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I waited, as if he had more to say. Then I walked out the door, but not before glancing into the room one more time.
His stare at the ceiling was hard, cold, and devoid of any emotion.
CHAPTER19
Whitney
“What do you see in my brother?”
Elena’s question came out of the blue, cold and brutal, her intonation matching her hard look. She’d said little to me after arriving at the house, waltzing in as if I was the maid instead of the woman her brother had kidnapped, seduced, and asked to marry. The ride in the SUV had been painful in its silence, the only activity her texting on her cellphone the entire time.
Just like she was doing now.
While she thought she was being subtle in her actions, I had a feeling who she was texting furiously, blushing half the time after receiving a message.
She was beautiful, with long, straight dark hair and smoky gray eyes. She was tall by anyone’s standards, at least six feet without her heels.
I had a feeling she’d come dressed to impress or in my case, to antagonize. It was obvious Phoenix had told her very little about me, including the fact I could stand my own in the middle of a circle of alligators.
I’d watch her flirt with Jonas, giggling like some schoolgirl when she was at least my age if not a couple of years older.
I found her amusing, especially when she cursed at everything from the sunlight imposing on her screen to the fact the soldier commandeering our vehicle had been cut off not once but twice.
While I’d managed to keep from laughing in her face, it was beginning to become difficult.
“Absolutely nothing.”
I didn’t bother looking in her direction, saying the words flatly.
Elena didn’t respond immediately. Then she reached over the table, jerking my arm. “Seriously? Do you know that there isn’t a woman in Philadelphia who doesn’t want him? He is the best-looking man in the city. Are you blind?”
I guess it was difficult not to show my level of amusement. She narrowed her eyes, obviously issuing curse words in Greek then flagging down the waiter.
“Please bring us your best bottle of champagne. We have a celebration taking place.”
She was just as bold and vivacious as her brother, and I could see why Jonas was so taken with her. It was also easy to see under the façade she wore as finely as the expensive clothes she’d selected.
Yet the mask she was wearing had moments of slipping as they did with Phoenix, allowing me to see glimpses of the real woman.
“You’re joking,” she said, lifting a single dark eyebrow.
“Maybe. What’s it to you?” We’d been doing the dance for almost an hour and my face ached from the inability to crack a smile.
“No wonder he likes you. You’re…”
“Formidable. A pain in the ass. Hardheaded?”
She laughed, the sound finally genuine. “I’d say intelligent, witty, and conniving enough my brother likely didn’t know what hit him. I like you.”
“I’ll take that as a stamp of approval.”
As she looked away, studying the crowd outside the terrace of the bistro she’d chosen, I noticed a wave of sadness crossing her face. “I’m very protective of my brother.”
“Admirable.”
“Necessary. He won’t do it for himself.”
“Most men don’t, I suppose.”
