Page 22 of Wedding Season
A customer approached the register at that moment, and Mariella moved around to start the process of ringing them up while Heather followed Jasmin toward the staircase that led to the upstairs apartment. They could access the one-bedroom flat from the alley between the two buildings or from inside the store.
Should she have said something more than she had? Explained the connection she and Heather shared or claimed the girl as her daughter in front of Jasmin. She hated this feeling of uncertainty that grasped her every time Heather was around or she thought about the girl. Mariella had never dealt with so much uncertainty.
Even at her lowest in the depths of grieving the company she’d built and lost along with the man she’d given her heart to, she hadn’t been this insecure. She kept moving forward. At least after that night in the ocean.
Resilience was her superpower, honed by years of dealing with obstacles and challenges in her childhood. She had nothing to rely on but backbone and so she made it strong. Nothing could truly get to her or shake her confidence. Not until she got to Magnolia anyway. Between Alex and Heather, Mariella was rattled to her core.
She thought she could deal with him. She could avoid him. She could tell herself he didn’t matter. There was no fooling herself with Heather. The girl was a part of her whether either of them liked it or not.
Jasmin was back ten minutes later. “Heather is so sweet. I owe Mary Ellen a huge thanks. I guess she’s working at that new fashion company as well, but that’s Monday through Friday and she wants to earn a little extra money because she’s starting college full-time this fall.”
“Makes sense,” Mariella agreed. “Although are you sure you know enough about her to trust her with Isabella?”
“Oh, yes.” Jasmin straightened a display near the cash register. “She had a crazy amount of references. Way more than I gave to you when you hired me.”
“But I was only hiring you for this store. Not to take care of a baby.”
Jasmin laughed and patted Mariella on the shoulder. “Seriously, your protective instinct is adorable, but I feel confident with Heather. I even talked to her mom.”
Mariella startled. “Her mom?”
“Don’t worry, Auntie Mama Bear, I did my due diligence.”
“What’s her mom like?” Mariella hadn’t realized she said the words out loud until Jasmin answered.
“Sweet woman. Sounded a bit frazzled and she misses her oldest daughter. She said the sisters miss her, too. That they are super close. I can’t imagine a moment when Isabella goes to live off on her own. Especially if she’s just seventeen about to turn eighteen. Heather must be so smart to have graduated high school early.”
“Mmm-hmm.” Mariella was unable to say more around the ball of emotion lodged in her throat. Her child was so smart, even if she’d had nothing to do with it. Heather was intelligent, beautiful and people loved her. Her baby was loved. She did her best to ignore the tangle of curiosity and regret knotting inside her belly. How could Mariella feel anything but joy at this moment?
CHAPTER SEVEN
MARIELLALETHERSELFinto the apartment above the store just before noon, not bothering to knock. She repositioned the takeout bag she held in her arms, making sure the plastic crinkled enough that her arrival wouldn’t be a secret.
Not that the apartment was large enough for someone to sneak in.
Heather looked up from where she sat on the couch. Isabella was cradled in her arms, wide awake from what Mariella could see. Heather placed the phone she’d been holding with her other hand on the cushion next to her.
“You should keep the door locked,” Mariella said, glancing over her shoulder. “It’s safer that way.”
Heather gave her a dubious look. “Because of the high crime rate in Magnolia?”
Mariella stepped forward. “It’s good practice. A smart habit to get into for a young woman living on her own or taking care of a baby.”
“Smarter than certain habits,” Heather acknowledged with a nod. “Like drinking or drugs? Those are habits single women can get into as well, right?”
Mariella didn’t bother to respond. She was well aware of her past mistakes. Every single one of them. “I brought lunch for you.” They’d ordered carryout, and Mariella had offered to bring the sandwich to Heather.
Jasmin had already been up to check on the baby once during a lull in customers so seemed fine with Mariella delivering the food. The young mom thought Mariella’s preoccupation with Isabella and her babysitter was cute because she didn’t know about the shadows that lurked in the dark corners of Mariella’s heart and the very good reasons Heather had to hate her.
“I can hold her while you eat,” Mariella offered as she took a plate from the cabinet above the counter. This tiny apartment had been her first home in Magnolia, so different than the airy loft she’d had in Manhattan.
Plenty of people lived in way smaller apartments in the city. She certainly had when she’d first arrived. Buying that pricey piece of real estate had been a big moment for her. There’d been hours spent hours walking the streets of New York City during her first year there, imagining the lives of the wealthy and powerful people who lived in those historic brownstones and swanky high-rises with doormen guarding the entrances against people like her.
She hadn’t minded downsizing when she came to Magnolia, but after a few months she found herself craving a yard. She’d never had a garden to tend. The thought of adopting a dog from Meredith Ventner’s animal rescue had even crossed her mind, although she hadn’t yet taken the plunge. She had her goldfish, Millie, and that seemed like plenty of responsibility for the moment.
“You seem fairly adept at multitasking,” Mariella observed as she unwrapped the sandwich.
“Not really.”
