Meeting His Match

Chapter 7-2

This was it. Nat knew he was asking for her story. She didn’t know if the cold made her delirious or if she was having a reaction to the soup, but she wanted to tell Malcolm everything. She’d become comfortable with him without trying.

“Gem started as an experiment. I was divorced and needed to get back out in the world.” She wasn’t sure if she was ready to talk about the divorce or why it happened, so she pushed on without that bit of information. “I was always the quiet girl. A bit of a wallflower, if you will. I’m a homebody, and while I dated some when I was younger, I was out of practice, and in all honesty, I was never good at it.”

Malcolm’s stare weighed on her. He didn’t interrupt, just listened intently.

She twisted the cap on her bottle of water and took a sip. “So I did what I do best. I researched dating and flirting and how to pick up men. I read and watched videos, and when it was time to go out and practice, I did. But I didn’t have a way to process the efficacy of what I was doing. So I created a blog where I could discuss my dating successes and failures. I titled it Dating Gem because my grandma used to dole out bits of ridiculous advice about men.”

“You modeled your blog after your grandmother?”

“No. It was more a homage to her. I wanted to pass on my own dating gems to other women who were in the same place I was. I acted as the experiment. And it blossomed. I went from writing the blog to making videos to making money from the videos to having a few go somewhat viral.”

“And you still don’t think you’re Gem?”

“No. I’m Natalie—” As soon as her name slipped out, she clamped her lips shut. How could she be so stupid? She didn’t want anyone to know her real name.

A slow smile etched its way across Malcolm’s face. It was almost a gotcha! smile, but he managed to soften it. “Thank you,” he said.

“For screwing up and letting my name slip?” She couldn’t hide the irritation in her voice, nor did she want to.

“Yes. I told you I want to know who you are. It’s hard to do that when I don’t even know your name.” He stared for another beat and then added, “Natalie,” like he was testing it out.

“Yes, I’m Natalie, the boring librarian who couldn’t keep her husband. Happy?” She shot off the couch and went to the kitchen to make a pot of tea. Her throat was still sore. The rawness had nothing to do with her outburst. Definitely not. She sniffed as she lit the burner under the kettle.

Where was Jillian when she needed her? Jillian had routinely rescued Natalie when she opened her mouth in ways she shouldn’t have. As soon as Malcolm stood in their living room, Jilly made excuses and disappeared into her room. Nat had thought she’d come out and investigate, but she hadn’t. Now Nat had to face Malcolm after admitting who she really was.

Of course, the man couldn’t give her time to regain her composure. Before the water was anywhere near boiling, he stood in the kitchen doorway. “I’d love a cup of tea.”

She didn’t turn to face him. “I don’t remember offering one.”

“But you would have.” He shuffled behind her. “Why did you run out?”

She lifted a shoulder.

“Turn around, Natalie.”

What, like he couldn’t get enough of saying her name now that he knew it? She took a deep breath through her mouth and turned. With her arms crossed, she faced him.

“Why?”

“Don’t you know any other questions?” she asked.

“I do, but this one is my favorite.”

“Why what?”

“Why did you run out?”

“Because I’m embarrassed.”

“Of?”

“Everything.” She ticked the reasons off on her fingers. “The fact that I pretend to be someone that I’m not. That I let my name slip. And I told you my profession, so my anonymity will disappear. That you’re seeing me like this.” Her voice rose as she spoke, and she waved her hand over her disheveled appearance. Her lip quivered. She recrossed her arms and stared at her feet. “That I admitted I can’t keep a man if I’m Natalie.”

She was breathing heavy, and she wasn’t sure if it was her anger making its way through her system or the cold laboring her lungs. A wave of mixed emotion washed over her. A sense of relief over letting go of all the crap mixed with trepidation of the repercussions of doing so.

Malcolm’s fancy dress shoes came into her field of vision at her feet.

“Natalie.” He waited.

He didn’t touch her, but Nat felt like he wanted to. She straightened her shoulders, clenched her jaw, and met his eyes.

“You have nothing to be embarrassed about. We all have a history that has shaped who we are, one that we’ve hopefully learned from.”

She tried not to roll her eyes at his comments, but failed.

Again, he waited for her gaze to return to his. Damn his patience. She looked into his eyes again.

“I might not have known your name, but I’ve seen you, Natalie, hiding beneath Gem. Natalie is the woman I’ve been trying to get to know, because she’s the fascinating one. As far as your concerns about anonymity, you have no worries. I would never betray a confidence.”

The heat in his eyes told her he was being honest. It also caused a swirl of l**t to tumble low in her belly. They weren’t touching, but they were close enough that they could. If she pushed up on tiptoe, they could kiss. Her eyes wandered to his mouth, framed by that sexy trim beard. He licked his lips.

She was entranced.

He inched a fraction closer, his arm moving behind her back. Her eyes fluttered closed. Then the whistling registered and died. He’d reached around her to turn off the stove.

“I’ll take my tea black.” Then he spun and left the room.

What the hell? Nat blinked repeatedly. She did not imagine that. He was going to kiss her. She rolled her shoulders and grabbed a couple of mugs from the cabinet. She dropped a tea bag into each and filled them with scalding water.

With the steaming mugs in hand, Natalie walked back into the living room. Malcolm paced back and forth in front of the window, pausing to peer out onto the street. She handed him the mug. “What was that?”

“What?” he asked as he accepted the cup of tea.

“In the kitchen. You were going to kiss me, but didn’t.”

“I was not.” It was almost a scoff, and if he had been more successful at pulling it off, Nat might’ve been hurt.

“I might not be able to keep a man interested forever, but I know when one is about to make a move. You were definitely on the move.”

He didn’t respond.

She took a step closer. “Why did you stop?”

“Because this isn’t a good idea.”

“Wrong again, Mr. Sterling. Why is it wrong to act on attraction?”

“Because we work together.”

She rolled her eyes again.

“But more importantly, right now, you’re feeling vulnerable and that’s the wrong time to act. You’re not comfortable being you, so you become Gem and anything goes.”

Being turned down never felt good, but somehow, Malcolm made it worse. He tried to be all logical and s**t. She just wanted to have fun. So she told him so. “It could be a great time, we’ll only be working together for the next few weeks. Who knows? It might even add to our on-screen spark.” She wagged her eyebrows at him, but he wasn’t buying.

He drank his tea and maneuvered around her to go back to the couch. “If we don’t figure out what to do about the show, neither of us will be working much longer.”

She sighed. Again, his logic won out. The moment of intensity was gone. “Let’s watch the video again and see what we could’ve done differently. Then we’ll be armed going into this week.”

“Are you suggesting we plan our arguments?”

“Not exactly. But if we know where each of us is headed with the women, we’ll have ideas about how to ignite the spark that Brad loves so much.”

They spent the next hour reviewing footage and talking about how to improve. By the time Malcolm left, they had a handle on the situation. Brad had no idea what was coming his way.