With Aiden gone, I need help from someone close. Mike is probably working on a job around town. But it’s early enough that Marco might be free.
I call the number listed for the restaurant, and he answers with, “The Italian Rose, this is Marco.”
“Hey, this is Max. I need help with moving some furniture. Do you know of someone who helps with that?”
“I can help. I’ll bring my son. Where is it?” I didn’t expect Marco’s answer to come so quickly.
“It’s above the coffee shop.”
“Perfect. We come in ten minutes.”
If I’m going to stay here for a while, I need to make sure this space is something I can live with.
While I wait, I call Aiden. From the background noise, I can tell he’s probably at the airport.
“What if I stay here?” I ask.
“Okay, wait. Did I miss something? Because I thought you had this big argument with your father last night. What’s going on? Did something happen between you and Avery?”
My stomach sinks. “No. Sadly, nothing happened between us. But I realized how much I love it here, how much it’s changed my life in just a few short weeks, and I know that I can’t turn my back on that. I can’t go back to the way things were before.”
“That’s a big step. Are you leaving the company, or what are you planning?”
“No, but I’ll make some changes so that I can have a little more freedom in where I live and have actual time off instead of burning through the midnight oil for years at a time.”
“Okay, so where does that leave you and Avery?”
“I don’t think I can fix that part,” I say, and dread fills every part of my body at the thought.
“What are you talking about? There’s nothing you can’t fix. You’re the master at negotiating and putting people at ease. I think helping her see the reasons you did what you did might help the situation.”
Frustration surges and I don’t see a way through it. “I don’tthink so, Aiden. The way she looked at me and how upset she was about me not letting her know anything…it crushes me to even think about right now.”
“You’re not even going to try?” Aiden asks.
“What do you suggest?”
“Become a fixture in this town. Show her that you could be anywhere, but you want to be here.”
“Okay, how do I do that?”
There’s a slight pause, and it’s suddenly quieter on his end. “Keep doing what you’ve been doing. Restore the building and work on your other properties. Get coffee from her every day. Show up to all the town activities.”
“That sounds rather stalkerish,” I say, chuckling.
“What’s her biggest fear about you right now?”
I swallow with difficulty. “That I’m not who I say I am. But I’ve shown her who I am the entire time I’ve been here, I was just using the name Max Luca, inspector.”
“Then she needs time to reconcile that those two people are the same person.”
For the first time in hours, I feel a flicker of hope.
“My first order of business is to get rid of this crappy furniture, then find pieces that are comfortable so I’d want to stay in the flat.” Although I have a strange attachment to the couch after our movie night.
Still, it’s not comfortable even for a few seconds, let alone hours.
“From what I’ve heard, Talia has a lot of good pieces that she fixes up and sells. Maybe check her first.”
