This was the last time she would attend one of these mind-numbing events, Sophia told herself, disinterest clear in the way she stood, her back half turned towards the room, eyes cast heavenwards. She hadn't wanted to attend in the first place, but her father had been occupied elsewhere and someone from the family had to attend, apparently. She knew all too well not to disobey her father's wishes; he was a powerful man, one that could make your life hell should he wish.

Truthfully, if it had just been the event that she had to deal with, she could have endured the dull conversations and false smiles. No, what had her desperate to leave was the man she had caught sight of across the hall only half an hour ago; the man who had been slowly but surely making his way across the room towards her.

"You look well." Sophia didn't allow herself to appraise the towering man beside her for more than a second, as he finally detached himself from the rapt attention of a middle-aged women that had held him captive in conversation for the last ten minutes. One look at the woman and Sophia knew that Mrs Ivanov was a little too drunk and far too interested in Giovanni D'Onofrio's company, for a married woman.

This was the first time Sophia had seen him in weeks; the first time she had seen him standing in months. Was this the first time he had left the manor alone since his recovery? The attack he suffered from six months ago had been a brutal one, and it had taken so long just for him to wake up. Those first few weeks in the hospital had been more than enough stress for Sophia to handle in her lifetime. Not that she would tell him as much.

"You've been avoiding me," Giovanni all but grunted.

A wry smile twisted across her rouged lips. She took a moment to study her surroundings, to the large ballroom decorated with gaudy gold furnishings and clashing colours. Beside her, despite his calm exterior, she knew that Giovanni was becoming irritated by her purposeful silence. Perhaps it was only fair to put him out of his misery.

Spearing him with a biting smile and a steady gaze she teased, "My we do have a big ego, don't we? Surprisingly, I don't make it a habit of scheduling my life with you in mind, to avoid you or otherwise."

"Sophia," he drawled, a reprimand clear in his tone.

"Giovanni." She speared him with a long, neutral stare, before her attention fell away and settled back onto the room full of drunks. Even she could feel the familiar buzz of alcohol thrumming through her. It had taken more than a couple of drinks to endure such an evening.

"What are you doing here?"

"Am I not allowed to socialise?" She retorted sharply, finding nothing but disapproval in his eyes. Sophia's nostrils flared; jaw clenched as she fought back her irritation.

"You don't appear to be doing much socialising stood here in the corner by yourself."

"I was just about to leave actually," she snapped. "I'm waiting for my date to get her coat."

His gaze darkened, a visible scowl tightening across his face. Sophia recognise the familiar expression for what it was; jealousy.

"Don't," he uttered abruptly, attention no longer fixed on her as he too surveyed the room, as if their conversation was light and anything but the emergence of an argument about to ensue. Anyone who looked on at their interaction would see nothing more than too guests conversing quietly.

"Don't, what?" She snapped back, her words becoming tight.

"Don't go home with her."

"I will go home with whomever I like, malishka," she answered bitingly, her tone leaving no room for discussion. Where did this man gather the audacity to command her as he pleased? Did he honestly think she would listen; that she would roll over and do as he wished?

"You will do exactly whatever it is you want to do," Giovanni huffed, "You always have. But I'm asking you not to go home with her, and hoping you might humour me."

"We're not together any more Giovanni. I thought we had moved past this, accepted it. You've never had a problem with who I date before. Its been years; why now, why are you doing this?"

He turned to face her again then, and Sophia hated how calm he suddenly seemed, while her entire body was pulsing with tension. He was smiling; not a cocky smirk, not something filled with faux confidence, but a small smile that barely teased the corner of his familiar mouth. It had her on edge.

"I've always loved you Sophia. I haven't moved on, I never had. But you no longer wanted me and I respected your choices." He moved closer to her and on instinct Sophia stepped back - until no more distance could be put between them and her back was pressed against the cool marble of an archway. Giovanni wasted no time in removing the distance between them and she felt all of her previous confidence evaporate. This was a familiar position, something she hadn't experienced with him in years, and she despised the heat that now began to simmer gently beneath her skin. She was trapped. Trapped between the heat of his body, the heat of his gaze, knowing all too well what this man was capable of and hating her body's reaction.

It had been years since they had dated, and damn it if she didn't still find this mountain of a man attractive.

"And now?" She dared to ask, her stomach flipping uncomfortably. His eyes were too intense as they stared down at her, too honest, too vulnerable, yet she couldn't look away. And there was a desire in his gaze that had her all but quivering.

"Now I've realised to how hard it is to live without you. And I don't want to do it any more."

***

When Sophia had arrived at her apartment door alone, she was irritated, tired and her buzz had most definitely worn off. Her date had gone home alone tonight, Sophia was no longer in the mood to flirt and have fun with Isabella, and Isabella had most definitely been annoyed with her as she said goodnight. Sophia hated that she was doing exactly as Giovanni wished but she was too wound up to bring Isabella home with her. It wouldn't have been fair to use Isabella like that, to work off her anger while she was still furious and thinking off Giovanni.

She was grumbling to herself under her breath as she grabbed her keys from her purse when the sound of a door behind her clicked open.

"No girlfriend tonight?"

Sophia sighed and threw an exasperated look over her shoulder, meeting Angelo D'Onofrio's amused expression.

"She's not my girlfriend," Sophia affirmed, as she always did.

"Oh yes, forgive me, I mean 'the girl you go on dates with and sleep with on a regular basis'."

"How's your boyfriend?" Sophia countered, speaking of the tall, dark and handsome man that had been frequenting the youngest D'Onofrio's apartment in the last few months. The grin on Angelo's face transformed into a faux scowl for only a second before it quickly warped it back into his familiar warmth.

"He's not my boyfriend."

Sophia hummed in amusement, raising an eyebrow at the younger boy.

Turning back to the door, she unlocked it quickly and entered, leaving the door open for Angelo to follow her inside, as he often did these past months. Despite inheriting half of her great uncle's manor – where Giovanni D'Onofrio currently resided - she had spent all her time in her small apartment. The other half of the expansive property belonged to the eldest D'Onofrio, Mercello, along with his wife Liliana who incidentally was also one of Sophia's closest friends. It was a complicated, messy affair, Sophia's relationship with the D'Onofrio's - or more accurately with Giovanni D'Onofrio in particular. A relationship she wasn't keen to dwell on at any one time.

"You going back to the house tonight?"

Sophia glanced at Angelo briefly, her expression conveying her answer perfectly, yet still she answered with a sharp, "No."

"Liliana wants to see you."

Sophia dropped her keys and bad onto the table beside the door with a little too much force. She kicked her heels off with just as much vigour, the shoes hitting the floor with a solid thud.

"I'll call her to arrange something."

"Will you?" Angelo speared her with a pointed stare and pursed lips, disapproval dripping from his expression as he stepped further into her open plan apartment. "She's not an idiot, she knows you're avoiding the house, and she knows why."

"Well then," Sophia huffed, following him, "she understands why I've been keeping my distance these last few months."

"Yeah, well, she's also nearly eight months pregnant and missing her best friend. And driving me insane because of it."

"What's the matter, not up to the duty of big brother?"

Angelo scoffed, making himself comfortable on her couch, pointedly avoiding her gaze and reaching for the TV remote on the coffee table.

"No, that's right," Sophia teased, "you're definitely more like the younger brother. Very immature. Very annoying."

"I'll just let myself out shall I?"

"Please."

"Hmm," Angelo hummed, cupping his chin in thought, mockingly, "no actually, I don't think I will. I want to live up to my immature, annoying reputation after all."

"Oh I'm so happy we became friends," Sophia uttered sarcastically, through a pained smile. Angelo only answered her with a laugh. "I suppose you want a drink?"

She wasted no time in stalking over to her small kitchen, turning on the coffee machine before heading down the adjacent hallway towards her bedroom so she could change out of her dress. When she had emerged in a t-shirt and sweatpants, Angelo was already pouring himself a drink, an identical coffee already waiting for her on the counter.

"Did you see him tonight?" He muttered quietly, innocently shooting her a quick, cautious glance.

It took Sophia a moment to process his question before she froze just as she lifted the steaming drink to her lips. Within seconds her mug was slamming against the counter, the hot liquid sloshing out onto the granite and making a mess. Angelo flinched under the harsh stare suddenly directed towards him, scrambling out of the kitchen area, his own drink forgotten.

"You knew he was going to be there!" Sophia hissed, chasing after the younger boy as he ran closer to the sofa and the towards the front door. "You knew he was going to ambush me like that!"

"I didn't, I didn't I swear!" he exclaimed, hands raised, still backing up. "Well... I did-" a bubble of laughter escaped, "but only this evening as he was leaving, there was nothing I could do I swear."

"You could have texted me a warning!" She grabbed the closest thing to her, a cushion, and propelled the item towards his head. "You know I don't want to see him, that I want nothing to do with him."

He laughed again, ducking away from the offending item, now trapped by her door with no where else to run except out of the apartment.

"If you're over him, then what's the big deal?" He was smirking, and that infuriating expression had an almost animalism growl build up in her throat.

"I am over him."

"Well you sat at his bedside for weeks while he was in a coma in the hospital, so you clearly still love him, but whatever you say."

Another cushion went flying towards his head.

"Get out of my apartment."

"Wait, wait!" He begged, his devilish smirk still intact. "What if I bring over that expensive bottle of Vodka you've been begging to try?"

***

Giovanni D'Onofrio was welcomed home by the disapproving stare of his sister-in-law, Liliana. The tiny woman was sat alone in the kitchen, a cup of tea on the table in front of her next to a pile of unopened baby books, with a fierce scowl on her otherwise soft features.

"You better not have upset her," the younger woman reprimanded as way of greeting, with all the ferocity you would expect of a hot blooded Italian woman. Even with her prominent baby belly and the overtly fluffy nightgown she wore, she still managed to seem intimidating. Pregnancy had not mellowed her. The heated woman had only grown more so as her pregnancy furthered, and if she wasn't arguing with someone then she was crying over the smallest of things.

"I didn't."

"And why don't I believe you," she drawled, lips pursed. She leant back further in her chair, a small groan on her lips as her hands came to massage at her stomach; no doubt to sooth the kicking of his niece or nephew. Her scowl didn't ease.

"Well that's your prerogative Principessa," he answered with a smirk, knowing the nickname irritated her. He reached for one of the books, picking it up and feigning interest as he scanned the cover, when really he was avoiding her gaze. "Where is my brother, aren't you two attached at the hip now?"

He didn't want to talk about Sophia, especially not with Liliana, Sophia's best friend. As much as he trusted his sister-in-law to keep whatever was said between them private, he knew she loved Sophia fiercely and her loyalties laid with his ex. He would never hear the end of it if he hurt her.

"He's upstairs running us a bath."

Giovanni couldn't stop his grimace at the word 'us'. As happy as he was for his brother's happiness, they could definitely be too much sometimes. He almost missed the days when they were barely speaking.

"That's too much information."

"Don't be such a baby," she chastised, laughing at him, "but seriously. Are you okay?"

She wasn't pressuring him for details, she never did. Liliana had never pried into his history with Sophia, and always respected his privacy.

Hell, he hadn't even shared the entirety of the break-up with his brothers. It was a sore subject and he wasn't afraid to admit that. Sophia and he had been far too enamoured with one another. Their relationship developed too quickly, they had been too young - even he could recognise that - and they had been through too much. She needed time away from him, and he'd had no choice but to oblige by her wishes. He wasn't one to force himself on a woman.

He was older now though, his feelings for the insane woman that was Sophia Raptis hadn't changed, and he was no longer content on keeping his distance. Just six months ago he had nearly lost everything; his family, his life. It had taken months of recovery to be standing here today, to be strong enough to not need observing 24 hours. And through it all he had never been more aware of how much he missed Sophia's comfort in his life.

Truly he would not have ever hoped to rekindle what had been between them. Sophia was far too damn stubborn for that. If it hadn't been for his brother, Mercello, informing him of the many nights Sophia had spent at his bedside in the hospital while he had yet to wake up, he never would have considered their future together.

But now he was all too aware of the possibilities, of what he could only pray were lasting feelings towards him, and he was determined to win her back.

"I'm not." He answered honestly. "But I will be."