Chapter 1 #4
When Andy eventually returned and handed us all another round of drinks, he sat back down on the end of my sun 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 me to 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.
“Yeah, Henry,” I said, hoping my voice didn’t shake. “What are we missing?”
Bailey, Rhea, Andy, and Jace cast not so subtle glances at each other while I focused on Henry, watching as he ran a hand through the top of his thick, black, wavy hair.
Time seemed to tick on forever until he eventually drained the rest of his beer, slammed it down on the small table next to him, then rose to stand.
“Doesn’t matter. You guys do whatever you want. I’m out of here.” Without another word, he took off, leaving all of us staring after him as if he had three heads and tentacles for feet.
“He seems… nice?” Rhea said, breaking the silence, only for Andy and Jace to lean into one another and start talking amongst themselves.
“He’s an arsehole,” I muttered once I knew they were distracted.
“Let’s not judge him too quickly,” Rhea said, leaning closer so only I could hear her, a mischievous smile on her face.
“He could be one of those hot, brooding types that’s slow to thaw.
You know… just like in these books you love to read.
” She picked up my abandoned paperback copy of Forever Engaged from the small table beside me and wafted it around.
“In fact, I bet if we looked through all your highlighted parts in this book, we’d find you swooning over someone exactly like Mr Cohen, no? ”
I leaned forward to snatch my book from her, another blush bringing my cheeks to life.
Only my best friends knew how I loved to highlight pages in my favourite novels with pastel-coloured markers to remind myself that love really could exist out there.
Not the sort of ‘love’ I’d had with my idiot ex-boyfriend, but the stuff that lasted a lifetime.
The kind I used to dream of.
The defying all odds, once in a lifetime love.
I may have been a woman scorned, but that didn’t mean I’d given up all my hopes of a happy ever after with a man who spent the rest of his days sweeping me off my feet at some point in my life.
It didn’t have to be anytime soon. I had zero intention of making that happen.
But my future? I needed to at least imagine it possible.
“I can judge him just fine, thank you.” I tucked the paperback into my beach bag. “That guy is rude, arrogant, and, well… rude again.”
“What was his deal?” Bailey asked Andy and Jace, drawing them back into the conversation. “Does your friend always look ready to murder someone?”
“Pretty much.” Andy nodded. “He’s a story for another day, though. Let’s just say Cohen’s all bark, no bite. Mostly.”
But I couldn’t believe it.
I had no doubt his bite was as vicious as his bark, and I didn’t want to get stuck with a group of guys for our entire holiday when one of them looked like he wanted to kill me for no good reason.
No man would ever make me feel inferior again.
That was the rule.
And by Christ, I’d make sure I stuck to it, no matter how growly my opponent happened to be.