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The one woman that could ruin the only family, the only brother, he’d ever had if he couldn’t keep his hands off her.
“Well, maybe you’re getting tired of running around,” Matt said in a hopeful tone. “You’re a catch, if you’d just let a girl get to know you for longer than a night.”
East could not have this conversation with Matt right now. Especially when he was thinking about Natalie. So he did what he did best: deflected with nonchalant humor.
“Aww, are you flirtin’ with me? Bridget ain’t gonna like that.”
Matt laughed. “But seriously, man, one day the game is going to get old. That’s all I’m saying.”
“Yeah, well, when the day comes that I start talking about joint bachelor-bachelorette parties, I want you to shoot me.”
“Hey, don’t be bitchy, it’ll be fun. But you have to help.”
Of course he did.
“Natalie is making cupcakes for the event.”
“So?” East asked.
“So, Chloe is making the food, and Natalie is busy trying to make a hundred cupcakes for the party this weekend. Go help her.”
“Have you seen her work? The woman is a perfectionist, and I can’t bake for shit,” East said honestly. He’d always admired Natalie’s talent. She truly was good at whatever she touched, even if she didn’t think so. But there was a reason she made the kind of money she did off baked goods, because they were not only that delicious, they were perfection. Artwork.
Like her thighs smeared with frosting. Or the ripe curves of her breasts in that hot little dress.
There was no way he could go anywhere near Natalie’s cupcake shop again, not after what had happened there last time. He already couldn’t get the damn woman out of his head. Seeing her in her element, where they’d fucked with passionate abandon…nope. Until he knew he could keep his damn hands to himself, staying as far away from the woman as possible was best. Even if she was dating every loser in a twenty-mile radius, it seemed. The gossip mill was running, and it looked like Miss Natalie was on a dating mission from hell.
Not that he cared.
Matt snapped his fingers at him. “Hey! Are you listening? Can you just go see if she needs help? You can stir or something.” He looked at East more seriously. “Just between you and me, she hasn’t been herself the past couple of days. She’s obviously stressed, and all these dates she’s going on aren’t helping.”
“What the hell is up with that, anyway?” East tried to sound casual, even though he already knew the answer.
“Mom,” Matt said as he rolled his eyes. “She’s really pushing Natalie to settle down, and with the wedding coming up she’s been even crazier than usual. But I think there’s more to it. Natalie has been on some kind of mission lately to get…something.”
“You’ve been in Connecticut. How would you know?”
“We talk on the phone. I can tell when my baby sister is struggling. Besides, I keep tabs on the people I love.” Matt looked at East for an extra second, and it was that moment that really punched him in the chest. Matt loved him like family. Was his best friend. His brother. And here he was, lying to his best friend’s face.
East opened his mouth to say something—the truth, maybe? But instead, he said, “Since when has Natalie ever done what people tell her to do? And is having a date really that big of a deal?”
“To my mom? Yeah. And Natalie has always struggled in this area, you know that. It’s not just about a date or dating—my mother’s always cast a long shadow. I think that Nat is just trying in her own way, and I want to be there for her. You should, too. Just give her some support.”
“Support her doing what? Dating idiots?”
“I meant support her attempt at growth. And how do you know they’re idiots?”
“Have any of them stuck around?” East said.
“Good point. Look, I’m not thrilled about my baby sister dating random guys off the internet, but that’s all the more reason why you should be around. You know, keep an eye on her. Make sure she doesn’t get hurt. If anyone’s going to recognize a jerk who’s only in it for sex it’ll be—” Matt stopped abruptly and looked at East.
“Me?” East finished for him.
His friend slapped his shoulder affectionately, but Matt couldn’t hide the truth on his face. “You know what I mean.”
Yeah, he did. And East couldn’t blame his buddy. Which was why he could never tell him that he’d slept with his sister, or that he couldn’t go help Natalie because all he wanted to do whenever he saw her was rip her clothes off.
“Look, I’d really like your help here,” Matt said, delivering a giant middle finger to East’s plan of staying away. “Just take care of her, and make sure she’s okay.”
