Chapter 32

“Mr. Perkins, Mr. Lynn and his friends are just up ahead. Head straight and you’ll see them,” the waiter at the entrance said, his eyes flicking to the new arrival.

“Yanny!” Perry glanced back and saw Yannis sauntering over, a lazy smile on his face as he twirled his car keys. “Hey, man.”

“Ugh, who said you could call me that?” Yannis grumbled, giving Perry a half-hearted glare. He was dressed in a black shirt with the collar undone, revealing a glimpse of his collarbone. His long fingers idly played with the keys, a picture of nonchalance.

Zinnia hadn’t expected to see him here, her eyes widening in surprise. It seemed that he was one of Jackson’s friends.

Yannis hadn’t noticed her yet; Perry was blocking his view.

“What brings you here? We just talked about you,” Perry asked, grinning.

“Thought I’d drop by,” Yannis replied, his eyes scanning the room. “Heard Jackson had a new girl around and figured I’d check it out.”

But as he got closer and caught sight of Zinnia standing next to Jackson, Yannis’ smile faltered—he recognized her.

Hearing all this, Zinnia thought, ‘This guy is really something. He seems to think I’m Jackson’s new girlfriend or something. Hope he’s just Perry’s buddy, or it might even change my opinion of Jackson. Jackson is smart, kind, and so cool—why does he have to have a friend who seems so clueless?’

Zinnia wanted to say the guy seemed scatterbrained, but her master always taught her to be polite. So she settled on a gentler word: dense.

Yannis, standing tall, didn’t miss the flicker of disdain in Zinnia’s eyes. He’d been judged by this girl—again. He couldn’t believe she was Jackson’s cousin because it was too embarrassing.

“Why are you just standing there?” Perry asked, seeing Yannis freeze. “Didn’t you want to meet Zinnia? She’s right here.”

“Yannis?” Jackson called out.

“Coming,” Yannis replied, pulling himself together. He wiped the smile off his face and put on a more serious expression. It made him look a bit more composed. He walked over, trying to ignore Zinnia’s wide, innocent eyes that seemed to be sizing him up.

“Zinnia, this is Yannis, a friend of mine,” Jackson said, introducing them. “Yannis, this is my cousin, Zinnia.”

Neither of them had hoped for this. After a brief silence, they finally spoke.

“Hey, Yannis.”

“Hi, Zinnia.”

Zinnia bit her lip. ‘Great, this guy really is Jackson’s friend. And he is definitely clueless. Hope I can help him out, really.’

Perry said, “I’m sure you two will get along.”