Chapter 13
Chapter Thirteen
The minute Alex walked away, Corinna hopped out of the car, ran around to the driver’s side, and got behind the wheel before Aria could register what was happening. Huffing, Aria walked around and got into the passenger seat.
“Aria, okay, my girl. No more stalling. I need details now. What happened at the cafe yesterday with Alex? And why do I not know about this?” demanded Corinna, keeping her eyes on the road as she drove back to Aria’s house.
“Ugh. I don't know what's happening right now. I think I'm losing it. I wanted to tell you, but I needed time to process it, and I knew we’d be together tonight,” Aria wailed as she leaned her head into the passenger seat, hoping the move would alleviate the pain building up in her head.
“Okay, take a deep breath and start from the beginning.”
“Well, you know I spent time at Sofia’s house doing projects because our teachers knew better than to pair you and I.”
Corinna laughed, nodding her head. “I remember.”
“Anyway, Alex was very, very different from how he looks now. It’s why I didn’t recognize him.
He was cute, but I only had eyes for Nicholas from the day he first spoke to me.
But I do remember Alex hanging around the house whenever Sofia and I studied, offering to help or drive us around.
He was sweet and oddly attentive. I chalked it up to him loving his sister, like I said tonight. ”
“I kind of remember you mentioning him.”
“Anyway, their mom was usually home when I visited. She made me feel welcome there. Sadly, I lost touch with them both after graduation.”
Corinna grimaced, catching Aria’s attention.
“What?” Aria asked.
“Sofia told me that their mom passed from cancer while Alex was still at university. That’s when I mentioned Nicholas.”
“That’s awful,” Aria said sadly, her heart aching for them.
“Yeah, they took it pretty hard apparently. But Sofia didn’t know that you two saw each other either. What happened?”
“Well, I was stressed because of the photographer situation and not paying attention. Oh, and by the way, you're so going to get it with that stunt you pulled with Alex.”
“You can thank me at the wedding,” Corinna said with a smirk, making Aria shake her head in disbelief.
“Anyway, I was distracted and barreled into the cafe while Alex was trying to leave, and we just collided. I was mortified, so I ran into the ladies’ room and waited for him to leave. Again, I had no idea it was Alex. Knowing it was him makes it all even worse.”
“What does that mean? What else happened? You both blushed bright red when you told the story.”
Aria cleared her throat and said, “Well, in the commotion, our lips sort of accidentally touched.”
“What? Are you serious?” Corinna screamed, carefully pulling the car over so she could focus her full attention on the conversation. Putting the car into park, she turned to look at Aria.
“You kissed him?”
“No. No!” Aria yelled back defensively, her head in her hands.
“So, he kissed you?”
“Wait, no. We kind of accidentally kissed each other. It was only a second or two. He bent down to kiss my cheeks and when he crossed from one to the other, Susanna called my name and I jerked and... well, we kissed.”
“Gotta love Susanna. I wouldn’t doubt she did it on purpose. How was the kiss?”
“It wasn't a real kiss, Corinna. How do I judge when the whole encounter was more like a tornado?” Aria screeched, her face heating up again at the thought.
Unconsciously, Aria touched her finger to her lips.
Corinna smirked and said, “Okay, then can we talk about the electricity you and Alex were creating tonight?”
Aria looked at Corinna with wide eyes. “Do you really think so?”
“Uh, that’s a big. Fat. Yes. And he wasn’t wearing a ring,” exclaimed Corinna as she pulled back into traffic now that she had the story.
Aria let this revelation swirl around in her head. She had felt it, but she thought it was only her. She’d never admit to them that she, too, had checked for a ring.
“When he shook my hand, I felt something,” Aria answered as she thought about that touch, closing her eyes.
She could feel the roughness of his hands, hands that probably did manual labor. Maybe he chopped wood or built things with those big hands. She could still smell his musky fragrance. Was it cologne, or aftershave? And how did he get his beard so soft? Maybe he used beard oil. Musky beard oil.
“I'm still processing it all,” she said, suddenly realizing she had drifted off. She glanced at Corinna who was grinning again as she drove.
“Looks like you’re processing something.”
Aria hung her head and confessed, “Ugh! Got to admit it felt amazing. It was exciting and frightening. It felt like I was alive again.”
It was good to say it out loud, but the guilt was right there on the surface coloring every thought and emotion.
“Aria, I’ve been waiting to hear you say that. I’m so happy for you.”
“I don’t know what this all means. I’m honestly overwhelmed,” Aria said when Corinna pulled up to her house.
“What do you need? How can I help?”
“You know me better than anyone. I need time to think and process.”
“Are you sure you don’t want to talk? I can stay.”
“No, no. I love you, but I promise we will talk about this more later,” said Aria with a forced smile.
She made sure Corinna pulled away safely, waving until she couldn’t see her any longer before opening her door.
Once inside, she slid out of her dress and the dreaded heels, slipped into a bath, and let the hot water and her favorite bath oils take her mind away from the events of the last two days.
She was conflicted about these new feelings that Alex had evoked. Finding herself in unknown territory, the only thing she knew to do was to focus on her memories of Nicholas.
As she soaked in the tub, feeling cocooned in its warmth, she let her thoughts drift back to some of her favorites.
She would never forget the day he proposed. She was in her second year of college, and they started dreaming about their future.
Nicholas had majored in business and his dream of owning a publishing house became her dream as well. She gladly put her dream of becoming a writer on hold until they could get the business off the ground.
She could still remember the day they came up with the name for their business. Libri Stellari. Stellar Books. It was perfect because it married their mutual love of books and the stars.
He would pull her in close as they lay out on a blanket near the beach and he pointed out the constellations to her. She would sigh with happiness at the lifetime they would have together writing her novels, running their business, traveling, and starting a family.
Aria turned on the hot water again as her bath water had cooled some. She let the soapy water run through her fingers. She wasn’t ready to move on from her memories.
Now that Nicholas was gone, all she wanted to do was to keep Libri Stellari alive and well. In her own way, it was how she kept Nicholas alive in her life. It was all that mattered to her now.
She rolled up a towel, placing it under her head so she could recline fully. The aroma of the orange-scented bath oil arrested her senses. The fragrance evoked memories of their first time in Positano.
They had moved there from Rome, deciding they wanted a slower-paced life. They both loved the Amalfi Coast area, having visited the seaside cities on their honeymoon.
Aria was so glad Nicholas had seen at least some of his dreams come to pass.
When the water was too cool to stay in, she pulled the plug, grabbed a towel from the heating rack, and dried off after carefully stepping out of the tub.
She crawled into her bed and stretched, but a half hour later, when sleep still wouldn't come, she grabbed her phone.
At the gallery, she had heard people whispering about Alex being a big-time photographer. She was curious to see what Enzo and Sofia meant about him not doing the kind of photography she needed.
The Google bar was staring at her, making her feel rushed.
“Okay, okay, I'm getting there,” she said aloud. She debated with herself for a while, then finally did it.
With shaky fingers, she typed in, ‘ALEX ROSSI PHOTOGRAPHER’.
Her mouth agape, she clicked on page after page of information, photos, award ceremonies, Alex in places she had never even heard of before. There were also articles about his humanitarian endeavors.
Her heart was conflicted seeing photos of him with statuesque women, all of whom looked like they had walked off the runways of Milan.
“Nicholas. What am I doing? What is happening to me? I miss you so much.”
With a deep sigh, she slid out of her bed and walked to her desk.
She dug around in one of the drawers until she found a brown leather journal that was fastened with a tab. The empty journal had been pushed to the back, neglected for far too long, just like her writing.
Just like my dreams.
Her hand smoothed over it and she brought it up to her nose to smell. There was always something wonderful about the smell of leather and old books. With a sudden urge to write down her feelings, she grabbed a pen as she sat down.
Opening it up to the first page, her smile returned at the familiar crack of a newly opened book. She basked in the glorious sound that always held the feeling of endless possibilities and a promise of new beginnings.
Looking to the heavens for inspiration, she grabbed a pen.
In the quiet of her solitude, Aria began to write, the words suddenly flowing out like a flood over dry land after a drought.
She couldn’t help smiling as her hand tried to keep up with the many thoughts that filled her mind and her heart.
And she couldn’t help wondering what had finally unlocked it all.