Open Your Eyes (5 page)

Chapter
Nine

Natalie

“I still can't believe what you did, Mom. It's
so
not like you. Gosh, and if it had been me spooning with a guy I just met…” She rolled her eyes in mock disdain, a soft smile belying her berating me.

I averted my
gaze, staring into my Starbucks latte as if it was the most interesting thing in the world. Like mine, Olivia’s vivid electric blue eyes were rimmed with indigo around the iris. And like mine, her eyes were the portal to her soul – all her thoughts and feelings flashed expressively in her eyes.

Olivia
was on a roll. “He is hot though. He looks like Brad Pitt’s brother, only Brad would be the plain one. Nick looks more distinguished though. Brad
without
the lame beard and long hair. And…his body is great for his age too.” She took a breath and cocked her head, “Nick seems very nice. And very passionate. He’d be a great lover – for you, I mean.”

“No…
Olivia… so tell me what you
really
think?” I giggled into my cup. She was always spot on in her judgements of character. Like a faithful dog who hated seemingly nice strangers and then you found out later they were undercover paedophiles. She had a sixth sense and now she directed it at me.

“
Well, he’s so definitely into you! He could hardly keep his hands off you! Thank goodness Sarah and I are deep sleepers.” She winked, a knowing gleam in her eyes as she studied me.

“
Why did you say that?” I quickly covered my gaping mouth, horrified that maybe she knew what had happened in the bed next to hers. Even though she was a young adult, I was still her mother…

“
Why, something to hide, Mother? Why are you blushing like that? Oh, have you been naughty?” She lifted an eyebrow before bursting into laughter. “Sorry, I couldn’t resist. A little bit of payback feels so good. Karma is a bitch, you know.”

“
Touché!” I raised my coffee cup to her.

My little
Miss Sunshine. She was sharp and witty and confident. Everything I wished I could have been at her age. Olivia looked like a younger version of me; her luscious mouth the only resemblance of her father. A mouth that could turn to scorn as easily as his could if she was not pleased. But mostly she had a good nature and thankfully I wasn’t reminded of the scorn all that often.

Olivia’s
thick and lustrous chocolate brown hair was a lot longer than mine was. Hers surrounded her face like a mane and cascaded down her back; mine had been cut into a chic asymmetrical bob just skimming my shoulders, thanks to Frederique two days ago.

In sharp contrast with our dark hair, was our
lily-white skin and large, periwinkle-blue eyes. It was these striking features that most people commented on when they saw us together.

What most people didn’t
realize was the price we had to pay for our fair skin. We burned like lobsters in the hot Australian sun, a sexy tan was something we lusted after and so we had to settle for a spray tan instead most summers. Go figure.

Fortunately
the absence of a tan, real or fake, wasn’t a big deal in New York. Whenever we were outdoors we donned hats and gloves, with practically only our eyeballs exposed, peering over our thick scarves when the gusty winds swept the city.

“So when are you seeing him again?” she ventured. “He looked so mussed up when he woke this morning,
with you cradled cozily in his arms. Didn’t look like he had much sleep.”

Her eyes narrowed as she peered at me. “You
, on the other hand, are glowing. Something you would like to tell me, Mommy dearest?”

“Don’t be ridiculous, and mind your own business,” I croaked. Thank goodness I could still pull the mommy card on her. “We’re just friends.”

“Tell that one to
the
Mr. Gallagher. You know you can't fool me. But I'm glad for you. It's time you found another man – a good one who makes you happy. Of all the people in the world, you deserve it.” Her eyes darkened for a split second; then the familiar beautiful smile was back.

“I think you better let me help you with some shopping so you have something nice to wear on your next date. Something sexy
.” She giggled, in her element at the prospect of more shopping.

I
imagined my credit card melting as we exited the coffee shop. This time I wasn’t getting out of shopping that easily. She had a good point; the clothes I packed were not only sparse, but also definitely not suitable to impress my new friend.

In the change rooms, I wriggled
my body into a new pair of jeans that were supposed to be nothing like my daughter’s; they promised to lift my ass and make it look shapely. Not only that, supposedly my legs would look longer too. Tall order indeed.

My cell phone beeped – a message. My stomach tightened into a knot when I
recognized the name on the screen. Nick.

Are you free for dinner tonight? Bring
Olivia. Sarah is joining us too. Can't wait to see you again. NG. Xo

Oh my! And the hug and kiss he signed off with…oh, yes, please.

“What did I tell you?” Olivia shot me a glance. “He’s hot for you! Didn’t even wait the required number of hours before contacting you again. Bet he can't even focus on work today.”

“
Olivia, you’re being over imaginative. Why would a hot guy like Nicholas Gallagher be interested in a plain boring
and old
woman like me? I'm sure he dates pretty younger women, tall and skinny models and other equally gorgeous rich and famous women. He’s just trying to be nice and show us around New York.”

Wearing only a bra and panties,
I cocked my head and appraised my reflection in the mirror. The years had been kind to my skin, it was practically wrinkle free and luckily I drank a lot of water, so I didn’t have much cellulite to complain about. But my body was rounder and fuller than what I would have liked it to be, with an ample bosom and behind. This was all made worse by the fact that I was short. Not a good combination. Especially if I had to compete with beautiful tall blonds like Irene. I was stuffed from the get go. A new pair of jeans, despite good intentions and advertising, was certainly not going to add a few inches to my short frame, no matter how much wishful thinking I applied.

A small voice in my head chimed in:
Not if you don’t let it. You
can
be fabulous; you just have to try harder.

Yeah, right. Harder than most
women. At forty, I was a bit too old for four-inch stilettos to rescue me.

Olivia
picked up on my insecurities. “You’re gorgeous, Mom. I'm sure Nick can see that. He is a man of substance. When he looks through his camera lens he wants to capture true beauty, nothing fake and botoxed. You are a natural beauty, inside and out. How can he not see that?”

Like your father? What if he finds me unappealing like your father did?

“When I look at you, I see kindness and compassion, grace and softness, integrity and just a touch of quirkiness. You possess truly beautiful qualities any man would love to be around.” Her eyes met mine in the mirror. “And you don’t scrub up too badly either,” she added with a cheeky smile to lighten the mood.

“
Olivia…” My eyes misted up.  

“Don’t get all teary now; it'll ruin your make-up. Then you will look like an old hag,” she joked. “The jeans are a ‘
yes’, and if you wear them with those new boots, it will give you a bit of extra height. Now we just need a sexy top. Not too revealing, you have to keep him guessing what’s underneath.” It came naturally to her – the fashion sense and the advise-giving.

If only she knew he already had a pretty good idea of what was under my top. My cheeks flushed as I remembered his hands on me, tweaking my nipples. Such sweet torture.
I’d wear anything to get him to go there again. God, I felt like a slut, but I couldn’t help it; I wanted Nick’s hands all over my body!

Chapter Ten

Nick

“Sarah, honey, please do your beloved Uncle a huge favor. I know you like Olivia, so how about after we’ve had dinner with the lovely ladies tonight, you take Olivia out for a night on the town? My driver will be at your disposal. What do you say?” I coaxed, holding my breath for her answer.

Since our evening on Broadway,
I’d taken all three ladies to dinner every evening after that, ending it with a chaste kiss on Natalie’s cheek before returning to my bed alone with an iron rod in my pants.
I need to be alone with Natalie tonight
. I ached to touch her again. In intimate ways.

“
You really like Natalie, huh?” Sarah asked with a laugh. Luckily she couldn’t see my face as I scrambled for an answer.

“Uh…well…yeah, she’s different. I like that.” I let out a deep breath.

Yes, there were certainly things about my new
friend
I liked a lot. I hadn’t looked forward to seeing a woman this much, ever. Usually it was really easy to wait the precursory two to three days before calling again. Actually, I often had to schedule it into my smart phone just to remember to call. Then when I heard the woman’s voice again, I wondered why I even bothered calling back.

Christmas Eve and
the fourth evening I would see Natalie, yet my interest in her just kept growing the more I got to know her. I couldn’t get enough of being around her.

“Different… how?” Sarah drawled. Women! Why always twenty question
s?
Just say you’ll do it, Sarah, so I can end this call and get on with my day.

I’d
never been one to beat around the bush. “Well… if you must know, I think she’s smart and sassy. Is that even a word these days? And kind and funny… and sexy. There. Happy? Now will you do what I asked?” I blurted out.

“You like her,
you think she’s sexy, you’re gonna kiss her,” she sang out teasingly.

Wh
at was it about Natalie that made my pulse race every time I thought of her? It wasn’t her strange accent. I’d heard a lot of crazy ones over the years. And New York was a diverse city, sometimes it was like Babel where noisy confusion reigned.

An image of Natalie jumped into my head for the millionth time today. Her easy laughter, her kind and caring
nature and especially her feisty spirit all appealed to me.
A lot.

And as for her full lips and hips, she’d give Botticelli himself a hard on.
I didn’t stand a chance.

Besides that, she had a body that made
men want to howl. Soft and round and curvy. A body to love and to worship. To make love to, again and again. A hard-on tented my jeans just thinking about her body – the way she felt under my hands.

Natalie was nothing like the stick thin women I saw
around these days. Top models striding the catwalk whose hips and ribs protruded awkwardly. They had no flesh to hold onto, no full breasts to suck langorously into a man’s mouth.

That first
night I could feel the weight of Natalie’s breasts, full and round, filling my large hands.
Shit, I’m getting harder just thinking about how she felt.

My mouth went dry as I remembered tweaking her nipples and her response to me when my hand slid under her panties.
If the girls weren’t in the same room, it would have been impossible to stop myself taking things further. I nearly blew when she rubbed up against me – just like a damn high school jock.

And it took hours for the erection to settle down, what with the way she shoved her ass into me as she slept peacefully. Guaranteed to keep me hard – and awake – all night, fantasizing about what I’d like to do to her.

“Sarah. Please.” I couldn’t keep the exasperation from my voice.

Tired from the lack of sleep the previous night
s, I closed my eyes, only to be tortured by the image of Natalie’s full round bottom – my dirty mind’s eye removing the slacks and lacy panties, exposing those round peachy cheeks. For God’s sake! I ran my fingers through my hair, pacing the room. Now I understood why Freddie Mercury and Queen dedicated a whole song to fat bottomed girls. I nearly broke into hysterical laughter. How did women not know that men loved to hold that fullness in their hands, digging their fingers into the soft pliable flesh as he drove into her?

I’d been with many women over the years, learning through experience what I liked. Or not. After a good fuck, they were all the same, wanting more from me than I could give. So I learned to avoid certain types. Not for me the starved divas, the women who turned into bitches because they were c
onstantly hungry. Like Irene.

Natalie was all I dreamed of in a woman. Beautiful and soft – and delectably fuckable. I was so definitely in to her.

What more could any man in his right mind want? I certainly didn’t want a self-absorbed trophy bitch on my arm, I was completely over the shallow arm candy stage – had been for a long time now. Without exception, all these types of women were after was the fame and money I brought to the relationship. They gladly exchanged hot sex for a shot at the inevitable publicity our relationship would lavish on them.

Give me a real woman.
A wholesome woman to cherish with all my heart – to take care of and protect. I wanted a woman who loved me unconditionally for who I was, not only for what I could give them.

“Of course I’ll do it
, Uncle Nick. Not as a favor, but because I really want to. I haven’t, as in ever, seen you this eager to be with a woman. So it's really my pleasure to take Olivia out after dinner so the two of you can, ahem, be alone,” she cooed.

She’s a perceptive one, my niece.

“Thanks, Sarah. I’ll send the driver around to pick you up at six. Then we’ll take it from there.” I heaved a sigh of relief. I knew Sarah would come through for me, but it was awkward asking all the same.

I quickly end
ed the call so I could make dinner reservations.

Yeah, I really like
d Natalie. At my age, I knew what I wanted – especially in a woman. And when I saw what I wanted, I would do everything in my power to get it. Time was inconsequential, it didn’t matter that I just met her.
Either I’m in to her or I’m not, and it took me no longer than five minutes to figure that out.

But I could see a deep sadness in her eyes. Someone had really hurt her badly. That meant I had to go slowly at first, winning her trust and friendship. Really getting to know one another, so she could open up to me.
I wanted Natalie to be happy. I wanted to make love to her without seeing that sadness linger in her eyes. That would take time.

I had to give her that – time.

Meanwhile, I would have to control myself. And the best way I knew to do that was to refrain from touching her. Because every time I did, a fire roared through me, demanding to be quenched. I couldn’t frighten her away with my want and passion. All in good time. But fuck, it would be hard.

She was worth it.

All I wanted was a real woman in my life and in my bed.

A woman like Natalie.

I was going out guns blazing till she was mine.

I always get what I want. Always.