Then his phone buzzed: Ghita.
“Speaking of Azul,” Amira said, clocking the name.
Ghita’s bright smile filled the screen, her hazel eyes shining. “What’s my favorite champion doing?”
“Why do you always call him and not me?” Amira cut in.
“Because you didn’t win,” Ghita said with a smirk. “I texted Alejandra first, too. You want my calls? Win your damn heats.”
“You’re my cousin.”
“And you lost.”
Their banter was endless. Always snapping like sisters, always loving each other fiercely.
“Why’d you call?” Ilias asked, though deep down, he had a guess, and he wasn’t wrong to dread it.
“To congratulate you, obviously!” she said, like he’d just insulted her. “And also to say you could’ve maybe avoided sticking your tongue down Sofia’s throat on a livestreamed YouTube broadcast.”
Ilias barked a laugh. “What can I say? She knows how to turn me on.”
“Also,” Ghita continued, “I got an email from the lawyer. The two-year period is almost up, and he wants to know what we want to do.”
“Why does he need an answer now?”
Ghita shrugged. “It’s all in the corporate email. You can check it later and reply.”
He nodded. As they chatted, the front door opened and Sofia and Alejandra stepped in. Cheeks flushed, skin glistening with sweat, both in tight running gear. Ilias had to physically restrain his eyes from locking onto Sofia’s shorts... and her top... and her chest.
“How was the run?” Amira asked casually.
“Good,” they both said in sync.
His gaze slid back to Sofia. His eyes fixated on a single droplet of sweat sliding down her collarbone.
Get a grip.
“Is Sofia there? Let me talk to her!” Ghita suddenly shouted in Darjia.
Sofia frowned, catching her name in the foreign language.
“My cousin Ghita wants to meet you,” Ilias said, standing and walking over to her with the phone.
“Hello Ghita, nice to meet you,” Sofia said in nearly perfect French, only botching a few words—which somehow made it even sexier. Could he be more of an idiot for her? Absolutely not.
“Hello, Sofia! When are you coming to visit us in Morocco? At Azul?” Then to Ilias: “Have you told her about my plan?” Then back to Sofia: “What do you think?”
He translated some of it, though Sofia managed to understand most of it despite Ghita speaking a mile a minute.
Alejandra waved in the background, mouth full of an apple, before flopping onto the couch next to Amira.
“When Ilias decides to invite me, I’d love to visit,” Sofia said sweetly. “I’ve never been to Morocco.”
“You’ve never been?” he asked, right as Ghita and Amira echoed him in stereo.
“Nope.”
“You have to come. We should plan a trip after the season ends,” Ilias said, grinning.
