"Sure, baby. And tell Johnny that he'll have to deal with me if he messes up the lift," Vico replies with a teasing tone as if he hadn't been overwhelmed by sadness just moments ago.
That's my brother. That's how all the Olivettas are. We won't be defeated, no matter what happens.
"That's exactly what I needed. Thank you, Vico."
We chat a little more about the work at the family estate back in Tuscany and the weather at home. Even though we spoke just two days ago, Vico gives me a detailed update on what's happening with my two sisters and eventually hands them the phone. They wish me luck in the coming days and tell me howblue their fingers are by now because they don't stop crossing them for me.
As I reluctantly say goodbye to my family, clouds gather in the sky over the wildly overgrown park. I tuck my phone back into the pocket of my jeans and lean against the stone railing of the bridge. For a moment, I close my eyes and savor the warm tingling sensation that the last rays of sun leave on my cheeks.
You can do this, Aurora. Everyone believes in you.
I force the corners of my mouth as far up as I can, then take a deep breath. Ready to face whatever challenges the remaining two days of the audition bring, I finally push off energetically from the bridge railing.
Seconds later, I collide with what feels like a black wall. My nose presses against the fabric, and warmth spreads across my forehead.
It smells like... freshly roasted coffee.
"Hm," I involuntarily mumble.
"Uh..." A deep voice causes the black coffee wall to vibrate.
Suddenly, I realize that the wall can only be a man. Embarrassed, I take a step back. "Excusez-moi," I hastily apologize in the best French I can muster and look up. "Oh."
It'shim.
Maxime.
The man with the leaping fire eyes from the academy. Instantly, they capture me. And as if it wasn't awkward enough that I ran into him, now the words escape me as well.
