Karma's Kiss

Chapter Fifteen: Nola

"I just don't think the lead-up to your wedding is the right time to focus on our relationship." She swallowed nervously, moved past her into the kitchen, and froze. "Did you change your perfume?"

"No, I don't wear perfume because of Nana, you know that." Her paternal grandmother had a severe scent allergy, and even though she died several years ago, Antonia still used all unscented products. "Why?"

"I'm sure I..." She shook her head. "It doesn't matter." She was quiet, and then she turned around and met Antonia's eyes. "I don't think being your bridesmaid is a good idea because there's been a lot of resentment on both sides. Some of it justified, but a lot of it isn't."

"You're right." Antonia acknowledged what she was saying because she was right. "And we should definitely spend some time talking to move past that, but I was hoping that being a bridesmaid, without any responsibilities except showing up for some of the activities we're planning, would be a bonding experience. Plus, you'd get a Raven Silva Original."

That gave Nola pause, but Antonia knew it would. Nola was into fashion, and one of the things she was jealous about was the fact that Antonia, who was happy in jeans and a t-shirt or yoga pants and tank tops, was so close with two former models and fashion designers, who were rising stars in the fashion industry. "Really?" She fidgeted. "I wouldn't have to do anything but show up?"

"Yeah. It's short notice, and everything has already been planned. Raven is designing the bridesmaid dresses, tailored to each of you to best suit you, just in the right colours, which is different for each of you but goes under the wintery theme, so pale blues, purples and greens, and Jynx is designing my wedding dress. It's their gift to me." Antonia gestured to the gift on the table. "That's yours regardless, a peace offering of sorts. But think about being a bridesmaid; we've got a bunch of fun stuff planned." She started toward the door and then paused. "I know you didn't get a lot of mom's things, so I put her pearls in there for you."

That was it. Antonia watched as Nola ripped open the bag, took out the large velvet box with shaking hands, opened it and burst into tears. It was the pearls their mother had worn to all the important events in their lives. They were a heirloom, passed down to the firstborn daughter for six generations. "I thought she sold them?"

"I found them when I sold the house. I know technically they're supposed to be mine, but I've never been a fan of pearls, and since I don't plan on having kids, I thought they should go to you so the tradition will continue." That was all true; Antonia had planned to give them to Nola when she found them tucked away in the back corner of the closet in her mom's room. She had sold the rest of her jewelry to pay for her treatments, and Antonia had assumed she had sold the pearls as well, so it had been a surprise to find them when she was packing things up to sell the house. Now, it was a trigger object for the haunting that was about to start.

Nola hugged the box to her chest and sobbed quietly. Feeling a little uncomfortable, Antonia left, shutting the door quietly behind her. It was up to Nola to decide what she would do next. On her way back to the garage, Antonia checked the keys Levi gave her and smirked when she saw Nola's car key. Moving quickly toward the garage, she opened her bag, pulled out the bottle of Dalla's cologne and a cloth and soaked the cloth in the cologne. Then, making sure she was out of sight of the house, she opened the back passenger side door and tucked the rag under the front passenger seat, pushing it into a corner and used her phone flashlight to make sure it wouldn't be seen if someone was looking for the source of the smell. Satisfied, she shut the door, brought the keys back to Levi and said goodbye.

When she came out of the garage, she almost walked right into Nola, who, to her surprise, hugged her. "Oh. Okay." Antonia was generally pretty uncomfortable with being touched by people she wasn't close to and had to consciously prevent herself from stiffening up.

"Sorry." Nola stepped back with a sniff. "I just wanted to thank you. I looked through the scrapbook, and it really struck me that there were no pictures of us after Mom got sick the second time. I'm still not sure about being a bridesmaid, but I would like to spend more time with you and work toward healing our relationship. I was wondering if we could take a night, go through mom's photo albums and make some copies for me?"

"Yeah, we can do that." Antonia nodded, smiling. "Saturday night? The store is closed Sunday, so I don't have to worry about work the next day, and it's Dalla's last night shift, so he won't be around to bother us."

Nola nodded. "Yeah, that sounds good. So it'll just be the two of us? No Raven or Jynx?" Antonia couldn't tell if she was hopeful or disappointed.

"Not unless you want them there." Antonia shrugged. "And not to put pressure on you or anything, but I'm going to need an answer on the bridesmaid thing sooner rather than later. Raven will need to take measurements, discuss the style you want, then order the fabric, thread and stuff, plus make it."

"I'll let you know on Saturday." Nola wiped a tear away. "Are you sure you want me to have the pearls?"

"Look, no matter what happens, we both know those pearls are yours and have been since you were ten years old. I was never really close with mom or mom's side of the family. I'll never wear them, and I'm not having children to pass them on to. I've been meaning to bring them to you since I found them, but there's just been so much going on, I never got a chance." She smiled. "Anyway, I should head home before Dallas sends a search party."

Nola nodded and started to walk her to her car. "He's okay with me being a bridesmaid?"

"Yeah, he doesn't care as long as I'm happy. You'd be walking with Carver, though; I hope that's alright." Carver was probably the best-looking of all Dallas's friends. They met doing the firefighter calendar and became fast friends. He also worked out of Nola's station and was well-known for being very sweet, shy and kind.

"Carver, huh?" Nola glanced toward the garage. "I don't know how Levi will feel about that." She sighed as they reached Antonia's car. "So, I'll see you Saturday night?"

"It's a date." Antonia got in her car, waved and drove away, going around the block she was pleased to see she could park on the next street over, in front of the house behind Antonia's and still control the speaker. She was about to drive away when she got a text from Maverick asking if she would be open to missing her run in the morning and getting breakfast with him. After a moment's hesitation, where she realized she would have to tell Dallas about Maverick, she answered him.

"Yes, our old spot work?"

"Absolutely. Same time?"

"Same time."

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