Page 2 of The Dating Dare

“I don’t like weddings,” he said, a dark shadow flitting across his face. There was a finality to his words that glued her lips together.

Tara peeked at him from under her lashes, wondering what hisstory was. A broken heart? Warning bells rang in her head, telling her to run like the wind in the opposite direction of the man. She was in no position tofixhim… she had enough baggage of her own. One nightmarish relationship had been enough for her to swear off any emotional entanglements. Still, she was helplessly drawn to him.

Seth Kim was devastatingly handsome, and any woman who didn’t tingle in their undies when near him was a dead one. He wasn’t built like a tank but had a sinewy, well-proportioned body, radiating with restless energy. With light-brown skin, dark hair, and eyes the color of black coffee, he screamed beast-in-the-sheets. But it wasn’t only his looks that caught her attention. The flash of vulnerability he revealed tugged at her heart and wobbled her iron self-control.

If she didn’t rein in her hormones and empathy and all that, she was going to end up naked tonight. She refused to jump into bed with a virtual stranger—no matter how attractive he was—with her feelings in a jumble over her best friend’s wedding.

Watching Aubrey marry Landon, her true love, reminded Tara that she’d chosen to keep her heart safe rather than to seek her own happily ever after. She’d never regretted her decision before, nor was she questioning it now, but a deep hollowness settled inside her.

“Fine. Stare, if you must. You won’t be difficult to ignore,” she said haughtily even though it was a blatant lie. “But understand one thing. There will be no hookup between the best man and the maid of honor at this wedding. Do I make myself clear?”

“Crystal,” he said without a hint of mockery.

Tara spun on her heels, whipping her long hair over her shoulder.Shit. The hair whip? It must’ve been an accident. She wouldn’t flirt with a man she was tryingnotto sleep with. And she definitely was not sashaying her hips for his benefit. Walking like a lingerie model was second nature to her.That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

It took all her willpower not to glance over her shoulder to see if Seth was watching her. She couldn’t decide whether she was hoping to find his eyes on her or off her. She swore under her breath. Hadn’t she just confronted the man so he wouldstopstaring at her?

Resisting her attraction to Seth Kim must’ve thoroughly sapped her strength. She suddenly felt light-headed and out of breath. She needed to either take the damn dress off—she ate way too much to be contained in a corset-tight dress—or maybe throw up a little. Both scenarios required privacy, so she made like a penguin and waddled to the bathroom as fast as she could, shoving the door open with her shoulder.

“Ahhh!” Tara and Aubrey screamed in unison.

“Holy roadkill.” She’d nearly bulldozed her best friend and bride onto the monochromatic tiles of the ladies’ bathroom. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah. I’m fine.” Aubrey lowered the arms she’d flung out in front of her and trained her eyes on Tara. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing.” She eased herself into the restroom, making sure her friend was a safe distance away, and closed the door behind her.

“Purple isn’t your color.”

“What? I can rock purple just fine. Besides, this dress is a deep red.”

“I know, but your face is purple and you aren’t rocking it, babe.”

Tara caught her reflection in the mirror and snorted. “You’re right. I can’t breathe in this damn thing.”

“God, me neither.” Aubrey walked behind Tara and unzipped her partway, and Tara returned the favor. Lusty sighs echoed on the bathroom tiles. “Let’s just hide in here for five minutes.”

“Are you sure Landon won’t come charging in here to claim his bride?” Tara quirked an eyebrow at her.

Her friend rolled her eyes, but a rosy blush blossomed on hercheeks. She looked so beautiful Tara’s breath hitched. She was so happy for Aubrey. The ache in her heart meant nothing.

“He’s putting Morgan to sleep, and he’ll use that as an excuse to hold her for way too long. Our baby girl is barely a hundred days old, but she has her old man wrapped around her teeny tiny pinky.” Aubrey wiggled her pinky with a dreamy smile. “I’m safe from any charging husbands for now. But seriously. What’s going on?”

Tara had thought she’d dodged the question.Damn.Aubrey wasn’t going to settle for another evasive maneuver. “I’m sorry, but your brother-in-law’s an ass.”

“Seth?”

“Does Landon have another obnoxious younger brother?”

“What did he do? It can’t be that bad. He’s so sweet.”

“So sweet he’s been gawking at me for the last two hours?” She adopted his more benign word for ogling for no particular reason.

“Is that all?” Aubrey crinkled her nose. “All the single men, as well as some married ones, have been doing the same thing. Men stare at you all the time. Aren’t you used to it by now?”

“They do not.”

“You just never notice.” A sly grin spread across her face. “So why would you notice Seth’s attention?”

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