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.
