He nodded and moved on, and Aria returned to her rounds with renewed determination to stay present.
Her phone buzzed in her pocket at 2 PM. A message from Damien: Everything's arranged. Private dining room at Alinea, 7 PM tonight. Alexander has confirmed he'll be there. Marcus will have security positioned throughout the restaurant. You're safe.
Aria read the message three times. Then typed back: Thank you. I don't know if I'm ready for this, but I guess I'm going to find out.
His response came immediately: You're ready. And if you're not, we leave. No pressure to stay if it doesn't feel right.
What if he's wonderful? What if I like him?
Then that's wonderful too. There's no wrong answer here, Aria. Whatever you feel is valid.
She stared at that message for a long moment. Whatever you feel is valid. Sometimes Damien understood her better than she understood herself.
