They walked into the cabin, neither of them bothered by the muddy footprints on the deck. She probably shouldn’t be either. She frowned when she saw that Seth had set her basket behind the woodpile like he was trying to hide it. She picked it up and followed them inside.
Logan’s hat was on the bar, and Seth had set his keys down. Seth had the refrigerator open and passed Logan a beer.
“So I thought we could talk a little tonight. Maybe head into town. You said there was a new tavern, right?” Seth asked.
“Trio,” Logan replied. “It’s Callie’s place.”
Seth smiled. “We grew up with Callie. She’s a complete sweetheart, Georgia. You’re going to love her.”
She bet she would. She bet that if Callie had cooked dinner for them, they wouldn’t be planning how to get out of eating it. She just nodded and sat down at the bar. They didn’t seem to need her input.
“What exactly is it you want to talk about?” Logan asked, his voice tightening.
Seth set his beer down and took a long breath. “I want to talk about D/s.”
She heard him vaguely, but her mind was wandering. Guys changed when they got around other guys. Seth had been so sweet when they had been in New York. She’d felt like the center of the world. She didn’t need to be the center of everything, but she hated this feeling, like she wasn’t in on the joke. Or worse, like she was the butt of the joke. She got that a lot. Guys could be great when a girl was alone with them, but sometimes when a guy got with his friends, he changed. Seth seemed to be changing.
“Georgia?” Logan was staring at her, a serious look in his eyes.
“What?”
“Are you sure you want to go along with this?” Logan asked. “What he’s asking for is some serious shit. It would be very serious for me.”
Serious? Shit. What had she missed? Did she want to admit she’d drifted off? Wouldn’t that just make her look that much dumber? Stall them, Georgia. Maybe she could figure it out. “Sure. Uhm, why don’t you go over it again while I get the plates out for dinner?”
Logan turned a little green. “I thought we were going to Trio.”
“Well, I cooked.”
Seth reached out to touch her hand. “Sweetie, it’s our first night here. Let’s go out. We can have it tomorrow night. Or we could save whatever you cooked for lunches and leftovers.”
“You have to eat a thing to have leftovers.” That answered one question. They didn’t want to take her seriously at all and they weren’t willing to be polite to save her feelings. “Why am I here?”
Logan sighed. “I told you she wasn’t listening.”
Fine. She was dumb as dirt. Her stomach was getting tight, and anger was starting to boil a little. “No, I wasn’t. I was thinking about something else. So tell me why I’m here. Because I wasn’t brought here to work, and Seth left me alone all day, so I wasn’t brought here to meet your friends. Why am I here?”
Seth’s whole face softened. He was like a gorgeous puppy with perfect abs when he got that look on his face. It had worked on her before, every single time. “Baby, I can’t wait for you to meet my friends. It’s not the time yet. I thought I would give you a couple of days to get settled in.”
“I unpacked. I think I’m settled in.” She was on the fence. He could be very thoughtful. Maybe he was really trying to give her time.
Seth patted her hand. “Uhm, maybe you just need a little time to kind of figure out the social situations around here. Tomorrow I’ll really talk to you about small-town life. This isn’t New York. You have to act a little differently around here.”
“What he’s trying to say is that your big-city princess act won’t fly around these parts,” Logan clarified. He was watching her with hooded eyes as he tipped back his beer.
She got the subtext. Seth didn’t want her to embarrass him. He’d never minded in New York, but it suddenly struck her that he didn’t have anyone in New York that he actually cared about. She’d never seen him hug a friend in New York or smile the way he did here. He’d shown her off in New York because it didn’t matter. Now that they were someplace that it did matter, she wasn’t good enough, and he thought he could change her.
She’d really thought he was the guy. Logan was a pipe dream. She wasn’t even really sure what she’d felt for Logan had been love. It had been a crazy hot attraction. It was still there. Every time she looked at him, she felt like that dumb moth who just kept circling the flame, getting closer and closer with every pass. He’d saved her once. He’d kissed her silly and made her feel more than she’d ever imagined, but he’d made it plain that she was way too much trouble.
Seth had been reality. She’d fit into his world, kind of sort of. She’d thought he liked her the way she was, but it was just another lie. He liked the way she looked. Some guys went for the blonde bombshell thing because they thought the way she looked meant she was good at sex. Her body was better suited for the 1950s. Most of the people she came up against thought she was too fat, but maybe Seth had a curvy-girl fetish.
But it was obvious he didn’t really like her or he wouldn’t be hiding her away.
“That isn’t what I’m saying at all,” Seth said quickly. “I’m just saying it could be a bit of culture shock.”
Logan shrugged. “If she can’t be who she is, there’s no damn reason for her to be here.”
She rather agreed, but the way he said it stung. Tears threatened, but she wasn’t going to cry. Dawsons didn’t cry. They were tough. She’d watched her brothers. They were her only role models. Oh, she’d had a parade of stepmothers, but they were cold for the most part, and she’d seen that crying didn’t work with men. Anger worked. And she was definitely angry. Rage clouded her judgment. Win had been right. She should never have come out here. Now she was alone.
“Try the food.” She didn’t make it a polite request. She wasn’t feeling polite. She stared at Seth because Logan was a lost cause.
Seth stopped and studied her for a moment. She could see that big brain of his working, trying to figure out exactly how to handle her. After a long moment, he nodded. “All right. I would love to try it.”
He was a good liar. He’d even managed to say the words with a smile and an emphasis on the word “love.” She walked over to the Crock-Pot and picked the best parts of the chicken, ladling on some of the rich gravy that had formed. She scooped up some choice potatoes. The plate was pretty. Probably not what he was expecting, but then she was about to show him she didn’t always do what he expected her to do.
“Dude, she’s about to pull some shit.” Logan’s eyes had narrowed. He didn’t move from his seat, but he was watching her like she was a dog who was growling his way.
Georgia set the plate in front of Seth. Logan didn’t matter. “Eat it.”
Seth’s shoulders squared, his face tightening, and just for a second she caught a glimpse of the real man behind the sweet façade. He was ruthless, and he really didn’t like being ordered around.
Logan never took his eyes off her. “I’m telling you, man. Shut this shit down now or I’ll have to do it. You want me to teach you how to top her? It’s not going to be easy.”
Top her? Seth wanted to top her? Well, if he’d wanted to easily do that then he should have stayed her boss. She’d done everything he asked of her then. “I’m not a sub.”
She wasn’t going to admit any of her fantasies at this point. She wouldn’t admit that Nat had talked to her about the possibility that she would be happier in a D/s relationship. She definitely wasn’t going to mention that before she’d left Dallas, Julian Lodge had offered to find a Dom for her.
She’d thought about it. And then left because she’d only wanted one Dom.