Intrigue and a Bottle of Merlot

by Bria Marche

  “I say yes, but Josh hasn’t actually proposed to me yet.”

  Mia pondered that problem for a second then dismissed it as just a minor detail. “You can explain everything to him later. He has plenty of time to come up with a decent proposal. Right now, getting the dresses are more important. You know damn well he wants to marry you no matter what. I say the sooner the better.”

  “Okay, I agree. Hurry and guzzle your coffee. We have wedding dresses to buy!”

  “All right, Sasha,” Vic said. “We don’t need to scald the roof of our mouths off. Go to the bathroom and fix your face. We’ll be ready in a minute.”

  They watched as Sasha dashed off toward the bathroom. They could tell she was back in her happy place.

  “Nice save, Mia. Today could have been total hell. So, you really don’t mind having a double wedding?” Tina asked.

  “Nope, not at all, Sasha deserves this. She’s been through a lot of shit, so me giving up some of the limelight is the least I can do. Our weddings will be the talk of the town.”

  Sasha returned, and the girls walked across the street, entering the bridal-salon heaven locally known as Filia’s. The double glass doors opened to aisles and aisles of satin, lace, silk, tulle, and organza dresses. Giggly young women dreaming of their upcoming weddings ran amuck looking for that perfect dress. Sales associates stood at the ready, prepared to help button or zip dresses and ring up purchases. Huge mirrors surrounded the brides’ platforms so they could see their dresses from every angle. Cushy chairs placed in appropriate spots were for the mothers and best friends to sit on while they oohed and aahed at the bride to be. Mia led the way to the appointment counter with her entourage following close behind. High-pitched squeaks from Sasha echoed every time she saw something she loved.

  “Hello. My name is Mia James. I have an eleven o’clock appointment. I’m wondering if it’s possible to share my appointment with a friend of mine. We’ve decided to get married on the same day in a double wedding. Isn’t that wonderful?” Make full eye contact and smile. Mia knew what worked from plenty of experience with Vic, who’d been a total nutcase the previous summer when Max lay injured in the hospital.

  “Well, I just don’t know if that’s possible. We’ve never had that request before.” The sales associate’s artificial smile exposed the perfectly shaped, brilliantly white veneers on her teeth.

  “Could you tell me what would make it impossible?” Mia won the stare-down contest. “I assume you work on commission—am I correct?”

  “Of course,” she snipped, “with a salary as well.”

  “Right… if my math is correct, you could make a killing selling two wedding dresses, the bridesmaid dresses, and all the accessories in one appointment, couldn’t you? Or would you rather stare at our lovely backsides as we walk out the door and go to the next bridal shop down the street? Nobody in their right mind would throw that much money away… would they?” Mia cocked her head and waited for an answer.

  “I see your point. Well then, welcome, ladies. Shall we get started?”

  Vic jabbed Mia in the side and chuckled. “You’ve got balls, girl. Good job, Chica.”

  Mia wore a size eight, and normally Sasha wore a four. Taking her current situation into consideration, they figured Sasha would need to try on a larger size. At the moment, she had a “barely there” baby bump, appearing only bloated, but in three months, she’d gain a few dress sizes. Mia and Vic went off on their own, leaving Karen and Tina to help Sasha. Knowing they were more practical and a lot more conservative than Vic, Mia decided they would be the perfect helpers for Sasha.

  Mia and Sasha took turns on their assigned platform. They spun, giggled, gasped, and pouted until they found the perfect wedding gowns.

  ***

  Karen searched on her own for bridesmaid dresses. She walked through the aisles, running her hand along the glimmering beadwork and taffeta bows. Mia didn’t care what color they chose, but Sasha was very fond of coral. Karen found the area with dresses in the pink family. I like coral well enough, and it is in the pink family, so that should keep Vic happy, too. I wonder if I’ll ever get married again. I’d hate to have my tombstone read “Always a bridesmaid, never a bride, except with Jack the jerk.” Ugh… I guess time will tell. It seems like the happiest ones in our group have guys. That leaves Tina and me to get with the program.

  Two aisles holding all the pinkish-coral bridesmaid dresses caught Karen’s attention. In a view across the aisles of dresses, the store resembled a little shop of rainbows. The choices seemed endless as Karen heaved dresses over her arm until she couldn’t lift one more piece of organza. She returned to the clan with her spoils. They needed to narrow down their options and try on bridesmaid dresses. The clock was ticking.

  ***

  Mia had to extend their appointment by one more hour. Two hours wasn’t enough time to decide on two wedding gowns and three bridesmaid dresses. Everyone pitched in with the extra hour fee.

  Mia chose a strapless lace A-line gown with a side split. It was long and lean, perfect for her tall figure. The lace-up back added a touch of allure and sexiness, and the chapel train was beautiful. The girls, and everyone else in the store, gave a volume of oohs, aahs, and head nods to let her know it was the right gown for her. The store even gave her a 10 percent discount on the headpiece.

  Sasha fell in love with an ivory, strapless, lace sheath gown with a sweetheart neckline and a knot detail at the empire waist. The positive feedback she received from Tina and Karen sealed the deal. It was romantic but sexy and would hide her growing baby bump. It was a little large at the moment, but she looked like a goddess in it. For themselves, the girls agreed on matching strapless chiffon dresses. The skirt fell to above the knee, flowing in loose, romantic layers. They chose coral reef as the color. Sasha and Mia loved the look. They would accessorize with coral-colored roses and baby’s breath. Everyone was ecstatic with their choices by the time they left.

  “Let’s eat.” The glow on Sasha’s face said it all. She couldn’t be happier with the day.

  They headed across the street and down a block to Mangia. They found the restaurant warm and inviting as soon as they stepped inside. White-linen tablecloths accented the dark woodwork, giving the place an upscale feel, yet the staff was very casual and welcoming. A wall of stone held a massive fireplace that crackled nicely, making the girls want to linger longer than necessary. A beautiful, dark-haired hostess seated them. Sasha stared at her, watching every move she made.

  “Honey?”

  “Yes, Tina?”

  “She is beautiful, and she does have long dark hair just like you used to. We understand everything you went through. It was tough. But on a positive note, you look really sweet with short, blond hair. Think of how easy it will be to take care of once you have a baby in the house. You’re absolutely gorgeous, Ms. Destiny, and don’t you forget it.”

  Sasha smiled and brushed away the tears forming in her eyes. “I just thought of something. It’s not bad, just different than my original plan. I may have to forget the whole idea of an inn. There won’t be room for guests once Josh and J. J. move in anyway. We’ll need to design and paint a nursery for the baby, too. The only reason I thought of an inn was so other people could appreciate the Victorian as much as I do. Now, I’ll have my own family to appreciate her. But hosting weddings will definitely go forward. The Victorian is perfect for that. She’s as beautiful as any bride getting married in her wedding garden.”

  “Here, here, I agree. Won’t it be a blast to design a nursery? I’m almost as excited as you are.” Mia must have known how volatile she was. Those pregnancy hormones were doing a number on Sasha, and her friends were working hard to keep her in a happy place.

  “Okay, let’s talk about the weddings!” Sasha was revitalized.

  Chapter Three

  The long, dark braid hung to the center of his back. A black bandanna, lowered to his eyebrows, was tied firmly at the nape of his neck. Double-pierced
earlobes held dime-sized silver hoops, and Scojo New York readers sat on the bridge of his perfect nose while he went over the quarterly report.

  Owning a business and operating it long distance was tricky, especially since he barely knew the guys he’d hired to manage Gravity, the Telluride business. They had decent resumes and managerial skills, on paper, but other than that, Mario was taking them at their word. Last summer, he’d just wanted to get as far away from Sarah as possible, and quickly. He hadn’t been back to Telluride in over seven months. Now he might have to return to address this new manager problem.

  Telluride was a small town, and accidentally running into Sarah wasn’t on his to-do list. Mario knew how much she loved to ski, so hearing she was bartending at Slopes, downtown, made sense. She’d stayed in the area. For Mario, leaving Colorado and going home to his roots in New York had felt right, plus it was over two thousand miles away from Sarah and Brad.

  Reviewing the first-quarter revenue report for Gravity showed him disturbing news: the profits were already down about 30 percent from the year-end. Mario sat behind the desk in his office at the Summit. His eyebrows furrowed as he went over the report for the third time. Notes in pencil were scratched out in the margins of the report. He rubbed his temples—a headache was setting in.

  The coffee he’d poured an hour ago was cold to the touch. He got up, dumped it down the drain, and poured a new cup. Asking Karen for help would be the best way to correct this problem quickly and get the store back in the black before the summer hiking and mountain-biking season began. Karen didn’t know the real reason Mario had moved back to New York, and he’d definitely never mentioned Sarah to her.

  Mario had a lot to think about. Not only was this report weighing heavily on his mind, but there were two women he couldn’t stop thinking of: Sarah, his past, and Karen, his possible future.

  ***

  Saturday morning all the girls met at Sasha’s Victorian. The guys were working anyway, so the ladies decided to make a day of it. They needed to finish painting the library and move on to the staircase where the bride would first be seen. That was in the event of an indoor wedding in the library. New York summers were unpredictable when it came to rain. The library would be the backup plan for all the weddings, including their own. Winter weddings, beginning next year, would all take place indoors.

  With Sasha’s unexpected pregnancy, she appreciated all the help she could get. Paint and varnish fumes made her nauseated in this first trimester, and it was still too cold outside to open windows.

  Now that they planned a double wedding, there was a lot of work to do. The Victorian needed to be finished by May so they could begin the outdoor work. The weddings were planned for June 20th, and the wedding garden and vineyard had to be started as soon as weather permitted. That meant they had less than two months to have all of the interior work done. Their plates were full and overflowing, especially since almost everyone had other jobs during the week.

  Karen’s phone rang just as they decided on a wine break. Sasha poured grape juice in a wine glass for herself so she wouldn’t feel left out.

  “Hi, Mario, what’s up?” Karen broke out in a huge grin as she did every time she saw or spoke to him.

  “Hey, check out Karen. She’s already blushing, and she’s been on the phone for… what, three seconds?” Vic burst out laughing, with everyone else joining in.

  Karen hushed them away with her hand and retreated to the kitchen to talk privately.

  “Hi, Karen, I hope I didn’t interrupt anything important. I heard the hens clucking in the background. I know how crazy my sister and her friends can get.” Mario laughed. “I’ve got a problem at Gravity. The first-quarter report came in, and the revenue is down. I guess nobody thought of giving me a heads-up a few months ago. Our year-end looked good, so this new report is really bothering me. I’ve looked it over several times and can’t figure out what would cause the store to do so lousy this first quarter. I ran the store myself for four years, and it was always in the black. You’ve got such good business sense—maybe you’ll catch whatever it is I’m missing. I could really use your input and a new set of eyes on it. We’ve been busy getting these other two stores up and running, and then we had the Christmas rush. Don’t get me wrong—I’m not complaining. Our New York business is doing great. Would it be too much to ask you to drive to Peekskill to meet up with me tomorrow? We can meet at Joe’s for coffee first then head over to Geared Up from there. Would you mind?”

  From the day Karen had laid eyes on Mario, she’d been intrigued. He had the look that made her want to devour him slowly, piece by delicious piece. Karen was in lust and had been for months.

  “Sure, I can do that. We’ll review the books for Peekskill and Hunter, too, while we’re together.”

  “Yeah, good idea. We can talk things over with Max and see if Geared Up needs any tweaking. I’ll meet you at nine if that works for you.”

  “No problem, Mario. I’ll see you in the morning.”

  As a team, Karen, Mario, and Max had gotten Geared Up and the Summit running smoothly. The two stores were already a huge success in their first season. Karen had helped a lot during the Christmas rush at both stores. Over the last few months she and Mario had gotten close, much closer than just boss and employee. They enjoyed each other’s company, but that imaginary line hadn’t been crossed yet.

  Karen remembered Mia telling her to be more assertive when it came to Mario. As hot as he was, he seemed a bit shy, or maybe he was guarded for some reason.

  Karen hung up and returned to the library. The girls were happily clucking away about accent colors best suited for a room used for weddings and what accessories to buy as decor. Sasha had started painting the library a month earlier but had stopped after finding she felt sick every time she opened a paint can. Karen joined them and poured a glass of Merlot for herself. The chatter stopped, and all eight eyes turned to her.

  “What?” Karen asked.

  “What did Mario want, or is it private?” Mia asked. They raised their wine glasses, clinked them together, and snickered.

  “Seriously, you guys. Mario and I have a very professional working relationship.”

  “Cut the crap, Karen. You know you want more than a working relationship with my brother, so do something about it,” Vic said.

  “Yeah, it’s easy for you guys to talk shit. Your men pursued you. Mario hasn’t done anything except offer to teach me how to Latin dance. He probably doesn’t even remember that since we were all totally drunk on New Year’s Eve.”

  “You have to start somewhere, don’t you?” Sasha said. “Ask him to teach you how to rumba. Just make up some BS that you saw a couple doing it on TV. If that doesn’t get his hands all over you, nothing will.”

  “Yeah, you’ll be panting like a dog when he’s done with you,” Vic assured her. “My bro can really heat up a room with his moves. Mario is hot anyway, but he’s quite the dancer, too.”

  “Whatever, you guys. All he wants is for me to go over the first-quarter report from Gravity with him. Evidently, the numbers are off, and the profits are down.”

  “That’s weird. Mario really did well at that store. Maybe it’s time for him to head back to Telluride and see what’s going on. A surprise visit might shake things up. Anyway, let’s paint, or we’ll never get this house done.”

  They agreed that Sasha should keep her distance from the paint and varnish so she wouldn’t be spending the day with her head over the toilet. She polished paneling on the other end of the library and up the staircase instead. “Let me know when you guys are hungry. I’ll be in charge of making lunch. Any suggestions?”

  Tina piped in. “I’m picturing grilled-cheese sandwiches, dill pickles, and chips. Maybe tomato soup, too. How does that sound to everyone?”

  “Oh yum, dill pickles sound really good right now,” Sasha admitted. They all agreed it sounded delicious.

  After going over paint samples, Sasha and the rest unanimously decided
on a deep cream for the border trim of the library. They would stencil ivy in various places throughout the room to tie in the theme of the vineyard. Sasha had originally chosen a pale salmon for the walls but changed her mind after deciding to use the library as an indoor wedding venue. They painted over the salmon color and decided to save what was left for a spare bedroom.

  Chapter Four

  As Karen lay in bed that night, her focus was back on Mario. She had to come up with a way to move things forward with him. They’d made innuendos and played the cat-and-mouse game long enough. She needed to know if he actually wanted more than a business relationship with her or not. Every waking minute, she thought about kissing his lips and feeling that muscular body against hers. She wanted to run her hands through his mass of black, glossy hair while he made passionate love to her. Karen was only thirty-seven, but she felt there had to be something about the age difference that stopped Mario from pursuing her. He is only thirty-one. Maybe it’s time to change my look. I’ll talk to Vic and Tina about it. If anyone can carve a few years off my appearance, they can. She rolled over and vowed to get some sleep. Tomorrow, Mario would be all hers for the entire day.

  Karen woke at seven o’clock. She had plenty of time to get ready and look extra nice for the meeting with Mario. Since she’d moved from Greenwich into Mia’s old house in Tarrytown, the drive to Peekskill had been cut in half. It was only thirty minutes now.