Marcus Ravelli had already been astoundingly handsome at eighteen, but now he was devastatingly so. His raven black hair was cut a little shorter now, and the angles of his face more pronounced. It seemed as if age and maturity had only added to his looks, and if I wasn’t mistaken, he had grown a few inches taller.
He had buffed up, too,I couldn’t help noticing. His shoulders, outlined prominently under his handmade black suit, seemed more massive than I remembered.
So much about him had changed, but even so—-
Staring at him still ended up hurtling me back into the past.
Marcus.
After all these years—-
I still couldn’t help thinking he wasmy Marcus.
“Ciao, bambina.” His soft, accented words wrapped around me—-
Oh.
The words were bittersweet, tearing past the walls I had tried to build around my memories, and for once in my life, I found myself remembering times that didn’t hurt.
I found myself remembering the times that he made me smile.
The times that he made me feel beautiful—-
Nostalgia squeezed my heart, and a fragile smile broke over my lips. “C-Ciao, Marcus.”
His eyes blazed.
Oh.
Could that mean...what I thought it meant?
I watched him reach for me, and I had the craziest urge to run away.
Just leave and never look back.
It was the voice of rationality I supposed, but like how it always played out—-
My foolish side won, and I remained still.
His hand touched the small of my back, and then he was carefully drawing me close. His head lowered, and before I realized what he intended to do, his lips had already touched my cheek.
Oh.
He pulled away and kissed my other cheek, greeting me in Continental fashion.
Oh crap.
The feel of his lips was fleeting, but it was more than enough for me to realize three things.
One: he was still using the same cologne.
Two: I was in danger.
Three: Because I was still attracted to him.
I paled. This was so bad. This was really bad.
“Thank you for coming,bambina.”