Page 66 of Wedding Season
Satisfaction bloomed inside him, swift and sure. Their mouths joined, and it wasn’t the same as before. It wasn’t him kissing her or her kissing him. It was the two of them together and it meant more to him than anything.
When she led him to her bedroom minutes later, he couldn’t imagine ever wanting to leave.
MARIELLAATTENDEDAfestival planning meeting later that week at Sunnyside. She found it hard to concentrate when her thoughts kept straying to Alex. There was no need to try to define what was between them, although it felt like everyone around her wanted to put a label on it.
Word traveled fast in a small town. By the time she’d seen her friends for coffee the morning after having dinner with Alex and Heather, they’d been more than mildly curious. She’d managed to play it off by using Heather as an excuse. She didn’t think she was fooling either Angi or Emma.
Things were only going to get worse as far as talk went because Alex had invited her to join him at the town’s weekly farmers market tonight and then have dinner after with Dylan and Carrie Scott.
Dylan was the local real estate developer who’d sold Alex the building and they’d become friends. Carrie was a native to the town, the daughter of famed artist Niall Reed, and part of the trio that had set Magnolia on the course for revitalization.
If Magnolia had movers and shakers, the Scotts were it. Mariella had met them on a couple of occasions. They’d been polite, but they were Alex’s friends. She knew from experience that friends often weren’t as forgiving when someone they cared about had been wronged.
She told herself not to get too worked up. Her habit of worrying about the past and the future ensured that she didn’t enjoy the present the way she should. She very much wanted to enjoy her time with Alex.
A woman in a trendy floral-print dress and flowing honey-colored hair approached their group as they got up from the table, the meeting finished. As often happened when they met at the bakery, Mary Ellen had been called away to handle some low-level emergency.
“You’re Heather, right?” the woman asked with a sweet smile.
Mariella guessed she was in her late twenties, unfortunately too old to be a potential new bestie for her daughter. She was determined to find people for Heather to hang out with over the summer. Her maternal instinct might be rusty, but she could handle the basics like supporting Heather in making a friend or two.
“I’m Taylor,” the woman said. “We spoke on the phone.”
Heather offered Taylor a genuine smile. “Dylan’s assistant?”
“Exactly. I was hoping you could tell Alex how sad I am that tonight wouldn’t work.”
Mariella’s ears pricked up at that. Heather wasn’t fazed by it.
“I hope we can reschedule,” Taylor said.
“Yeah. I’ll tell him. It’s all good.”
Heather didn’t seem to notice that anything was wrong, like the fact that Mariella was having a minor panic attack on the inside. She could tell Luann sensed something based on the way the older woman stared at her.
Mariella ignored it. She could pretend with the best of them.
They walked past the woman and out into the bright May sunlight. When it was just the three of them again, Mariella put a hand on Heather’s arm. “So Alex was supposed to go on a date with that chick?”
Heather shrugged and took a final drink of her coffee before throwing it into a nearby trash bin. “I don’t know. I lose track.”
“Of the women he dates?” Was the thread of panic in Mariella’s voice obvious?
“Of the women who try to date him,” Heather corrected then grimaced. “Wait. You and Alex are just friends. You’re not...like...upset about this or anything?”
“Not one bit. We are friends.”
“Just friends,” Luann echoed.
“Okay, good.” Heather nodded. “Because that would be weird. My boss and my...well, you and Alex dating would be weird.”
“Super weird,” Mariella echoed.
The girl gave her a tiny hug that made her heart skip a beat, said goodbye and headed down the street to her car.
Mariella could feel Luann still studying her. “Don’t say anything,” she warned.
“I wasn’t going to. I know when something isn’t my business.”
