Tell Me You Want Me (Search and Seduce, #2)(2)

Brad had stayed true to his word. He’d dumped her. But she’d made the right decision. Now she was going to check off as many things on her To Do list as possible.

Michelle hadn’t realized how hard she was clinging to her cell until the case bent in her hand and threatened to break. She’d loved Brad, and he’d broken her heart by laughing at her. Commanding her to stay in the frilly box he graciously provided. But she couldn’t. Wouldn’t. Now if only her parents and Brad took her seriously instead of waiting for her to fail.

“I am really sorry I can’t be there,” Chloe said again.

“You’re the one who talked me into this,” Michelle countered. Michelle had bore her soul over a pitcher of margaritas to Chloe about how no one in her old world gave her an ounce of credit. Chloe’s advice? Go to this survival class. Show them—show yourself—that you’re capable of more than anyone realizes.

When Michelle had left the city, she’d hoped her parents and Brad would come around or at the very least, support her decision. But nope. He’d dumped her. It was the gnawing realization he’d only wanted her as long as she’d acted a certain way. And that way was Upper East Side societal. Using her own brain was optional.

“Yes, I did talk you into this,” Chloe said, “because I think it’s just what you need to realize that you don’t need that dick Brad or your parents. You shouldn’t believe what he said about you.”

Brad had been brutal. Telling her it was only a matter of time before she came to her senses and crawled back penniless. Her parents had said the same thing, only laced with sugary-sweet passive aggressiveness.

So that was it. She was on her own, trying to survive. And damn it, that’s what she’d do. She’d also get all these lists checked off and enjoy life. She’d be the woman she wanted to be.

“Thank you,” Michelle said, feeling a light smile appear. She appreciated that her friend was trying to help her. And she had to admit, being here, doing this, made her feel hopeful and excited. This was a huge step in the right direction. Even if the truth was that she was a little scared. Okay, she was a lot scared. She wanted to succeed, which meant she couldn’t fail at the one major bullet point on her list:

Be the independent, adventurous Michelle I want to be.

Balancing the phone between her ear and shoulder, she underlined one word:

Adventurous.

That one word was why she was here. It was the reason she’d accepted Chloe’s crazy idea about this wilderness training. It was put on by the local search and rescue team, and she could prove—to herself if no one else—how adventurous and capable she was.

I’m not just a name or my parents’ money.

At least, that’s what she kept telling herself. And she was trying every day to prove that statement right. Because she was running out of time and money. The boutique had good days and bad days. If Michelle could just survive, she’d be okay. And survive in every sense of the word was what she’d do.

Going bust in any way wasn’t an option.

“Everything will be…will be…fine,” Chloe said. Sort of. She sounded like she was dry heaving more than talking. Michelle frowned, then held the phone away to look at it when she heard what sounded like Chloe throwing up.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

“Yeah,” Chloe said, a little breathless.

“I’m so sorry; I didn’t know you were sick. I hope you feel better.” Now she felt like a terrible friend for giving Chloe a hard time.

“Thanks, but I don’t think I’ll feel better for nine months or so,” Chloe said.

“Wait…what?” Michelle asked around a bright smile. “That’s wonderful! You’re pregnant!”

“Yeah, but don’t say anything. Gage doesn’t know yet.”

Michelle beamed with happiness for her friend. “I won’t say a word.”

“Now go have fun. I want to hear all about it tomorrow,” Chloe said. The line disconnected on what sounded like another round with the porcelain god.

Michelle put her phone in her purse, adjusted her Marc Jacobs—letting the strap rest more comfortably on her shoulder—and read over the single sheet of paper she’d been given as instructions for this survival course.

The first part of the day would be spent in the classroom, learning from lectures. After a break for dinner, she and her class would take their newly learned skills and apply them to the wilderness. She glanced at her cute booties, jeans, and airy blouse and felt good about the adventure to come. She’d followed directions from her closed toe shoes to bringing only a small bag of necessities that the instructions stated “you can’t live without.”

With a final breath and determination on her face, she walked into the classroom and prepared herself to walk out as a goddess of adventure and independence.



“No way are you sticking me with this,” Dex Young said, trying really hard not to punctuate his words with a giant middle finger to his boss. Gage was more like his drinking buddy, but whatever.

“You just have to do the outdoor wilderness survival part tonight. I taught the class already,” Gage said.

“Then why the hell don’t you finish teaching this damn day in the wilderness? This was your grand idea to get more people in the community involved.” Dex liked Gage, they were friends, and yeah, he was the head of the North Carolina Search and Rescue sector, but this whole novelty “day in the life of a wilderness guru where you get taught how to make fire” was not what Dex had signed up for. He was actually good at what he did and didn’t want to teach a group of glorified tourists how to fashion a tent from tree limbs.