Tell Me You Want Me (Search and Seduce, #2)(44)

Dex couldn’t put it off any more. Maybe after tonight, Michelle would want to discuss where to go from here. This didn’t have to be over. Maybe they could make some kind of relationship work. He just had to see if she was open to that. He had strong hopes that she was. She’d clung to him, held him, and wrapped around him like she didn’t want to let go. Surely this couldn’t be just about sex and her list…

So he sent her a text inviting her to one final survival lesson. If he succeeded, she’d stick around with the guy no one stuck with. If he failed…

He wouldn’t fail. Failure wasn’t a part of his reality.

His phone buzzed with a text.

Michelle: What exactly is GPS training?

Dex: Getting lost in the dark and finding your way. We can practice in your bedroom. Fair warning. I may have to use my hands excessively to feel my way around you.

A few seconds passed. He waited like a teenager hoping his first crush showed any sign of interest. Jesus, he had it bad.

Then her reply came.

Michelle: I’ll meet you at your place as soon as I close the shop.



Michelle blushed reading Dex’s text. He was casual, fun, and always had some sexy remarks waiting for her. She’d promised to help him with all his hours, and she’d stick to that. No matter her decision to walk away, she owed him at least that much.

She’d thrown herself into her work these past few days. Crunching numbers and receipts. The math wasn’t looking good. She needed a few good weeks, maybe a solid marketing gimmick to really push her into the black.

She ran her hand over the pile of bills and invoices near her cash register and sighed. She couldn’t fail. But now it looked like that was inevitable.

The door dinged on her little shop, and she put her phone down to acknowledge the customer. Only it wasn’t a customer. It was…

“Mom?” she asked. “Dad?”

Bile rose in her throat as they walked into her boutique, both in matching Michael Kors fall collection styles and so much arrogance that her shop could barely hold it all in.

“Hello, Michelle.” Her mother came to her and gave her an air kiss on her cheek. Ah, affection from her mother could never be topped…

“What are you two doing here?” Michelle asked as shock settled in.

Her father walked through the store and examined everything. He didn’t say a word. Just looked and judged. Much like Dex’s mom had looked at her last week. Only with a different kind of judgment in mind. Her parents were clearly not impressed with her. And Dex’s mother was obviously sickened with Michelle’s “impressiveness.”

Those differences between Dex and her came flooding back tenfold. This was a battle. Always would be.

Her mother hovered near the cash register and looked around. “We thought we’d drop in on you. See how things were going.”

Ah, they’d come to check on her. Rub it in her face that she’d made the wrong decision leaving the city.

“Ariel just quit, maternity leave,” her father said from the back part of the store. Ariel had been his assistant for three years. And this was her father’s subtle way of informing Michelle she could now take the assistant job working for her dad. Michelle would rather take his overpriced cufflinks and gouge her eyes out.

“I’m happy for Ariel. That’s baby number two, right?”

“Correct,” her mother said with a hard look on her face. As if Michelle’s mere use of the word “right” was a sin. Was this how she sounded when she spoke to Dex? Snotty and rude and—?

Dex!

She clutched her phone. She had plans with him tonight for his final training hour. She texted him quickly.

Her mother glanced around and said, “Well, we came all the way here, aren’t you going to show us around this town you now call home?”

“Sure,” she said as she finished and sent her text to Dex.

Michelle: Sorry, something came up. Can’t make it tonight. I promise I’ll make up that last hour you need up to you.

“We’re staying at the bed and breakfast nearby. There’s not a single five-star hotel in this town,” her mother said. “I’d even take four.”

“The bed and breakfast is great. It’s right down the street and next to my friend’s restaurant.”

“Your friend?”

Yes, she had friends. Her mother didn’t need to sound so surprised. “Yes, Chloe owns the restaurant and bar, and my other friend Natalie has a gourmet cupcake shop in the same establishment.”

“Lovely,” he mother mumbled.

Michelle’s phone pinged back.

Dex: I look forward to collecting on this debt.

She smiled. Dex understood. Didn’t ask her why, didn’t make her feel bad. Just understood. He was a good guy. Whatever happened next, he’d been good for her.

Unlike her parents.

She had to figure out how to survive their visit. Their uneasy glares and judgmental smirks. Their unending disappointment.

“Perhaps while you show us around you can say good-bye to your friends,” her father said, eyeing the stack of bills near the cash register. “It’s time to stop this foolishness, Michelle. I know your business isn’t doing well. Give in to reality and come home.”

She was ready to defend herself, but words stuck in her throat. Sure, she’d had a few bad weeks that were turning into months, but she could pull it together…maybe.