Still disoriented, Aria jerked at the sound of her name. The sudden movement set off alarms as the stranger’s soft lips ghosted over hers like a whisper.
Gasping, she looked up and saw his eyes widen in surprise, no doubt mirroring her own.
Did he just kiss me?!
Her heart stopped and then violently started again. Her vision began to gray, and sounds were reduced to just a muffle.
Oh, no. Please don’t faint.
She needed to get out of his embrace. He was too close. He was too gorgeous. That gentle whisper of a kiss was doing strange things to her insides. She had to get away.
Finally commanding her body to run, she pulled away and ran as fast as she could to the safety of the restroom.
Safe, yes, that’s what I need.
She thought Susanna might have called out her name again, but her heartbeat pounded in her ears, drowning out the sound. Reaching for the handle, grateful that it wasn’t occupied, Aria ran inside, the automatic fluorescent light flickering before turning on completely. Slamming the door shut, her back fell against it with a thud.
“What just happened?” she whispered as her fingers gingerly touched her lips.
A sound burst from her mouth, a mixture of terror and pure delight.
Chapter Four
There werefew places in the world Alex had not traveled to since becoming a professional photographer. His career had brought him all over the globe and afforded him experiences he could only dream of having.
But none of those experiences could have prepared him for what he felt at that moment, standing in the middle of a cafe, watching that beautiful woman run away from him.
The beautiful woman whose face still haunted his dreams. The one he and Enzo had just been talking about.
Aria.
He had heard the term “manifesting your reality” lately, but this, this was too much. Had he done that? Had he conjured her up from the recesses of his brain? How was this even possible?
This girl who captured his heart over a decade ago had just been in his hands. His heart was racing like it did when he was white water rafting, his hands sweating and twitching from the loss of her soft skin underneath them.
As if snapped out of a trance, the next thought floored him.
He had kissed her. The kiss was only a second-long brush of her soft lips, but it was enough to reignite a long-extinguished fire in his heart.
He stepped away from the door as people continued dodging him as they exited, looking at him with both amusement and curiosity.
Leaning against a wall away from the steady traffic of people, Alex decided to wait in that spot for as long as it took for Aria to return.
Smiling at the couple at the counter who he guessed were the owners, he tried to seem less conspicuous by giving his full attention to his phone. He had already eaten and paid, so he was sure their curious looks would soon turn suspicious.
He bid his time, his eyes glancing up to the door he assumed was the restroom every few seconds.
Busying himself with the device he was gripping, he tried to make sense of what had transpired.
Why was Aria in Positano? What were the odds that they’d be in the same cafe at the same time? What was that heavenly fragrance that he smelled when he held her close? Enzo and Adrian would never believe this.
But the question that heightened his attention begged an answer.
Was she still with Nicholas? He had lost track of them both after graduation, but it wouldn’t surprise him if they had married.
Familiar pangs of disappointment shot through him. As hard as it would be to hear that this was a reality, he knew he couldn’t miss the opportunity to talk to her again, especially when he was sure she hadn’t recognized him. If he only had a few minutes to talk to her again, he would greedily accept it.
Alex felt his phone vibrate and saw his dad’s name on the screen. He quickly answered it, excited to find him after he spoke with Aria.
