How to Destroy a Rich Boy

Chapter Forty

Relaxing back against the cushion on my chair, I stared out towards the sea. Even now sat at one of the local beach restaurants, my mind was still far away. 

Despite myself, I kept replaying what had happened between Nathan and me in the water over and over. Not the bit where I faked drowning to scare him or the part where he stole my bikini top; it was the part that came after. The part where he touched me and looked at me with those beautiful soft eyes of his before leaning in and-

"Sophie?" a voice said abruptly. 

"Hmm," I said as I sharply turned my head towards Nathan. 

He nodded his head over to the finely dressed waiter, who had come to the table without me even realizing it. "What would you like to order?" Nathan asked softly.

 "Oh right," I said with a stupid laugh as I glanced down at the menu. "Erm...I guess I'll have the fish and chips," I said, pointing to the first recognizable thing I saw on the menu.

"Excellent, we'll have your orders with you shortly," the waiter explained politely before turning on his feet to leave.

As soon as he was gone, Nathan cleared his throat and leaned forward in his seat. "Hey, are you alright? You've been awfully quiet since erm...since-"

Since you almost kissed me.

"-since we got back from the beach," he finished.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," I mumbled half-heartedly. "I'm a little tired, that's all," I said as I gave him a weak smile. His eyes narrowed slightly, clearly not believing me, but he didn't say anything to push me further.

Suddenly, our little staring match was interrupted by the crisp sound of someone clearing their throat. We both looked up in surprise, and I found myself staring into the taunting eyes of Nathan's brother, Noah. 

 Nathan stiffened in the chair beside me as though being in his mere presence unnerved him. And I could hardly blame him - I had known his piece of shit brother for barely twenty-four hours, and I already hated him.

"Mind if I sit?" he asked smoothly, a small smile playing on his lips. Before either one of us could respond, he stole a chair from the empty table beside us before tucking himself under our table.

The two of us glared at him in silence.

 "So..," he drawled.

"Who the fuck told you that you could sit here?" Nathan spat, getting straight to the point.

Noah chuckled as though he hadn't been insulted. "I didn't know I needed an invitation to sit with my little brother," he mused.

Nathan did nothing but silently scowl at him, and I didn't miss the way his fingers wrapped around his knife as though he was contemplating driving it through Noah's head. 

Deciding this was good enough of a time as any to jump in, I cleared my throat. "Look, Noah, no offense, but we're kinda trying to have a peaceful lunch, so would you kindly...er...how do I phrase this," I trailed off as I waved my hand around for inspiration.

"Oh right, got it. Kindly fuck off," I said bluntly with a small little smile on my face.

Nathan let out a loud snort which he poorly tried to cover up with a cough which further drove home my satisfaction.

Noah's smile was instantly wiped off his face, and he glowered at the two of us. His expression soon dripped back into a relaxed one, and he eyed me carefully. "Hmm, so you're a feisty one, are you?"

I wrinkled my nose at the phrase, the word reminding me of a hyperactive Chihuahua. "Are you trying to get me to hate you, on purpose or something?" I scoffed.