Page 44 of Seduced By You

“Ah, what a fun day we have to look forward to.” I pretended to hold a shotgun and take aim. “Boom.”

“I’m not shooting a damn thing, other than maybe your ex.” He winked, then opened the drawer beside the bed and took out a fresh pair of boxers. My throat thickened. He was naked beneath that towel. One little tug at the side and—

I averted my eyes, crossing the bedroom to peek out the window. A bright blue sky greeted me, dew dampening the extensive lawned gardens that stretched farther than the horizon.

“If you do shoot him, aim for his balls.”

“Done.” He appeared beside me, dressed in attire similar to mine. “You okay?”

“Yeah.”

He put his arm around my shoulders and kissed my hair, releasing me far too fast for my liking.

“For what it’s worth, you’re bossing this weekend. It’s hard, I know, but I truly believe that by the time we leave here Sunday morning, you’ll have closed the door on this shitty chapter of your life and be ready to open a new one. The right guy is out there waiting for you to let him in.”

He wandered back to the bed to put on his shoes. I returned my gaze to the view. Sadness enveloped me. The right guy had been under my nose all this time.

Yet to him, I was the wrong girl.

Chapter14

Kadon

What the hell did Lee ever see

in this pompous prick?

I deserved a fucking medal.No, not a medal. An Oscar. If my beach clubs ever went under, I had a new career as an award-winning actor. After mauling Lee like a feral animal at the bonfire last night, I’d had a strong word with myself. If Lee caught an inkling that I was in love with her, it would be the beginning of the end of our relationship. Oh, she’d say all the right things, but it would change the dynamic, hanging over us like a rotting corpse.

Part of what I’d said to her last night was the absolute truth. The idea of losing her friendship made me feel sick to my stomach. I couldn’t bear it if she wasn’t in my life. But the other part of my apologetic speech was a fucking great lie. What had happened at the bonfire wasn’t wrong. Not for me. It was the rightest thing I’d ever done.

Shame she didn’t feel the same. And she never would. I’d thought I could handle the idea of being her fake boyfriend for the weekend, but if I’d considered it with my head instead of my dick, I’d have seen how it had all the elements to end in disaster.

Sunday couldn’t come quickly enough.

We entered the dining room. The smell of freshly grilled bacon and hot, buttered toast reached me, and my stomach growled. It struck me as odd that the Granges had bestowed “special” status on Lee, allowing us to stay at the manor. By God, I wished they hadn’t. A two-bedroom suite at a hotel would have been a lot less painful than lying beside her all night. I’d woken up with a boner to rival all boners, and the only thing that had deflated it was trying to do complicated sums in my head. At least Lee hadn’t been there beside me when I’d woken. If she had, I couldn’t say with absolute certainty that I’d have been capable of holding back.

A uniformed member of staff approached us. “Miss Alarie, Mr. Kingcaid, I hope you slept well. Please allow me to show you to your table.”

I arched a brow at Lee. I’d never met this dude before, and from the slight shake of her head, neither had she. It made me wonder whether the Granges had given the staff photographs of all the guests to study. How weird was that? My parents hosted get-togethers often, both business-related and for pleasure, and not once had they expected their staff to memorize the guests’ faces.

We sat at a table overlooking a lake with four pairs of swans floating across the surface, sending ripples of water to the edges. The pretentiousness of this place was so alien to me. My parents were enormously wealthy, but they didn’t shove it down people’s throats like the Granges seemed intent to do. Growing up, I hadn’t lived in a two-hundred-room mansion. Our family home in Seattle wasn’t small by any means, but my mom had wanted us to grow up in a house where she didn’t have to send out a search party to let us know it was time for dinner.

“Can I get you some tea? Or coffee, perhaps.”

“Coffee for me. Lee?” I needed the caffeine kick to get through today.

“Water, please.” She scanned the room. “Do you think I could feign illness and escape this godforsaken spa day?”

“Only if I can do the same.” I caught sight of Benedict and Fenella over Lee’s shoulder. He spotted us, nudged her, and pointed, then made a beeline for our table. “Brace for impact,” I murmured a second before Fenella hugged Lee from behind.

“There you are, darling. Are you looking forward to today? I can’t wait for us to spend quality time together. It’s been so long since we’ve had a good old girlie gossip.”

It always struck me as odd how people so easily lied to themselves. From what Lee had told me, she’d known Fenella before she and Benedict had hooked up, but they weren’t besties or anything. Fenella’s behavior was as if they’d been joined at the hip. She did a great job of ignoring the truth that she was marrying the man who had ditched Lee for her.

Lee responded like a rock star. “I can’t wait. I’ve been talking about how much I’m looking forward to it all morning, haven’t I, darling?” Lee placed her hand over mine. I should be used to her touching me by now, but each time she did, electricity fired through my veins, setting my blood alight.

I fixed a sickly sweet smile on my face. “She’s spoken of little else.”

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