But on the other side of that, there’s freedom in not hiding anymore, or pretending to be someone I’m not. And I’m finally ready to unlock that version of myself. The woman who can walk in a room and find her place at the table, regardless of whether others think she belongs.
All this time, I thought I needed someone else’s permission to be myself. But I never did.
“Ladies, I have something to confess,” I say, trying to find my voice. “And I want you to hear this from me before anyone else.”
They turn toward me, and I know it’s time to own this. “Brendan and I weren’t dating before the wedding. We made an agreement—I would be his plus-one, if he would introduce me to his uncle so I could have a better shot at the vendor contract. If this shop closes, my parents and I have no income. I thought the vendor contract was the perfect solution, and that if I could finagle a few conversations with Rafael during the wedding festivities, I could convince him I was the best candidate. At the time, it seemed like the right decision.”
I take a breath, trying to bolster my confidence, which is hanging by a thread. “I’ll be honest, I realized pretty early on that I still had feelings for Brendan. But I wasn’t going to tell him after I thought he’d ghosted me in high school. I figured he’d laugh me right out of the wedding. But the more time we spent together, the more I fell for him. I just never thought you’d actually accept me into your family.” I look around at their faces, and my throat constricts. “But you did. And that meant everything.”
I take another breath. “And once Brendan and I were honest with each other, we threw out the arrangement completely.”
The women are silent for what feels like the longest pause of my life. “Did you hear what I said? I just confessed that I wasn’t honest with you—that we weren’t dating when I agreed to attend the wedding. We werepretending…until it wasn’t pretend anymore.”
Isabella glances at the others, then starts to laugh, and pretty soon all the ladies are chortling.
“What?” I blink, feeling like I’m the last person to get an inside joke. “Why are you laughing?”
“We already knew all that,” Isabella says point-blank.
I blink. “What? How?”
“We suspected it a long time ago,” she says with a smile. “I know my son better than anyone. He might not show much emotion, but I could tell he was keeping something from me, andI could see how hard you were both working to make it look real, especially when I suggested he give you a kiss at the wedding shower. Then, one day, something changed. And it was clear you were no longer pretending.”
“So if you knew,” I say in an astonished voice, “then why aren’t you angry at me for not telling you sooner?”
“Because we like you,” Grandma Rosa says. “And I don’t like many people.”
“But what about using the pretend relationship as a way to get the vendor contract? You’re not…offended?”
“Heavens, no!” Isabella laughs, like it’s the most ridiculous idea. “We all knew you had ambition. A girl after my own heart! We also knew Brendan would never just ask you out, so the wedding was his excuse.”
Grandma Rosa looks over her glasses. “At our age, we can spot love from a mile away. We were just waiting for you two slowpokes to catch up.”
“We would’ve done the same thing,” Isabella says, gesturing to the women at the table. “Any of us would do whatever it takes for those we love. That’s what family does.”
My heart squeezes in my chest. Of course that’s what family does. They stand by each other. They sacrifice. Why did Rafael make me feel wrong about that?
“And we fully approve that you made Brendan work hard for you,” Elana adds, leaning back in her chair. “That boy needed a challenge.”
“But aren’t you worried I don’t really love him?” I ask worriedly. “That’s what Rafael thinks.”
“My brother said that?” Elana asks.
I nod. “He approached me at the wedding.”
“Oh,” Rosa says with a sigh. “My son sometimes lets his business mind drown out his heart. After his divorce, he stopped believing love could be real. That’s when we have to step in to remindhim what’s important.”
Isabella nods. “It was obvious the entire week that you two arewildabout each other. We always knew Brendan was in love with you.”
My heart feels lighter already. “He wasn’t the only one in love,” I say softly, sitting next to them. “But Rafael told me I had to choose between Brendan and the vendor contract.”
Their eyes widen.
“That little—” Elana mutters before Rosa cuts her off with a pointed look.
I look down at my fingers knotted together in my lap. “He said if I really loved Brendan, I’d leave him alone to focus on his career. And I wasn’t sure what to believe. I worried that staying in the relationship would make things worse for everyone, especially once the truth came out.”
“The truth could never make it worse,” Isabella says, leaning toward me. “We’ve seen your heart, Scarlett—how you love the people around you. Brendan’s always been a man of few emotions, steady as stone, much like the rest of the Marco men. But you’re not like him; you wear your heart on the outside. In many ways, you’re the weight on the other side of his scale, the thing that keeps him from tipping too far into silence—his perfect counterbalance.”