Free Year of Living Blonde (Sweet Life in Seattle, Book 1) by Andrea Simonne Page B

story. Natalie has to hand it to her, too. Lindsay makes her sound like a superhero, though that isn’t exactly accurate.
    “It was wrong of me to slap her,” Natalie says quickly. “Don’t let Lindsay glamorize it. I never should have done that.”
    “Daddy never told me that Lena tried to hurt you.”
    “Exactly why I wanted to set the record straight,” Lindsay says, turning to Natalie. “See, she gets it. I knew she would.”
    Chloe nods and seems to accept the explanation. Still uncomfortable, Natalie wants nothing but to end this whole conversation. She’s going to call Peter as soon as she can and give him a piece of her mind. How dare he drag Chloe into all this!
    After dinner, they settle in the living room with a bowl of popcorn to watch a movie on Netflix. To Natalie’s relief, Chloe doesn’t seem upset at all anymore. She reflects on the way her mom used to handle all her dad’s infidelities. Maybe she’d judged her too harshly all those years. In truth, it wasn’t all bad growing up. They had some good times, too, especially after her dad won the World Series of Poker. It wasn’t as big a deal then as it is today, but it was still something special. There was money, prestige, and both her parents were the happiest she’d ever seen them. Her dad was home all the time, and she and Lindsay honestly believed their lives had changed for the better. It didn’t last long, but it was still one of Natalie’s fondest childhood memories.
    When the movie is over, and after she helps tuck Chloe into bed, Natalie finds Lindsay and thanks her for turning things around during dinner. “I swear, I could almost kill Peter! I don’t know what he was thinking, telling Chloe about the fight with Lena.”
    Her sister’s eyes narrow. “Oh, I know what he was doing. He was trying to work the whole thing to his advantage.”
    Natalie is quiet as she considers Lindsay’s words. “I don’t want things to get ugly between us, but he’s making that hard.”
    “Face it, divorce is ugly.”
    “I know.” Natalie gets up to leave and then lingers in the doorway. “Do you remember back when Dad won the World Series?”
    “Of course.”
    “That was the best time, wasn’t it?”
    Lindsay’s face softens. “Yeah, that was pretty great.”
    Later, when Natalie is lying in the guest bedroom staring at the ceiling, she reflects on her own life. Are my best times over? She considers Lindsay’s diet question. Part of her wants to start a diet, but part of her is afraid of all those past failures.
    After that veggie burger, she didn’t give in to her usual late night snacking and even ate her popcorn without butter. She still feels kind of hungry, but remembers reading somewhere once that it’s good to go to bed slightly hungry.
    Can I do this? She thinks of Peter and Lena together. Lena with her sexy body and her long blonde hair. The way she sneered at Natalie, as if she were nothing.
    A grim determination comes over Natalie.
    I’m hungry, but it’s for a lot more than food this time.

    The next morning Natalie sets up an appointment with a divorce lawyer. It’s time for her to get her act together and be smart about things.
    Leaning back in her chair, she feels surprisingly clearheaded. She’s sitting in La Dolce Vita’s small back office. There’s a desk with a notebook computer on it they use to keep track of expenses and payroll. Her eyes stop on the binder where they keep all the letters and other correspondence having to do with their lease. She thinks about Espresso Breve’s real name. Anthony Novello.
    It really is an odd coincidence.
    Curiously, she reaches over and grabs the binder. They’ve been sending their landlord and his lawyer letters and financial statements, showing them how well they’re doing. Every response has been curt. He said he didn’t believe La Dolce Vita could afford both the price of remodeling the space next door along with the accompanying increase in rent. It doesn’t