Page 41 of Wedding Season
“She’s my daughter whether she wants to be or not. I’m already involved.”
Alex could hear the tension in her voice, but she didn’t seem inclined to make eye contact with him. It wouldn’t take an emotional-IQ genius to deduce that Mariella was upset, and he questioned whether letting her come with him was the best idea.
He also didn’t want to waste time arguing so he put the car into gear and started toward the direction of the local hospital.
“A group of employees from the company went rock climbing today. Heather was involved in a fall.”
“How far?” Mariella asked, her tone even again.
“About five feet,” he said with a wince. “She broke her left arm and two ribs.”
He heard Mariella’s sharp intake of breath even though she was staring out the window, her face hidden from view. “Is that all?” she asked in the same steady tone.
“Jack thinks she might have punctured a lung. The doctor is with her now.”
“What kind of irresponsible group was she with on this climbing excursion? Somebody should have been looking out for her.”
“It was an accident, Mariella. Jack is a senior project manager and responsible beyond his years. From the little he told me, she keeps saying he can go home. She’s fine on her own. He’s not leaving her.”
“That’s ridiculous,” Mariella muttered. “She can’t be fine when her injuries are that serious.”
“Sounds to me like she takes after her mother with that fiercely independent streak.”
“I didn’t realize you knew her mother.”
He gave her a sidelong glance. After a few seconds, she nodded. “Right. You were talking about me.”
“She’s going to be okay,” he said again. “We’ll make sure she’s okay. The company has great health insurance, and she can have whatever time off she needs. I’ll take care of her.”
He said the words as much to himself as to Mariella, needing to believe they were true. This was the first time he felt like the responsibility he’d taken on with the Fit Collective might be too much. Financial responsibility he could handle. He didn’t discount the fact that his employees were counting on him for their salaries.
Acting as someone’s emergency contact ramped up the responsibility to a different level, one so serious it terrified him. As if reading his mind, Mariella reached over and took his hand.
“No one who worked at Belle Vie would have called me in an emergency. That says something about you, Alex. Something important. They trust you. It’s in keeping with the type of company you want to build that your staff relies on you at this level.”
“Thank you,” he said quietly. “But that isn’t much of a comfort when one of them is hurt.”
“Do you think she called her parents?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know but if she hasn’t, I will. They sound like the kind of people who would want to be called after their daughter was in an accident.”
“Yes,” Mariella agreed. “I’m glad for that. I’m glad she has those kind of people in her life.”
“Me, too.”
“I met your mother once.” Mariella offered the barest hint of a smile as she revealed that.
It shouldn’t have shocked him, but somehow he hadn’t expected it. His mom had been overly involved with the plans for his wedding. “My mom is a snob, but people thought it was a big deal that I was dating America’s sweetheart. That made her like Amber. She liked that I had found somebody who would make me more interesting.”
“She didn’t make you interesting.”
He tried not to cringe as he wondered whether Mariella had just handed him a compliment or an insult. “She’s a star. My mother’s friends were impressed by her fame. Not to quote country songs, but I didn’t impress them much.”
That drew more of a smile. “The fact that you can quote Shania Twain is legit impressive. Besides, you went to an ivy-league school and you’re a success in your own right.”
“I graduated from an ivy but didn’t distinguish myself the way my half brother did. I wasn’t part of some secret society or an exclusive club. Those things didn’t matter to me, although they are important in my family and the social circles my mom inhabits. I worked hard enough and got decent grades. But they expected exceptional things. All I managed was decent which wasn’t enough. Amber was a great catch according to my mom.”
He felt his jaw twitch with remnants of the bitterness he’d felt at the time and watched out of the corner of his eye as Mariella processed his words. He didn’t want sympathy for his rich-kid problems.
