Page 85 of Wedding Season
They stood together as an awkward silence descended around them before Mariella started to move around Kay. She’d had no intention of provoking Heather’s mom by engaging in conversation when she could accomplish that just by her existence.
“Wait.”
She turned.
“I was coming to see you.” Kay’s voice barely registered above a whisper.
“I can reopen the store if you need something,” Mariella offered. “A candle? Jasmin is probably upstairs if you’re more comfortable—”
“I was coming to see you.”
Mariella nodded at the same time she had the overwhelming urge to take off running down the street in the other direction. What was it about conflict that sparked her fight-or-flight response?
She should be used to it by now—the way opportunities to demonstrate emotional maturity followed her through the streets of Magnolia like a teenage girl trailing after her high school crush.
Mariella hadn’t asked for the chance to behave like a grown-up. She’d managed to build a wildly successful career behaving with the maturity of a toddler coming down from a sugar rush. But Magnolia was different, and she couldn’t deny that she liked the changes the town had inspired in her.
Making her way through the sometimes choppy waters of a relationship with the daughter she’d given up was one of the recent successes she was most proud of. Because of Heather, she trusted herself at this point. No matter how Kay treated her or what she wanted to discuss, Mariella would find a way to be all right with it. She might run home to toss her cookies after, but she’d get through it now.
“Very few people know about my connection to Heather, and I trust the ones who do. You don’t have to worry about that changing while you’re in town.” She grimaced as she thought about Josie recording her in the bakery that morning when she laid claim to Alex and talked almost openly to Heather. “That might not be exactly true. A lot of people probably guess but we’re far enough south here that politeness dictates they don’t come right out and ask. I haven’t even had anyone bless my heart that I can remember for months.”
Kat blinked. “Do you always talk this fast?”
“Only when I’m so nervous my palms are sweaty and I can actually hear my knees knocking together. I’m trying hard not to stress puke.”
“I came here to thank you,” Kay said in a voice as soothing as that of any artificial intelligence digital assistant. Look out, Siri and Alexa. Kay Garrison might be coming for you.
“From what Heather says, you’ve let her take the lead in setting the pace of your relationship with her.”
“Can you say that one part again?” Mariella asked as she tried to contain the smile tugging at the edges of her mouth.
“The part where I thanked you?”
“No, the part where you said I have a relationship with Heather.”
“You don’t agree?” Confusion colored Kay’s tone.
“I do. I feel like we have a relationship. I desperately want a relationship with her. More than anything I’ve ever wanted.” Mariella made a face. “And after giving up alcohol, drugs and binge-eating Ben & Jerry’s all at the same time, that’s saying something.”
Kay swallowed audibly. “I suppose it is.”
“Long time ago.” Mariella waved away her revelation with the flourish of her hand. “I’m not trying to scare you.”
“Everything about you scares me,” Kay said with a staccato bark of laughter. “But we have something precious in common, Mariella. I’ve come to realize that she might mean as much to you as she does to me.”
Mariella nodded. “Possibly more.”
“Don’t push your luck.” Kay let a thread of steel permeate her soothing voice.
“Understood.”
“I’m not sure you and I are meant to be friends, but we are destined to be a part of each other’s lives going forward.” Kay adjusted the collar on her drop-waist button-up dress. It was made out of some sort of stretchy fabric that could best be termed athleisurewear, just like Alex was selling in his company.
Mariella calmed the emotions rioting through her by redesigning Kay’s rather frumpy weekender dress into something that was both stylish and practical. She didn’t think women needed to sport a designer logo to be trendy or adopt a younger generation’s fashion sense to have style.
A bit of tucked stitching through the waist would lead to a more flattering silhouette, even on a woman whose body had gone through the changes brought by age and experience. The color might be improved upon, too. The blue was a bit garish, but if she toned it down and muted the color—maybe adding in some violet undertones—the shade could be flattering on a wide array of skin tones.
“What do you think?” Kay snapped a finger in front of Mariella’s face.
