I’m stunned, drowning in her familiar honeysuckle scent, the world seeming to still as memories flood through me.
And then I put my arms around her, light at first, unsure. To be honest, I’m not sure any of this is real.
“Are you real?” I murmur into the top of her head, holding her tighter.
She brings her head back and stares at me with those incredible eyes of hers and suddenly my mind is bombarded with the images of her naked in my bed, my cock deep inside, the way she looked then as she came over and over again.
“I think I’m real,” she says. God it feels good to hear that distinctive throaty voice again. “How about you?”
“Ruby,” a girl’s voice comes from behind her, and Ruby pulls away and turns around to smile at a girl with long wheat-blonde hair sidling through the crowd.
“Elena,” Ruby says, raising her voice over the music. “This is Luciano.”
The blonde girl’s mouth drops open for a moment. “Really?”
They both stare at me. I give the girl a polite smile. “Nice to meet you.”
And then my attention is brought right back to Ruby.
She’s here.
In Lisbon.
Right in front of me.
So do something. Stop standing there and staring at her.
I clear my throat and gesture to the bar.
“Would you like a drink?”
Ruby gives me a close-mouthed smile and plucks the champagne from my hand. “Thank you. Now we have to get you a drink.”
“And me too?” Elena asks.
Ruby rolls her eyes. “Of course. Luciano is ever the gentleman, aren’t you?”
I can only nod. To be honest, I’m pretty much speechless, which is probably for the best since it’s so loud in here.
I start walking over to the bar, but notice Benedito waving at me from the VIP lounge, holding up the world’s largest bottle of Grey Goose. I guess they settled for bottle service.
I glance back at the girls. Elena is whispering something in Ruby’s ear and Ruby is giggling, giving her girlfriend a salacious look.
“Did you girls want to come into the VIP area?” I ask. God I sound like a douche. “It’s still pretty loud and there’s a bunch of my drunk teammates that might hit on you, but apparently we have bottle service.”
“Absolutely,” Ruby says, hooking her arm around Elena’s. I catch Ruby’s eyes for a moment and I feel like a million unsaid words are being passed between us—I just don’t know what those words are saying.
She’s here.
After two long years, after everything that’s changed, she’s here.
And she seems…happy.
There’s too much to catch up on, but for now, I’ll make the best of this now surreal night.
We walk over to the area, a bouncer lifting up a rope, and the gang all looks up at her. Most of them in surprise, since I’m not the type to meet a girl in a club, let alone two.
There are quick introductions, a lot of yelling over the music, and Benedito is giving me a look like, you dawg you.
I ignore it.
We sit down, Ruby and Elena across from me. It’s probably for the best. Having Ruby close short circuits something in my brain, even still.
There’s so much I want to ask her, so much I want to talk to her about.
But Fito is in their faces, falling over himself to talk to them. He seems a little more interested in Elena, which is a relief, but he’s a loud guy that takes up a lot of energy in the room.
It doesn’t matter though. I’m happy to just steal glances at her.
It still doesn’t feel real.
My mind rolls back to two years ago when she stood in my apartment and said goodbye. I knew then that it was for the best. I knew our lives would have become a mess had she stayed for me.
And now? What’s different?
Maybe everything. Maybe nothing at all.
I thought I had moved on past Ruby.
Now that she’s here though, I feel that same fucking pull to her as before.
She catches my eye, gives me a soft smile.
This is fate that she’s here right now.
I won’t waste fate.
I get to my feet and hold out my hand to her. Taking a wild leap here in front of my teammates, all of them looking at me like they can’t believe Luciano is being so bold and I’m scared shitless she’s not going to put her hand in mine.
But she does.
I lift her up to her feet and lean in. “Want to go where it’s quieter? I can get us on the roof.”
“I’d like that,” she says.
I let go of her hand, even though I don’t want to, and she bends down to whisper in Elena’s ear.
Elena glances up at me, eyes narrowed, like she doesn’t quite trust me. I’m not sure why that is. But then she gives Ruby a nod and goes back to talking to Fito.
I don’t bother looking at anyone else. I know what they’re thinking, that I’m going to go fuck her in the restroom or something.
I feel my cock start to harden in my pants. Fuck. I don’t need those thoughts right now. I don’t even know if she has a boyfriend or not. I don’t know if we’re back at the beginning or back where we left off.
I put my hand at the small of her back and lead her out of the area, over toward where bouncers are guarding the stairwell that leads to the rooftop terrace that is closed this time of year. For me, though, they let me pass and Ruby gives me an amused smirk as we head up the stairs.
“It’s like Moses parting the Red Sea,” she says. “Have you seen how everyone is looking at you?”
I shrug, opening the door to the terrace. “I don’t really notice.”
“Yeah right. You’re a hero now. You’re their saviour. Their captain.”
I’m surprised she’s been following my games.
“Wow, this is quite the view,” she says, walking past tables that are stacked on top of each other, all the way to
