Tell Me You Crave Me (Search and Seduce #3)(48)

She walked into the historic hotel—a local monument and beautiful setting. Matt and Bridget had the whole thing rented out and everyone was congregating in the lobby.

She caught sight of East. He looked amazing in a button-up white shirt and dark jeans. He’d even shaved. He was laughing and talking with a small group of people, Matt and Bridget among them.

Deep breath…

She walked up with all the confidence she felt, and when East’s eyes hit hers, she smiled and—

He glanced away.

Fast.

Not like he wasn’t happy to see her. Like he had looked right through her.

She frowned but continued her trek, not stopping until she came to Matt’s side and faced East.

“Hey, sis.” Matt hugged her. She gave him a half smile.

“Thank you so much, again, for filling in last-minute as a bridesmaid,” Bridget said, and gave her a hug.

“Sure,” Natalie said. She felt dwarfed by the three other women she was standing with. Well, standing under. Bridget’s friends were apparently all amazons or supermodels or something.

“And what an adorable dress!” Bridget said. “This is the same one you wore to the party last week, right?”

That hurt. Adorable? Great. Tall, elegant Bridget thought she was twelve, just like everyone else in this damn town. Even her brother. And yes, it was the same dress. The one East had twirled her in. The one he’d taken off of her later that night at his home. Suddenly she felt silly. She hadn’t even started her grand “I’m a confident, grown-ass woman” speech and she was standing there in a repeat outfit feeling not so confident.

“Forgive my rudeness,” Bridget said, giggling. “These are the other bridesmaids, Suzanne and Abigail.” She waved her hand at the tall, thin, stupidly stunning women. “And this is my sister Kelly.”

Kelly was a tall, cool blonde who wore towering stilettos and a designer silver dress that probably cost as much as Natalie’s car. She reached out and shook Natalie’s hand, then swayed into East a little. It was then that Natalie saw East put his hand on the small of Kelly’s back.

“Did I miss something?” Natalie blurted out. She felt her cheeks flush with a sting of embarrassment. East was next to Kelly, looking like they were some kind of item, and…what the hell?

She’d thought they were going to be together. Her and East. Not Amazon Blonde and East. Sure, Natalie might be awkward, but she wasn’t blind or stupid. She’d seen the way East had looked at her last night. Heard the promise in his voice. The sincerity. He wanted her. Wanted to be with her. At least he had. But clearly something had changed in the past eighteen hours. An entire night had come and gone—she couldn’t bear the thought that East might have spent it with another woman.

But she wasn’t seeing much of an alternative. He still had his hand on the glamazon’s back. He looked directly at her, but there was a hollowness in those amazing eyes of his. Eyes that had once looked at her while he was inside of her. Eyes that had stayed on her when she walked into a room. Eyes that now seemed void of any emotion for her.

“You didn’t miss anything, darlin’. You’re right on time,” East said. He took a sip of his whiskey and turned his attention back to Kelly.

Matt nudged her in the ribs and distracted her from East’s cold nonchalance. “Hey, Mom just walked in. Where’s your date?” he asked.

Natalie looked at East. He just took another sip of his whiskey, not a single emotion on his face. Like he didn’t see her. Like she was back to being Natalie, Matt’s silly baby sister, and not Natalie, the woman she’d thought he really cared about.

“I don’t know where he is,” she said honestly. Her heart rose in her throat. The last sixty seconds had been pure confusion, but clarity was coming in with each breath she took. East didn’t want her. In fact, it looked like he wanted the woman he was with. He couldn’t keep his hands off her. She felt like a damn fool.

No…no this couldn’t be right. He couldn’t be doing this to her. He cared about her. Surely he did. She couldn’t have made all of it up.

“You all right?” Matt asked, not knowing he was witnessing her downfall. No, she wasn’t all right. She’d thought she and East had something special. But clearly she was just another woman he’d cycled through. It wasn’t like she could really compete with Miss Blonde Stick-figure on his arm. Still, she found the courage to lie to her brother yet again.

“I’m fine.”

She’d been duped, but it hadn’t even been East who’d done it. No, she’d fooled herself. Had East ever actually said they were more than sex? Even that hug at her parents’ house…it was probably just him taking care of little Natalie St. Clair, who was so fragile she couldn’t even stand up to her mom.

Her nose tickled, and a sting pricked behind her eyes. She felt stupid. And it was all on display for East.

“So you have no date?” Matt asked quietly as their mother made their way over.

She looked at East one final time. “I guess not. Turns out he was an idiot.”

Or maybe I am.

But hadn’t he told her that only an idiot would turn her down?

Truth or not, it didn’t help the pressure pains in her lungs. Because she couldn’t breathe. It hurt too much. So she just stood there, letting the pain slice through her.