Cry.
She was losing it. He made her feel safe. Seen. And here he was, offering solace after a shitty moment, just like—
Like he loved her.
But he didn’t. She knew he couldn’t.
And she couldn’t do this anymore.
She pulled away. East’s face looked hurt, as though she might as well have slapped him.
“I’m really fine,” she said. “We’d better get back.”
“Natalie, wait.”
But she didn’t. She took the stairs as fast as she could. The dinner table might be a death trap with her mother waiting, but East was a soul trap, and her heart was on the line.
Losing her pride was one thing. Losing her heart to East was another.
Chapter Thirteen
Natalie came to sit next to Matt at the bar at Honey’s.
“Hey, sis,” he said, and gave her a hug as she sat down. Chloe was behind the bar and came over to serve them.
“Glad you’re back,” Chloe said, and poured Matt a drink.
“Thanks. Yep, I hope you don’t mind, the whole Connecticut crew is in town and I’ve talked up Honey’s.”
Chloe smiled and then poured Natalie a drink, too. “Well, I think the wedding this weekend is the talk of the town. You two holler if you need anything else.”
“Thanks, Chloe,” Natalie said to her friend as she waddled her adorable pregnant behind away.
“Mom has been grilling me about all the details.” Natalie gave her brother a playful nudge. “Your friends and I have money going on when she’s going to bring up grandkids. My bet is on the rehearsal dinner tomorrow night.”
“Don’t think she’ll even wait for after the wedding, huh?” Matt asked.
“Nope. Come on, you know Mom.”
“Yeah.” Matt took a sip of his beer. “Which is why I wanted to chat with you tonight. Just the two of us.”
That sounded serious. Natalie’s stomach knotted as she tried to figure out what her big brother had to say. But before he could get much out, the familiar ding of the door caught just enough of Natalie’s attention for her to realize it was Easton.
Small town.
More than that, though, she was happy to see him. Not annoyed. Not nervous. Just happy. She thought of how he’d hugged her last night and wondered if she could get another one of those tonight, depending on the way this cryptic conversation of her brother’s was about to go.
“Hey, there’s my best man,” Matt called. East headed over.
“Hope I’m not interrupting?” he asked before taking a seat next to Matt. Not next to her. Not that she could blame him. It was just a bar stool, right? And they were a secret. Or maybe they weren’t even that.
“Nope. I just have to chat with Nat real quick, but it’s nothing you can’t hear. You’re family.”
Something in East’s gaze sparked at that word, and a flash of pain crossed his face. Then he gave a tight smile.
“So, Sis, I know Mom has this whole thing about you having a date tomorrow night. And you’re right, I know how she can be, so I wanted to check in with you and see how you’re doing on that?”
Natalie blinked a few times. “Are you asking how that makes me feel, or asking if I have a date?”
Matt blushed, and he looked embarrassed. “Both, I guess. You know I care about you. But, uh, do you have a date? A prospect at least? I just want Mom off your back because she can be tough to handle.”
“And you know that’s an understatement,” she said and took a sip of her beer.
“So…” Matt pushed, and East glanced at Natalie as if awaiting her answer as well.
There was something in his eyes that she couldn’t deny. Not tonight. She might have denied it last night when he’d hugged her like he cared. Or the few nights ago when he’d made love to her like he’d cared, and spoken to her like he’d cared.
Maybe because he does care.
Once again, East was looking at her and she felt seen. And in that moment, it was clear.
“There is someone I like that I’d go to the wedding with,” she said, looking directly at East. His mouth dropped a little, and she nodded in reassurance.
Yep, I’m looking at you, tough guy.
She returned her gaze to Matt. “But it’s complicated.”
“You like him?” Matt asked. As if it were that simple.
“Yes.”
“Then just go with him. At this point, Natalie, I don’t want to deal with Mom when I’m trying to get married. You like the guy, take him, call it good.”
“Again, not that simple, Matt.”
“Why?”
“Because I don’t know if he wants to go with me.”
“Then he’s an idiot,” East said, and her eyes snapped to his.
“You think so?” she asked.
He nodded. “Absolutely.”
She smiled, but Matt was still on his line of questioning, and no matter how they went about this, it was still a delicate matter. She couldn’t blurt out everything now, but the way East was looking at her, she knew he was on her team, and somehow, this would work. They’d make it work.