Page 15 of Wedding Season
“Because I wouldn’t hurt that girl. Hell, I didn’t even know her before Mary Ellen suggested her for the position. It doesn’t matter either way. Heather is innocent in all of this even if she did come to Magnolia to find you. People go looking for their birth parents all the time. She has a right to know you and to get her questions answered. I wouldn’t deny her that, but I’d also never use her to hurt you. Not because of your feelings. Because of hers.”
He hadn’t exactly meant the words to land like verbal bullets, but it was clear they pinged into Mariella with that kind of force. Once again, Alex wasn’t sure why that bothered him. He didn’t owe this woman anything.
“She’s really upset. Your reaction was over the top—no surprise—and it bothered her a lot.”
“I throw up when I’m stressed. Maybe you remember that from the wedding. My reaction had nothing to do with the girl.”
“I do remember. At the time, everyone thought you were just wasted.”
“I was wasted,” she agreed without hesitation. “I never threw up after too much wine or whatever else I had going. More’s the pity. There were plenty of nights I would have liked to purge my system. Unfortunately, I just had to ride it out.”
He admired her blunt honesty—reluctantly—but admired it just the same. The fact that she didn’t shy away from the truth. If Alex hadn’t spent so much of his life avoiding harsh truths then maybe that ill-fated day, and the relationship with Amber in general, wouldn’t have gone so far.
“Even if she’s seen the video, Heather was apparently unaware of the emotional destruction that can ensue when you’re pushed to the brink.”
Her mouth tightened, but she didn’t deny it. He wasn’t sure whether that was good or bad at this point.
“You don’t have a dog in this fight,” she reminded him. “That girl—”
“Heather,” he clarified. “Your daughter’s name is Heather.”
Mariella winced. “What do you care at this point? She’s your employee. Whatever happens with her and me is none of your business.”
“It’s my business because she works for me. This is a small town and it’s a close-knit company culture.”
“So this is all about covering your assets?” She lifted a hand when he would have argued. “Forget it. I know that’s not what it is. I’m angry and knocked off my game. I didn’t expect any of this. I came here to make a fresh start because I was a stranger in Magnolia. Because other than that stupid viral video, these people didn’t know me and half of them don’t even have internet. Then you show up and she... I just never expected any of it. This wasn’t how it was supposed to be.”
Amen to that, Alex thought. None of this was how it was supposed to be, especially not the part where he felt something other than anger and bitterness toward Mariella. The part where he couldn’t seem to stop himself from wanting to comfort her.
So much so that when a strand of hair blew across her face, he reached forward and brushed it away. The warmth and softness of her skin shouldn’t have surprised him. Hell, she looked like she could be some sort of beauty company model with her creamy complexion, luminous eyes and rosy lips.
It was the shock of awareness that got to him. The bone-deep understanding that he felt a connection to this woman who had publicly humiliated him. The knowledge that if he pulled her close and pressed his mouth to hers the connection would flame like lighter fluid on a campfire. Despite the fact that he should think of her as an enemy, it didn’t stop him from wanting her.
Her eyes dilated and her lips parted, and the urge to trace his thumb over the cupid’s bow of her mouth nearly undid him. She could be his undoing even after he’d worked so hard to rebuild his life and the walls around his heart.
He pulled back and rolled his shoulders. Shuttered his gaze so that at least he wouldn’t reveal himself at this moment. He wasn’t the same gullible, trusting person he’d been before the end of his relationship with Amber. Physical attraction was one thing, but he could handle that.
He could handle all of it with a little breathing room. He just needed space to help him remember that Mariella wasn’t his. She could take care of herself, and he needed to let her do just that. “I’m also here to tell you not to go after Heather. If you don’t want a relationship with her or to listen to what she has to say, that’s your business. Don’t try to take her down to protect yourself.”
He didn’t really believe Mariella would do that and it wasn’t at all the reason he’d sought her out tonight. This wasn’t the same situation as when she’d ruined his life and a lot of that disastrous day had been fueled by drugs and alcohol.
All evidence pointed to the fact that she’d cleaned up her act and remained sober to this day, but he wasn’t taking any chances. He needed to keep his distance from her. They might be in the same small town, but it didn’t mean they had to be part of each other’s lives. “One more thing. I don’t know what Luann told you or offered, but there is no place for you at my company.”
Her mouth thinned again. “Understood,” she said with a sneer. “Your inclination to play the rescuing hero is admirable in a knight errant kind of way. But I was never much for heroes, Alex. Or having somebody tell me what I can and can’t do. That girl came here because she wants something. Maybe an apology, maybe an explanation. I don’t owe her either one. Just like I don’t owe you any promises. Things haven’t changed.”
“No, they haven’t,” he agreed because it was easier than calling her out on the lie. Just like the day of his wedding had changed both of their lives, he knew that Heather’s announcement would do the same.
He took a step back. “Don’t worry. I’m not looking to be anyone’s hero, Mariella, especially not yours.” He turned and walked in the direction of his car parked at the curb in front of her house. When the door slammed behind him, he told himself it was for the best.
CHAPTER FIVE
MARIELLAWENTTOthe beach on Sunday. She’d lived in Magnolia for two years but could count on one hand the number of times she’d visited the ocean since her arrival. Sometimes she would drive to the parking lot in front of the public boardwalk, roll down her windows and listen to the sound of the surf hitting the sand. Close her eyes and let the roar of the waves move through her.
She was afraid of water, and although she couldn’t remember the specific incident in her childhood that had precipitated the fear, it was ever-present and all-consuming. Strange that she’d chosen to move to a coastal town where the ocean was weaved into the fabric of life like the change of seasons or the rise and fall of the sun each day.
It was possible to visit the beach without getting more than her toes wet—if she chose that—yet she still didn’t venture to the shore. Plenty of people learned to swim as adults, but she didn’t like admitting weakness. Her inability to even tread water counted as a weakness in her mind. And some long-buried part of her still feared that the lure of the dreamy, creeping sea might prove to be too much to resist.
Shortly after she’d left her old life behind, she’d gone to Mexico to be alone and lick her wounds away from the spotlight and the city. Her future had seemed hopeless, a dark void she couldn’t imagine navigating when her light had been so fully snuffed out.
