Chapter 1 #2
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, looking like a moron as I tried to wedge it back in to place without falling over again while never taking my eyes off him .
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.”
This time it was him who opened his mouth to say something, only for him to close it again as though he thought better of it before he shook his head and practically growled, “Fine,” and he took off, moving around me and walking past in some kind of half-march, half stomp.
I glanced over my shoulder to watch him go, trying not to focus on the strong muscles of his tanned, toned back, or the way rivulets of sweat trailed down the dip of his sun-kissed spine.
I was sick of men like him walking around on this planet like they owned every rotten inch of it while women like me were nothing but an inconvenience to them when they had better things to do.
There was no way I was letting anyone treat me like shit anymore.
Not even a complete stranger I’d probably never see again.
“Hey, arsehole!” I called out. “You have a splendid day, won’t you? Try not to scare any children or puppies by actually smiling at them or anything. Wouldn’t want to put a chink in your stony face now, would we?”
Before I could even see if he turned around or responded, I spun back around and made my way to the bar, wondering why the hell all the best-looking men in this world had to act like complete and utter knobheads.
Revelling in the fact that, for once, I’d said what was on my mind, and it had felt damn good to do so, too.
It was hard to be anything other than impressed by the beauty of Mykonos.
Wherever I looked, crystal clear waters and a thousand shades of blue stared back at me.
The white-washed stone buildings and colourful domed caps almost blinded you if you weren’t wearing your sunglasses.
White windmills lined the ever-breezy shoreline of Mykonos Town, with tourists all around taking pictures, losing themselves in the flash of a camera and the company of their loved ones, their hair whipping around wildly as the island’s winds demonstrated what they were famous for.
In our first few hours of being here, I walked around in awe, unable to believe that the real thing turned out to be so much better than any picture I’d seen on the internet or any photograph I’d seen in a magazine.
Our apartment complex was as luxurious as any of us had ever stayed in, buried in the small hills of Mykonos, with an infinity pool that stretched out to the very edge so you could see the ocean beyond it and look out at the crystal blue waters whenever the urge took you.
Even the sun loungers were pure comfort, full of plump, cream cushioning that made you want to close your eyes and drift away to another life.
Fourteen days and nights of this wasn’t going to be hard. I was here to appreciate every flash of beauty, every ray of sun, every moment of pure peace.
My friends, however, had other ideas.
“I’ll be damned. Take a look at those cuties.” Bailey nudged my arm from her lounger on my left as we sunbathed around the pool.
I closed my eyes behind my Ray Bans and tilted my chin towards the sun. It was the fourth group of guys she’d tried pointing out to me in less than an hour.
“Man, I love Greece already.” She sighed, her grin obvious even if I couldn’t see it. “So many shirtless men. So many opportunities to smother them in sun lotion. What do you think, Phoebe?”
I peeled my eyes open slowly. “Well… I think our pool is gorgeous.”
“The pool ?”
“Mmhmm.”
“Phoebe,” she groaned. “You promised you’d have fun on this trip.”
I rolled my head lazily in her direction. “Who says I’m not having fun?”
“You know what I mean.” She arched a perfectly shaped, dark brow at me.
Too tired to deal with her scrutiny, I rolled my head away from her again to look straight ahead instead. “You promised me you wouldn’t push, Bailey.”
“You think this is me pushing?”
“I think we’ve been in Mykonos for six hours and you should already stop trying to get me laid.”
“Never. I have one mission for this trip, and it’s to see you smile.”
On cue, I smiled, then closed my eyes again.
“With out me having to coax it out of you,” she added.
“I know this may be a hard concept for you to grasp, but I don’t need a man to make me happy.”
Bailey mock gasped. “Phoebe Elisa Turner. Take yourself to church right now.”
“Leave her alone, Bailey,” Rhea piped up on my right.
“Don’t act like you don’t want to see her hook up, too, Rhea.”
“But that isn’t what this trip was supposed to be about, remember?”
“Things can change.”
The two of them began bickering away again while I let the heat of the sun soak into my skin, trying to drown them out.
Bailey had a heart of gold and desperately wanted me to be happy.
Rhea was more of a fly by the seat of her pants woman who let destiny kick in when it needed to.
She didn’t push for anything. They couldn’t have been more opposite of each other, and they both meant the world to me for entirely different reasons.
Their loyalty could never be questioned. Their friendship never in doubt.
Right then, though, they were giving me a headache.
After five minutes of back and forth over what they thought was best for me, I opened my eyes and threw my hands in the air before hauling my butt up off the sunbed. “Apparently, alcohol is the only thing that shuts you two up, so who wants another cocktail?”
With a promise of booze, their attention soon diverted, and I had my orders as I made my way to the tiny poolside beach bar, with its straw roof and rustic, wooden frame.
I rose up on tiptoes and brought my hands together on the counter in front of me, pressing my body against the edge while I waited for the barman to turn my way and take my order.
Only someone else stepped up beside me before he had the chance.
“Without sounding like a total creep, I’d love to buy you your next drink,” a male voice said, making me turn in their direction.
A good-looking blond guy, with a very decent body, wearing red shorts, stared back at me.
He leaned against the bar on one elbow, his very self-assured smile in place.
“Uh-oh. That’s not a good look you’re giving me.
” He cringed. “It’s telling me to get out of here immediately. You’re not interested.”
“In the drink… or in you?” I raised a brow.
“You want the drink, don’t you?”
I offered him a small shrug of condolence. “Sorry. I’m not exactly on the playing field at the moment. The getting-drunk-and-having-a-good-time-on-holiday-with-my-friends field… sure . The man thing, though.” I shook my head.