Male or female, it shouldn’t matter to me—just like the scent of her perfume shouldn’t still be lingering in my mind long after she left.
7
Rio
FOR A MOMENT DURINGthat dinner, I sawOur Owenagain. Stripped of his global superstar image, he cooked, chatted with his grandfather, teased and bantered with me, showed genuine interest in my life—just like he used to. But that glimpse faded the moment he reminded me how determined he was to get back to his life in England.
I couldn’t blame him. Who would walk away from that? Doing what he loved on the biggest stage in the world, with fame, money, fans, recognition, and models. The world was literally at his feet.
He wasOwen, the football iconagain—“A born leader, a team anchor, the kind of athlete who leaves a legacy, not just stats,” as one sports columnist dubbed him.
Somehow, as if it were possible to sink any lower, I felt even more embarrassed that he caught me watching that ridiculously hot guy do things to a foam roller and to my lower belly.
Shore Thing, Ruby’s preferred beach bar, buzzed with music, chatter, and the clink of glassware. The breeze drifted in from the ocean beyond the open balcony. I spotted Rubyweaving through the crowd, her blonde open curls bouncing with each step, the lights above catching on the gold hoops in her ears. She wore a fitted black top and tight jeans, effortlessly cool as she strode in, turning heads without a second thought. My floral dress, though short, felt a little too put-together in comparison. Sliding onto the stool beside me, she grinned and flagged down the bartender.
“Two cocktails,” she said without glancing at the menu. “Something strong—we’ve got things to discuss.”
“Hey, it’s not fair; it’s not my fault I couldn’t take my eyes off it—I hadn’t had sex in over a year!” I said after telling her about the foam roll video incident.
“Oh, my God, woman!” Ruby looked genuinely shocked. “I knew it was bad, I didn’t know it wasthatbad!”
“I know, I know.”
“Even when you did, Bradley doesn’t lookanythinglike that guy.” Ruby laughed and pointed at my screen. “Ugh, did I ever tell you how much I hated his wannabe preppy look that just came off dorky? And if he had corrected my pronunciation of bruschetta one more time, I swear, he’d have turned into one.”
“You told me only like a thousand times?” I shifted to sit straight after leaning against her to guard the screen from anyone else’s view.
“And I’m willing to bet all my money, he didn’t havethistechnique.” Ruby held my wrist and turned the phone toward her, pressing thewatch againbutton, her pupils literally dilating as she watched.
“You know this guy looks a lot like Owen, right?” She brought her gaze back up to me.
“No, he doesn’t!” I snatched my wrist back.
“From what I’ve seen, he does too!” She took a sip from her cocktail.
“He doesn’t, but okay, forget it. Tell me about Sebastian.” Sebastian Sawyer was her longest-tenured friend with benefits.
“We fuck. What’s there to tell?”
I gave her my bestreally?face, then sighed. “I don’t know how you do it.” I took a sip from my vodka soda with lime.
“I don’t know how you stilldon’t.Especially now that you have a scorching hot man, a fucking superstar living across the hall from you! You know how many women’s wet dream you’re living? Probably half the women in Europe!”
“Yes, and the women in Europe he wants to go back to. The supermodels of them. Besides, it’s complicated. He’s Simon’s—”
“Best friend, yeah, we heard that already,” Ruby interjected. “That didn’t stop you from sleeping with him back then.”
“That was different!”
“It wasn’t. It should make things easier for you now. Come on, you two already know each other. You saw each other naked, you did things to each other. A lot of things.”
“Yeah.” I couldn’t help but smirk.
“When you see him now, don’t you just feel like—”
“Can I get you anything else?” The bartender appeared at the right time, just when Ruby mimicked a lion clawing and opening its mouth to devour.
“Iced tea, please,” I said.
