Page 27 of Always

“You didn’t want his approval?” Marco asked.

“No,” Anika said, “I had my mother. That was enough for me.”

“What was she like?” Marco asked.

“She was one of those people that everyone loves. She was so vibrant, she had this gorgeous laugh, this way of moving her hands when she talked, you couldn’t take your eyes off her. Everyone wanted to be like her. If she wore red lipstick, it looked like the most elegant thing, and the next day you’d see five other women had bought the same color. She would walk around in a gypsy blouse and old leather sandals and her hair in a braid and it looked so natural and lovely, like a painting. You could always tell exactly what she was feeling—it was all over her face. And she would tell you anyway. She had this honest way of speaking. Not blunt, just completely genuine.”

“You must miss her so much,” Marco said.

“I do,” Anika said.

“I feel like I’ve met her, by meeting you,” Marco said.

“Oh no,” Anika said, turning her face away, “I’m not like her.”

“But you’ve described yourself exactly,” Marco insisted, taking her hand and drawing her back toward him. “You look like a painting right now. The way the sun’s shining on your hair, and your skin is glowing. You’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. And those eyes…I look in your eyes and I can see your whole soul open before me. It’s clear and perfect and I can’t look away.”

He put his hand gently on her cheek and tilted up her face so she had to look at him. His eyes were dark green with heavy brows, dark lashes.

He pulled her toward him and kissed her, gently at first and then more insistently. He had full lips; his mouth was warm and wet and slightly aggressive. He put his other hand around her waist to press her tight against his body, as if they were alone in a hotel room, not in the middle of the park where anyone could see them.

Anika broke free, her heart beating much harder than it had during their run.

“Let me…let me catch my breath,” she gasped.

“I’m sorry,” Marco said. “I’ve wanted to do that since the moment I met you.”

He forgot that we met before,Anika thought. The night that he fought with his father. He hadn’t so much as glanced at Anika then. Why would he? She was only a child. Still, the fact that it hadn’t actually been love at first sight steadied her a little. She remembered what Stella had said, that Marco was a playboy, dating a string of models and actresses and heiresses.

“I’m sure you say that to everybody,” Anika said.

“No,” Marco insisted, “I’m telling you the truth. I know I have a reputation. And maybe a few months or a year ago I might have given you a line. But I’m different now. You’re making me different, every moment I spend with you. You’ve completely bewitched me.”

“We’ve only just met,” Anika said, laughing.

“I know what I feel,” Marco said. “I won’t tell you yet because I don’t want to frighten you. But in time, I’ll prove it to you.”

Anika couldn’t look at him. She felt flushed and confused. She hadn’t expected any of this, and she wasn’t sure if she wanted it.

“Do you want to run again?” Anika asked, her eyes still cast down at the ducks floating by under the bridge.

“Sure, if that’s what you want,” Marco said. “I’ll run a thousand miles after you.”

Anika wasn’t accustomed to all this flowery romanticism, and she didn’t know how to respond to it. She supposed it was the Italian in him.

Yet, she had to admit, that kiss had taken her off guard. It had ignited a fire within her, set her heart pounding and her mind spinning. She had kissed a half dozen people since James, but that was the first time she had felt anything like she used to feel when he would touch her.

Buoyed by that kiss, she could have run many times around the park, but she didn’t want to torture Marco too much. Instead, after another mile or two, she led him out the east gates onto 71st street. They planned to get a bubble tea, which Marco had never tasted and was curious to try.

Instead they walked right into James and Hannah coming out of a record shop.

“Oh, hello!” Hannah cried, kissing Anika on the cheek. Hannah was wearing a bright yellow eyelet sundress and sandals, her hair held back with an Alice band. She looked very pretty, her crispness making Anika feel sweaty and bedraggled by comparison.

At least she was wearing proper running gear and not a ratty old t-shirt as she might have been if she hadn’t been meeting up with Marco. In fact, Anika noticed James glancing at her bare legs beneath her shorts. She couldn’t help but feel glad her legs were becoming slim and strong again, and even nicely tanned from a few afternoons on Stella’s deck chair.

Marco noticed James’s glance as well. He slipped his hand into Anika’s casually, as a boyfriend might do. Both James and Hannah observed this. Anika could tell Hannah was bursting to text Gwen about it as quickly as possible.

“What have you two been doing?” Hannah asked. “Tennis or running?”

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