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“He owns King Construction,” she explained.
“The outlet chain?” He recognized the name because his father used to bitch and moan that box stores like King’s were going to put their hardware store out of business.
“Yeah.”
“What the hell’s he doing in Jasper Falls?”
Kings was no small operation. It was a public company, and Harrison owned a few shares for the simple fact that it would piss off his dad.
“He fell in love with Perrin Harris.”
The fruity scent of pressed grapes permeated the room as he filled her glass. “He’s with Perrin?”
“They’re married. She’s now Perrin King.” She popped the p of the other woman’s name as if the match didn’t impress her.
He frowned. “I thought she was marrying Bran Dawson.”
She rolled her eyes and tossed the coat on the bed. “I’m not surprised that story somehow reached you. Her and Bran broke up. Turns out he was cheating on her with someone else.”
Small towns always had the biggest gossips. “Who was the other woman?”
She crossed to the sitting area and accepted a glass, frowning at the cubes floating on top. “Ice?”
“It didn’t come chilled.”
Their fingers brushed, and she took a step away.
Okay, she wanted to take things slow. He could do that, but he wanted to get to the real conversation so they could shed the awkward niceties.
She took a sip then met his stare. “It’s been a decade. Are we really going to waste time talking about Perrin?”
He paused, remembering how little Mariella cared for small talk. Or was it small talk? He grinned, her bitter tone spiking his interest. “You don’t like Perrin.”
“I like everyone. But Mrs. King definitely doesn’t like me.”
He smirked and lowered to the sofa. “Now I’m intrigued.” He waved a hand inviting her to join him on the small settee. “What did you do to make her dislike you?”
She opened her mouth, and he anxiously awaited whatever flippant comment might come, but then all playfulness left her expression. “It doesn’t matter. No matter how I explain it, I look like the bad guy.” She sat down, taking a long sip of wine and it clicked. Mariella was the woman that broke up Perrin’s engagement. But that wasn’t her. There had to be more to the story.
“Try me.”
She blew out a breath and pressed her back into the cushion, getting more comfortable. “Well, after you left, Bran and I sort of became a thing.”
“He’s not what I would consider your type, but okay.” He’d hoped she hadn’t been too broken up over his leaving, even though he despised the thought of her with anyone else.
She laughed without humor. “Well, that was the problem. According to Bran, I wasn’t his type either—not for big things anyway. He wanted to sleep with me, but he had no interest in marrying me or bringing me home to meet his family. He spent years making excuses and I spent years gobbling them up.”
“I’m afraid to ask where Perrin comes in.”
“She comes in a few years later when I was preoccupied with college. He started to date her behind my back, but after a while, when he realized Perrin had something I didn’t, she somehow became the front runner, and I became his dirty little secret.” She swallowed back the rest of her wine, and he graciously refilled her glass. “Then he proposed to her.”
“He asked Perrin to marry him when he was still dating you?”
“That’s right. But no one knew he was dating me.”
“What an asshole. Did you know he proposed to her?”
“I didn’t even know they talked. I had suspicions there was someone else, but I always assumed they were meaningless conquests or women from the next town over.”
“Why would you tolerate that?”
She shrugged. “I was too busy to care. Or too lazy to make a fuss. My mind was focused on school, and I figured I’d eventually deal with his deception, never once expecting he flat out asked someone else to marry him. I mean, I thought he had major commitment issues.”
“So how did you find out?”
She laughed coldly. “I found out the same way everyone else did, when I read the announcement in the paper. Then, I was just…” She shook her head and looked down at her lap, her soft brow slightly pinching. “I was the mistress.”
“But you weren’t. Not really, if you were dating him first.”
“That didn’t matter. Everyone else saw it differently. Gossip traveled like brushfire and now women hold their men a little tighter when I’m around.”
Mariella had never been one to care what others thought of her, but this one seemed to really get to her. It seemed unfair that she might wear a label she didn’t deserve.
“Hey.” He scooted closer, looking into her dark eyes. “You’re too good to be anyone’s mistress.”
“But still not good enough to be someone’s wife.”
He winced, figuring this was why she still wasn’t married. “Perrin Harris doesn’t have anything you don’t.”
