Chapter 4 #2
“We missed you.” Her words were tangled with the emotion of seeing him after so long. “It’s so good to have you home. Do you still plan to stay for two weeks? I know you’re waiting to hear about the next project, but you’ve got to stay for at least that long.”
Nodding his head, Alex answered, “That is definitely the plan. I need some downtime before heading out again.”
“I can only imagine,” Leonardo said as he joined them in the room. Alex went to say something but was interrupted by his dad’s secretary reminding him that he needed to leave for the airport.
“This is what happens when you don’t share your plans,” Sofia scolded playfully. “But I’ll cancel everything for tonight so we can have dinner together at Papa’s.”
“I’ll bring the wine,” Alex promised as he reluctantly said his goodbyes.
“See you in a few days, son. I’m excited to hear more about your trip. I’m sure you have some stories you haven’t told us yet. You heading home?”
“I’m stopping by to see Adrian at the gallery first.”
Hugging them both once more, Alex headed out of the building toward the parking lot.
Sliding into his car, he headed to the address Adrian had texted him earlier. He’d tell Sofia about meeting Aria when they met for dinner. He knew she was going to be shocked.
Alex entered the gallery in search of his friend and spotted him in front of a large painting of a seascape, pacing and talking on the phone.
Adrian Kosono was a gifted artist and had been commissioned to paint various landscapes of the Amalfi Coast area.
He had met Adrian Kosono at the university in Athens, Greece, where Adrian was from.
And when Alex switched his major from business to photography, Adrian was a great influence on him as he found his creative path.
He was a brilliant artist and was highly sought after.
He had a gift that rivaled some of the greats of their generation.
His eye for detail could make you feel as if you were immersed in the scene.
Adrian grinned when he saw Alex and held up his finger, gesturing for him to wait. Alex walked around the gallery, reflecting on how proud he was of his friend. The paintings were colorful and realistic. Sunflower yellow and deep azure blues filled the frames.
“Alex! Man, it’s been too long,” Adrian said when he hung up and quickly closed the gap between them. The two men embraced in a bear hug, affectionately slapping each other’s backs, the loud noise reverberating in the expansive, empty room.
“Brother, it's good to see you,” Alex said, his smile wide and genuine. “I can’t believe my luck to be here in time for the opening tomorrow night.”
“Really stoked you’re here for it. Are you free for dinner tonight? We can call Enzo and make a night of it,” Adrian said as he held on to Alex’s shoulder.
“No, I can’t tonight. Papa had to make a trip to Milan, so Sofia and I are having dinner. Let’s plan for dinner after your show.”
Alex gestured to the paintings he had seen. “I love these pieces, Adrian. You’ll have to make more room on your award wall.”
Adrian dipped his head in humility as they stood looking around the gallery.
“I’m trying to catch up with you. I see you’re embracing the wild look, huh? Your albatross nickname makes even more sense now. Flying far and wide for months at a time, going on wild adventures around the world,” Adrian joked, scanning Alex from head to toe and gesturing with his hands.
“Well, I spent close to a year in the wild, so there’s that.”
“Looks good on you.”
“Even an albatross has to come home at some point.”
“I remember. It comes home to mate, right? How’s that going?”
Alex didn’t realize that the smile from earlier was back until Adrian cocked his head sideways with a smirk.
“What? When would I have time to find a mate?”
“Your words say one thing, but your smile betrays you, my friend.”
Alex huffed. “You don’t miss anything, do you? Well, I did just run into a girl from my school days right before I got to the gallery. Literally. She nearly knocked me over.”
Adrian’s eyebrows shot up high on his forehead.
“Wait. You can’t mean the girl you talked about our whole time in university?” Adrian asked, his eyes narrowing.
“One and the same.”
“What in the world...”
“I know. I’m still in shock,” Alex said as Adrian led them to some chairs by the front of the gallery.
When they both sat down, Alex nervously rubbed his forehead.
“So, what happened?” Adrian asked excitedly.
“Hang on, let’s get Enzo on the phone so I can tell you both at the same time. He didn’t have any clients this afternoon,” Alex said as he took his phone from the back pocket of his jeans and dialed the number.
“Miss me already?” Enzo said with a teasing tone when Alex put the call on speaker.
“Hey, I’m with Adrian and I need to tell you something crazy that just happened, if you have time.”
“Always. Hey, man,” Enzo called out to Adrian.
“Hey. I wish you were here to see the stupid grin on your friend’s face right now,” Adrian joked.
“Grin? When he left here earlier he was scowling about that time I hit him.”
“You still bragging about that?” Adrian said.
“Well, if you shut up for a minute, I’ll tell you why I called. But you might want to sit down. Let’s just say if you called out her name today, it might have actually been believable.”
“No way,” Enzo said flatly.
Alex heard the creak of Enzo’s chair as he must have done as he was told.
“You’re not gonna believe this. After I left the gym, Sofia and Papa were still not answering so I had lunch at Susanna’s Cafe, the place you told me about.
I’m grabbing the door to walk out, and guess who was coming through it like she was on fire.
I grabbed her before she fell, and when she looked up at me—”
“Are you telling me you saw Aria? Today? That was her name, right?” Adrian said, his face registering shock.
“Yeah. I caught her before she fell. I’m looking down at her face when I realized who she was. I don’t know how it’s possible, but she’s even more beautiful now. So, I lean in to kiss her cheeks and some older lady at the counter called out to her so Aria turned.”
“What happened, man? You’re killing me,” Enzo said.
“I kissed her. I kissed Aria!”
There was silence on the other end of the phone and in the gallery. Alex could hear his breath increasing at the memory of it all, but both his friends were apparently too stunned to notice.
“I, I can’t believe this. How you feeling?” Enzo asked.
“Excited, nervous, confused. Too many words to choose from.”
“So, what did she say? Did she remember you?” Adrian asked anxiously.
“I don’t think so. After the kiss, she ran into the restroom. I waited for a long time, but Papa called me back and said he was about to leave for this trip, so I had to go.”
His brows furrowed, Adrian asked, “Wait. So, do you think she’s local? Why would the lady know her?”
“I don’t know. They’re not open for dinner so I’m going back tomorrow morning to talk to the lady. She’s got to know her.”
“If she was at the counter, that’s Susanna, the owner. She’s there every time I go. Oh man, wait. Did she mention Nicholas?” Enzo said.
“I didn’t talk to her. Well, I think I mumbled something stupid, but she didn’t say a word. We accidentally kissed and she bolted.”
“So, you didn’t see a ring?” Adrian asked.
“Man, she could have had one on every finger and I wouldn’t have noticed. I couldn’t look away from her face.”
“And Sofia never knew whether they stayed together, right? I know you’ve talked to her about it,” Adrian asked.
“Nope, she lost track of her too after they graduated.”
“You’ve got to let me know what happens tomorrow. If she’s local, the three of us will find her, one way or the other.”
“Thanks, guys. I’ll let you both get back to work. I haven’t even made it home yet. Oh, and Enzo, thanks again for helping with the house remodel. I don’t know what I’d do without you guys.”
“Anytime. That’s what brothers are for. See you both tomorrow night.”
When Alex hung up, he turned to Adrian and said, “I’ll get out of your hair, man. I know you got a lot to do. See you tomorrow.”
“Alex, are you sure you’re alright? I mean, what if you don’t find her? Or what if you find that she married the guy? Are you going to be okay?”
He hesitated before answering. Was he?
“I remember how messed up you were when you got to Athens. I can see that Aria is a special woman but it’s you that I’m worried about, especially after that mess with Bella.”
Nodding briskly, he answered, “Yeah, yeah, sure. I’ll be fine. I just want to talk to her, spend some time with her.”
Adrian didn’t seem convinced. Alex told him goodbye and walked out. As he left the gallery, he wished he could convince his heart to believe it.