Tell Me You Crave Me (Search and Seduce #3)(4)

She hit a few keys and responded to her mother.

Texting during a date is rude. And, yes, I have manners.

She smirked. She’d never be a pain in the ass to her mother on purpose, but she couldn’t handle her right now. Because the truth was, while Natalie didn’t “need” a man the way her mother wanted her to, she was getting fed up with the loneliness. And the constant berating from her mother about how she’d die a spinster.

It didn’t help that she was the “local” girl and had been in the friend zone with most of the men in town since about second grade. But she loved her town, loved her shop, and wouldn’t ever move. She’d find the kind of happiness she wanted, right here in Beaufort.

“Fuckin’ friend zone,” she muttered, and took another hefty swallow of alcohol.

And tonight, just when she’d thought the night couldn’t get any worse, the one man that got to her like no one else had shown up.

Easton Ambrose.

“What the hell was I thinking?” she mumbled around another swallow. Another awful date with a boring guy who looked at her like she was little more than adorable at best. Which super sucked, since she’d spent her last paycheck on that dress from her friend Michelle’s boutique. Deep down, she knew that no dress or makeup could change her curse.

No one wanted her. Not like that.

And the guys who might want her…well, her big brother Matt was the town’s pride and joy. The man had practically ridden out of here on a float when he left for college. East had taken it upon himself to annoy the shit out of her in Matt’s absence.

Hold on. East hadn’t just annoyed her tonight. He’d intervened. Was that another reason why so many guys gave her such a wide berth? Because for big brother Matt and big pseudo-brother East, no one was ever going to be good enough for her?

She took another swig.

They were probably right. They just had it backward. She was the one who would never be good enough. She was plain at best. Quirky at worst. And somewhere in between, she was sick of it. Her few experiences with sex were anything but stellar, but damn it, she wanted to feel something. Everyone around here, her best friends, were all happy and settling down. Even her own brother was getting married.

She didn’t need all of that. Not marriage. Not kids. Not even commitment. She just wanted a chance at that whole passion thing everyone seemed to be raving about. It looked…nice.

Better than nice.

She’d seen the way her friend Chloe’s husband kissed her neck whenever she was within a few inches of him. Watched how her other friend Michelle had her ass squeezed by her fiancé constantly because he couldn’t seem to keep his hands off her.

“Must be nice,” Natalie said to her bottle of bourbon, and took another drink. Yeah, must be nice. To be wanted like that. Treated like you were…sexy. Desirable. Just once she wanted to feel that.

She’d had high hopes for her date tonight. But he’d turned out to be a dud, and then stupid Easton Ambrose with his stupid muscles and stupid smile came in and made her feel weird. Not just weird—more like hot and buzzing. But what else was new? He’d made her feel that way since she was a teenager.

But between her brother being his best friend, and East never looking at her twice except to flick her forehead or tug her pigtail, she’d determined a long time ago that they were just bound to be enemies. Mostly because the man irritated her like no other. He’d been the senior varsity quarterback of the football team when she’s been a freshman band geek. And not much had changed. Well, other than East had somehow gotten sexier, and she’d given up playing the clarinet. God, going through puberty with the hottest man on the planet under the same roof had been no easy feat.

He was blunt and cocky and so damn good looking it hurt to look at him sometimes. Even if he weren’t basically her second older brother, her mother wouldn’t call him “a suitable gentleman.” But he was more of a member of her own family than she was. Hell, her parents had taken him in and raised him like their own child! Maybe that was why they’d always treated East with class and respect. He was family to them, and family deserved unconditional love.

As if her mother was summoned by her thoughts, her phone buzzed again. And again. Nope. She wasn’t looking at that now. Wasn’t dealing with her mother or her ideas on how Natalie was failing at life and love.

At least here she was far away from East, and that ridiculous look he’d given her in the bar. What had that been about, anyway? It had almost looked like…jealousy. Well, screw him and any hint of jealousy. He had no right.

“Dick,” she mumbled.

“If that’s what you’re after, all you have to do is ask,” East said from the entry of her shop. She spun to face him. He had his forearm casually resting against the doorframe, and the light of the hallway haloed him like he was Christ himself. And damn…he looked good. A Stetson, white T-shirt, and dark jeans had never looked more perfect on a man. She wanted to punch him in the throat. How dare he stand there looking like…that!

“Actually.” She cleared her throat and lifted her chin. “I was just thinking of you, and ‘dick’ was the most suitable word that came to mind.”

He raised a brow. “That right? Well, I’m glad you think of my dick. Gotta admit, I would have taken you more for a good girl whose thoughts were full of rainbows and unicorns.”