Page 34 of Line of Resistance

Be yourselfwas a universal wisdom everyone claimed to want to live by, but that’s only because they didn’t understand what it was like to be alone. To be isolated. To be unliked and unappreciated. If they did, they would see the perks of putting on a fake face everyone wanted to see.

“Try me.” It wasn’t a suggestion. The surprisingly sharp tone of Nate’s voice made it more of a demand. A challenge.

And if she was going to spend however long she was trapped here with him being her authentic self, she wasn’t going to be very good at backing down from that challenge.

“Fine.” Her eyes lifted to his annoyingly perfect clipper cut, moving over the precise placement of every hair on his head. “I don’t like your hair.”

She was hoping to offend him a little. To knock him down a peg the same way he’d done her.

But Nate just shook his head, a wickedly sinful smile curving his lips. “That’s not about you, Eloise. That was about me.” He relaxed back, stretching one arm across the seat behind them. “Try again.”

She was a little stunned. Shocked at how unbothered he was. Even more surprised he simply wasn’t going to let this go.

She racked her brain for the least interesting truth she could offer him. One that would prove he would be just as uninterested in the real her as he clearly was with the fraudulent version she presented. “I hate karaoke.”

Nate snorted. “No shit. The only people who love karaoke are the ones blessed with good voices. Everyone else just fucking tolerates it.” His gaze slowly skimmed her face. “Except that’s not why you do it. You tolerate it because your friends love it and you love them.”

“Now you’re some sort of armchair therapist?” His assessment wasn’t wrong, but it didn’t mean he had the right to make it. “If you think you’re going to sit here and pick me apart then you can get your ass out in the cold and freeze to death.”

Her words were harsh. Angry. Real. They felt too good flowing free. Good enough she should probably spend a little time reining herself back in before they were rescued. Before she got too comfortable. Because the last thing she needed was to slip up and let her bitch flag fly in front of her friends or coworkers.

“I’m not trying to pick you apart.” Like always Nate’s tone was cool and calm. As if her bad attitude didn’t affect him in the slightest. “I’m just trying to get to know you.”

“Why? So you can pretend to be interested in me again and then disappear the second I let my guard down?” She shook her head. “No thanks. I’d rather die single.”

“I doubt you would die single, Eloise.” He paused and an odd flash of emotion hardened his stupid, handsome face. “I’m sure there’s no shortage of men who would line up to take you out.” His jaw worked from side to side as if he was trying to loosen it. “The fake you and the real one.”

Nowthatwas funny. Amusing enough she snorted a laugh. “Right. Men just love a bitch.”

“They like a bitch way more than a doormat who only tells them what she thinks they want to hear.”

Eloise’s eyes widened as she snapped her head in his direction. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You know exactly what it means. I said I see you, Eloise Rivers, and I meant it. I know your game.” There was no accusation in his tone, but the certainty it carried grated. “You’re always there for everyone else. You’re always happy and easy-going and available when they need you. You go along with all their plans whether you want to or not. And you do it all with a smile on your face.”

Once again, the accuracy of his assessment was irritating as fuck. Irritating, and unearned. “You’ve been watching me awfully close for a guy who doesn’t even want to take me out on a date.”

“It has nothing to do with lack of wanting.” Nate didn’t miss a beat. “If I didn’t want you, I would’ve been able to walk away the first time without looking back.”

CHAPTER TWELVE

NATE

HE WAS PLAYING with fire. Letting himself get caught up in a woman he was supposed to be swearing off. A woman who was becoming more and more appealing with every layer he managed to peel back.

And she was making him work for every single one of them. It was probably part of the appeal. He wasn’t the kind of guy who usually had to work for female attention. Between the way he looked and the charm he’d learned, which was really his most powerful weapon, female interest was never something in short supply.

Except every bit of it was superficial. Based on nothing more than genetics and the web of bullshit he’d been spinning for as long as he could remember. It was what got him where he was.

But it couldn’t get him everything.

He’d spent his entire adult life wanting more. Looking to reclaim something he’d never actually had. Then he tucked tail and ran like a coward when it finally found him. He was caught between fear and desire. Unable to find a way between them. Unable to figure out how to move forward. How to find happiness. How to find real love.

“Nate,” Elise rolled her eyes, “just stop with the bullshit already.”

“It’s not bullshit.” He wasn’t normally one to admit the way he felt, but her clear disbelief and annoyance made it a little easier. Lessened his concern that he was about to land himself in a trap of his own setting. “It’s not bullshit. I genuinely like you.” He started to rake his hand through his hair but stopped, barely managing to avoid ruining what was left of the style he meticulously sculpted every morning. “That’s a big part of the fucking problem.” He huffed out a bitter laugh. “And then you had to go and be a pain in the ass on top of everything and make it all worse.”

If only she’d been exactly what she pretended to be. Then he had a shot at eventually forcing his interests away.

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