Say You Will (The Alexanders 5)

Her mom wiped her hands on the dishtowel next to her and then put her arm around Mara. "You have a purpose now. You are taking good care of your future husband. This is a good thing. I worried about you working so many hours and then driving home alone at night. Before long you will have children and then you will have no time to worry about these things."

Mara put the knife down carefully on the cutting board before turning to her mother. The last thing she wanted was another bloody mishap. Now that she understood about Trent's past, the incident with the knife made so much sense. His shock and panic at the sight of her blood must have taken him straight back to that horrible night. The last thing she ever wanted to do was cause him to relive the worst day of his life.

"Mom? Is it possible to ever really know a man? I mean, even after all these years do you feel like you really know everything about Dad?"

If her mother wondered what caused her to ask the question, she didn't let on. She just pulled Mara over to sit on one of the barstools. "Tell me what is going on, Marina. First you're avoiding planning the wedding and then the next thing we hear, you're with Trent in this big, fancy place. Flying in private planes. What is really going on?"

That was all it took for Mara to lose her tenuous

hold on her emotions. "Oh Mom," she sobbed. She sank into her mother's hold, sniffling softly as all the feelings she'd tried to bury came rushing forth. Confusion, fear, inadequacy and hurt.

A lot of hurt.

"Things are so messed up. I didn't know about Trent's family being so wealthy. He said that he doesn't like talking about it because then all people see is the money."

Carolina made a soft sound of agreement. "I can understand that. People do crazy things for money. But this is not the biggest issue. I am more concerned about why your eyes look so sad."

Mara wiped her face with the back of her hand. "I felt so confused when I found out. Like maybe he didn't trust me enough to tell me before. Now that I'm here I understand a lot better. His family isn't close. Not like we are."

"Then that will be your gift to him. To bring a sense of family and comfort to his life. Just like I did for your father. That is my purpose and I feel great pride in it. There's no shame in making love and family a priority in your life."

"Then you didn't just marry Daddy to get away from your village?" she asked quietly.

Carolina pulled back abruptly, her dark eyes searching Mara's face. She steeled herself for her mother's censure. Instead, her mother squeezed her shoulders very gently, like she was afraid to hold her too tight. "Oh sweetheart, is that what you thought?"

Mara nodded, suddenly feeling very small. "You always told me that I was so lucky to be beautiful so I could marry a rich husband. That's all you've ever seemed to care about, is that I get married and be taken care of. When I turned fifteen—“

"At your quinceañera party," Carolina finished with a sad smile. She pulled Mara into another embrace. "My baby, I haven't been the best mother, I know. I was too caught up in being the perfect wife. From the moment I saw your father, I knew I'd never want anyone else. It wasn't the money. It was him. The way he looked at me. I think you know what I mean."

"Yeah. I definitely do." Mara thought of the way Trent watched her. Sometimes it felt like she'd dissolve under the intensity of that stare.

"But when I was growing up, girls didn't have many choices to get ahead in life. If your father hadn't been a handsome American who could afford to support me, my mother would have never allowed us to get married. She would have probably pushed me to marry one of the wealthy men in a nearby village. Much older wealthy men. I was always so grateful that your father had money because it meant I could be with the man I loved instead of just the man who could afford me."

Mara hugged her mother back. Despite the fact that she was no longer a child and it shouldn't have mattered, a part of her was pitifully relieved to know that her parents really were happy together.

"Your young man loves you and can give you a wonderful life, yes. But that is not why you're here. You're here because you love him. You're lucky to have found each other for that reason alone."

Carolina stood. "Now let's get this dinner together. The Townsends will be here soon. You said their family isn't close but I think tonight perhaps we can start to change that."

Chapter Fourteen

SOMETIMES WHEN YOU were expecting calamity, karma decided to screw with you and give you harmony instead.

As he looked down the dinner table that had never before been used, Trent marveled over the changes Mara had made in just a few short hours. He wasn't sure where the centerpiece in the middle of the table had even come from but somehow Mara had made things look elegant and inviting.

At the other end of the table, his mother and Carolina were engaged in conversation. Next to him Mara caught his eye and gave him a tentative smile. They were both completely surprised and pleased at the turn of events. They'd been expecting a repeat of the awkwardness when he'd first introduced Mara to them. However, his mother and Carolina seemed to be getting along well. They were both shrewd women who knew exactly what they wanted for their children. Although their interests might not be perfectly aligned, they seemed to recognize and respect the quality in each other.

Mara got up to finish putting the finishing touches on dinner.

"Pretty fancy set-up," Matt commented.

Since Matt and Penny were still in town, they had come over to lend their support. His friend had made the effort to dress up, which Trent knew was a major concession for him. After years of wearing fatigues and combat boots, Matt didn't do formal well. But he'd made the effort by putting on a collared shirt and khakis for the occasion.

Penny sat on his left side, making a valiant effort to include his father in the conversation. Carolina had been especially pleased to have the whole family together, since she could now start wedding planning in earnest with them all in attendance. Matt and Penny were especially behind according to her and Trent had witnessed Matt rolling his eyes more than once at his mother's badgering. Trent had tuned out after a certain point but he assumed that was what she and his mother had been talking about so animatedly.

"This is all your sister's doing. If it was me, we'd be eating fast food from paper plates."

Matt snorted. "You're a long way from paper plates now." He glanced over at Trent. "But yeah, that does sound more like your style."