Chapter 10
Chapter Ten
Alex stood there, stunned speechless, his heart beating against his ribs violently. There she was, standing in front of him. Again. A vision in red.
As his gaze locked on the hazel-eyed woman, he vaguely registered Enzo saying behind him, “You gotta be kidding me,” but he couldn't be sure. His heartbeat was so loud, it drowned out all sounds around him.
“A-Aria?” he stuttered as he stood rooted to the spot, once again hearing her name leave his lips.
Once again, he questioned his reality. Maybe it was a mirage. Maybe it was fate. Twice in two days. Impossible. He was afraid to look away as if she might disappear again.
Adrian stepped up to him and whispered, “If she’s who I think she is, brother, tell her your name.”
Alex blinked and tried to recover as he took a step toward her. There were only about twenty feet between them, but he had to get closer.
The look on Aria’s face was one of total confusion. She stared at him with pinched eyebrows like she was trying to put together a puzzle. Her mouth opened and closed, but no words came out.
He cleared his throat softly, still convinced she didn’t recognize him.
Say something, idiot!
Placing both hands on his chest, he tapped it twice and croaked out, “Alex. Alex Rossi.”
He groaned inwardly. He could almost hear Sofia calling him her favorite name. He truly felt like an idiot at that point.
“Alex?” Aria asked, her squinted eyes darting around his face.
“Alex Rossi. Yes.” His eyes were hopeful, his voice tight.
Adrian whispered in his ear again. “She’s got your name already, buddy. Move on.”
Recovering again, Alex said, “Sorry, yes. We went to Rome International School together. You were a few grades behind me.”
He hoped she remembered him from le superiori, what his American friends called high school.
Luckily, he caught sight of Sofia in his peripherals as she entered the gallery. When she got closer, Alex could see her smile falter as she realized they were all staring intently at the woman in the red dress.
Recognition filtered through her face as she exclaimed, “No way. Aria?
Aria turned at the sound, her face flashing with recognition moments later.
“Sofia?” Aria asked.
“Girl, it’s been years. Wow, you look amazing. It's so good to see my old study partner again.”
“I can’t believe you’re here. You haven’t changed a bit,” Aria exclaimed, her eyes wide.
She leaned over and kissed Sofia’s cheeks before reaching to hug her, making Aria’s wrap fall off her shoulders.
Alex felt his breath catch at the sight of Aria’s exposed back. He thought his knees might buckle. She was a beautiful girl back in school, but over a decade later, Aria had become a dazzling woman.
“Sofia, do you remember my friend Corinna? She transferred in during our last year,” Aria asked when Alex saw another woman in blue turn toward the group.
“Yes, I remember!” Sofia answered excitedly as she greeted her.
“What in the world? What are you doing in Positano?” Corinna asked as she looked around at the group.
“Enzo, Alex, and I live here now. Enzo owns a gym nearby and Alex lives here when he's not working, I should say. But why are you two in Positano?”
“I moved here several years ago, and Corinna followed not long after. She lives in Ravello. I can’t believe we’ve never run into each other,” Aria answered.
“Well, my dad and I work very long hours. I have to admit, I haven’t had time to socialize much outside of work functions since we moved,” Sofia explained.
Finally remembering his manners, Alex started to make more introductions.
“I don’t know if you remember him from school because he was in my grade, but this is my friend Enzo,” he said to Aria and Corinna.
Corinna’s eyes widened when Enzo took her hand in his, causing Alex and Aria to look at them both with questioning looks. Enzo and Corinna let go as if they had been burned.
Enzo cleared this throat and said, “Nice meeting you.”
“Y-you too,” Corinna said, making Aria look at her with furrowed brows.
Putting his hand on Adrian’s shoulder, Alex continued, “And this is my friend Adrian, the artist featured tonight.”
“It’s so nice to meet all of you. Thanks so much for coming out,” Adrian said with a warm smile.
When the rest of the group began a conversation with Adrian about his work, Alex saw Aria glance up at him several times. He wanted to find a way to get her alone, away from the group so they could talk. He couldn’t believe that she lived in the same city.
He opened his mouth to speak to her, but his sister fumbled his chance.
Turning back to him and Aria, Sofia asked, “So, Aria. Is this the first time you've seen my brother since school ended?”
Alex hoped his grumble wasn’t audible as Sofia poked the proverbial bear. He started to confirm his sister’s question but stopped when Aria answered, “Uh, your brother?”
“Yeah, you remember Alex, right? He hung out with us a few times at the house,” Sofia explained.
“That’s your brother Alex?” Corinna asked loudly. “He didn’t look like that in school,” she muttered, her eyebrows high, a wicked smile plastered on her face.
Enzo and Adrian tried to cover their laughs with their fists.
“Ah, well, no, I guess it’s not the first time. It seems we met yesterday by accident at a cafe. Alex, I’m sorry I didn’t recognize you.”
“Wait, wait. I need all the details. You met at a cafe yesterday?” Sofia said as her eyes sparkled with mischief.
Alex nervously looked between Aria and his sister and stammered, “We, ah, bumped into each other.”
When Alex said the word “bumped”, Aria’s cheeks blushed deep pink, and by the warmth of his own face, he had to assume he had as well.
Great!
Sofia and Corinna looked at each other with eyebrows high and mouths open in a silent “oh”.
“Bumped into each other, you say. What exactly happened, Aria?” Corinna’s eyebrows waggled up and down, her eyes narrowed and pinned on Aria. “Did you hit him with your car?”
Aria glared back at her friend before answering.
“No, no. I just, I wasn't paying attention to where I was going when I pushed the door open. He was trying to leave apparently and I, uh, ran into him. He thankfully caught me before I could do either of us more harm.”
She shuffled her feet nervously while Alex ran his hand over his jaw and then mouth.
Oh, geez. I just touched my lips. No, no, no!
All eyes moved between her and Alex like a tennis match.
Turning to Alex, she continued. “I'm sorry, by the way. My clumsiness is legendary, Alex. You were gone when I came out of the restroom, and I didn't get a chance to apologize.”
“It was no problem at all, Aria. Running into you was wonderful,” he replied, embarrassed at how that sounded. “I, I mean, it was nice to run into you. Not the actual running into you part but to see you again.”
What is happening to me?
He was sure he heard Adrian snicker behind him. He might have seen Sofia and Corinna high-five, but he might have been hallucinating at that point.
Afraid he was about to lose his “man card” for life, Alex walked forward as confidently as he could, closing the last few feet between him and Aria as he held out his hand to her. He would have kissed her cheeks again but feared a repeat in front of an audience.
“It is so good to see you again, Aria. It’s been a long time.”
He fought the urge to lean forward and see the subtle color variations of her eyes that he noticed when he had held her close, but he didn’t dare.
Aria placed her dainty hand in Alex's huge one. He loved that it completely encircled it. As he shook it gently, his body registered the shockwaves and now all he wanted to do was keep her hand in his as they walked through the gallery.
That wouldn’t be weird, would it? Probably not a good idea.
Aria was looking from their joined hands to his face, begging for an explanation.
What explanation could he give her when he’d never experienced anything like this himself?
Pulling away slowly, she said, “It’s good to see you again, too.”
The rest of the group looked on in pure fascination. Alex cleared his throat and held his hand out for them to go further into the gallery, needing to get the group into the venue and out of the entryway.
“If you’re all okay with it, maybe we can see the exhibit together,” he offered, everyone nodding affirmatively.
It didn’t escape Alex’s notice that Enzo kept sneaking glances at Corinna.
“Oh, I’m not missing this for the world,” Corinna said as she tucked her clutch purse under her arm and walked past Aria, winking at her as she did.
He had to put a little space between him and Aria, or he would do something stupid like gathering her into his arms and kissing her for real.
This is what he wanted to do from the time her rosy, red lips had touched his the day before, but the image of Nicholas had him focusing back on the present. He needed to talk to her soon.
Alex listened to Sofia and Aria, their attention thankfully on the art pieces on the wall. He walked on ahead a few steps so the ladies could talk without him hovering, ignoring Enzo’s constant winking.
“Aria, you were the best class partner back then. I got all A’s in English class because of you. What was the book that we did the mini play on for Mrs. DeLuca’s class?” Sofia asked.
“Oh gosh, that would have been the end of our third year, right?”
“Pride and Prejudice,” Alex said nonchalantly as he stopped to look at one of the paintings.
Sensing that their conversation had stopped abruptly, he turned back to look at them, understanding flooding his brain.
Oh, no. What did I just do? Idiot!
Huffing out a breath, Sofia asked, “How in the world would you remember that?”
Eyes wide, embarrassment creeping in, he mumbled, “I, ah, well, I may be wrong. I’m not completely sure.” He turned back around, praying the conversation would end there.
“No, no, you’re right, Alex. It was Pride and Prejudice. I remember because it’s always been my favorite,” Aria said, her voice lowering on the last sentence.
He wanted to yell out, “I know”, just like Mr. Darcy did in Aria’s favorite movie, a fact he’d never admit to knowing. She had mentioned it a dozen times when they were working on that project. He just happened to overhear her by accident.
Yeah, keep telling yourself that.
“I don’t think I’ve ever thanked you for how sweet you were back then. Always willing to give us a ride to get supplies. You were a great big brother. Probably still are,” Aria said, blushing shyly at the admission.
Alex’s heart soared. “I loved helping you guys. I mean Sofia. And you. I never minded at all.”
“No, he sure didn’t,” Enzo mumbled. Alex was grateful when Adrian maneuvered his nuisance of a friend forward.
Sofia placed her hand on her heart as her eyes softened, looking like she might cry. Corinna nodded with a knowing smirk. Aria gave her friend the side eye and walked to the next painting.
Falling behind the group, Alex saw when Enzo sidled up to him and started playing an imaginary violin, making Alex mouth, “I’ll punch you.”