CHAPTER TEN

ARIA

"Soo… if we move the Johnson graduation pictures to Wednesday, we could probably… no there's that outdoor ribbon cutting ceremony at the courthouse Wednesday. Damn it!" Aria sighed in frustration, running a hand through her hair. She was currently flipping through their weekly calendar trying to find any openings possible.

Lucas chuckled from where he was sliding the last of Hardy's wedding pictures into their protective covers. "Ar, it's fine. Just call Mrs. Johnson and ask that the pictures be moved until next week. You know what, give me like… ten minutes to finish this and I'll do it. I'm the one who double booked us."

"Thanks, Lucas," Aria replied with a smile. She had been stressing about the double booking all afternoon.

"Here, I saved this picture for you," Lucas replied. Aria walked over to the table he was working at and picked up the photo he had slid in her direction. She hitched her breath looking at the picture perfect moment he had captured. There, in soft black and white, was a picture of her and Ezra sharing their one dance during the wedding reception. He was moving a piece of hair out of her face while she was cupping the back of his neck. Why had it taken her so long to see the depth of emotion shining brightly through his eyes?

"Thank you, Lucas. This is absolutely beautiful," Aria whispered.

"I didn't think Hardy would appreciate it as much as you, so yeah…" He replied, nervously rubbing the back of his neck. The bell above the door rang out as a man holding a bouquet of lilies and a clipboard entered the tiny shop.

"Excuse me, is there a… Ms. Aria Montgomery here?"

Confused, Aria walked around the desk to meet him. "Yes? That would be me?"

"I have a delivery for you. From a Mr. Ezra Fitz? Could you just sign here?" Taking the clipboard, Aria quickly scrawled her name before accepting the flowers.

"Boy, he doesn't miss a thing, does he? Dinner, movie, and flowers? He's a keeper, Ar," Lucas told her staring after the delivery man as he left the shop.

She laughed at his response before pulling the card from the vase.

'I'll always be saving a dance for you, glad I waited – E'

A huge smile overtook Aria's face as she read and reread Ezra's message. Lucas was right. He was doing everything right. She turned and placed the vase upon the countertop before picking up the photo she had forgotten momentarily. "Can you make a copy of this for me?"

"Sure thing, Aria," Lucas replied with his own smile. Her day had just gotten a whole lot better.

"Momma!" Parker yelled out as he raced into the store an hour later, followed closely by Spencer. "Momma, lookz at what I gotta do today!" He yelled out excitedly as he thrust a messy, finger painted picture in Aria's direction.

"Looks like somebody's had a good day," Spencer smirked as she eyed the flowers sitting on the countertop. Aria rolled her eyes in response before turning her attention to Parker's painting. From what she could make out, it was a large orangish-yellow blob next to another, smaller orangish-yellow blob.

"This is wonderful, Parks! Is it… a pumpkin patch?"

"No, Mommy! Itz Nemo ta puppy next to Nemo ta fishy! We had ta paint a animal," Parker squealed happily. "Cans we give it ta Ezra?"

Aria couldn't help but chuckle at her son's response. "Of course, Baby. You can give it to him next time we see him. I'm sure he'll be happy to hang it up on his refrigerator. Thank you again for picking him up from daycare, Spence. I owe you one."

Spencer waved Aria off as she hoisted her purse higher onto her shoulder before giving Parker a kiss to his messy hair. "It was no problem, Aria. I gotta get going, though. I promised Toby that I'd meet him for dinner. See ya later, Parks!" With that, she left the store, leaving Aria to start cleaning up before she could lock up for the day.

"I know that Hardy is supposed to swing by any minute now, but would you mind if I actually took off? I have to swing by the store for some baby formula on my way home and I'd like to avoid the rush if possible," Lucas asked, looking up from where he was boxing up the wedding pictures he'd been working on all afternoon.

"Yeah, that's no problem, Lucas. I'll wait for him and then lock up. Tell Bethany I said hello," Aria responded. She opened a package of crackers for Parker to munch on in her office as Lucas made his way out the employee entrance. Sighing, she smoothed down her son's hair and looked around to make sure all equipment had been put away and that the countertops were free of any film. The moment she sat down to wait on Hardy, he was pushing through the front door.

"Where's my favorite photographer?" Hardy called out. Laughing to herself, Aria walked out into the front room to greet him.

"Hey, Hardy. I'm almost certain that I'm the only photographer you know, so your point is moot," she chuckled. "Want to take a look at those wedding pictures?"

Rubbing his hands together, Hardy nodded. "Amy was supposed to meet me here after work so that we could finalize which prints we wanted, but she got held up at work. So would it be ok if we looked over everything but I took them home to discuss with her? I'll bring everything back, promise." He crossed himself and mock bowed, much to Aria's amusement.

"Sure." Aria started flipping through photos as Hardy watched on. He piped up every now and then with how great everything looked and how he was sure his wife would love their work. When she reached the last photo, Hardy reached over to give Aria a quick squeeze.

"Thanks so much for everything, Aria. These look amazing," He said with a smile. As Aria started to bag the pictures, Hardy nervously shoved his hands into his pockets and looked back towards where Parker sat in Aria's office. "Listen…"

Sensing the sudden seriousness in his tone, Aria looked up from what she was doing to meet Hardy's gaze.

"I've been best friends with Ezra since we were roomed together during college. I'd do anything for that man, anything. With that being said, it's my duty to warn you… don't break his heart. You're an amazing girl, Aria. I can see why he's so enamored with you. Just… you know… stay cool."

Aria couldn't help but laugh. "Thank you, Hardy. I wouldn't dream of hurting him, but I'm happy that you've got his back." She handed the bag of pictures over and followed him to the front door. "It took me a while to say yes to him, so I do take this relationship very serious. He's not the one I'm worried about getting hurt here."

Hardy opened the door before turning one last time to her. "You've got nothing to worry about when it comes to Ezra. Remember that. But if he should hurt you… well the same warning applies, just the other way around. See ya around, Aria." Hardy flashed her a smile before heading off down the street.

Sighing, Aria locked the front door before turning to lean against it. Nothing about her relationship with Ezra was going to be easy, that was for sure.