Page 38 of Wedding Season
Mariella snorted even though the idea of that had butterflies dancing across her stomach. “I think you’re imagining it.”
“No. He likes you. I think you like him, too.”
“Don’t confuse like with trying to keep the peace. I think Alex and I have come to an understanding. We live in a small town and we have a lot of the same friends. There’s no point in us being at war.”
She didn’t mention that part of their new truce had involved his steamy kiss.
“I’m glad to hear you say that.” Emma handed her a can of sparkling water from the cooler. “This means you’re not thinking of leaving Magnolia, right? Not because of Alex or a disgruntled inn guest or for any reason. This is your home, Mar.”
“Let’s just enjoy the day.” Mariella popped open the can and then rolled her eyes when Emma’s glare turned severe. “I’m not thinking of leaving,” she conceded. At least not at the moment.
“Good, because Angi and I would drag you back, tie you up and stuff you in the basement of the inn if that’s what it took.”
“Such caring friends I have,” Mariella said with a laugh. But her heart warmed at the thought that they cared enough to consider kidnapping her. She really did have a warped sense of relationships.
Despite the upheaval of the past week, Magnolia felt more like home every day.
BYTHETIMECam maneuvered the boat back into its slip in the marina, Mariella realized she’d laughed more today than she had in ages and felt as relaxed as she had in—well, possibly forever.
Sometimes she believed she wasn’t built for relaxation. Whether it was her laundry list of insecurities about getting her needs met as a child or some inherent drive not to fail, she’d become a striver. She was always working toward the next goal or achievement.
Even after leaving behind her business, it had only taken a few months before she’d set her mind to opening the store in Magnolia. Although she had plenty of money to live on left over from the money she’d made at Belle Vie, she never wanted anyone to think she wasn’t a hard worker.
Emma and Angi were much the same way, even though they were motivated by different things. The three of them had bonded over getting the inn up and running and solidifying its reputation by attracting a steady stream of guests and wedding clients.
Today had been about fun and it made clear the ways she’d suppressed the part of herself that looked at fun as a legitimate pursuit. She reveled in the excitement of reeling in a big fish and the pleasure of lying back on the bench seat on the front of the boat to enjoy the warmth of the midday sun.
Mike, her down-home Hemingway, was standing at the edge of the dock and grabbed the rope from Cam to tie off the boat.
“How did you do?” he asked Mariella.
She gave him two thumbs up. “I might usurp your position as the local fish whisperer,” she warned with a wink.
“Is that so?” He gave her a thorough once-over. “Well, I can tell the open water agreed with you. You don’t look so much like you’re smuggling a stick up your back end as you did this morning.”
Mariella heard Alex let out a startled bark of laughter behind her.
“You have a way with the women,” she told Mike.
“That’s what two out of three of my wives said,” he answered, scratching his belly. “The first one married me when I was in med school so she thought she was hitching her wagon to a future doctor. Didn’t really take to the coastal life when I dropped out to run charters.”
“Her loss,” Mariella assured him.
“Appreciate that, especially coming from a beautiful woman like yourself. My offer still stands to take you out on the water. If you think Cam is a great instructor, wait until you check out my fishing moves.”
He turned his attention toward Cam, which was helpful because Mariella felt a blush creep up her cheeks. She didn’t want to think about Cam’s moves or Mike’s moves. And she couldn’t stop thinking about Alex’s potential moves, so overall, she was a discombobulated mess. A relaxed and happy mess, but a mess just the same.
While Cam and Mike worked out the details of a fishing charter Mike wanted Cam to take out the following week, Mariella joined Emma and Alex in carrying the coolers and towels and leftover food up to the parking lot.
“You do look lovely right now,” Emma told Mariella.
Mariella grimaced. “All this effusive complimenting makes me wonder how bad I looked before.”
“You are always beautiful but you’re also wound a bit tight normally. Now you seem happy. It’s good to be happy. I’m glad you asked about coming out on the boat. That was a nice surprise.”
Emma headed for Cam’s truck while Mariella walked to her car. She wasn’t sure how she had missed the fact that Alex’s hulking Land Rover was parked only two spots from hers.
“Some people like surprises,” he said casually when they got to the back of her car.
