Free It's A Wonderfully Sexy Life by Hope Tarr Page B

her bloodstream, she set down her empty beer bottle—was it her third or fourth—and said, “You know, it’s a little warm in here.” Must be from all the hot air . “I’m going to step outside for a moment.”
    “Get some fresh air, that’s a great idea. I’ll keep you company seeing as how I’m, uh…hot, too.” His leer and the fact that his eyes were still pinned to her breasts left no doubt as to what kind of company he was offering.
    Conceited asshole, he was so stuck on himself he probably thought she was hinting she wanted to make out with him. I may be a fat woman but as far as making out with you goes, fat chance, buddy.
    “Thanks but I’m kind of a solo breather. My…er, yoga instructor likes me to keep it that way.”
    His smile dropped to the ground like one of his precious barbells. For one of the few times that night, he actually looked her in the eye. “But it’ll be midnight in five minutes. You can’t tell me you want to ring in the New Year all by your lonesome. Might be unlucky or…something.” He reached for her, but she took a quick step back.
    “I’ll take my chances.” She snatched her evening purse off the Corian counter and made a beeline for the doorway.
    Out in the living room, guests wearing paper party hats and pre-testing noisemakers and confetti congregated around the big screen TV, tuned in to the countdown for the ball to drop in New York’s Times Square. She made her way over to Suz, who was circulating with a bottle of champagne.
    She looked up from the plastic glassware she was filling and grinned. “Is that Danny something else or what?”
    Mandy nodded. “He’s, uh…definitely something all right.”
    Suz must have caught the sarcasm in her voice because her smile fell. “You two hit it off, right? You must have because you’ve been standing in that same spot for hours.”
    “Only because it took me that long to get a word in, and once I did I decided to make it goodbye.” Mandy dragged a hand through her hair, too frustrated to care about messing up the curls. “It’s a great party, really it is, but I’m just not in a party mood. I shouldn’t have come. Look, I’ll call you tomorrow, okay?” She turned to go.
    Suz trailed her to the front door. “But Mandy, you can’t go now.”
    Fed up with being told what she could or couldn’t do, Mandy swung around. Flinging her arms out at her sides, she said, “I know, I know, it’s almost midnight, and who wants to ring in the New Year alone, right? Well, you know who? Me. I do. Call me Garbo, but the truth is I want to be alone.” Taking the silver screen diva’s famous quote as her exit line, she turned her back on Suz and the roomful of suddenly silent guests and yanked open the front door.
    She stepped out onto the marble steps, her breath forming whitish clouds in the frigid air. Rubbing her bare arms, she asked herself what the hell was the matter with her. Had she suddenly become the biggest bitch on the planet or had the events of the past week taken a heavier toll on her than she’d cared to admit? Either way, there was no excusing her rudeness, especially when Suz had been trying to help. As soon as she pulled herself together, she’d go back inside and apologize, grab her coat and head for home. Hell, while she was on a roll, she might as well track down Danny, Mr. Wonderful, and apologize to him, too, before her buzz wore off.
    Overblown ego aside, Danny was what most women from her neighborhood would consider a catch—good-looking, single and a successful business owner. He’d even seemed sort of interested in her, her breasts at least. The bigger problem wasn’t him, she admitted, but her. Even if he’d been the greatest conversationalist on the planet, she still wouldn’t have been able to look at him without mentally morphing his dark eyes into blue ones, his black hair into sandy blond, and his stocky build into a leaner, taller frame. Because no matter how great Danny or any