Tell Me You Crave Me (Search and Seduce #3)(30)

Okay, so maybe he was a dick.

Sure, he knew he was a tad closed off when it came to relationships and whatever, but that was because he didn’t like anything serious. Just casual. And he was always honest about that.

But he’d gone back to Natalie…

“You look like you’re going to barf. Did you get sushi from that truck stop again on your way in today?” Dex asked, frowning.

“No,” East said. “I just thought of something.” Like the fact that he was thinking about Natalie way more than he’d ever thought of anyone else. Or that he was lying to his best friend. Or that the one family that had taken him in was hers, not his. How she was better than him. Or the fact that he’d literally chased after her three times now, and was getting nowhere except deeper into this secret affair. They were f*cking with the dynamic of things. And he couldn’t bring himself to stop.

But he didn’t want to hang out with Natalie, and he didn’t want her to be his “bestie”… He just wanted to be around her. Totally different.

“Well, whatever your problem is, I hope you get it figured out, because tomorrow is happening, and you’re the best man so you better smile and bring your A game.”

That was the thing—East always brought his A game, but lately Natalie had been handing him his ass in that department. He was supposed to be the pro at casual, and she was beating him at this game of “not dating.”

She was also the best he’d ever had. Not just in the “not dating” department. But the sex. All of it. She was just…the best. Not something he was admitting out loud even to himself. But damn…he needed to get a grip.

“You’re lecturing me about my game?” East said to Dex. “Where’d your game go, buddy? You used to be famous for it.”

Dex just shrugged, not fazed at all. “Game gets old. And when you have a good woman, you don’t need to play it.”

East instantly wanted to strangle his friend. What the hell was up with the world this week? Was everyone conspiring to piss him off? Shove in his face all their love and domestic bliss?

Just then he caught the faint smell of chocolate, vanilla and…

Natalie!

“What the hell is that?” he asked, sniffing the air.

Dex looked at him liked he’d lost his damn mind, and maybe he had. But he was sniffing the air like a basset hound, following the scent to a white box on Dex’s desk.

“Cupcakes,” Dex said, opening the box and pulling one out. “Natalie dropped them by earlier. I guess these are the castoffs.”

East frowned and came up to the box, then stopped. The castoffs. Ones he’d frosted, probably. Fuck, he had messed up. He should have known his efforts wouldn’t have been good enough for Natalie. Easton Ambrose, class A f*ck-up, can’t even frost a batch of cupcakes. Yep, that sounded about right.

“Here, have one.” Dex held open the box top, and East was almost scared to look. “You look like you could use it.”

This was ridiculous. East was scared of a box of cupcakes. No. He was a strong, tough search and rescue medic for Christ’s sake. But it wasn’t just the box…it was the woman behind the box.

Not that he’d been trying to prove anything…but seeing the “castoff” cupcakes cracked something in his chest he didn’t know he had.

“Fuck it,” he finally said, doing his best to get back to the “casual East” of not caring. So what if Natalie didn’t like his help or his frosting job? She was a professional, and he wasn’t, and what the hell ever.

She could just go—

He glanced down and saw six perfect mini cakes. All chocolate and red velvet. Not a single vanilla.

Vanilla were the only ones he’d frosted, which meant she’d kept them.

“These are the castoffs?” East asked. They looked pristine. The woman was stubborn and a perfectionist. She was also talented as hell, because if these were her “worst work,” he could barely handle her best.

But she kept mine…

Of course, she could have thrown them all in the trash and he wouldn’t know, but he couldn’t bring himself to believe that. For whatever reason, he felt…happy. Looking at a box of cupcakes, he was hopeful for the first time in…

Ever.

“Don’t worry,” Dex said, sliding the box toward East. “She specifically marked one for you.”

East took a better look. Sure enough, inside sat a red velvet cupcake with cream cheese frosting and a little decorative flag stuck on a toothpick that read Easton’s Dessert.

She’d thought of him.

Even knew his favorite flavor.

He reached for the cake, and in one bite knew how amazing it was. But somewhere along the line, he’d started to develop an affinity for vanilla…and the sassy baker that tasted like sugar, spice, and everything wicked.





Chapter Seven


Natalie tugged at the hem of her dress and tried not to fidget. Difficult, considering the entire place was packed for the bachelor-bachelorette party. Chloe had taken care of the food and the location. As if there was ever a doubt there could be a better establishment than Honey’s.

And Natalie’s display of a hundred hand-crafted cupcakes was proudly presented on its own table in the corner.

She glanced around.