Hector (Season One: The Ninth Inning #3) (22 page)

After about two hours, we continue through the mall when I stop dead in my tracks. We’re in front of a wedding store. There are stunning white, puffy dresses hanging in the window. My mouth drops a bit looking at the lace, chiffon, and sparkling bling.

“Oh, I know that look.” Carissa smirks. “You want to be
married
,” she sings.

“No...no...no,” I shake my head.

“Lies. Lies. Lies,” Carissa calls me out. “Come on.” She tugs on my arm and drags me into the boutique.

“Are you insane? We can’t come in here,” I hiss at her.

“Sure, we can.” Carissa’s eyes go wide. “Let’s try some on.”

“What?”

“It’s a brilliant idea. You try on wedding dresses. Obviously. And I can check out the bridesmaids. Assuming, you want me to be a bridesmaid.”

“I...what...no...stop talking,” I tell her. “I’m not engaged. I just thought it was a pretty dress.”

“Zoey,” Carissa gives me a serious look. “Don’t lie.”

I hang my head and sigh. “I may have thought about it a time or two.”

Carissa squeals loudly and people turn to look at us. “Have you talked to Hector?”

“God, no. He would run for the hills if I told him after five months of dating I’ve thought of marriage. We’ve just started saying the ‘L’ word a few weeks ago.”

“Hello, have you met my brother? He’s the one who chased you for two months. Trust me, I’m sure he’s thought of it too. Now,” she pulls me further into the store. “Let’s have some fun.”

“May I help you ladies?” A sales attendant comes over to us. She smiles at us, and before I can open my mouth, Carissa jumps in.

“This is my future sister-in-law and we would love to see some of your most beautiful dresses.”

“Carissa,” I hiss at her again.

“This way.” The nice lady leads us toward the back of the store. “These are our designer gowns.”

“Wow,” Carissa and I say at the same time gazing at the sea of white.

Carissa is the first to jump in and start pulling dresses off the rack. “No. No. No. Yes.” She gleams as she shows me the dress she picks. “Try this on.”

“No. It’s bad luck.”

“It is not. Now, come on.” Again, she drags me by my arm and tosses me into a changing room. “Take off your clothes.”

“I was just looking at the dresses, nothing more.”

Carissa hangs the stark white dress onto the hook and puts her hands on her hips. “Either you take off your clothes or I call Hector and tell him where we are.”

“Blackmail, really?” I roll my eyes at her outrageous behavior.

Carissa holds her stern look and I give up. I start to remove my clothes as she unzips the dress. Together, we get me into the white lace. Once I’m zipped up, we head out to the large mirrors and I step onto the pedestal.

“Oh my,” I start.

“God,” Carissa finishes. “You’re beautiful.”

My eyes well up with tears as I look at myself. The dress is whiter than white. It’s a sweetheart neckline and a lace bodice. It hugs my hips perfectly and the silk bottom flows from my body. My arms are open showing off all my ink and it looks amazing.

Carissa hugs my shoulders. “Hector will love you in this.”

I swipe the tears away. “You do know we’re not engaged.”

“Not yet.”

I roll my eyes and laugh. I step away from her and head back to the dressing room to change out of the gown. When I’m dressed again, I look at the white lace and sit down on chair in the changing room. I’m glad Carissa didn’t come back in here because I’m staring at the dress, which could,
someday
, be my wedding gown.

If Hector walked in here this moment and dropped to his knees, I would run away to Vegas with him in a heartbeat. I can’t imagine my life without him. However, I know I can’t say anything to him. I don’t want him to run away and I know how guys think. Well, at least I think I do. I’ve never really been in love like this before or ever, for that matter. The guys from my past run away early, but here is Hector, still going strong. He has dealt with me not telling him my name and breaking his heart. Could we go through with the rest of our lives?

“Zoey, are you ready?”

“Yes. I’m coming.” I clear my head of all my random thoughts of marriage and wedding plans and follow Carissa out of the store and back into the hustle of the mall.

“I’m hungry. Want to grab some food?”

“Yes,” I answer her quickly. Drowning in carbs and grease sounds perfect right now.

Carissa drives to a restaurant not far from the mall. We order a glass of wine when we sit, and I begin to nibble on the bread. She begins to tell me how excited she is about her last year of college and how she wants to do some traveling next summer.

“Oh, no,” she gasps.

“What’s wrong?” I ask.

“Okay, um, don’t be mad. However, Mom texted me earlier and I told her where we were going for lunch.”

“Alright.” I’m not sure where this is going until Maria takes a seat next to me.

“Hello, girls. How did the shopping go?”

This isn’t how I planned for my day to go.

“It went well, Mom. What are you doing?” Carissa smiles.

Maria looks over at me and my heart drops for a second. I don’t want to fight with Hector’s mother again. I already spoke my mind to her once. “I thought I would come and enjoy a meal with you and,” she pauses and stares at me.
What is she going to call me?
“Zoey.” She says my name without a lot of grit in her voice.

“Great,” Carissa says. “We were about to order.” She hands her the menu and waves down the waiter for another wine glass.

After a few moments of silence, it begins. “Zoey, how did your last show go?”

My eyes go wide and I almost choke on the wine. Is she asking me a serious question? “Um, it went well. Thank you for asking.”

“I think I heard Hector tell my husband you’re being featured at another gallery. Is it true?”

“Yes.” I nod. “Next month, the Downtown Gallery is hosting a show.”

“I hope it goes well for you. It won’t interfere with your travel plans with Hector, will it?” She sips her wine and I’m not sure if she’s leading me into a trap or not.

“No, he and I haven’t laid out any plans yet.” I’m waiting for the bomb to drop, but instead, we order our meals and sip quietly on our wine.

“Your aunts seemed lovely last night. Are they always so...kind?”

I’m not sure what she means by kind, but I continue being civil. “They are the same all the time. They are the sweetest people I know.”

“They told quite a few tales of your adventures. Were they true?”

“Yes,” I say a little harshly.

Maria drops her gaze from me for a moment and I look at Carissa who looks as confused as I am about this conversation. “I’m not one to admit I’m wrong when normally I’m not.” Here it comes. She’s about to go into her old harsh, bigoted ways. “However, I love my children more than my own soul.” She pats Carissa’s hand. “Hector is a lot like me in our stubborn ways, but like his father in more ways.”

I continue to stare at her.

“I met my husband and instantly fell in love with him. We built a life together and all I wanted out of it was to give my children all the opportunities we never had. My husband taught our children to love everyone without thinking. I look at the world differently.”

“Why?” I ask her.

“Because I think some people are bad. I’ve seen Hector hurt before, and it’s something I don’t enjoy by any means. I figured,” she pauses and rubs her hands together. “I figured if I found him a female who I’d vetted, he would be safe
and
happy. However, I was incorrect.”

I look at Carissa and both our mouths drop.

“I’m sorry for showing up with his ex-girlfriend. It was extremely rude. Manuel and I had a long, very long, talk about my behavior. He forced me to come back this time and go to dinner.”

Here comes the real Maria.

“However, I found out he was right, as is Hector. My son’s eyes shine with love for you and your aunts. I’ve never seen him so happy before. He is radiant when you talk. I feel the same way about my husband. I was wrong, Zoey, and I’m sorry I didn’t give you a chance.”

I’m having an out of body experience, or maybe I’m dreaming. Is she really saying she’s sorry to me? Am I hearing her correctly? I can’t be.

“I hope my past actions will not hurt us moving forward in the future. And before you ask, no, Hector and Manuel don’t know I’m here. I came here alone.”

Yep, I’m dreaming.
I know I’m hearing her, but I can only stare at her because if I say anything, something might change. “I’m shocked, but I appreciate everything you said. I care for Hector very much,” I speak slowly and softly, and Carissa’s eyes are still wide in shock.

“I know and I’m glad you both are happy.”

“Thank you.”

“Now, let’s enjoy lunch.”

“HECTOR! YOU’RE NEVER going to believe what happened today!” Zoey shouts.

I hear the door shut and begin leaving my bedroom. Dad and I went golfing today. I haven’t been home long enough to do much other than change clothes.

“What happened?” I ask, kissing her cheek before pulling her next to me on the couch. She went out with my sister, so anything could’ve happened.

“Your mother—” she begins, but I cut her off, my blood boiling with anger already.

“What did she do now? I thought it was just going to be you and Carissa? I’ll—”

Zoey covers my mouth with her hand. “Be quiet and listen to me.” I nod and she drops her hand. “She surprised us and joined us for dinner. I still can’t get over my shock.” Zoey shakes her head incredulously. “It was totally unexpected.”

“Will you just tell me what happened?” I’m still unsure if this is a good dinner or not.

“She apologized.” My jaw drops. “I know! She started asking me some questions about the showings, asked if my aunts were always so nice, and then she explained. She basically said she thought if she picked who she approved of, knew, and introduced to you, then you couldn’t possibly get hurt and would be happy. She apologized to me and said she hoped we could move past it because she saw how much you love me and my family.”

My brows pull together. “Are you sure you’re talking about my mother?” This doesn’t sound like something she would do. At least, not for a few more months of stewing.

Zoey laughs and slaps my arm. “Yes, I’m talking about your mother. We ended up having a really good dinner and she said she hoped I came with you when you go home to visit.” She leans back into the couch. “I can’t seem to wrap my head around it. Maria is actually a pretty nice person when she’s not being judgmental.”

This time, I laugh and lean back into the couch, too, letting it sink in. My mother finally came around. “Wow.”

“I know,” Zoey agrees. She takes my hand in hers, turning her head to look at me and I do the same. “I won’t lie, I feel so much better now. I know it had to have been bothering you the way she’s been toward us and how she wasn’t talking to you anymore; it was bothering me for you. I was also worried about how it would end up affecting us. Now, the only thing we ever have to worry about is which one of us is going to mess up.” She gives me a half smile.

I shift in my seat to face her, cupping her neck with my thumbs rubbing along her jaw. “As long as you realize that while messing up may be inevitable, so is making up. I’m not going anywhere ever. I’ll chase you for the rest of my life if I need to, and we both know I won’t mind doing that. Things with us wouldn’t have been affected my mother either. It would have bothered me, yeah, but nothing in my life has ever felt as right as loving you. I wouldn’t give that up, not for anyone.”

Zoey smiles and kisses me softly. “I love you, too. I never would have taken the jump with my art if it wasn’t for you.”

I kiss her for a long time, but not nearly long enough when I pull away. “I need to go do something. Will you stay here tonight?”

“I was actually hoping to work on a piece tonight. You could stay with me though.”

I nod. “That’ll work.” I kiss her one more time before we both leave my house after I’ve packed a bag.

The drive seems to take longer than I expected thanks to traffic, but I’m not in any rush. The hotel is like any other and thanks to Carissa, I know which room my parents are staying in. I give a small smile to the receptionist and head to the elevator, riding up to the fifth floor. Within minutes, I’m standing outside of their room. I knock.

“It’s Hector,” I say. The door opens a second later. My mom has already changed into her pajama gown. I step forward and hug her tightly. “Thank you.”

“I want you to be happy, Hector, and she makes you happy.”

“She does,” I agree, pulling away.

She cups my face. “I promise I won’t get in the way anymore and any issues I have left, I’ll work on myself.” She takes a deep breath. “I’m even going to stop trying to set Carissa up with someone, but you need to promise me you’ll look after her. She talks to you more than she talks to me.”

“Carissa can handle herself, Mom, but I promise. I need to go. I’ll see you guys before you leave.”

Mom nods and then I’m off to Zoey’s. This whole having to stay at one person’s house or the other sucks. When I get to Zoey’s, she’s in her studio. She doesn’t notice me either. I lean against the doorframe and watch her. I could watch her all day. I love seeing her being immersed in her art, lost to the rest of the world. It makes me so happy to see her doing what she loves.