Deep brown stared at me, sparkling under the bright light of the burning sun, and his movements stilled as the muscles in his jaw twitched.
Irritation was etched on every part of his face—his body not faring much better, tensing as he studied me as if he couldn’t believe his rotten luck to have gotten stuck with ‘that rude chick’ out of everyone in our complex. Bailey tried to talk to him—I could hear her mumbled words through the fog of my mind—but neither Cohen nor I looked away from each other or joined in the conversation. Not until Andy reached over to slap Cohen on the knee, and he began his introductions, pointing a finger at each of us as he spoke.
“Here we have Bailey, Phoebe, and Rhea. Girls, this is Henry. Or Cohen, as we like to call him.”
Henry.
The name seemed far too nice for someone as tainted as him.
“Hey, Cohen,” Rhea and Bailey said in unison, while I remained completely silent, aware that if I spoke I’d probably piss him off even more than I already had that morning.
Henry didn’t respond to either of them verbally. Just a tip of his head in acknowledgement. Cool. Calm. Unbothered by anything or anyone.
From then on, Bailey tried and tried to engage him in conversation, but Henry never bit. He had an air of confidence that felt suffocating to those around him. He wasn’t trying to impress anyone. In fact, he looked like he didn’t give a damn what anyone thought about him whatsoever. I admired that, but it also annoyed me. Manners cost nothing in this life, and arrogance was the biggest turn off to a woman, no matter how beautiful the guy owning it appeared to be.
Sitting up straighter, I cleared my throat and drained my glass before placing it on the small table beside me.
“Want another, Phoebe?” Andy asked.
“Yes, she does,” Bailey answered on my behalf.
“I guess I do.” I smiled at Andy. “I’ll get these, though.”
“At least let me pretend to be a gentleman before you get to know me for real.” He winked, and for some reason, that simple action brought a blush to my cheeks the summer sun couldn’t.
“If you’re sure. Thanks.”
“Pleasure’s all mine.” He jumped up. “Want to come with me again so you know there’ll be no poisoning of drinks?”
“I think I’ll trust you.”
“Be still my beating heart.” Andy clutched his chest and wandered off with a smile on his face.
For some reason, my attention immediately drifted to Henry, only to see him looking angrier than before. His fingers tightened around the beer in his hand, and he made no secret of staring at me without any worry about what I or anyone else thought about it.
When Andy eventually returned and handed us all another round of drinks, he sat back down on the end ofmysun lounger, closer this time, so his butt was only inches away from my feet.It felt more intimate than before, and I glanced at Henry again, watching as he turned his daggers on to Andy.
If looks could have killed, every single one of us would have been dead, even though the only thing I was doing at that point that could have offended him was, well, breathing.
“So, what are you girls doing for your first night in Mykonos? Any plans?” Jace asked, eyes firmly on Rhea. If he thought he was onto a sure thing with my friend, he had another thing coming. Rhea’s favourite pastime was making guys work for her attention—something I’d always admired her for, and, once again, the exact opposite of Bailey. Rhea knew what she wanted and would never settle for less.
“No plans. That’s the whole point of being on holiday,” she answered casually. “We thought we’d take it one day at a time. Go out when we want, chill at the apartment when we want, eat out when we want.” She paused, giving him the eye as she picked up her cocktail and played with the straw. “Why? You got any suggestions?”
“Hell, yeah,” Jace said with a smile. “You’re coming out with us to Paradise Beach. We have to get a bus from here, but it’s the only place to be. We’ll probably hit up the main club, then?—”
“No,” Henry suddenly said, his voice calm yet sharp enough to catch the group’s attention.
Every single one of us turned in his direction slowly, and my stomach rolled.
“Excuse me?” Bailey asked, affronted, her brow raised.
“Here we go.” Jace sighed.
“Don’t start with this shit, Cohen,” Andy muttered, and it sounded like there was more to it. A quiet threat, perhaps.
“What are we missing here?” Bailey asked.
Henry’s eyes came back to mine again, and he stared and stared as though the others weren’t even there. It made my toes curl into the towel beneath me, and my instincts told meto look away. Instead, I kept my focus on him, refusing to be intimidated. I’d had enough of cowering before overpowering men in my life.
