Page 53 of Seduced By You

He wasn’t wrong, but for me, the torture had been acknowledging my burgeoning feelings for a man I’d only ever considered a friend. Whereas for him, the torture had been surviving around a bunch of people polar opposite to him.

“Those speeches.” He rolled his eyes and his head lolled back on his neck. “Dear God. I thought her father wasn’t ever going to shut up.”

I chuckled. “He’s very proud of his little girl.”

Unlike my parents. Okay, maybe that wasn’t entirely fair. Maman had been very proud of me. When I’d modeled. Back then, she’d bored anyone who would listen with tales of how successful and beautiful and talented her daughter was. Bet she avoided those same people now, tooembarrassedto tell them I’d voluntarily given up such a dazzling career.

Her words, not mine.

“Where’d you go, beautiful?” Kadon touched my arm. I stared at his tanned fingers against my pale skin. An image popped into my mind. One of me and Kadon lying side by side, naked. Him, all bronzed, smooth skin and hard lines, with a dusting of hair across his chest. Me, pale and slim, with pink nipples and curves in all the right places. At least I had curves now, and thank goodness for that. The days of sticking-out hip bones, visible ribs, and thigh gaps were long gone.

Sometimes, I thought of myself as a rather odd creature. Women the world over craved for a body like I’d once had, whereas I preferred the shape I was now. An article I’d read once said that men prefer women with a little meat on their bones, something to grab hold of.Wonder if that’s true.

“Do you prefer skinny or curvy women?”

Kadon startled, his eyebrows shooting up his forehead and widening his eyes. “Um, why do you ask? And how is that a response to my question?”

“I’m curious. I was thinking about how skinny I used to be and how I’m not like that anymore. And whether men prefer the former or the latter.”

“I can’t speak for other men, but for me, I’m more attracted to curvier women. My view on this, though, is that as long as the woman is happy in her body, it doesn’t matter what a guy thinks. And any guy who tries to change a woman’s body to suit his own preferences is with the wrong woman. Or, better put, she’s with the wrong fucking guy.”

Why did he have to say all the right things? It was as if he’d rummaged around inside my head, fished out all the answers that would make me go gaga for him, and regurgitated them in his own unique style.

“Where’s this coming from?”

I shook my head. “Nowhere. Just musing on things.” Yeah, musing on how Kadon preferred curvy women. I was a curvy woman. Bingo.

If only it was that simple.

Benedict caught my eye. He was spinning Fenella around the dance floor, but every time he faced in my direction, his gaze locked on me, like an Exocet missile. If things had turned out differently, it might be me up there, wearing a handmade wedding dress of satin and lace and drawing the attention of the crowd.

The relief that it wasn’t me was almost indescribable. A lightness that made me feel as if I were floating on air.

“Want to dance?” Kadon held out his hand and jerked his head toward the dance floor.

I smiled, rose from my chair, and placed my hand in his. “I’d love to.”

He led me onto the dance floor on the opposite side of Benedict. I’d wager he hadn’t done that accidentally. He slipped one arm around my waist. I expected him to take my hand with the other. He didn’t. Brushing my neck with the tips of his fingers, he curved his palm around the back of my neck where wisps of my hair had fallen out of my chignon.

I couldn’t breathe. Everything south of my belly button cramped, and goose bumps carpeted my skin. I slipped my arms around his waist and rested my head on his shoulder. A sigh escaped me, steeped in the deepest contentment I’d ever felt.

“Almost over.”

He must have misread my sigh, and why wouldn’t he?

“Yeah.” I leaned back to look at him. “You made it more than bearable, Kadon.”

“So you don’t regret it?”

“Not for a second. You were right all along. I came here and got my closure.” I glanced over my shoulder at the newlyweds. “That could have been me. The thought turns my stomach. In the end, he did me a favor.”

“He’s still a low-life, cheating asshole, though.”

I smiled. “Yeah, he is. But that’s Fenella’s problem now.”

He rested his chin on the top of my head, and his hand tightened on my waist. “You’re wearing a different perfume tonight.”

My pulse jumped. Iwaswearing a different perfume, but I wouldn’t have expected Kadon to notice. Was he… could he… be having feelings for me? The same feelings I’d discovered for him?

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