“Nothing to talk about. I’ve known for six weeks there was a better man after you. I hoped and prayed you would come back to me. When he called today he told me you were on your way, and it was my chance to make it right or he was coming for you. I didn’t ask questions; I didn’t scream, all I did was put my plan into place. I already had your mom’s blessing, but I didn’t know until he called you would be getting off that plane alone. I was fully prepared to grovel.”
“Declan, there are things you should know.”
“Nope, not tonight. I’ve finally got you back in my arms, and I plan to make a night of it. Tomorrow, the next day, hell–next month we can talk about him. But now, it’s only us. Unless you tell me I’ve lost you, I’m not talking about it anymore.”
I hold my breath, waiting for her to respond. She moves her head to me and shakes her head. “You haven’t lost me. I’m not sure I could ever let you go.”
“Thank fucking Christ!” I motion to the waiter for our check and hand him my card. When we’re done with the bill, I lift Raven off my lap and lead her back to the elevators. My phone pings with a message but I ignore it. Unless someone has died or is crazy sick, I don’t plan to share this night with anyone.
She looks so sexy and beautiful when we get in the elevator. It’s all I can do to keep my hands to myself. I wrap my arms around her shoulders, and another couple joins us. They smile at us, and the girl screams as she looks at me.
“Oh my God! You’re Declan Collins! You’re from Sayge!” Her boyfriend looks uncomfortable.
I nod my head but don’t move from Raven. She starts laughing.
“Yes, he is. I guess he chose tonight to be shy.” She elbows me hard in the ribs.
“We love your music! We saw you last month in Charleston and in Atlanta. This is so cool! “
“Thanks for coming to the shows. Our fans are the best.”
“What brings you to Atlanta? Do you have another show? Oh gosh, are the rest of the guys with you?”
This is a nosy bitch. I’ve been accosted by fans before but never in this proximity and definitely not with Raven. I hold her tighter.
“No, we’re not here for a show. My girl just got back from Europe, so I picked her up.”
Raven sank into me further, and the elevator finally dinged at their floor.
Miss Nosy’s boyfriend grabbed her arm to help her off but stopped and gave me a grin. “We really are big fans. Enjoy your night.”
The doors shut and Raven bursts out laughing. “Could that girl have been more in your business? I bet she would have jumped on you if I wasn’t here.”
I laugh too because it feels so good to have her in my arms again. I lead her to our room and stop before I open the door.
“Sparkle, I love you. Before we go in this room, I want you to know, I will always love you.” She smiles at me, and my heart skips a beat. Then I open the door and motion for her to enter.
She gasps and I grin to myself.
Our room is glowing in candlelight. In the small sitting area there, is a chilled bottle of champagne and two flutes. She takes it all in and turns to me with a smile on her face.
“You did this for me?”
“I did.”
“I don’t understand how you can be so loving to me after everything that happened this summer.”
There it is again. I know she’s thinking about her time with Finn. “Raven, I meant what I said earlier. I’m not ready to talk about him yet. I want this night to be about us reuniting. There are so many things we need to tell each other, but we can’t fit it all in tonight.”
“You’re right, I’m sorry.”
“And that’s the last one–no more apologies. We’ve both apologized enough. I know you’re sorry, and I hope to God you know I am too.”
She nods her head.
“Okay, let’s get some champagne, and you tell me about Paris.”
“That sounds like a great idea.” She takes off her shoes and sits on the small sofa waiting on me to fill our flutes.