Chapter 14
Chapter Fourteen
Alex, Enzo and Adrian decided on a restaurant near the gallery for a late celebratory dinner and sat out on the patio. The gallery opening had been a success as always, and Adrian had managed to sell almost all his paintings, including the one Alex purchased.
“To my brothers,” said Alex as they clinked their glasses.
“Cin, cin.”
“What a night,” he said softly, taking a sip of his drink. The trattoria was quiet due to the late hour, a welcome respite from the crowd at the gallery.
“Yes, it was quite a night. For you as well, brother,” Adrian said.
Alex was still thinking about Aria’s confession. A widow? There was so much to process in that revelation. He felt an undeniable need to protect her and try to heal her pain.
“I can’t get over Aria walking into the same gallery on the same night as you,” Enzo said, his eyes wide.
Alex tried to focus on their conversation, pushing the growing unease in his throat down.
Adrian put his hand on Alex’s shoulder. “I can see why this woman brought the great Alex Rossi to his knees.”
“It wasn’t that bad,” Alex grumbled into his drink.
It didn’t escape Alex’s attention that his friends tried to hide their amusement in the look they shared as they flanked him.
“What?” Alex said grumpily, looking between the two.
Enzo tried to imitate Tarzan, his voice going deep as he pounded on his chest. “Me, Alex. You, Aria,” which made Adrian burst out laughing so loud the table of people next to them stopped talking to see what was happening. The unhappy woman rocking a sleeping baby was not amused.
Groaning, Alex said, “Oh man, did I sound that bad?”
Their imitation of his blundering made him cringe. Now he had to face the fact that he’d probably made a fool of himself.
“It was hilarious. You are the coolest guy I know under pressure. But, yeah, that was not pretty to watch.”
“She, she just makes me act insane. I don’t know what it is about her, but all my ‘cool’ goes right out the window when she’s near. Then and now.”
Enzo took a sip of his whiskey and nodded. “It’s true. You should have seen him back in school. Once when Aria passed him in the hallway and said ‘hi’, he ran into his locker.”
That made Adrian cackle even louder, tears forming.
Scrubbing his face with both hands before huffing out loudly, he said, “You think she noticed?”
Looking at each other, his friends said in unison, “Nah.”
Alex didn’t believe them one bit.
“Yeah, well you seemed pretty off your game yourself, my friend. The lovely green-eyed Corinna seemed to catch your attention,” Alex teased.
“Pfft. Not my type,” Enzo growled, slamming down the rest of his drink quickly.
“Well, getting back to Aria, she’s beautiful and seems very sweet and genuine. Not always easy to find,” Adrian said before diving into his grilled fish and eggplant dish after the server brought their meal.
“What happened when you walked her outside, though? Seemed like something was wrong,” Enzo asked. It didn’t escape Alex’s notice that Enzo was more than happy to have the spotlight off him.
“I haven’t told you this part. So... she did marry Nicholas.”
Enzo dropped his fork which clanged loudly on his plate, garnering more irritated looks from their neighbors. He mouthed “sorry” to them before turning back to Alex.
“Uh, she’s married then?”
“No. She’s a widow.”
“Are you serious?” Adrian asked.
Nodding, Alex said, “Yeah. She didn’t go into much detail, but he died about three years ago in a car accident.”
“That’s, wow, I don’t know what to say,” Enzo answered, his brows pinched tightly.
“Alex, watching you two together tonight, it was obvious that there’s a connection, but you’re only here for a few weeks. Just be her friend for now. It may be all she needs,” Adrian warned.
“I know. In my head, I know that. I’m not sure what she needs but I know I want to be that for her.”
“And you will. Just don’t go fast. You’ll see her again soon for the photoshoot. Spend some time with her and see how things go,” Enzo said as he patted him on the back.
“Like I said. My head understands that. It’s my heart that I’m afraid of.”
“What do you mean?” Adrian asked.
Alex looked from one friend to the other and answered, “I think I’m in as much danger of falling for Aria as I was back in school.
I mean, it felt like love at first sight back then.
Sofia would tease me and call it puppy love.
But seeing her again at the cafe and then tonight.
I don’t know guys, I feel like she’s what has been missing from my life. ”
Adrian and Enzo looked at one another and Alex could see the concern in their eyes, his mind echoing the sentiment.