“Look,” she said, “there’s Faith, Asher, and Luca!”
I followed her gaze toward our friends and a beaming smile stretched the small cut that lingered.
Luca was breathtaking. My attraction for him came from watching him go from being an adolescent to a full-grown man. The way his lips moved in a kiss, how his hands followed the curves of my body—it drove me wild. His hair was tousled, thicker than I’d seen it in a long time. His eyes were a shimmering blue, flecks of silver danced in the light in a way that only happened when he was happy.
Once they approached us, his hands held mine as he stared into my eyes. My cheeks burned under the heat of his gaze. A smile etched its way onto his face as he wrapped his arms around me. He was warm. His lips brushed my ear as he spoke, "I don’t think I’ll be able to keep my hands off you tonight."
“Then don’t,” I mumbled.
“Say cheese, you two!” Faith’s phone was out as she pointed it at us. I turned my head to face the camera with it still resting on Luca’s chest. I smiled, and she captured the moment between us.
“Send it to me,” I said, pulling back from Luca.
“I will!”
He intertwined our fingers as I pulled my phone out and told Faith and Asher to pose. Those show-offs did the cutest kissing dip, and I giggled. “I’ll send it over.”
After I sent the photo, I tucked my phone in my back pocket. We met up with Jamie and John by a food stand and grabbed a bite to eat.
We sat at a table, got harassed by seagulls, talked, and watched the parade for at least an hour. The sun radiated heat. My skin glistened with sweat, and the back of my neck was damp as I lifted the watered-down soda to my mouth. I was used to sweltering heat in the summer because of Violet Ridge, but our hometown had nothing on this island. It wasn’t humid, but it was a dry heat that made it miserable when we weren’t in the ocean.
“This heat is awful,” Jamie said and waved her hand in front of her face. “Would you mind if John and I headed back?”
Faith shook her head. “Not at all. Honestly, I think we’ll come with you. It’s ridiculously hot.” She glanced at Asher who nodded in return, wiping the sweat off his brow.
“Thank goodness!” Eve sighed. “Let’s head back.”
Luca gripped my hand and gave me an indiscreet look. “I think Mags and I will hang back a bit, if it’s okay with her.”
I nodded, but I didn’t want to stay in the heat any longer either. “We’re getting some ice cream.”
Our group left us to it and headed back to the air-conditioned resort. I looked at Luca. “You’re crazy.”
“Let’s go get you that ice cream.” He chuckled.
I grumbled but followed him to the ice cream stand. I stared into the mass of people around us and caught a glimpse of someone familiar. I squinted my eyes and used my hand to shade the sun from my gaze.
“Got the ice cream.” Luca handed me my chocolate cone. “What do you—”
I gasped at who was in the crowd, mingling with a young blonde. “Luca, is that…”
He gripped his cone, causing it to cave under the pressure and the ice cream to fall to the ground. “My father.”
Before I could blink, he stormed through the crowd over to his dad and the blonde. My feet started moving, and I was right behind him as he yelled at his father.
“Who the fuck is this?” He gestured toward the blonde with owlish eyes. The anger came off him in waves. I’d never seen him so upset before.
His father shook his head. “I’m not sure, son. I just met the girl. I was apologizing for accidentally bumping into her.”
I gripped Luca’s arm. “Sorry, Mr. Reed. We just noticed you two over here and wanted to say hi.”
His dad’s lip snarled as he glanced between us but he smiled, covering the expression. “Lovely.” He turned back to the girl. “Sorry, my son must have misread what was happening. Again, I do apologize for running into you.”
She waved her hand and glanced between the three of us with a bewildered expression. “Uh, it’s fine. Have fun at the festival.” She pivoted on her heels and booked it away from us.
Mark glowered at Luca. “I told you, I love your mother. I wouldn’t betray her trust again.”
Luca clicked his tongue, his fists closing at his side. “Yeah, right. Sorry.” He gritted those words out before grabbing my hand and leading me away without another word.
