“Both, I suppose,” she said, arching an eyebrow.
They laughed and Aurelia felt the tension she’d been carrying fall away.
“You saw I didn’t introduce her right away.I thought you’d want time—after Anna.”
“Thank you for that.”
“You’ll have to work your way toward her.It wouldn’t be much of a story if you met right away and lived happily ever after.”
“Yes, how very boring that would be,” Vronsky said, smiling.
“I may have put some of my own modern thinking into her, and there are sparks of Marianne, Elinor, Rachel, and Marmee in her too—all intelligent, independent women from a time that’s closer to your own.”
Aurelia tried to read his expression but couldn’t tell what he was thinking, so she asked, “I hope you think she’s someone you could love?”
“I believe she is.If I could have, I would have written her for myself.”
“Really?I can make a change if there’s something you don’t like—I can take all of it out if you don’t like it, or her.I know I promised you—”
“You did promise me, but it was wrong of me to ask.This is right—it is a better story.It is truer to whom I ought to be and whom I wish to be.”
The other characters began asking what had kept them quiet for so long, and as Vronsky told them about her changes, Aurelia felt a sense of ease—like she’d set something right that had been slightly askew.She caught Elinor’s eye, then Rachel’s, pleased to see them both smiling smugly back at her.Meanwhile, Marianne was busy asking Vronsky all sorts of questions about his new love interest, including exactly how and when they were going to fall in love.
Watching Vronsky as he answered Marianne’s questions, Aurelia noticed that he seemed to grow more relaxed as he described the character Aurelia had created, as though this new twist in his future had brought him some measure of peace.She hoped she would feel the same, just as soon as she figured out how to make things right with Oliver.
58
Thefollowingmorning,Aureliacalled Oliver and asked him to meet for a coffee.He was his old standoffish self again, but she held firm, determined to get back the Oliver she’d gotten to know over the past few months.Although he tried a few excuses, she didn’t give up until he agreed to meet her at a café that was just a few minutes from the shop.
Knowing his preference for hard copies when he was editing, Aurelia carefully wrapped the manuscript in one of the shop’s canvas bags and carried it with her to the café, feeling protective of this final draft now that it was truly finished and had Vronsky’s blessing.
Just like their first meeting to discuss the book all those months ago, Oliver sat waiting for her when she arrived, wearing his usual buttoned-up shirt and a light linen jacket.He was at a table at the back of the café, looking cool and collected when she felt the exact opposite.Still, Aurelia squared her shoulders and held fast to her resolve to thaw his icy demeanor all over again.
“I know I promised to get you the final chapter on Monday, but I had a bit of a breakthrough,” she said as she sat down.
“Oh?”
“When we first started talking about the book, you told me it needed a love interest and I said no.Then I said no again, and maybe I even said it a third time.”
“Yes, you made it very clear.”
There was a slight edge to his voice that Aurelia understood had more to do with how they’d left things on Saturday than her writing.
“Well, I was wrong.You were right,” she added with a deferential nod.“I’ve been writing nonstop these past few days to add some new sections and chapters.Here,” she said, handing over the bag with her manuscript.
He reached out to take it from her.Holding it in his hands, he asked, “Are you sure?You seemed quite determined about that.”
“I was.But time and some perspective opened my eyes.”
“And what about Vronsky?Did you run it past him?”
There was a hint of their familiar teasing there and Aurelia loved to hear it.
“I did—it’s Vronsky approved.”
Oliver opened the bag and began flipping through the pages.He stopped, as if something had caught his eye, and read a few lines before looking up at her.
“There’s a new character—Vivienne?”
