Chapter 22
Chapter Twenty-Two
From her office, Aria stared at the door that Alex had just exited, his words still taking up residence in her heart.
“You would make anywhere in the world even more beautiful.”
Swiftly blowing out air from her lips, Aria went straight into daydreaming about book boyfriends and the way they always said the right thing. Gio’s voice startled her out of her musings as he entered her office.
“I see Alex dropped off the photos from the shoot. How did they come out?”
“They’re perfect. I think Michael will love the one we picked out.”
“Great, great,” he answered, his agitation obvious. “Ah, I was wondering if you were free for lunch later. I have a craving for Indian.”
“Sure. Let's plan for noon. Curry Kingdom sound good?”
“You read my mind. Noon works and we can go together if you’d like.”
“Actually, I have an errand to run afterward, so I’ll meet you there.”
“Sounds good. See you later.”
Aria nervously rubbed her hands together. Was this about the hug? It didn’t feel like his usual offer to have lunch together. Her eyes glanced around and stopped when she saw Luna’s smug look.
Aria’s eyes widened when she saw her mouth, “Get ready.”
“No, no, no,” Aria moaned, turning away. Grabbing the growing pile of folders on her desk and the stack of phone messages that needed to be returned, she kept herself busy for the next few hours.
Gio was already at a table when Aria arrived. Thanking the hostess who brought her to where Gio was sitting, Aria tried hard not to show her nervousness. But seeing him playing with his napkin and avoiding eye contact made her nerves tick up.
Hoping to defuse the tension, she decided to act as normal as she could, saying, “I’ve already decided on the butter chicken. How ‘bout you?”
Her brows arched as she waited for his answer.
Finally looking at her, he answered, “Tikka masala chicken. You know better than to ask. It’s by far the superior choice.”
Aria feigned shock as they repeated their longstanding debate, hoping this meant she was wrong about what she thought he wanted to say.
The server hurriedly took their orders, looking flushed from the rush of customers.
Nervously rolling the edge of his napkin again, Gio took a noticeably loud inhale before speaking.
“Aria, I, I’ve wanted to talk to you about something for a while now. But I’ve been waiting, hoping—” He pushed his dark curls from his forehead and straightened in his seat as Aria tried not to look like a deer in headlights.
She could hear the clanging of plates around them, hushed conversations, the melodic beat of the music playing over the speakers. Picking up her own napkin then setting it back down, she mentally prepared for what she thought was coming next.
Gio cleared his throat as he launched into his speech. It gave her the impression that he needed to blurt it out before losing his courage. She couldn’t look him in the eye just yet.
“I want you to know that I like you. I-I’d love to be able to take you on a date and see if this friendship could become more,” he said hurriedly, exhaling on the last word like he was taking his last breath.
It was a moment of clarity for her. She had wondered for some time how she would feel if he ever said the words out loud, had even entertained the idea of agreeing to see what could happen. But as easygoing as their friendship had been, there had never been a spark.
Carefully weighing her words, Aria made eye contact with him.
“Gio, you are a wonderful, kind, and generous man. You have no idea what this friendship has meant to me. And as a colleague, you have elevated my business with your attention to detail and unending talent.”
Her insides tightened at the sight of his disappointment. He slumped back into his chair, his head hung down, averting her gaze. This was more painful than she had imagined.
Grateful for the interruption, Aria put her hands in her lap when the server laid their plates in front of them, smiling and asking if they needed anything else.
“No, we’re fine. Thanks,” Aria replied.
She leaned back in her seat and continued.
“I’m so sorry that I can’t reciprocate your feelings, but I really don’t want to lose you as my friend. And selfishly, I hope we can move past this so that our work relationship isn’t affected.”
Gio sat in silence for several minutes. Lifting his chin up, his eyes met hers again.
Through gritted teeth, he asked, “It’s Alex, isn’t it? He’s interested in you. It's not hard to imagine why because you're an amazing woman. But I don't trust him. He roams the world with no stability or commitment. What could he possibly offer you, Aria?”
She grimaced at his angry words.
“Gio, I can see that you’re hurt, and I promise that was never my intention. But you have no right talking to me about my private life in this way.”
Her outrage at his impertinence was fully displayed as she pushed her plate away and straightened. She hid her trembling hands when her arms crossed in front of her chest.
He slowly reached for her, but she pulled back quickly, turning her face from his, reigning in her anger. She didn’t want to make a scene; a few heads had already looked their way.
“I’m so sorry, Aria. I’m a moron,” he whispered as he looked around nervously.
He drew his hand back and rubbed his forehead.
“I’m messing this all up. I wanted to finally get the courage to tell you how I felt about you, see if you’d even consider pursuing more with me, but I let my jealousy get the best of me.
I’ll never forgive myself if you end up hating me,” he said, his eyes pleading.
“Gio, I—”
“No, I'm sorry I upset you. I won't bring Alex up again. I can’t help feeling protective of you, Aria. I hate seeing you hurting or in pain.”
Turning back to look at him and softening at his words, Aria replied, “I appreciate that more than you know but I can take care of myself. Right now, I need to know if we can move past this.”
“I want that, too. I hope I haven’t made a fool of myself and lost my job,” he scoffed.
“Why don’t you take a few days off? Then we can work from there to see what’s next. Okay?”
She saw how his shoulders relaxed, making her do the same.
Nodding his agreement, he quietly answered, “Okay.” He smiled cautiously and added, “Thanks, you know, for not throwing your plate of food at me.”
Aria laughed lightly, letting the tension bleed from her body completely. Picking up her fork and sliding her plate back in front of her, she said, “I’d never waste a good plate of butter chicken.”
Nodding, Gio placed his plate in front of him, alternating between eating and looking at her. She hoped her jovial remark had eased the tension some.
They finished quickly, neither exchanging more than awkward small talk about the office. He paid the bill and walked her to the entrance.
“Thank you, Aria. I do want to stay with Libri Stellari. I love what I do. I’ve made Positano home, you know?”
“I know. I want that too. Finish up today and I’ll see you next week,” she answered. “See you back at the office.”
The anxiety of their conversation had mostly dissipated, and she strangely felt grateful that it had finally happened.
They both knew where they stood, and she would do everything possible to help them salvage their relationship.
As she walked past the shop windows, she caught sight of Gio watching her walk away.
In another life, the idea of that conversation going a different way would have been a possibility. No doubt, she was flattered. But right now, in the life that she had left to live, she knew she could never settle for less than true love.
A blush bloomed on her face as she remembered the way it felt when Alex touched her hand. Her hand instinctively went to her cheek.
Yes, she wanted the fairytale. The love story.
The kind people wrote books about.