Sweet Seduction (Sweet #3)(24)

"What happened with Nathan anyway? Did you toss him out?"

Julie grinned. "No, he asked me to dinner and I accepted."

"Come on, is that all?" Faith sputtered. "Details. I know I'm missing some details."

"Okay, so he kissed me senseless then asked me to dinner."

"And you said . . . ?"

"Yes, of course."

Faith sighed in relief. She loved Nathan to pieces, and as clueless as he was, he still deserved a chance.

She almost swallowed her tongue as she realized that she was hoping for Nathan what she was unwilling to grant Gray—a chance to explain himself.

Hysterical ninny. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

"I need to get out of here," she mumbled as she stood. "I should be home, talking to Gray."

"I agree."

Faith whirled around to see Gray standing in the doorway staring at her and Julie, those blue eyes burning. She clutched the brown bag to her chest and stood there trembling, all her courage deserting her in a wimpy rush.

Gray took a step forward, then another, until he stood just a foot away, so close she could almost feel him touching her.

"What's going on, baby?" he asked in a soft, worried voice.

Her grip was so tight on the bag that her fingers were bloodless, pale tips. He reached out and carefully tugged it away from her. Oh no . . .

He unrolled the top and peered into it, going completely still. She couldn't even see him breathe. Then he looked back up at her. Only the betraying shake of the bag told her its affect on him.

"Don't you think we should go home and do this together?"

Her chin trembled, and she fought back tears. He was precisely right. This was something they should be doing together, facing it together.

Silently, he reached for her hand, palm up, just waiting for her to take it. Closing her eyes, she extended her arm, allowing her palm to slide over his.

As he pulled her forward, she turned to Julie. "Thanks, Julie. I'll see you later, okay?"

Julie smiled. "Take care, hon. And let me know, okay?"

Faith nodded and allowed Gray to lead her outside to his truck.

"My car," she protested when he opened the passenger door.

"We can get it later. Right now I want you with me."

He paused briefly to run his fingers down the side of her cheek, pushing aside the hair gathered there.

"Get in, Faith. There's something I want to show you before we go home."

Chapter 11

Realizing there wasn't much time for her to get home and get ready for her date, Julie left on the heels of Faith and Gray. It had certainly been an interesting day. The only thing that would make it more interesting would be if Serena showed up because she was dumping Damon or had finally accepted his proposal.

Relationships were quite simply a giant pain in the ass. Too much drama. They were laden with misunderstanding. No one ever communicated worth a shit as evidenced by Faith's departure from the common sense she usually possessed.

Good sex should be the ultimate goal. Anything else was just icing, and, well, too much sugar was never a good thing.

Julie drove to her apartment, tapping her nails on her steering wheel the entire way. This was the time where she was probably supposed to be bemoaning the fact that all her friends were in relationships and happy as clams and here she was, still single. She was supposed to be envious and lacking, right?

Only, at the moment she felt fortunate to be financially secure, to not be an emotional wreck and, God forbid, have a pregnancy scare. Not that she didn't think Faith would be a terrific mother and adjust to the situation in record time, but the idea still sent a shudder down Julie's spine.

Maybe one day? But not anytime soon. No, she had no desire to settle down and breed a bunch of peeing, puking, burping, crying little munchkins.

It was six by the time she parked in her spot. Not that it took her eons to get ready, but she wanted to look damn good tonight. After all the entire point was to let Nathan Tucker know what he was missing.

What demon possessed her, she wasn't sure. As she let herself into her apartment and headed for the bathroom, she reflected on the idea that she was probably being more than a little vindictive.

Was it hurt pride? No, she didn't think that was it. Nathan was hardly the first man to ever be oblivious to her signals. She'd always adopted a f**k-it attitude when it came to men. So why was she so uptight over Nathan Tucker?

Because you want him more than you’ve wanted other men.

And there it was. The truth hurt but it was still there in black and white. For whatever reason, she wanted Nathan more than she'd ever wanted another man, and the fact that he hadn't wanted her in the beginning did sting.

A cool shower helped to clear her head and sooth her savaged nerves. It really did irritate her that Nathan affected her so much. She was normally cool and confident, but he'd managed to turn her into a raving, desperate lunatic.

Most women her size probably wouldn't wear tight, form-fitting jeans, but she didn't have any compunction about displaying her body. To be honest, she'd tried skinnier and leaner, and it just didn't look good on her.

Once, after breaking up with a dickhead who snidely told her she could stand to lose a few pounds, she'd gotten serious about losing weight. She'd dropped thirty pounds, but it just hadn't worked for her. She liked herself the way she was, and she was pissed as hell that she'd let a man change the way she looked at herself, even if it had been a temporary thing.