From London to Rome

Chapter 50

Luca

I have seen Skylar many, many times in the past months, in many different outfits. No matter how often I have seen her before, she manages to surprise me every time. Every time I see her, she takes my breath away. It doesn't even matter if she's dressed up or wearing one of my shirts, I'm speechless every single time. Walking into our hotel room in my black suit I was curious to see what she'd be wearing. I sent the guys shopping with her and her friends so she could find a dress, but they were determined to keep it a secret for me. I know that Skylar will look good no matter what dress she was wearing, but I could have never dreamed that she would look like this. I don't even have a word for it. Hot, sexy, gorgeous. None of them even come close to describing her.

The dress she is wearing is bright red and falls down to her ankles. Thin straps cover her shoulders and most of her back is left uncovered. The dress has a deep V-neckline on the front, revealing her cleavage. Her hair is loosely flowing over her shoulders as she turned to look at me. Her makeup looks really natural and I'm grateful for the lack of lipstick, because not in a million years would that have survived the evening. She looks gorgeous. A huge smile grows on my face and I'm sure my eyes shine with happiness. How did I get so lucky to be with her? Junior is agreeing by jumping to life and pressing against my fly. Not now, please, not right now. I can't walk out of the hotel with a hardon, there will be dozens of cameras waiting for us.

We would never leave the room if it wasn't for the people in the room ushering us out of the door. If I could have my way, no one would have seen Sky wearing that dress tonight. It would have ended up in a pile on the floor together with my suit in zero point two seconds. In my head, I'm already making a list of things I want to do with her. As soon as we make it out of the sight of everyone, I have to adjust myself before the cameras catch something I would rather not share with the world.

We make it to the car without any trouble and as soon as the driver closes the door after we get in, we are hidden from the world behind the tinted windows. The screen separating us from the driver is up, so I take these few minutes of privacy before we get to the event. My lips find Sky's within seconds. She seems to be just as eager as I am right now. I kiss her like I haven't tasted her lips in months, which is not far from the truth. Those few kisses when I picked her up from the airport can't make up for all those weeks we missed each other. I let my hands roam her hips and waist, remembering every inch of skin, every curve. I try to keep us both looking decent as we go on, avoiding her hair and makeup as much as possible.

"I'm so happy I refused to wear lipstick."

"Thank the lord for that."

As we near the event we make sure to look decent and not to appear too flushed from the make-out session we just had the past couple of minutes. Sky checks her makeup in a small mirror she pulled out of her clutch and adjusts a few locks of hair while I make sure my suit jacket is not wrinkled.

We get out of the car and immediately we get overwhelmed by a bunch of people guiding us toward the red carpet. I can't begin to imagine how Sky must be feeling right now. I take her hand to guide her along with me but instead of just holding it, she squeezes it like her life depends on it. I don't even care that my hand will be dead by the end of the evening, as long as I can make her feel better.

The closer we get to the red carpet, the brighter the flashes from the cameras are getting. As soon as we step foot on the carpet, people scream my name for attention. I don't think I'll ever get used to the bright flashes of all the cameras together. We slowly make our way towards the end, posing for pictures in a couple of places. For the past ten minutes, my hand hasn't left the small of Sky's back while she anxiously clutches onto her purse. A bright smile is fixed on her face, but I know her well enough to know that she is anxious and will be happy to get it over with.

I have done multiple red-carpet events in the past and many, many more photoshoots and interviews, but never before I enjoyed it as much as tonight. Having Skylar at my side, showing her off to the whole world. No one can get this huge smile from my face tonight.

I know my mum will be somewhere at the event tonight, it's her own goddamn party. I hope I don't run into her, I'm not in the mood for another fight. She still hasn't met Skyler yet and I doubt a public event will be the best place for that. On the other hand, here she won't be able to curse or say all the shitty things she did back home. There are cameras everywhere and I know she won't be caught misbehaving like that in front of the public eye. Maybe I should arrange to run into mum sometime tonight.

I see a few people I know and I guide Sky towards them. The entrance of the building is crowded with assistants and staff members trying to keep everything under control. As soon as we got into the main hall there are way fewer people. It was still pretty early so half of the guests probably haven't even arrived yet. A few guys I did some shoots with a while ago are crowded in the back, close to the bar. The only good thing about these events is the open bar. Skylar isn't 21 yet so officially she isn't allowed to drink but no one here ever pays attention to underage drinking. The only things that make these parties bearable are the right group of people and booze.

I introduce Skylar to the guys and they chat freely while I get Sky and me some drinks. I'm glad there are some nice people here, I don't want to scare her away with the divas of these events the first time she comes with me.