So I should stop thinking about it.
Because she couldn’t go after him. So there was no point in obsessing over him. The man drove her nuts, and she wasn’t interested in being compared to others and found wanting. Yeah, he’d blown her mind, but could she say the same for him? If she’d had even half the effect on him that he’d had on her, he wouldn’t have been so eager to leave this morning.
Time to move on.
“We’ve got a live one!” Michelle said, interrupting Natalie’s thoughts. A ding sounded on the computer. “You have a wink already!”
Natalie looked at the profile her friends had just set up. They’d even put up a picture of her.
“That guy likes me already?” Natalie asked.
“Yep, I told you, you’re hot. And you’re awesome.”
Natalie didn’t feel hot, but that quick ding…somebody had thought so, right? So maybe she could do this. If it meant not feeling like an embarrassment to her mother and family, and not dating her cousin, then she’d do just about anything.
She might be plain to some—like East—but she could use these next two weeks to really date and figure out how to get the passion she wanted. Surely East wasn’t the only game in town.
“You’ve got another one!” Michelle said.
“Set it up,” Natalie agreed. Yep, she’d find passion, or at least a date. East might have awoken something in her, both good and bad, but she’d figure this out for herself. She had to. Because after being seen like she’d been seen last night, she couldn’t go back to being invisible.
“Time to date my ass off!” Natalie said, and both of her friends cheered in support.
Her cell phone rang. Natalie fished it out of her apron and pushed her glasses up as she read the caller ID.
“Who’s calling?” Chloe asked.
“It’s my future sister-in-law.” Natalie answered the phone. “Hi, Bridget.” She plugged her ear with her other hand to better hear Bridget’s lyrical voice. “You what now?” Natalie asked. Surely she couldn’t have heard her right. But when Bridget repeated herself, Natalie covered the speaker of the phone and mouthed to her friends. “I’m a bridesmaid now!”
Well, that just got a bit more complicated. And judging by the continuous stream of duties Bridget was telling her came with the honor, Natalie was going to be way busier than she’d thought.
Which was a good thing. It would help keep her mind off a certain someone.
“Now, I know you’re worried about how you’re going to be able to handle all of this,” Bridget said. “But East agreed to help you through it all.”
Natalie’s heart seized, and she nearly dropped her phone. “Did you say East?”
“Yeah! He’ll be there every step of the way.”
Yep, she was fucked.
Chapter Four
This cannot be happening again…
Natalie stared at the man across the table from her. He was droning on and on about his cocker spaniel, and even though he glanced at her chest a few times, there was no heat behind the look. He was just a jerk taking a peek.
Natalie tried really hard to follow what he was saying. But she felt zero chemistry and even less interest.
“Yeah, dogs are great,” she said. She’d kind of missed his exact words because honestly, she had gotten side-tracked by all the bustle around the restaurant. Yep, she was back at Honey’s. The same place she was at the other night. Only instead of sitting at the bar, she was at a corner booth for two.
Beaufort was small, and honestly, Honey’s Restaurant and Bar was where she felt comfortable. That her best friend was the owner was a plus. So she didn’t really care that this was her repeat location. However, last time in her cupcake shop had proven to be both convenient and not a great idea.
Not that she was thinking of last time. Or East for that matter.
But Honey’s was always busy, and so many people were laughing and having a good time. Meanwhile, Natalie sat there, wishing that the man she was with made her feel…anything.
But he didn’t.
“So, you bake?” he asked.
Natalie nodded. “Yes, I have a cupcake shop.”
“Aww, that’s cute,” he said, and looked at her like she was just as adorable as the dog he’d been going on about. What was it about her that couldn’t seem to spark up the hot and bothered emotions?
Speaking of hot and bothered, East walked in right then—with a giggling woman on his arm.
Literally.
The woman was literally hanging on him and patting his bicep like he was made of some sort of precious metal.
Natalie glared. It was her “I don’t care what you’re doing” glare, but she still gave it.