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se…” Matt trailed off and East followed his eyes. Bridget and three women walked in. The bridesmaids, he guessed.
“The tall blonde is Bridget’s sister Kelly, and we’ve told her all about you.”
Kelly’s eyes were fastened on him, and East knew exactly what was happening. He was being set up. He wanted to be angry with Matt, but the truth was he was almost grateful. He’d set out to keep his eye on Natalie and make sure she didn’t get hurt, and here he was, being the guy who’d end up hurting her more than anyone. He couldn’t keep fucking with her when deep down he knew it could never be more. He didn’t even know how to love a woman like Natalie. He was trash. He might as well let Natalie see him for who he really was.
Chapter Fourteen
“I want you. And I don’t care who knows,” Natalie said out loud. She was finally speaking the truth about how she felt about East. “We’ve been together the past couple of weeks, and I’m not sorry. In fact, I want more. And I want everyone to know that you annoy me, but I love…” She trailed off and closed her eyes as she let the truth sink in. The truth she’d known all along. “I love you, East. You make me feel alive. Seen. And you drive me insane. But I’d rather be crazy with you than normal and boring without you.”
Natalie smiled and fluttered her eyes.
Now if only she could say that to East in person, instead of to the rearview mirror of her car as she sat in the parking lot of the hotel where Matt and Bridget were going to get married tomorrow.
“You can do this,” she said to her reflection. “Get your butt in there, and tell him how you feel, and tell Matt what’s been going on.”
Honestly, she was worried about her older brother finding out about her and East, but she cared too much about East to let that stand in their way any longer. It was time to come clean and face Matt, even if he got furious. And he likely would. But he’d understand. Eventually. East was a good man. The man she wanted. It would all be okay.
It had to be.
Natalie took a deep breath, got out of her car, and ran her hands over her pink dress. It was the fluffy one she’d worn when she’d danced with East. Was it only last week? It felt like a lifetime ago. She walked into the rehearsal hall feeling confident and ready to tackle the man and the situation that had been driving her crazy for the past couple of weeks.
She’d realized last night that it had been the good kind of crazy the whole time. The challenging kind.
Because East sees me.
She felt confident—for the first time in her life, honest-to-goodness confident. And tonight she was going to claim East as her date, and he was going to claim her back.
She didn’t need a job offer in Connecticut. She didn’t need to sell her recipes. She could stay and be happy with the man who made her happy. Anyone who didn’t like it, well, they could just shut their mouths. It wasn’t like they’d ever paid her any attention to begin with.
She walked into the historic hotel—a local monument and beautiful setting. Matt and Bridget had the whole thing rented out and everyone was congregating in the lobby.
She caught sight of East. He looked amazing in a button-up white shirt and dark jeans. He’d even shaved. He was laughing and talking with a small group of people, Matt and Bridget among them.
Deep breath…
She walked up with all the confidence she felt, and when East’s eyes hit hers, she smiled and—
He glanced away.
Fast.
Not like he wasn’t happy to see her. Like he had looked right through her.
She frowned but continued her trek, not stopping until she came to Matt’s side and faced East.
“Hey, sis.” Matt hugged her. She gave him a half smile.
“Thank you so much, again, for filling in last-minute as a bridesmaid,” Bridget said, and gave her a hug.
“Sure,” Natalie said. She felt dwarfed by the three other women she was standing with. Well, standing under. Bridget’s friends were apparently all amazons or supermodels or something.
“And what an adorable dress!” Bridget said. “This is the same one you wore to the party last week, right?”
That hurt. Adorable? Great. Tall, elegant Bridget thought she was twelve, just like everyone else in this damn town. Even her brother. And yes, it was the same dress. The one East had twirled her in. The one he’d taken off of her later that night at his home. Suddenly she felt silly. She hadn’t even started her grand “I’m a confident, grown-ass woman” speech and she was standing there in a repeat outfit feeling not so confident.
“Forgive my rudeness,” Bridget said, giggling. “These are the other bridesmaids, Suzanne and Abigail.” She waved her hand at the tall, thin, stupidly stunning women. “And this is my sister Kelly.”
Kelly was a tall, cool blonde who wore towering stilettos and a designer silver dress that probably cost as much as Natalie’s car. She reached out and shook Natalie’s hand, then swayed into East a little. It was then that Natalie saw East put his hand on the small of Kelly’s back.
