Page 37 of Wedding Season
“They think we’re tourists,” she said with a small laugh.
“I wonder how long it takes to feel like you belong in a town like this.”
The comment surprised her coming from Alex. “I’m sure you already feel like you belong.” She cast a quick look to the side, taking in his movie-star profile with the aristocratic-looking nose and chiseled jaw. “You are being heralded as the bringer of jobs and booster of the economy. People love that.”
He shrugged. “Some of them do, but I’ve had a couple of old-timers mention to me that they like the old mill and what it brought to town just fine. They’ve been hoping somebody would reopen it the way it was.”
“How ridiculous. Things change. That’s the way the world works.”
“In mysterious ways,” Alex agreed. Mariella got the impression he was talking about more than the old mill. They reached the end of the dock, and Cam straightened from whatever he was fiddling with under the boat’s steering wheel.
“Morning,” he called, not appearing the least bit concerned about having them both as passengers for the day.
Mariella thought about when she’d first met Cam. He’d still, for the most part, been a hermit, only drawn out of his solitary existence to help the sister of his late wife, who was the first bride to be married at the Wildflower.
By doing that one good act, everything had changed for both Cam and Emma. Opposites on the surface, they’d fallen deeply in love and he’d rediscovered his passion for building custom furniture in addition to helping Emma as the inn’s unofficial resident handyman.
There was a lesson in the two of them coming together, something about finding your own inner strength and never giving up. Mariella had never been a fan of school and wasn’t much in the mood today for learning.
Especially when her body was so distracted. Alex’s steady presence at her side and the clean scent of his soap were a combination that seemed to make her lose all her good sense.
She’d chalked up their kiss to a silly loss of control for both of them. After all, he hadn’t called her or asked to see her after said interlude. And thanks to the interview that appeared in the paper, his name was once again linked to hers. She couldn’t imagine him liking that.
What she could imagine was him wanting to keep their interactions to a minimum. That was fine. She wanted the same thing.
Liar, her body screamed. Strangely, the voice sounded like her mother’s. Her mom had never let something trivial like a conscience or good sense keep her from acting on whatever her body wanted.
She would have been very disappointed in the maturity and wisdom Mariella had gained since coming to Magnolia. Maturity didn’t run in her family. Even so, she would be the bigger person and not worry about the way Alex made her feel.
Simple enough to manage. She could do that easily. No problem. They were there to fish and enjoy a day on the water. Since she’d been spending more time at the ocean, she’d asked Emma about going out on one of their excursions. The water and waves appealed to her despite her fear, and she wanted a chance to see them from a different perspective. She wanted to stop being afraid, and a boat trip felt like a big step to accomplishing that goal.
Despite her wariness about Alex, he seemed to be just as interested in making it a good day. Once they got on the boat and motored into open water, there was very little awkwardness. Even her nerves disappeared.
Cam showed her how to rig a line after she’d made it clear that she wanted to learn instead of asking him to do the hard stuff for her.
It was a gorgeous day with the sun shining and wind blowing in her hair. The open water was choppy in some parts and gentle in others. In the distance, the horizon beckoned, and Mariella felt much of the tension held tight inside her recede like a wave pooling away from the shore.
All four of them wore hats to protect their faces from the harsh glare. Another thing her mom would have chided her for. Janice had always been a fan of sunbathing even after her first battle with melanoma, the deadly cancer that would eventually claim her life.
As the temperatures warmed, both Cam and Alex took off their shirts in order to jump off the side of the boat for a relaxing swim.
“You doing okay?” Emma asked when it was just the two of them.
“It’s fine. I’m not even scared of the water. Maybe I’ll swim. Cam has life vests, right?”
“I was talking about you and Alex.”
“We’re both going to live in this town so we need to grow accustomed to seeing each other.”
Emma studied her for a moment.
“What?” Mariella demanded as she forced herself not to squirm under Emma’s scrutiny.
“It seems to me that Alex is doing more than growing accustomed to you. I keep catching him looking at you.”
“It’s not a huge boat.”
“That’s not what I mean. He’s looking at you like you’re a piece of key lime pie and he just sat down at the dessert buffet.”
