Page 83 of Wedding Season
“I don’t think...” He started to shake his head no then paused. “Amber,” he murmured.
“Amber,” Mariella repeated. “You were with Amber before coming to me. She said it was quite cozy with the two of you playing catch-up.”
Alex mentally cursed his former fiancée. “There was nothing cozy about it. I was down here with a few guys helping to put together the bleachers and stage. She stopped by with somebody from the movie who was looking for additional shooting locations. A producer or location scout. I don’t know his official role. The guy spoke with Mayor Mal for a while so Amber and I talked.”
“But you didn’t think to mention that to me?” Accusation dripped from her tone.
“It was after eleven when I got to your house.” He leaned toward her. “If you remember, you answered the door in a silk robe with nothing underneath. So, no. I wasn’t thinking about Amber. My brain cells took the fast train south at the sight of you.”
He tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, relieved when she didn’t pull away. “Which is a compliment by the way.”
“She wants to model in the Fit Collective show.” Mariella looked at the ground like she couldn’t quite make eye contact with him. “I told her I’d work it out with you.”
“No.”
“You can’t say no.”
“I just did.”
Her hands were fisted at her sides. He covered them with his until she relaxed enough to let him link their fingers.
“This is important, Alex.” At last she met his gaze, and he realized how upset she was.
“You are important. She’s doing this to get to you, sweetheart. I won’t let her.”
“It could be huge for sales.”
“I don’t care about—”
She lifted a finger to cover his lips. “You have to care. It’s your company. I’m okay. She shocked me when she said she’d spent time with you and I didn’t know about it.”
“I’m sorry. It was a passing conversation. I promise. She doesn’t mean anything to me. You know that, right?”
She sighed. “Yeah, and now I’m annoyed that I let her win the first battle.”
He didn’t want to think of this weekend as a war or love as a battlefield or enlist any other clichéd negative imagery right now.
Should he tell Mariella about his feelings? Would she gather strength from knowing he loved her? Maybe then whatever happened this weekend with Amber wouldn’t matter as much because together they could weather any storm.
But something stopped him. Most likely the fear that he’d send her running in the other direction.
“It will be fine,” he promised, hoping she could read between the lameness of his lines to understand how committed he was. She had to know, right? Even without those three little words, she would know she was important.
“Fine,” she said but didn’t sound at all convinced. “And we’re going to put her in the show.”
Alex winced. “That sounds like a horrible idea.”
Mariella arched one delicate brow. “It will be fine.” The words sounded even lamer when she said them. “How’s the rest of the setup going?” She looked around the bustling lawn. Heather was on the far side of the square helping Josie wrangle a troupe of young dancers.
“My kid is awesome,” she murmured.
“She’s going to run the world one day,” Alex agreed.
Mariela shifted closer to him. “When does her mother arrive?”
Once again, he wished he could take some of Mariella’s emotional burden. There were so many people she supported with little regard for her own well-being. Heather’s adoptive mother was coming to town for the weekend. He knew the girl had talked to Mariella about it and asked her to give them as much space as possible.
It wasn’t as if Mariella could hide out in her house again, but she’d do whatever she could to make the weekend easier for Heather. He hoped Kay Garrison appreciated the effort and that the passing of time might give her a little perspective on Heather’s relationship with Mariella.
