stone apartment
buildings lining Fifth Avenue。 To his right； he could just see the corner of Blair？s Seventy…second
Street apartment building。 Up in the penthouse； Blair？s Russian Blue cat； Kitty Minky； was
probably lying stretched out on Blair？s rose…colored bedspread； eagerly waiting for Blair to e
home and scratch him under the chin with her coral…pink nails。 Impulsively； Nate pushed the
buttons on his phone to speed…dial Blair？s cell phone。 It rang six times before she finally picked
up。
？Hello？？ Blair answered in a clipped voice。 She was seated in Garren？s new East Fifty…seventh
Street salon； which was decorated like a Turkish harem？s lair。 Gauzy pink…and…yellow silk scarves
hung from the ceiling； and huge pink…and…yellow…upholstered pillows were tossed at random
around the salon for clients to lounge on and sip Turkish coffee while they waited for their
appointments。 In front of every stylist？s station was an enormous gilt…framed mirror。 Gianni；
Blair？s new hairdresser； had just finished bing out her freshly washed and conditioned locks。
With her cell phone pressed against her damp ear； Blair stared at her reflection in the mirror。 The
critical moment was here： Did she dare go short？
？Hey。 It？s me； Nate；？ she heard an old familiar voice murmur in her ear。
Blair was too stunned to answer。 They hadn？t spoken since New Year？s Eve； and even then the
conversation had ended badly。 What was Nate doing calling hernow ？
？Nate？？ Blair replied； half…impatiently； half…curiously。 ？Is this really important； because I can？t
really talk。 It？s kind of avery bad time。？
？Nah； it？s not important；？ Nate responded as he tried to e up with a reasona