He stayed where he was and Ody noticed. He grabbed a bag of croissants and stood. As he walked over, Mano looked up and their eyes met. Ody set the bag beside him without saying a word.
Mano glanced at the bag, then back at him. Something softened in his expression.
Ody looked away first and walked back toward the group. Mano watched him go before opening the bag and taking the first bite.
Anna groaned and lay back on her lounger, clearly stuffed. Ody teased her about how much she had eaten, earning a playful slap to his bare chest.
For a moment, the group relaxed on their loungers, chatting and laughing as the night settled around them. Then Ranya’s gaze drifted toward Mano, who was still sitting a little apart from everyone. “You two are still not talking?” she asked Ody.
The group fell silent. Ody knew she meant Mano, but he didn’t answer.
Antony frowned and glanced between them. “Seriously? You guys are still doing this?”
“Come on,” Christina said. “We’re on vacation. Whatever it is, just talk it out.”
Ody dropped his gaze to the sand. The others thought this was about them fighting. But the real reason for the tension was something he couldn’t tell them.
Ranya stood and walked over to Mano. He looked up as she sat on the lounger across from him, studying his face. “Why don’t you go talk to Ody and fix this?” she said softly.
Mano frowned. “Fix what?”
“This weird tension between you two,” she said. “And baby, you never join us. You always sit by yourself.” She glanced back toward the group where Ody sat, then returned her gaze to Mano. “So go talk to him.”
Antony jerked his chin toward the far end of the beach, where they had come from. “Walk it off somewhere and figure it out.”
The group’s persistence finally pushed Ody to stand.
When Ranya saw Ody approaching, she got to her feet and glanced between the two of them. “Work it out, okay?” she said before heading back to the others.
Ody and Mano looked at each other, neither sure where to begin. Ody jerked his head down the beach, silently telling him to follow, then turned and walked away. Mano hesitated for a moment before getting up and trailing after him.
They stopped near the first row of empty loungers, far enough from the group, and sat facing each other. “The others basically forced me to come talk to you,” Ody said. “They still think we’re mad at each other.”
Mano let out a dry laugh. “Oh, they forced you?” he said. “Relax. We’ve got nothing to talk about.” He moved to get up, but Ody grabbed his wrist.
“Actually, I do,” he said. “I need to tell you something.”
Mano raised an eyebrow. “What now? Is this about Kash? Did he send you another message?”
“No. I haven’t answered him.”
Mano’s jaw tightened. He looked down, dragging his foot through the sand.
“But what I need to tell you is about him.”
“Ody…” Mano sighed. “I don’t want to hear anything more about Kash, okay?”
“Just listen for a second.”
Mano looked at him, clearly irritated.
“Do you remember when I told you the only person who knows about Kash, besides me, is his sister?”
“Yeah,” Mano said impatiently. “So what? Why should I care?”
Ody hesitated for a moment. “His sister is Stella.”
Mano froze, his gaze flicking between Ody’s eyes. A quiet laugh slipped out. “Ody, what are you talking about? Stella is his ex.” He shifted on the lounger, dismissing the idea.
