Year of Living Blonde (Sweet Life in Seattle, Book 1) (27 page)

She lets out a short laugh. “I can’t see anything! There isn’t even moonlight.”

“I know. It’s a new moon. Don’t worry, it gets easier once your eyes adjust.”

“I’m pretty sure they are adjusted.”

Anthony chuckles softly and the sound is intimate. “It takes at least thirty minutes for your eyes to become dark adapted. Hours, actually, if you want to get technical about it.”

“Really?”

He nods. Or she thinks he’s nodding. She can’t tell for sure. Her attraction to him isn’t any less intense. Part of it is that she can still smell him, and his scent mixed with the night air is divine.

“Don’t worry,” he says in a low voice. “You get good at doing all sorts of things in the dark.” Anthony stops talking and she can hear him chuckling again. “I don’t know what it is about you, Miss Natalie.” He lets out a breath. “You make me nervous.”

Natalie is stunned. Her first thought is that he’s playing her. “I seriously doubt I make you nervous.”

“Why would you doubt that?”

“I’d say your beauty would be the first reason.”

“My beauty?”

“You’re too handsome. Too charming. Too much of everything really.”

Anthony is silent. And Natalie is already regretting the harsh way her words came out. “I’m sorry—”

“Don’t say it,” he cuts her off. “Don’t bother saying it anymore.”

She bites her lip. Strange to think that telling someone they’re too handsome and charming is an insult, but she knows it is. For him, especially.

“I’m going to put these cookies on the table.”

He doesn’t respond.

Placing her container on the picnic table, she notices there are quite a few sweets laid out. There are even containers of what looks like homemade ice cream.

Anthony waits for her. Despite what she said, he doesn’t comment on it again. Instead, he takes her around and politely introduces her to the other astronomers.

To her surprise, everyone at the party is super friendly. Her fears about seeming foolish amidst all these geeks were unfounded. If anything, people are overly eager to be helpful when they discover this is her first star party.

Anthony was right about the other telescopes, too. Some of them are impressive. “What are these called?” She points to one of the giant tubes attached to a square base.

“Dobsonian,” Anthony tells her. “It’s a Newtonian scope, designed by John Dobson back in the seventies.”

“We also call them light buckets,” Ronan, the owner of the Dobsonian tells her as he makes some kind of adjustment. “Would you like to take a look?”

Natalie steps forward and peers into the eyepiece. She sucks in her breath. Before her she sees a mass of bright stars surrounded with a pale hazy glow.

“It’s beautiful.”

“That’s M42, or the Orion Nebula,” Ronan says. He explains to her that nebulae are the birthplaces of stars.

Anthony informs her that he’s going to go set up his own telescope. “You can stay here if you prefer. I’ll be over there on the west side of the field.” He points to a flat grassy area.

“That’s okay. I’ll come with you.”

She follows him as he lugs his telescope over. It’s cold enough to see her breath and she keeps her hands in her coat pockets. Unfortunately, she forgot to wear gloves.

Anthony sets his case on the ground and starts to pull out pieces, setting the tripod up first.

“Is there anything I can do to help?” she asks.

“I’ve got it covered.”

“Why do you call your telescope Cassie?”

“Because it’s a Schmidt-Cassegrain.”

Natalie waits for him to continue, but he doesn’t offer anything more.

She notices a definite chill in the air and it isn’t just the weather. He’s been polite to her since the comment she made earlier, but not much beyond that.

“Actually, you can hold this,” he says, handing her what looks like a mini telescope.

“What is it?”

“Finderscope.”

Natalie knows she’s lost ground with him and what’s worse is she suspects she’s hurt his feelings.

How can I fix this if he won’t let me apologize?

She takes a deep breath. “I didn’t have the greatest childhood.”

Anthony doesn’t stop what he’s doing, but she can tell he’s listening.

“My father was very handsome and charming. Everyone loved him. He was also a womanizer who couldn’t be faithful to my mother for five minutes.”

Anthony was lengthening the tripod legs, but stops now and looks over at her. “So you think I’m like him? Is that it?”

“I don’t know. Are you?”

He doesn’t respond right away, but continues setting up the telescope. “You barely even know me, so how can you ask that?”

“I know that women are always calling you or following you around. You’re always on your phone and every time, it’s with a different woman. It’s Nicole this or Justine that and last time at the bakery, I heard you talking to someone named Maya. Plus you ordered a birthday cake for another woman named Serena.”

Anthony’s brows knit together. Natalie can see him more clearly now. He was right, it took some time but her eyes have adapted to the dark.

“Justine isn’t anyone to me, as you well know. Nicole is my ex-wife. Maya is my assistant. We are
not
romantically involved.”

Anthony adjusts the final leg on the tripod and stands up. He takes the finderscope from her. “And Serena is my daughter.”

“Daughter?”

“Yes, I have a daughter.”

“You’ve never mentioned her before.”

Natalie remembers the coffee mug she saw in his office.
So Anthony is a dad after all.
She watches him situate and attach the main part of the telescope to the tripod. It’s large and awkward, but he manages it easily and it’s obvious he’s done it many times before.

“And you’re right, women do sometimes follow me or they try to give me their phone numbers. Occasionally, they’re even aggressive.” He pulls out a small keypad and attaches it to the telescope. The numbers on it light up red. “I don’t encourage it. I mostly discourage it, but if they’re in one of my classes there isn’t a whole lot I can do about it.”

He punches in some numbers and the telescope makes a whirring noise as it slowly turns. Anthony looks through the finderscope and then fiddles with the eyepiece.

“How old is your daughter?” Natalie asks.

“Serena is ten.” Anthony steps away from the telescope. “Do you want to take a look?”

Natalie’s eyebrows go up. “Our daughters are almost the same age. Chloe is only a year older.”

“I know.”

She studies him. For whatever reason, she senses he’s not inclined to talk about his daughter.

“What is it?” Natalie asks, stepping close to the telescope and putting her eye to the viewfinder. When she sees the bright-ringed image in front of her, she squeals with delight. “Saturn!” A huge smile spreads across her face. She pulls back, still grinning. “Thank you. This is amazing!”

He grins back. “You’re welcome.”

She continues to check out Saturn, relieved that the chill between her and Anthony seems to have dissipated. It’s surprisingly exciting to see the planet with her own eyes and she finds herself curious about other celestial objects.

“Ready for more?” he asks, as if reading her mind.

“Definitely.”

He types in coordinates and the telescope makes a whirring noise as it slowly turns.

Anthony shows her Jupiter, the Pleiades or Seven Sisters star cluster, and the Andromeda galaxy.

“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.