the kiss.
Anthony’s tongue licks her lower lip and when she opens her mouth to him, a small groan escapes his throat.
The sound thrills her. He tastes like chocolate and coffee. She slides her arms around his neck, her fingers weaving through his hair where it’s longer in back. She can’t believe she’s actually touching him.
His mouth is firm, and his tongue is decidedly wicked as it tangles with hers. Peter never kissed her like this, not with this kind of playful eroticism.
He really knows what he’s doing.
Her heart pounds with the sensual way he’s kissing her—it’s crazy—but it feels like the first time she’s ever been kissed.
Anthony’s arms wrap around her. With all the clothing layers between them, they’re as well-padded as a couple of astronauts landing on the moon.
Natalie giggles at the image and Anthony pulls back.
“Something humorous I should know about?”
She tells him and he grins. “You’ll get no argument from me. There’s definitely too much clothing between us.”
When he talks, she notices he keeps glancing down at her mouth. She licks her lips with nervousness and he seems riveted.
“Just one more,” he whispers.
And then he’s kissing her again. Her blood rushes with desire as she pulls him close. A part of her knows this is a mistake, but she can’t help herself.
This time when he stops, he turns his head away, his breath coming out in puffs of white smoke from the cold.
“We’re not alone,” he points out.
Natalie nods and then a big smile breaks out across her face.
“What is it?”
“That was my first kiss in a really long time.”
“I see, and how was it?”
“Not bad.”
He seems bemused. “Maybe I should kiss you again. I think I can do better than not bad.”
“I’m willing if you are.”
His expression grows sober and then his mouth is on hers—plundering. Natalie can barely catch her breath. Her hand slides to his jaw, and she isn’t sure if she’s encouraging him or trying to gain control.
“How is that?” he murmurs, sliding down to her neck. She ga
sps as he works his magic there. Finally, he pulls away.
Natalie studies his face as she tries to pull herself together. He’s so handsome it almost hurts to look at him. “That was interesting.” She’s determined not to be another one of the groupies who throw themselves at him.
Though who am I kidding? I’m kissing him like the world is going to end tonight.
Anthony puts his hand up to her face. His thumb rubs over her bottom lip and the move is so provocative it sends a pulse of lust straight between her thighs. “You have such a sexy mouth, Miss Natalie.”
“I do?”
“I’ve had . . . thoughts . . . about this mouth of yours.”
Natalie is stunned. No one has ever told her that in her entire life, including Peter. “So I’ve been walking around all this time with a sexy mouth and didn’t know it?”
“Guess so.”
Anthony has a sexy mouth, too, but she decides not to compliment him on it. I’ll bet compliments on his appearance are all he ever hears from women. “Well, you have a very sexy,” she searches around for something to compliment him on, “telescope!” she says, remembering Lindsay’s joke from earlier too late.
His eyebrows rise. “I have a sexy telescope?”
“Don’t you?”
He grins. “I like to think so.”
Anthony stares up at the night sky still smiling to himself about the telescope joke. What the hell are you doing?
He knows he shouldn’t have kissed Natalie. She’s fresh from a divorce. Plus he’s her landlord and they still haven’t resolved any of their issues.
It’s that mouth—along with her stubborn attitude. For some reason it turns him on.
He knows what kind of man she thinks he is. And by kissing her, you just proved her right.
It’s not like he wants to lead Natalie on. In fact, he likes her. A lot more than he suspects she likes him. She’s the real deal. When she finds out he’s agreed to lease the space next door to her bakery, she’s not going to be happy.
And you think she’s antagonistic now?
When Graham called earlier tonight it was to tell him that the two people who saw the shop space yesterday definitely want to lease it. Graham ran a background check on them and it’s all in the clear. Everything’s in order.
He’s not sure how he’s going to tell Natalie.
“What do you like to look at with your telescope?” Natalie asks him. She puts her hands up to her face, rubbing them together and blowing into them. “I’m guessing it’s not Saturn and Jupiter.”
He watches her. “Didn’t you bring any gloves?”
“No, I forgot.”
“Here.” He takes her icy hands in his and covers them both with his own.
“You’re so warm,” she says in amazement.
“Yeah, my temperature tends to run a little hot.” He holds her hands in his, kneading them, trying to bring some heat to her fingers.
“So what do you look at?” She fidgets and he can tell she’s nervous again.
He lets out a breath. “You’re right, I don’t look at our local neighborhood—our solar system—very often.” He thinks about what he enjoys viewing with his telescope at home. He has a large Dobsonian that he built himself. “I like to go deep.”
“Deep?”
He’s still rubbing her hands. “My area of astronomy deals with the very distant past. We’re trying to figure out what happened right after the Big Bang. And that,” he pauses. “That fascinates me.”
Her hands seem warm, so he lets her take them back.
Anthony gets out his thermos and pours more coffee for both of them. Glancing at his watch he can see that it’s almost two.
He’s impressed she’s lasted this long. Occasionally he’s tried to bring girlfriends to star parties but stopped because they all wanted to leave after a half an hour.
“We should probably wrap it up,” he tells her. “It’s almost two o’clock in the morning.”
Natalie is looking through the viewfinder again. She turns to him. “Really? I can’t believe it’s already that late.”
The drive home is a quiet one and he figures she’s probably tired. When they get to her house, Anthony parks in the driveway right behind a white van.
“You don’t have to walk me to the door,” she tells him.
“Of course, I do. I want to.”
They both get out of his car.
Natalie is still quiet and he wonders what she’s thinking. She’s been acting kind of jittery since they kissed. When they get to the porch his instinct is to reach for her hand, but he doesn’t get the chance.
“Look, that was fun,” she says, turning to him. “But I don’t think we should take it any further between us.”
“Why?”
“I just think it’s a bad idea. I’m not ready for a relationship and when all is said and done, you’re still our evil landlord.”
“I’m not actually evil, you realize.”
Natalie smiles. “I suppose not.”
“But?”
“But I’m just not ready for anything more than kisses. This is all very new for me.”
“Okay.” He shrugs.
“Okay, what?”
“We won’t do anything more than kiss. I’m all right with that.”
Natalie looks stunned and in truth Anthony is stunned himself.
Did I really just say that? What kind of torture am I setting myself up for?
“Oh.” Instead of raising an eyebrow with a healthy dose of skepticism, as she should, Natalie looks a little hurt.
She thinks I don’t want her.
“It’s not that I don’t want more,” he tells her. “I like you, but we don’t have to make a big thing out of this. Let’s hang out and have fun. See where it takes us.”
She nods slowly and appears to be thinking it over. Finally, she gives him a small smile. “It would be another first for me.”
No sex? This is going to be a first for me, too.
Anthony smiles back. “All right, that settles it.”
“I have some trust issues, you know? That’s not your fault, though.”
He’s silent. Now would be the perfect time to clear the air and tell Natalie that he’s leasing out that space next door to the bakery.
Yeah, go ahead and tell her. Let’s see how much time she’ll want to spend with you then.
Anthony pushes away his guilty feelings. He has Serena to think about, after all. He needs that income.
Instead, he asks her, “Have you ever ridden on a motorcycle?”
She shakes her head. “No.”
“Then I’m picking you up tomorrow at noon.”
Natalie’s blue eyes grow wide. “On your motorcycle?”
“Yeah, we’ll go for a ride, and then grab some lunch.”
“Is it safe?”
Anthony gives a slow grin. “Miss Natalie, would I ask you to do something that wasn’t safe?”
She doesn’t seem to know how to respond. Oddly, he enjoys her reluctance. He’s so used to women chasing him that it’s refreshing to be the one doing the chasing for a change.
“What should I wear?”
He groans to himself. Something tight and low-cut, please. “Just be comfortable.”
They study each other. Standing under the porch light, he notices the strain on her face from being tired. It’s so late the sun will be up in only a few hours. “Guess I should go.”
“Thanks for inviting me tonight,” she says. “I had a nice time.”
Anthony steps closer. He can see on her face she knows he’s planning to kiss her again. “Give me your hands.”
She pulls them out of her pockets and he takes them. They’re still cold. He looks down and sees a round scar on the base of her thumb. Turns them over and there are more scars—one on her wrist and another by her index finger.
Anthony runs his thumb over the one on her wrist. “Battle scars?”
“The hazards of working around hot ovens all day.�
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He warms her hands and then pulls her to him.
Natalie comes easily and he feels a small sense of triumph. Suddenly he hates the fact she’s been hurt and is distrustful of men. “I’m going to kiss you now,” he whispers.
“Okay,” she whispers back.
And then he lowers his mouth. She tastes sweet and luscious. Like a woman who hasn’t been well-kissed in a long time and who, frankly, needs it. He knows she was married for years, but there’s an innocence about the way she kisses.
Though their kiss is getting hotter by the second. He keeps thinking about her body. Those soft curves pressed into him. Those full breasts. He’s already getting hard. By the feel of her, Natalie is built like a playboy bunny circa nineteen-fifty-five and he wants to pull her in tight. Let her know what she’s doing to him.
Instead, he lets her go, gratified that Natalie doesn’t seem in any hurry to end things either. It’s quiet outside and he glances around her neighborhood.
“This night has taken me by surprise,” she murmurs.
“In a good way, I hope.”
“I think so.”
He’s still, holding her hands. “And now I have to ask you a question I’ve been wondering about since I picked you up.”
She blinks. “What’s that?”
“Why is there a broken fireman’s axe sticking out of your front door?”
Natalie’s face changes to quiet laughter.
“Is there something strange going on here I should know about? A psycho running around loose in your neighborhood?”
“That’s Excalibur,” she tells him, still laughing.
“King Arthur’s sword?”
“It’s a long story, but yes. My sister threw it at the door one night months ago and now it’s stuck. No one can pull it out.”
Anthony considers this. “No one?”
She shakes her head. “Everybody keeps trying. It sounds like I’m going to have to buy a new door, which is a shame.”
Anthony walks over to the door and studies the axe. From what he can tell, it went in at a sharp angle and the door’s thick maple has been expanding around it with the weather. As he’s examining it, considering various ideas, the perfect solution comes to him. “I’ll be right back,” he tells her.
“Where are you going?” Natalie watches as he walks back down to his car and pops the rear gate on his SUV open. It’s a good thing he still has everything with him. He pulls out the Dewar flask, along with an old rag, and a pair of safety gloves and brings it all back to the porch. “What the heck is that?” she asks.
Year of Living Blonde (Sweet Life in Seattle, Book 1) Page 19