5. Chapter 5
Avery
Avery:
I figured out what’s missing in my life.
Dani:
If the answer is anything other than gelato, you’re wrong.
Avery:
What if I say cornetti and cappuccinos?
Dani:
Close enough. I won’t disown you. Though we both know Grandma Sue will be disowning both of us because neither of us said a sexy, rich Italian man. *laughing emoji*
Avery:
About that…
Dani:
TELL ME EVERYTHING!
And please say you have pictures!
Avery:
Okay, well, he’s not Italian, but he definitely has sexy and rich on lockdown. And no, I don’t have pictures because I am not a creep.
Dani:
I’m liking what I’m hearing! Also, we live in the time of AI and internet stalking. What’s a covert photo between new acquaintances?
Avery:
Next time you’re on a plane, you try taking a picture of the guy next to you and see how covert you can be.
Dani:
To be fair, Mason will just pose for the picture with me. No need for covertness.
Avery:
Ugh, yes, you think your new boyfriend is sexy. No need to remind me.
I doubt I’ll see Benson again, but it was fun while it lasted. He shared his taxi with me! And I’m pretty sure he gave me his hotel room because there was a mix-up with mine.
Dani doesn’t immediately respond, which is fine even though I’m dying to tell her in detail about how unreal Benson is.
There’s no way he can be this kind, charming, and attractive without having some major red flags waving in the wind, but I’m pretty sure I dreamed about him all night after I passed out on the bed almost as soon as I got up to my room.
He wasn’t in the lobby this morning when I headed out to find breakfast at this adorable little outdoor café. I thought about hanging around the hotel for a bit in the hopes of running into him, but that feels a little desperate. Avery Baldwin is not the type of person to get desperate.
Nor is she the type to contemplate a week-long fling, but here we are.
I sip my cappuccino and pop the last bite of my cornetto into my mouth, savoring the buttery bread.
If I’m not careful, I’ll be late for my guided tour of the Uffizi Gallery.
Art isn’t always my favorite thing, but this is Italy, and the gallery feels like the kind of place someone should go if they’re here.
But a part of me wants to keep sitting here at my table and watch the people walking by, locals and tourists alike.
I wonder what all their stories are.
My phone buzzes right as I’m getting up from my table and slinging my purse over my head—harder for someone to steal it this way. Opening my text thread with my sister, I keep to the side of the busy street so I’m out of anyone’s path.
Dani:
Sexy and creative and hardworking and kind…sigh. Am I nauseating or what? ;)
Very gentlemanly of him! Though I’m a little disappointed the two of you didn’t end up with only one bed. It happens in romance novels all the time but never in real life.
Avery:
Does it mean I’m on the rebound if I wish it could be a real-life trope? Are they still called tropes if it’s real life?
Ugh, I shouldn’t even be thinking about this guy when I’m only going to be here for a week. I don’t know anything about him other than the fact that he’s drop-dead gorgeous and heroic and smells like a rainy forest and has the kind of smile that saves babies from burning fires.
Dani:
How does a smile save babies from burning fires? Is that a skill he could list on his resume? I might need a demonstration.
Also, aren’t all fires burning?
I cringe as I look back at my last text. Wow, that was a mess. I’m going to blame the nonsense on the fact that I slept for like thirteen hours last night and am running on nothing but bread and caffeine, none of which is doing me any favors when it comes to combating my jet lag.
Avery:
I might be a little jet lagged. I tried to sleep on the plane, but freaking Benson was over there looking all manly the whole time.
I’m going to stop fantasizing about him being interested in me, because that will never happen, and focus on myself the rest of this trip. Reset. Mostly I texted you to let you know I made it safely, and I’ll be sure to eat some gelato for you.
Dani:
Of course he could be interested in you! You’re intelligent and gorgeous and passionate! And it’s about time you started noticing other men. Men that actually have personality and depth, unlike You-Know-Who.
Rolling my eyes, I start typing a text in defense of Eric, telling her that he totally has depth because I wouldn’t have started a business with him if he didn’t.
But I pause halfway through the thought and flip back to the texts Eric has sent me since I left.
It’s all work-related, and most of them are things he can easily figure out himself.
I honestly can’t decide if he’s floundering without me there or if this is some strange way to tell me he misses me.
I bite my lip and consider that. Eric and I were together for six years, which is anything but insignificant.
Does he really have nothing to say to me other than asking me where we keep the bookmarks?
Same place we’ve always kept them, Eric .
We used to talk about anything and everything, but it’s been months since we had a conversation about anything that isn’t our company.
Even before we broke up. And while I love talking about our books…
I miss that. I miss having someone to talk to about the big things and the little things and all the things in between.
But it’s only been a couple of months since Eric and I broke up, and it’s not like I can flip a switch and pretend our relationship didn’t happen.
Dani says it’s time for me to move on, but what if I’m not ready?
What if I can’t find anyone I can talk to like I used to with Eric?
Avery:
While I appreciate the praise (you’re the best sister ever), it’s a bad idea for me to flirt with some guy. It’s not like we
Someone bumps into me, nearly knocking my phone out of my hand as I accidentally hit send. “ Scusi !” he says. “Sorry, I didn’t—Avery?”
Alarm shifts quickly to surprise as I meet Benson’s gaze, all too aware of his hand cupping my arm to keep me upright. “Oh! Hi. Hey. Hola .”
His lips twist in a smirk. “That’s Spanish, but I like the effort. Hi back. I’m sorry for running into you.”
“I’m not.” Oh goodness, that’s not the kind of thing someone says out loud. “I mean I’m glad it’s you and not some handsy Italian guy.”
Both our gazes drop to his hand, which at some point in the last few seconds shifted from my arm to my waist. “Uh.” He lets go like I’ve burned him and runs his hand through his hair.
Rather than a suit like yesterday, today he wears a light blue button-down and a pair of chinos, looking very Italian. “Sorry.”
“Don’t be!” I grab his arm when I say this, which leads to another matching look down to where we’re touching.
He clears his throat, and we both shift backward half a step as I register my phone buzzing multiple times. I look down, my face growing hotter with each of Dani’s texts.
Dani:
We what? Have instant chemistry? Are going to run away together and start a cult? You can’t leave me hanging like that. You know my imagination runs wild!
Avery?
AVERY?
AVERY!
At this point, I’ve decided you’ve been kidnapped by Mister Sexy-Benson and are experiencing your first good kiss in years. Enjoy!
Also, Mason says if that kiss doesn’t involve gelato, you’re doing it wrong.
“Everything okay?” Benson tucks one hand into his pocket and points at my face with the other. “You went all…” He trails off as if he can’t think of any words to describe how I look right now.
My face is on fire, so I don’t blame him for being concerned.
I need to respond to my sister and make sure she knows that there is no way I would be making out with a stranger.
Especially not with gelato. How would that work?
I can only imagine it being incredibly messy, not attractive.
“My sister is being presumptuous,” I mutter and wave my phone in his direction.
His eyes jump to my phone, then go wide, and he grabs my wrist. “Did I see my name in your presumptuous sister’s texts?” he asks, and his voice is flooded with amusement.
Oh, kill me now. “Of course not.”
“Mister Sexy-Benson?”
Goodness, does this man have super vision? “Her words, not mine.”
“What were your words?” I’m too embarrassed to resist when he eases the phone out of my hand and starts scrolling, reading through the conversation with a smile that keeps growing with each passing second.
“Wow, Avery. Drop-dead gorgeous? I’m flattered, but I think you’re being a little generous with that one.
And I’m with Dani and need a demonstration of how a smile can save babies. ”
When he grins, I feel like I might implode. He knows full well the power his smile holds, and I will not give him any more power by agreeing with him. “Like I said in the text, all of that was jet lag talking.”
“Now I need to know what your last text was going to say.” He fixes me with a smirk, one of his eyebrows quirked up. I’ve never been able to do that with my eyebrows. Is it a genetics thing or a talent thing? “Why can’t you flirt with me? That’s just disappointing.”
“Ha!” This can’t be happening. I set out this morning thinking I wouldn’t see Benson except maybe in passing or at a distance. This is a big enough city that the chances of us running into each other have to be astronomically low. Yet here he is, asking why I won’t flirt with him.
Seriously, is Poppy onto something when she talks about fate?
When I don’t answer, Benson leans in close enough for me to catch flecks of navy in his bright blue eyes. “If it helps, I’m definitely interested. Dani wasn’t wrong about that.”
“This can’t be happening,” I whisper out loud, pressing my hands to my cheeks to try to cool the heat that has been burning there since he appeared. “You’re not being serious right now.”