I’m only checking in to make sure you landed okay. Hope you have a good trip, Phoebe. Don’t worry about us. I really mean that. Mum.
Guilt tried to take over every other emotion I held inside, because I knew this vacation had come at a bad time for her, so I quickly shoved that guilt down and shot off a quick text to tell her I’d landed just fine, and I’d speak to her later.
Remember why you’re doing this,I told myself as I dropped my phone back into my bag.It’s not selfish to put yourself first for once. Sometimes it’s vital. You hit your vital, girl. Home won’t crumble without you, but you would have crumbled if you’d stayed at home.
After blowing out a breath, I shook out my arms, and it was with that renewed sense of power that I hit the bottom step of the descending staircase to the pool area, and I stepped out into the ridiculously hot sunshine, only to immediately become blinded by its brightness and beauty.
I covered my eyes with my hand, just not soon enough, and slammed straight into a rock-hard chest smothered in sun lotion, aftershave, and the kind of masculine sweat that set a woman’s pheromones on fire.
A small “Umph” fell from my lips, and one of my flip flops slid off my foot, sending me stumbling to the side… until a pair of firm hands quickly grabbed hold of my arms to steady me. The grip was commanding, steady, and I inhaled a sharp breath of manly shower gel that sent my head into an immediate spin.
“Fuck, I’m sorry—” I started, only to be cut off when my eyes rose high enough to take in the face of the man in front of me.
Fuck, indeed.
A severe lack of amusement stared down at me, all dark features and moody tones barely hidden behind the kind of dark brown eyes with tiny flecks of gold around the irises that made you feel like you were staring into a never-ending pool of dangerous dreams.
My mouth fell slack as I stared up at his tall frame, with his jet-black hair backlit by the blazing sun, leaving me dumbstruck and mute. He said nothing while my silence said everything and seemed to drag on for far too long before I managed to engage my senses again.
“I’m… I’m sorry,” I croaked.
“No ‘fuck’ this time?” he asked, his voice a rough timbre as he raised a single brow.
Heat rushed to my cheeks, making me even hotter, and I managed to step back and create some distance between us. I searched around for my missing flip flop with my foot, lookinglike a moron as I tried to wedge it back in to place without falling over again while never taking my eyes offhim.
The guy’s hands fell away from me easily, but his face never brightened. If anything, his anger only grew, and I tried so hard to maintain eye-contact instead of letting my gaze drift over the hard set of his strong shoulders and traps, which was difficult given my five-foot four height compared to his six foot two, maybe three, that towered over me.
I finally released a nervous laugh as he pushed his hands into the pockets of his swim shorts and waited.
“I’m—”
“Sorry. Yeah. You’ve tried saying that three times now. Doesn’t seem to be working out for you. How about you just watch where you’re going? That ought to do it.”
I opened my mouth again to say something, but not a single word came out, even though I had plenty of them—mostly X-rated and defamatory—but I’d turned into one of those dumbstruck idiots in movies who became blinded by an attractive man like they’d never seen one before.
I had. I’d seen plenty. But this guy…
The tension in his jaw grew as he stared at me, his eyes narrowing. I could have sworn I saw his hands balling into fists beneath the thin blue material of his pockets, too.
That quickly made me snap out of my stupor. I’d tried apologising, and this Casanova was giving me attitude for it. I was too deep into my ‘No Man Will Ever Make Me Feel Stupid Again’ era to let someone I didn’t even know try to make me feel small. Right now, Taylor Swift had nothing on me.
“Is there any need to be such a jerk about it?” I asked sharply, my scowl deepening. “It was clearly an accident.”
“Yet you’re still in my way.”
“You can’t go around me?”
“Can. Don’t see why I should.”
“Wow. You’re a real charmer.”
“I’m so relieved a stranger I don’t care about thinks so.”
“Are you always such an arsehole?”
“Are you always in the way?”
I gestured to my side. “Don’t mind me. The path is wide enough even for your ego to fit through, I’m sure.”
