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We walked further into the mansion. Guests either danced or stood in clusters, clad in gowns or tuxedos. Most were also sipping champagne from beautiful crystal flutes. Some were admiring the ice sculptures or munching on appetizers.
A chamber quartet played classical music. A few photographers wandered around, snapping pictures. Waiters dressed in black and white walked around, trays of food or drinks in hand.
Once we’d each grabbed ourselves a flute, we began walking again, nodding at those who looked our way. Zhen also repeatedly made a point of snatching appetizers from passing waiters. He was a nervous eater.
His gaze drank in the opulent décor and high ceilings. “You really once lived here?”
“Not for long.” I felt my nose wrinkle. “I never really liked the place.”
“Dear God, why not?”
“Aesthetically, it’s amazing. But it never felt like a home. There was no laughter, no movie nights, no mom and daughter time, nosnacks.”
His eyes went wide. “What?” He popped what was left of an appetizer in his mouth.
“Chocolate is forbidden in this house, as is any form of junk food. And I wasn’t allowed to eat food anywhere but in the dining room. I also couldn’t have friends over as Alondra’s not a big fan of kids. Those rules could only be broken during my birthday parties, which were always big, dramatic productions that I didn’t want. She used them as an opportunity to network,” I added with an eye roll.
“No wonder you preferred living with your dads. Does she not know that chocolate is an essential food group?”
“It would seem not.”
Again, he grabbed an appetizer from a waiter and bit into it. “Her caterers are good. Not sure what this is, but it’s amazing. I’ve eaten about ten already.”
Realizing exactlywhathe was eating, I frowned. “I thought you were lactose intolerant.”
He paused in chewing. “What?”
“Those wantons have cream cheese in them.”
He swallowed, and it looked as if the food went down hard. “No way. I’d taste the cheese.”
I slowly shook my head. “Alondra insists on it being mild, so the taste can get buried beneath all the herbs and spices.”
The color drained from his face. “Oh, hell.”
I put a reassuring hand on his arm. “You’ll be fine.”
“No, no, I won’t. My stomach is going to rebel any moment now.”
His prediction unfortunately turned out to be correct. He soon looked close to doubling over in pain, his face flushed, his forehead glimmering with a light sheen of sweat.
I began leading him to one of the downstairs half-baths. “I know you’ve got some weird thing about having a number two in another person’s house, but you need to plop your butt on a toilet pronto.”
“Briar,” he croaked, “I can’t use the bathroom that all the other guests are using or they’ll hear this colossal shit exploding out of my ass.”
Cursing, I led him out of the room, down the hallway, and through a door that led to a staircase. I gave him directions to my old bedroom, adding, “You can use the attached bathroom there.”
“Bless you, bless you.” He dashed up those stairs like his ass was on fire.
Needing another drink, I returned to the party, intending to seek out a waiter.
“I suppose I should have expected you to be here,” said someone behind me.
I halted, my skin prickling. I knew that deep, wickedly sexy voice full of burrs, gravel, and jagged edges. I remembered how it had sounded when he’d been urging me to suck his cock. And my body lit up.
Feeling my mouth curl, I turned to face him. “Kaleb, hi.” Damn, he looked good.Reallygood. Rough though he might be, he wore a suit well and didn’t look one bit uncomfortable.
He hummed as he gave me a slow once-over. “Stunning.”
