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Once again, East was never alone long. Natalie stood there, swallowed up by a crowd that deemed her invisible. His eyes had made her feel anything but.
Maybe it was just a magic power he had with women. Because just then, she didn’t feel like Lemon-Anne St. Clair’s awkward disappointment of a daughter. She felt…seen. In a way that only he could see her. And even though this was all pretend, and everyone in here knew they were just two friends that argued more than they got along, she had a feeling that she might never feel this seen again.
And that made her chest constrict.
For tonight, she wasn’t dating, wasn’t her mother’s daughter, she was just Natalie. Dancing with the town bachelor. Because he chose her. And because she’d worn the kind of dress that deserved to be twirled.
She’d soak it in for tonight. Tonight might be all she’d ever get of this level of passion, this desire—she knew it was unsustainable and it wasn’t real, but she wanted to cling to it while she could.
Just tonight…
She would let herself slip free from the weight of what she wasn’t…and just be.
Be herself.
Be in East’s arms.
Be happy.
Be enough.
Chapter Eight
East unlocked the front door of his home and ushered Natalie inside.
“So this is the great Easton’s house,” she said with a sly smile.
“You’ve been here several times,” he said, shutting the door behind him.
“Yes, but never at night,” she said. Clearly that third glass of champagne had hit her. She wasn’t drunk, just a touch tipsy. “We all but snuck away from the bachelor-bachelorette party.”
“Naw, it was winding down. And there was no way I was letting a pretty thing like you go home alone.” He winked at her. Great, now he was flirting like an idiot.
“Oh, how many women have walked these halls…” She walked with her arms outstretched, fingers skimming the sides of the hallway as she made her way toward his bedroom.
“None,” he said honestly, walking behind her.
She turned to face him, her face a picture of surprise. “I beg your pardon?” she asked and shoved her glasses up her nose. My God she was fuckin’ adorable, with her pink pouty lips and big eyes staring at him. She was also sexy as hell.
“I’ve never brought a woman to my home before,” he said. And it was the truth.
Natalie looked at him like he’d grown a second head. “How can that be?”
He shrugged. “My home is personal to me,” he said honestly. It had never crossed his mind to bring a woman here. He’d had sex in lots of places, public and private. But never once in his home or his bed.
Ever.
Now that he thought about it, it seemed weird.
Good thing he wasn’t thinking about it. All he was thinking about was Natalie standing in front of him, looking flushed and sexy and sweet and edible all in one.
“Well, I don’t want to infringe on your personal space. I thought we had snuck out of the party to…” She glanced over her shoulder at his bedroom door, and he realized just then what the expression in her eyes was. Uncertainty. He knew because he’d seen it before. He also knew she wasn’t overly experienced. Hell, she didn’t date much at all, much less men like him. But it was the first time he’d really seen her pause.
“We snuck out and I brought you here because I wanted to get away from everyone else.” He tucked a lock of hair behind her ear.
“To have sex?” she clarified.
“Or hang out.”
