Alessandro |18+|

31

ARIA

"Amore mio, do you want anything else?" Sandro asked, pushing the trolley through the bright aisle. He had been packing in all of my favourite snacks, including a few new items that he wanted me to try. I couldn't get him to stop and after a brief exchanging of words, I finally gave in.

"That's more than enough, Sandro. Thank you," I said, redirecting the trolley towards the tills.

"Knowing you all of this is going to be done before the night ends," he said, smiling while he looked down at me. I scoffed, giving him a slight push to which he barely moved. He raised a brow, almost mocking me and saying 'you tried'

Together, we walked over to the tills and I started unpacking all the items onto the counter. I greeted the lady with a smile, and Sandro pulled his card out of his wallet.

After paying, we were both carrying the paper bags to the car. There was hardly anyone around, and I found comfort in it, hoping that I wouldn't run into a familiar face.

While we were packing the bags into the boot, I was overwhelmed by the delicious aroma of warm cinnamon and sugar. I straightened up, my eyes landing on a small dessert shop located next to the grocery store. It was empty, but the open sign shone a bright pink.

"Donuts. They smell good. Do you want one?" Sandro asked, nudging me on the shoulder with a cheeky grin on his face. He knew I couldn't resist anything sweet, especially if it smelled as good as that shop did.

"Of course I want one," I said, setting the last bag down. "I'm going."

"I can-" he was interrupted by the blaring of his cell phone.

Sandro closed his eyes for a couple of seconds, visibly annoyed. "I thought I told them not to bother me. It's Carlo, bellissima. Must be urgent. Just let me take this quickly and-"

"Sit down on your ass and wait here, Sandro," I said firmly, knowing that Sandro was going to argue with me but I wanted to have a good look at the treats. "I want to see what else they have, and I won't be long. Answer that call."

Sandro smirked, "yes, ma'am."

I guess the boss liked being bossed around sometimes.

I grabbed my purse from around his shoulder, slinging it across my body before giving him a kiss on the cheek.

When I turned away from him, I heard him greet Carlo in Italian. I could feel his eyes on me as I approached the shop, pushing the door open and when I did, the smell became even more intense. It smelled so good, and it was absolutely adorable inside. I was surprised that it was empty.

There wasn't anybody behind the counter, but there was a bell that read 'ring for assistance' While looking around at the pastries, I hit the bell a few times and a man's voice let me know that he'll be out soon.

I tapped my fingers on the glass, deciding on what to get. Sandro's favourite was anything vanilla or blueberry, and the rest of my family didn't care as long as it was delicious. It had been a few minutes of waiting, and I was starting to feel impatient.

"Aria? No way."

Fuck.

I had to stop myself from letting the wince show on my face.

I looked up, meeting eyes with someone I didn't instantly recognise. "Uh-"

"It's me. Joey. We went to the same high school," he said, dropping a rag onto the counter separating us before rounding it. I squinted, trying to put a face to a name. Shiny and straight blonde hair, blue eyes and a charming smirk.