“What exactly is the problem with it?”
“The pants are very tight.”
“Their most redeeming feature in my opinion.”
He was rewarded with another of her blushes. “I do not like to draw attention to my body.”
“Believe me when I tell you this, Gabriella. You do not have to do anything to draw attention to your body. The very fact that it exists does draw attention to it.” He found it was true even as he spoke the words. He had not readily noticed her charms upon his arrival at the estate yesterday, but she was certainly not lacking in them. Her figure was not what was considered attractive these days. There was no careful definition of muscles earned through long hours in a gym. No gap between her thighs.
She was lush. Soft. Average-size breasts that were remarkable if only because breasts always were, a slender waist and generously rounded hips. Hips that were currently being flaunted by the pants she was complaining about.
“Oh. Well. That is… Was that a compliment?”
“Yes. It was a good compliment.”
“Sorry. I’m not used to receiving compliments from men.”
>
He found that hard to believe. She was a princess. Moreover, she wasn’t unattractive. Usually one or the other was enough. “Do you ever leave the estate?”
“In truth, not that often.”
“That must be your problem. Otherwise, I imagine you would be inundated with compliments. Sincere and otherwise.”
“Why is that?”
“Because. You have quite a few things men would find desirable.”
“Money.”
“That is certainly one of the things. Though right now you could easily pass for a personal assistant. Which is exactly what we are going for.” He took a seat in one of the plush armchairs and picked up the mug of coffee he had poured himself earlier.
“What are the other things?”
“Your body. And its various charms. I thought I made that clear.”
She frowned. He expected her to…well, to get angry. Or shrink up against the wall like all bookish virgins should do. Instead, she walked through the plane and took the seat opposite from him, crossing her legs at the ankles and folding her hands in her lap. “You’re very blunt.”
“Yes. I find it frightens people. Which I very much enjoy.”
“I’m not certain if I’m blunt in quite the same way you are. But I do tend to say whatever pops into my mind. Often it’s about something unrelated to the situation. That also seems to frighten people. Men specifically.”
“The reason you don’t receive many compliments?”
“My mother always told me to keep conversation to the topic of the weather. But we live on an island. Unless a hurricane or tsunami is threatening, the weather isn’t all that interesting.”
“That’s the point. A great many men prefer their women to be dull on the inside and shiny on the outside.”
“You among them?”
He chuckled. “Oh, I am chief among them.”
She tilted her head to the side, a rather bemused and curious expression on her face. “Why is that?”
“Why is what, cara mia?”
“Why do so many men prefer their women to be quite the opposite of what one should prefer in a person?”