“No!” he cries out, and gives the reins another, not-so-gentle pull.
Finally, Pimenta lifts her head and we go back to plodding along the trail, though I know it’s only a matter of time before the pony tries to eat another patch of grass. We go riding on this trail about once a week, an easy jaunt past the pastures at the base of the mountains, but until today Afonso has always been led by either me or Ruby. Today we wanted to let him finally be on his own.
At least the pony is fat and lazy enough that she won’t go running off, even though she loves to kick up a fuss.
“Should we head back soon?” Ruby asks. “You have your game tonight.”
She’s right. I glance at Afonso who gives me a pleading look with his hazel eyes, the mop of black hair sticking out from under his helmet.
“We can do another ten minutes,” I say, trying to compromise. Afonso and Ruby are coming to the game today anyway, and the football pitch is our son’s second favorite place to be, after the barn.
We ride along, taking in the sounds of the birds, the morning winter sunshine that’s blissfully weak yet still warm. It gets hot as sin here in the summer, and we’ve come to appreciate the short days and long shadows of winter.
Soon, we turn back, my horse, Angel, leading the way, always going faster on the way home. We quickly untack the horses and groom them, Afonso spending all his time brushing Pimento’s fluffy mane, and then it’s time to get ready.
Because I have to meet with the team first, we head into Funchal early. Ruby and Afonso spend their day going to the library and a few kid’s stores, while I have to get Nacional ready for the game against Santa Clara.
Yes, it’s true.
I’m back in the game again.
This time as the coach for Nacional, the very same team I played against with Sporting the night that Ruby left. I feel, in a way, that things have come full circle.
It turns out, as much as I loved raising sheep and horses and the blissful solitude of the simple farming life, there was something missing. I had everything I wanted. The love of my life, a beautiful son, and yet I felt my soul still longing to be a part of the game. Football was my life, and after I retired from Real Madrid, it didn’t take that long for me to be drawn back to it.
So, at Ruby’s coaxing, because she could see firsthand how grumpy I was getting, I decided to ease myself back in. I started playing local football in town, on the small teams, just to get my muscle memory back, then I started seriously thinking about coaching.
Turns out Nacional was thrilled to have me. I was their new Ronaldo, which I thought was funny, because there’s always a new Ronaldo somewhere.
Now, the team tries hard and we do our best and we are usually the underdogs. It’s tough when the rest of the teams you play are on the continent and you’re here on this little volcanic island. Thank god it’s only a two-hour flight, but it does have a lot of disadvantages.
But we play well, and the island adores us (mostly), and I’ve never felt so fulfilled. It was the easiest transition to go from captain to coach, and I still talk to Mateo if I ever need advice. He’s fully retired now, no longer with Real Madrid, just spends his time jetting around the world with Vera at his side.
On the other hand, Alejo Albarado is still the captain of Real Madrid. He and Thalia are still going strong with their gaggle of adopted children. They come down and visit us often, and Afonso goes absolutely crazy, having so many kids to play with.
Ruby and I are currently trying for another child, wanting Afonso to have a sibling. It’s been slow-going since she’s forty, and I’m no spring chicken either. But you won’t hear me complaining about all the sex.
It’s still the best way we communicate with each other.
We have our fights and our problems, like any other married couple, but at the end of the day, my body speaks to hers and her body speaks to mine. She is me and I am her and we are one. There’s nothing else in the world quite like the connection I have with her, and all this time we’ve been married, we’ve made a point to never go to bed angry, and never spend more than two days apart when I’m traveling for work.
While I’ve been happy coaching, Ruby has moved back into sports journalism, and she writes for the local newspaper. It doesn’t pay a lot, but we never have to worry about money ever again. The money from Real Madrid will last a few lifetimes. Like me, Ruby does the work because she loves it.
It helps now that she finally speaks and writes in Portuguese, although she has me read over her articles before she sends them to her editor. Of course, I always find a few errors.
The day goes quickly as it always does before a game, everyone running on adrenaline, and soon I’m on the pitch at Madeira Stadium.
The crowd is going wild, chanting for Nacional.
It never gets old.
Ever.
None of this does.
I grin up at the lights and the passion from the fans in the stands, then look over my shoulder at Ruby and Afonso, sitting in their usual seats behind me.
Both of them wave at me, smiling, laughing.
My heart squeezes at the sight.
I have it all.
The game.
My son.
My wife.
All the dreams I ever had have come true.
It was a hell of a journey to get here, and that ride is still not over.
Sometimes we’re lost, sometimes we stumble.
But as long as we get there in the end, together, that’s all that matters.
It’s all that will ever matter.
THE END
What to read next
While I have a lot of books over various tropes in the romance genre, I have to recommend the following two novels, both of which give the backstories of Mateo and Vera, as well as Alejo and Thalia.
The Forbidden Man - After moving to Madrid to become the first female physiotherapist for the Real Madrid football team, Thalia must resist the temptation of the much younger player Alejo Albarado. Steamy, sensual and highly emotional, this book will sweep you off to Spain, break your heart and put it back together.
Tropes: Forbidden romance, sports romance, younger man/older woman
Love, in English - 23 yr-old Vera Miles doesn’t know what she wants from life, but she’s hoping to find it when she embarks on a two-week course in the Spanish countryside. What she doesn’t expect is the love of her life, Mateo Casalles, who she strikes up a deep relationship with. Of course, Mateo can never be hers if he belongs to someone else…
Tropes: Forbidden romance, older man/younger woman, slow-burn
Connect with the author
Hey! Nice you meet you :) If you want to connect with me, you can always find me on Instagram (where I post travel photos, fashion, teasers, etc, including pics of some of the locations in Portugal that you’ll have read in this book)
-> or in my Facebook Group (we’re a fun & friendly bunch and would love to have you join. I do lots of exclusives and share behind the scenes, have giveaways, etc)
-> Otherwise, feel free to signup for my mailing list (it comes once a month) and Bookbub alerts!
Acknowledgments
I’m gonna try and make this quick, because this book really put me through the wringer and I’m emotionally drained (you too?).
It’s funny, when I first had the idea for Luciano’s story, I knew it was going to be beyond anything I’ve written before. Because of the plot and backstory laid down in The Forbidden Man, I had a complicated journey to weave from the past and up through the present and beyond. As a result, I had to push Luciano and Ruby’s story back a few times before I was ready to write it. I knew with the world in crisis, I didn’t have the brain power to tackle their story, nor the emotional capacity.
But, as I let them stew in my heads for nearly a year, I realized it’s now or never. The world isn’t getting any better. I took the plunge and I really hope I did their twisted, complicated, messy love story justice.
I at le
ast hope this book took your mind off things.
I need to thank Laura Helseth, Chanpreet Singh, Elsa Gomes, & Amanda Cantu for their invaluable help with this book. Nina Grinstead. And of course, Scott for always being there, by my side as we navigate this thing called life, lost and stumbling and found.
About the Author
Karina Halle is a screenwriter, a former music & travel journalist, and the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author of The Pact, A Nordic King, and Sins & Needles, as well as sixty other wild and romantic reads.
She, her musician husband, and their adopted pit bull, Bruce, live in a rainforest on an island off the coast of British Columbia, where they operate Raven Ridge, a B&B that’s perfect for writers’ retreats and romantic getaways.
In the winter, you can often find them in California or on their beloved island of Kauai, soaking up as much sun (and getting as much inspiration) as possible. For more information, visit www.authorkarinahalle.com/books.
Also by Karina Halle
Contemporary Romances
Love, in English
Love, in Spanish
Where Sea Meets Sky (from Atria Books)
Racing the Sun (from Atria Books)
The Pact
The Offer
The Play
Winter Wishes
The Lie
The Debt
Smut
Heat Wave
Before I Ever Met You
After All
Rocked Up
Wild Card (North Ridge #1)
Maverick (North Ridge #2)
Hot Shot (North Ridge #3)
Bad at Love
The Swedish Prince
The Wild Heir
A Nordic King
Nothing Personal
My Life in Shambles
Discretion
Disarm
Disavow
The Royal Rogue
The Forbidden Man
Lovewrecked
One Hot Italian Summer
The One That Got Away
Romantic Suspense Novels by Karina Halle
Sins and Needles (The Artists Trilogy #1)
On Every Street (An Artists Trilogy Novella #0.5)
Shooting Scars (The Artists Trilogy #2)
Bold Tricks (The Artists Trilogy #3)
Dirty Angels (Dirty Angels #1)
Dirty Deeds (Dirty Angels #2)
Dirty Promises (Dirty Angels #3)
Black Hearts (Sins Duet #1)
Dirty Souls (Sins Duet #2)
Horror Romance
Darkhouse (EIT #1)
Red Fox (EIT #2)
The Benson (EIT #2.5)
Dead Sky Morning (EIT #3)
Lying Season (EIT #4)
On Demon Wings (EIT #5)
Old Blood (EIT #5.5)
The Dex-Files (EIT #5.7)
Into the Hollow (EIT #6)
And With Madness Comes the Light (EIT #6.5)
Come Alive (EIT #7)
Ashes to Ashes (EIT #8)
Dust to Dust (EIT #9)
The Devil’s Duology
Donners of the Dead
Veiled
The One That Got Away: A Novel Page 31
