When Aurelia finally saw Oliver carrying his suitcase through the square (rolling suitcases, of course, were a convenience Oliver had given up since Biscuit was terrified of them), her heart leapt. She grinned as he caught sight of her and started waving up at her, then she remembered—in just a few minutes, she was going to have to tell him about her double life.
But then the tinkling of the shop door seemed to wipe her memory clear of her agenda, and she found herself focused instead on how she couldn’t wait another minute to see him. She practically ran down the stairs that led to the shop and nearly knocked him over as she swung open the door. Throwing her arms around him, she planted kisses all over his face, and they both started laughing as Biscuit jumped up and barked in circles around them, overjoyed by Aurelia’s excitement and Oliver’s return.
“I missed you, I missed you, I missed you,” she whispered into his ear, catching her breath after he’d given her a long kiss.
He kissed her again and abandoned his suitcase on the mezzanine, leading her up the stairs to the flat.
“Are we alone?” he whispered.
“Mm-hmm. They’re not due back for an hour or two.”
Oliver kissed her neck and asked, “Did David take Julia somewhere? Remind me to thank him.”
Aurelia stilled, realizing her mistake. She’d said ‘they,’ forgetting that Oliver didn’t yet know that Antonia was in London, here to sort things out after Julia’s discovery. Having hoped to press pause on telling him, she’d suddenly hit fast-forward.
He kept up his work on her neck but soon sensed that Aurelia had stopped responding.
“Is she with David?” Oliver asked again.
“No, she isn’t.”
Oliver seemed to understand that something was off, then, and pulled away to look at her, still smiling in his happiness at seeing her.
“Who’s ‘they,’ then? Kali and Julia?”
Oliver and Aurelia had reached the top of the stairs, and he was attempting to guide her into the bedroom, his hands on her hips. Instead, she took one of his hands in hers and gently pulled him into the living room.
“Let’s sit for a minute. A few things have happened while you’ve been gone.”
“Okay,” he said, his tone a mixture of curiosity and concern. “Is everything alright?”
She sat on the sofa and Oliver joined her, his hand still in hers.
“Antonia arrived yesterday.”
Starting with the most basic facts seemed as good a place to begin as any.
“Really? I thought she wasn’t due for another, what, two weeks?”
“She wasn’t, but she decided to come up. It was a last-minute thing.”
“Nothing to do with your dad?” he asked, his face suddenly full of concern.
“No, he’s fine. It was… something came up with Julia and me, and Antonia wanted to be here.”
“Did something happen? I thought things were going well.”
Aurelia nodded her head slowly, then closed her eyes, hoping for inspiration.
“Aurelia, what’s going on?”
She opened her eyes again and immediately met his. The moment—right or not—had arrived.
33
“Charactersfrombooks?Walkingand talking? Hanging out in the shop?” Oliver asked with a smile on his face, as though waiting for the punchline.
She’d finally managed to get the words out and he’d sat listening patiently until now.
