I’m listening to Trevor’s idea when a chill runs down my spine, goose bumps prickling my skin. I scan the area around me, suddenly feeling like I’m being watched.
“Aria, are you listening?”
“Yes…no. I was listening, but I just got the weirdest feeling like I’m being watched, or we’re being watched. I don’t know.”
Trevor looks around before shrugging. “I don’t see anyone, but we can leave if it’ll make you feel better.”
“No, it’s okay. I’m okay.”
Trevor nods and goes back to telling me about his idea. I agree it sounds like a good creative project and we make plans to meet here tomorrow to iron out the details and map out the different areas we can hit up to find people who will let us take their photo. I tell Trevor I’d like to cover a bunch of different areas so we can hit different income divisions to get a variety of people, and Trevor agrees.
I throw my coffee cup and wrappers into the trash and pack up my laptop. I go by the store on the way to my flat and pick up ingredients to make a chicken salad for dinner before heading home. Taking the lift to the third floor, I step off and dig into my purse to find my keys. Once I have them in my hand, I look up and gasp at the sight in front of me, my bags hitting the ground. My hand comes to my mouth as the tears, for the second time today, come streaming down. Only this time, they aren’t because of the memory of Gio but because of the man himself.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
GIOVANNI
Two hours earlier
As much as I wanted to take off on a plane to Florence the minute my mom planted the idea into my head, I couldn’t. I had been neglecting my responsibilities for the past year and it wouldn’t be fair to Nico, to leave him with the bordello like this. I spent the next week bringing everything up to date. I wrote down important names and numbers, let the members know about the change in management-slash-ownership, and tied up all loose ends. Nico asked if I planned to come back and I knew without even having to think about it, I would only be back to visit my family. My life wasn’t here anymore.
He asked me what I would do if Aria had moved on. At first, I glared at him and told him to shut the fuck up. But then I thought about it and the fact that it could be a possibility. Just because I haven’t been able to move on doesn’t mean Aria wasn’t able to. After some thought, I decided if she has in fact moved on and is happy, I’m not going to fuck it up. I’ll walk away and leave her be. I also decided that regardless of what happens with Aria, I’m done with the organization.
The concept of letting her be was great in theory. But after I asked the doorman where I could find Aria, and he pointed me in the direction of a quaint little bakery about four blocks from her place that she apparently frequents often, I went in search of her. And just as he said, there she was sitting outside the bakery, only she wasn’t alone. She was with a guy, smiling and chatting with him. And that theory of letting her be went flying right out the window.
She looked absolutely beautiful. A bit harder around the edges but nonetheless, still has breathtaking. Her hair was no longer golden brown but instead midnight black. In place of the light pink lipstick she used to wear, her lips were darker—the color of mocha. Her eyes were lined in black and she was dressed in skinny jeans, an off the shoulder sweater, and she was sporting tall black boots. Aria had only aged a year since she left, but her look of innocence was gone. Maybe it was the event that led up to her leaving or living on her own, but Aria looked older, more mature. She looked fucking amazing. My heart ached as I watched her interact with the guy she was sitting with. When she looked around, I was scared she might’ve seen me so I walked back toward her place and called Amber.
“I think she’s seeing someone.”
“What?” Her voice was raspy, probably from having been asleep. I forgot about the nine-hour time difference when I called her.
“Sorry, were you asleep?”
“Umm…yeah, it’s two in the morning here.”
“I think Aria is seeing someone. I saw her with a guy.”
Amber huffed out, clearly annoyed. “She’s not seeing anyone, Giovanni.”
“Then who was the guy with her?”
“I don’t know. But I would know if she was seeing anyone. I’ve visited her several times since she’s moved there and I talk to her at least once a week and she has never so much as mentioned seeing a guy. Now man up and go get our girl.”