Until Nathan’s message had come through.
I’d known instantly it was him. He’d been trying to hide his identity by posing coyly, cropping his face out and covering his Badass Builds tat, but I’d recognize those abs and the rest of his tats anywhere.
And now Nathan was inside that bar, waiting for me to show up.
Me.
He wanted me.
I could do this. I wanted to do this.
I’d wanted Nathan for forever and it was finally happening.
With a new resolve, I pushed open my door and stepped out of my car. It became my mantra as I walked toward the bar. I could do this. I wanted to do this. Nathan. I was filled with determination right up until I let the door close behind me.
My heart pounding in my ears, I saw him sitting at the bar. Nathan Burns. My lifelong crush…
…had a woman sitting next to him.
She was everything I wasn’t. Blonde. Thin. Made up perfectly from her long nails to her lashes to her sleekly curled hair. And all but hanging over my man. Her hand ran along his arm as she leaned over to whisper in his ear. Nathan wasn’t touching her, but she had his attention. How could she not? She was gorgeous.
And I…had wasted so much time and effort getting ready after dinner. And none of it measured up. My little black dress skimmed my body and flared out at my hips, hiding my worst feature. But it was nothing compared to her siren red bodycon dress. Hell, if I had that figure, I’d flaunt it too.
I don’t know what I’d been thinking.
I turned to go.
“Madison!”
I froze for a second. This wasn’t real. I would wake up any moment.
“Madison Roberts!”
I turned back and found Nathan standing next to the bar with the now annoyed blonde scowling behind him, still in her chair.
I took an uncertain step forward, and Nathan cocked his head as he took in my outfit. Or maybe he was studying my body language. Because the next thing I knew, he’d crossed the distance between us and grabbed my hand, his other hand holding his drink.
“Come on. Let’s grab a table in the back.”
I followed blindly, still certain this was a dream. There was no way he was picking me over her. Why would he? Hell, I wouldn’t. And given the huff the blonde gave as we sped by her, neither would she.
It still didn’t feel real as I sat down in the chair Nathan held out for me. I watched in silence as he took the seat across from me. My eyes hungrily ate him up. He’d changed from dinner tonight too. Instead of the casual t-shirt and oil-stained jeans, now he wore a button up shirt with crisp, clean jeans. He’d made an effort to dress up for me.
I didn’t know what to say. But apparently I didn’t need to, since Nathan broke the ice for me.
“So what are you doing here?” he asked with a hard glint in his eyes.
Um, what? I blinked a few times as I tried and failed to make sense of his question. “I’m here because of your message.”
The hard edge left his expression as his eyes cooled. “You knew it was me?”
“Well, yeah. Of course. I’ve known you most of my life. I’d recognize those tattoos anywhere.” I bit my lip. “No matter how hard you tried to hide them.”
“You knew it was me,” he repeated. “And you still came?”
I held my breath. It felt ridiculous to expose my lifelong crush. I wanted him to see me as the woman I was now and not the little girl always hanging around his house. “I thought you knew it was me, too. I was pretty open on my profile…unlike some people.”
“Too open,” he muttered.
“Excuse me?”
“You were too open.” He repeated, staring at me with that glint in his eyes again. “Guys do not need to know all your business. That’s an invitation for unsavory bullshit from assholes.”
“Right.” We were here for the lecture after all. I should’ve known he would never abandon a blonde who looked like that for me. Eyes stinging with tears, I put my palms on the table and pushed my chair back with a screech. “I’m done. Goodnight.”
I moved to stand and Nathan snatched my wrist from across the tiny round table.
“Where are you going?”
“Home.” I tilted my chin, trying and failing to pull my hand away from his grip. “I thought I was meeting up with someone interesting for drinks and maybe more. I’m not really in the mood for a lecture tonight. I’m not a child—I can take care of myself.”
“You wanted to meet up with me for drinks and maybe more?” He repeated in a soft tone. His gaze dropped to my hand, and I hadn’t noticed until now that instead of gripping my wrist to detain me he was softly tracing lines on my palm. “I guess I’m still having a hard time with the whole you knew it was me and still came part.”
My heart thundered in my ears. He sounded so vulnerable. And interested in me. What the hell? If this really was a dream, I didn’t want to wake up. “I knew it was you, and I asked you to meet me. I was the one who picked the place, remember?”
“I do. I know. I just…I’ve noticed you lately, and I’m having a hard time wrapping my mind around this new grown-up version of you.”
I didn’t know what to say to that. He was finally being soft and sweet and into me, but it was so swiftly on the heels of his annoyance, I was
