Page 54 of Designs on You

“Mmm. Me, too.”

The weekend was just too damn far away.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

One would think that, for a single mom, kid-free weekends meant sleeping in, relaxing, and enjoying the quiet. Maybe reading a book. Taking in a yoga class.

Ha. Not so much. Or, at least, not for Natalie. She’d gotten up early Saturday to do laundry, drop off dry cleaning, and pick up things at the craft store because Camryn had a science project to do for class when she got home Sunday night. Natalie had mentioned it to Sean, thinking he might want to do the project with his daughter, but he claimed he wouldn’t have the time. Whatever. She would handle it, just like she’d always handled it.

She thought about pushing grocery shopping til tomorrow, but then realized that Sunday was for laundry and cleaning the house, so she went ahead and did it, grumbling the whole time. After she put the groceries away she sighed in contentment. At least it was done now.

Then she realized her toenails were looking a little raggedy because, honestly, when did she have the time? And maybe it was an indulgence but—no, it wasn’t. It was an absolute necessity. Soshe ended up getting both a pedicure and a manicure because, dammit, she deserved it.

She also stopped at her favorite coffee shop for an iced caramel macchiato, which made her supremely happy. Sean had always called her frivolous for spending unnecessary money on what he’d called “stupid frilly coffee drinks.”

Sean could suck it.

She drove home and grabbed her coffee, walked inside her quiet, empty house. Correction. Not empty, because she was happily greeted by Grizelda, who apparently had chewed up one of her favorite white sandals and now presented it to her as a gift.

She picked up the shoe and sat on the sofa. The dog happily wagged her tail.

“Oh, Grizzie, what did you do?”

Tail wags and happy face. Natalie couldn’t help but smile.

“Still a bit of a puppy, aren’t you? Well, that’ll teach me to leave my shoes out. And you obviously need more toys. And exercise.” She swept her fingers through Grizelda’s fur, rewarded with several dog licks to her hand. Then the pup circled and lay on top of her feet.

Okay, first, some exercise for Griz. She pushed herself out of the chair and grabbed the leash, rewarded with Grizelda’s happy whines and fast-swishing tail.

They did a mile before the pup’s tongue started hanging out the side of her mouth. It was ultrahumid today, which meant rain was probably on the way, so Natalie walked them home. Grizelda went straight for her water bowl and downed most of the water. Atleast the water didn’t slosh over the sides onto the kitchen floor. Just a few drips from Grizelda’s mouth, which was fine.

A year ago she would have freaked.

She freaked a lot less about the small stuff these days. She swiped up the water drops with a paper towel, then grabbed her iced coffee, plopped down in her chair, and took a sip.

Grizelda had curled up on one of the air-conditioning vents and was fast asleep with her stuffed bear. Natalie made a mental note to go to the pet store and get her more toys. After finishing her coffee, she set the cup on the table and laid her head back, letting her eyes close.

Perfect. At least for the twenty minutes her eyes were closed. But over the years she’d become a champion of the twenty-minute nap. She got up, stretched, and felt utterly refreshed, ready to tackle the rest of the day.

Since Eugene was coming over tonight, she had waited to shower. Now she did, shampooing and scrubbing and shaving and lotioning, followed by blow-drying and makeup-ing until she glowed. She stared at herself in the full-length mirror, giving her naked body a critical examination.

She was drawing ever closer to her thirty-fifth birthday. Still, she kept her body in shape—not by constant exercise, because no single mom had time for that. But she did take an occasional yoga class and then there was all the nonstop running after kids and their activities. Plus now she had a job that kept her active, too. And a very adorable dog who very much enjoyed walks.

But her breasts didn’t droop—not that much anyway. And herass was still where it was supposed to be. She’d say she was still looking good.

More than good, actually. She looked amazing.

Now that she felt fantastic, she slipped on underwear and went into her closet and pulled out a sundress. It was a pretty navy with splotches of white flowers, comfortable, soft as hell, and had little bitty straps. It also showed off her legs.

After all, she had a date tonight. She looked at her watch, realizing he was due to show up in a few minutes, so she went into the living room, lit the candle, and turned on some soft music to help set the mood.

Not that she was planning a seduction or anything. Then again, maybe she was. Eugene was infinitely seduceable.

She took a seat and scanned her social media accounts, laughing at some of the memes, forwarding a few to her sister. She’d taken a very cute pic of the kids with Grizelda the other day so she posted it to her account, then checked the time.

Okay, Eugene was only ten minutes late. No big deal. She resumed scrolling, diving into a lengthy story that kept her occupied until she checked the time again.

Now he was thirty minutes late. Okay, she was worried. She texted him.

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