Page 76 of Wedding Season
“You look pasty for somebody who’s been exercising,” Heather said when she noticed Mariella walking toward their table.
“The usual?” Mary Ellen called from behind the counter.
“Nothing this morning.” Mariella waved to the bakery owner as she continued to approach the table where Alex and Heather sat.
She didn’t stop until she was so close that her hip brushed the side of his arm. Instead of looking at him, she kept her gaze trained on her daughter.
“Alex and I are dating.”
The girl’s mouth dropped open, and Mariella heard several audible gasps from the surrounding tables. She wouldn’t let fear or anxiety or the thought of how people might judge either one of them stop her.
Heather shook her head. “You told me—”
“I’m sorry,” she interrupted, nerves dancing across her stomach. Her breath was coming out in shallow puffs, and she struggled to string together coherent sentences. “It’s new. I didn’t want to upset you. Neither of us did. I like him.” She allowed herself to meet Alex’s gaze, searching for the approval she hoped she’d find there.
“I like you, too,” Alex said, reaching up to link their fingers, the touch calming her in ways she couldn’t explain. A small smile played around the corners of his full mouth.
It wasn’t exactly a surprise. He’d said the words previously but not so publicly. Even if he hadn’t, Alex wasn’t the type to be intimate with a woman if there wasn’t some affection behind it.
In fact, it was his inherent honorability that both attracted and terrified her.
Heather looked between the two of them. Mariella couldn’t interpret the girl’s expression. “I also like you,” she told her daughter.
Heather lifted a brow.
“Obviously not in the same way I like him,” Mariella plodded on.
Alex patted her arm with a laugh. “You’re killing it here.”
She pretended to swat at him.
“I want a relationship with you, Heather. However you’re willing to let me in. I was wrong not to tell you about Alex and to ask him to pretend. Things will work better if we’re honest.”
Heather slowly nodded, and Mariella noticed that all eyes in the bakery were upon them. She couldn’t blame people for their curiosity but the details of her connection to Heather belonged to the girl. Mariella would respect whatever her daughter decided going forward. “I guess I can’t complain about honesty. Although if I have to see the two of you making out, I’m going to throw up.”
“Nobody’s going to be making out,” Mariella assured her.
“At least in public,” Alex added.
“That’s disappointing.” Josie Trumbull, who owned the dance studio and had just gotten engaged to the local bookstore owner, leaned over from the table next to them. “If I were twenty years younger and wasn’t already blissfully in love...” She wagged a finger in Mariella’s face. “I’d give you a run for your money.”
Alex shrugged as he grinned up at Mariella. “Not sure you’d stand a chance, sweetheart.”
His veiled compliment made Josie so happy that Mariella couldn’t help but laugh.
Alex stood and planted a gentle kiss on her lips. “This doesn’t count as making out,” he said against her mouth. “No tongue.”
“Gross,” Heather said, but she didn’t sound upset.
Mariella barely registered her daughter’s good-natured complaint.
The happiness coursing through her felt fizzy like champagne and overwhelming like the best high she’d ever experienced. It was better than anything she’d felt before because it came from inside her. This feeling of happiness was real and true, which made it all the more powerful. She wasn’t sure how long it would last, but she wanted to ride this wave as far as it would take them.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
“WHATMADEYOUthink declaring your intentions for Alex Ralsten in the middle of Sunnyside was a good idea?”
Mariella groaned as she watched the video Angi played on her phone later that night. It showed her declaring her affection for Alex in front of Heather and the rest of the bakery patrons.
