“I really would love to do it for you. I'll call you on Sunday to set it up. Please let me help,” he said, meeting her gaze as their eyes caught and held.
Aria broke the trance first.
“Thank you so much. Talk to you on Sunday. And Alex...”
“Yes?”
“Thank you for earlier.”
“You’re very welcome. Good night, Aria.”
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?”
