Chapter 3 - THE DEAL HE MADE BEFORE SAYING "I DO"
"Three days before our wedding."
Mara repeated the words while Isabelle studied the date.
"Are you sure?"
Mara turned the notice around.
There it was.
The preliminary agreement had been executed before she walked down the aisle.
Before Adrian promised to love and protect her.
Before he slipped the platinum ring onto her finger.
He had been planning the future of Beacon Harbor with Celeste while Mara was choosing wedding flowers.
Isabelle's face hardened.
"Maybe there's an explanation."
"There usually is."
Mara folded the paper.
"The question is whether it's an honest one."
Twenty minutes later, Mara returned to the community center.
Nora Kim was helping a woman complete a housing assistance application when Mara entered.
One look at Mara's expression made Nora excuse herself.
"What happened?"
Mara placed the notice on the reception desk.
Nora read it twice.
Then she sat down.
"No."
"You didn't know?"
"Ruth always promised this building would remain a community center."
"Ruth isn't here anymore."
Nora looked toward the photograph hanging above the front desk.
Ruth Arden stood beside volunteers at the building's reopening.
"Celeste told us last year she was reviewing the property's finances," Nora said. "She mentioned repairs. Nothing about selling."
Mara examined the notice again.
"Sixty days."
Nora swallowed.
"We have forty-two active family cases. Some have appointments scheduled three months from now."
"What happens if the center closes?"
"They lose their caseworkers. Their paperwork gets transferred somewhere else. Some won't start over."
Mara thought of Raymond.
Of Marcus.
Of the elderly people who trusted Nora enough to admit they couldn't understand government forms.
"You won't close," Mara said.
Nora looked frightened.
"You can't promise that."
"Then I'll find out what we can promise."
That evening, Mara returned to the Valente estate.
Adrian was in his study.
He looked up when she entered.
"You're late."
"Am I?"
"Gideon said you dismissed the driver."
"I drove myself."
"I know."
"Then why ask?"
Adrian closed his laptop.
Something in her voice made him straighten.
"Mara, what's going on?"
She placed the notice on his desk.
"Tell me about Beacon Harbor."
His expression changed.
Not dramatically.
Just enough.
He looked at the paper.
Then at her.
"Where did you get this?"
"Does that matter?"
"I was going to discuss it with you."
"When?"
"Mara—"
"Before or after they locked the doors?"
Adrian rose.
"Nobody is locking anyone out."
"Your development company is buying the building."
"Celeste owns the property. She's been trying to find a sustainable solution for years."
"And you decided to help her."
"Yes."
"Before our wedding."
He didn't deny it.
Mara felt another small piece of trust disappear.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because the negotiations weren't finished."
"You knew I volunteered there."
"I knew."
"You knew those people mattered to me."
"Of course."
"Then why was I the last person to find out?"
Adrian came around the desk.
"The current building needs major repairs. Celeste's plan creates a modern resource center inside the new development. Better equipment. More space. Proper funding."
"And what happens during construction?"
"Temporary relocation."
"Where?"
"We're working on that."
"Who decides which families receive services?"
"The foundation."
"Which foundation?"
He hesitated.
Mara understood.
"Celeste's."
"She's been involved with neighborhood assistance longer than you realize."
Mara stepped away.
"That's not what I asked."
Adrian's jaw tightened.
"I am trying to solve a problem."
"And I'm trying to find out why you didn't think I deserved to know there was one."
Before he could answer, Celeste appeared in the doorway.
She wore a dark green coat and carried a leather portfolio.
"Adrian, I have the revised proposal."
Then she noticed Mara.
"Oh."
Mara looked at her.
"You're selling your mother's building."
Celeste's smile vanished.
"It's more complicated than that."
"Then explain it."
Celeste slowly set down her portfolio.
"My mother spent twenty-eight years keeping that place open. The roof leaks. The heating system is failing. The bills are swallowing everything."
"Then why not ask the community to help?"
"Because fixing a building and protecting the people inside it aren't always the same thing."
Mara couldn't ignore the exhaustion in Celeste's voice.
For a moment, she saw something other than a rival.
She saw a daughter struggling with her mother's legacy.
But then Celeste continued.
"Adrian understands the responsibility involved."
Mara looked toward her husband.
"Does he?"
Celeste's eyes sharpened.
"This isn't about your marriage."
"Then stop discussing my community without me."
Adrian spoke firmly.
"Enough. We're all trying to help."
Mara turned toward him.
"Then let me see the entire proposal."
Celeste hesitated.
Adrian noticed.
"What?" he asked.
Celeste opened the portfolio.
"There are preliminary materials we haven't approved."
"Show her," Adrian said.
Celeste removed a glossy presentation board.
Mara stared at the architectural rendering.
It depicted a beautiful modern building with large windows, landscaped walkways, and a spacious entrance.
Above the doors, enormous silver letters announced the name of the proposed facility.
THE MARA VALENTE FAMILY RESOURCE CENTER.
Mara's breath caught.
Her husband had approved a redevelopment project involving the community she loved.
His former lover was directing it.
And they had already decided to put Mara's name on the building.
Without asking her.
Adrian stepped closer.
"It was supposed to be a surprise."
Mara stared at him.
"A surprise?"
"I thought you'd be pleased."
She looked from Adrian to Celeste.
Then back again.
"You were going to erase the place I loved," she whispered, "and put my name on whatever you built over it?"
Neither answered.
Mara placed her wedding ring hand flat against the table.
"Take my name off that building."
Adrian's face hardened.
"Mara, don't make a decision out of anger."
May you like
She looked directly into his eyes.
"Then stop making decisions about my life while I'm not in the room."
