Isabel pulled a water bottle out of the fridge and opened it. “Well, I mentioned to him at the shower that I get my nails done at the mall every other Friday.” She rolled her eyes. “Don’t ask, I was trying to make a point about the parking at the mall. Anyway, so, yesterday I walk out of my nail place and guess who I run into?”
Valerie sniggered. “Gee, what a coincidence.”
“I didn’t think anything of it at first. He said he was there looking for some tool he needed.”
“Oh, God, who goes to the mall for tools, Isabel?”
“There’s a Sears there.” Isabel paused and then giggled. “I totally fell for his story. Then after dinner, he admitted he’d been there the week before and yesterday hanging around waiting to see if he’d see me.”
“Ha!” Valerie covered her mouth when Isabel made a face. “Sorry, go on. Go on.”
“At the shower, I also mentioned what a big Padre’s fan I am. Of course, he argued with me about them, but in the end admitted he was a fan too. Someone gave him tickets to today’s game a few weeks ago, and he thought maybe I’d wanna go.”
Isabel shrugged in an attempt to make it out to be less than it really was, but Valerie knew better.
“I knew I saw something that night between you two.” Valerie remembered her comments about him the morning after. “You weren’t mean where you?”
“No, of course not.” Isabel sipped her water. “I thanked him for thinking of me but told him I had a lot of papers to grade today.”
“What? You turned him down?” Valerie looked at Isabel up and down. “So, why are you all done up?”
“I’m not all done up.” Isabel glanced down at her clothes. “It looks like I’m all done up?”
“Of course, but you look great. So, you are going to the game with him, right?”
Isabel seemed worried now. “After closing the place out, he talked me into going to the game. But that’s all it is. Two friends going to a game together.”
Isabel walked into the front room and stopped at the mirror on the wall. “You think he’s going to think I got all done up for him?”
“Well, didn’t you?” Valerie giggled jumping off the counter and followed Isabel.
“No!”
“What’s the big deal, Isabel? You’re obviously into him.”
“No, I’m not.”
Valerie rolled her eyes. “Really? So, the dancing and all this,” She pointed at Isabel’s curled tresses. “Is something that’s the norm for you?”
Isabel’s eyes were opened wide. “Alright, so, he’s not usually the type of guy I date.”
“Ah ha! You said it. It is a date.” Isabel’s expression was warning enough. Valerie attempted to hide the smirk.
“Valerie. I don’t want him to think I’m all into him. I just thought it’d be interesting to try something new.” She dabbed at her eyes trying to remove some of the makeup.
“Stop that. It looks really great.”
There was a knock on the door, and Isabel turned to Valerie with a look of sheer panic. Valerie grinned but couldn’t help feeling guilty that she’d managed to take Isabel’s mood from dancing and smiling giddy to an anxious mess. “Relax. You wanna get that, or shall I?”
“You get it.” Isabel rushed into her bedroom.
Damn. Why did she have to open her big mouth? Valerie hoped Isabel wasn’t changing. But she hadn’t even finished saying hello to Romero when Isabel was already out of the room. She’d just gone in to grab a jacket and her purse.
Romero’s expression was almost comical. He’d never been discreet about anything. If she thought she saw something in the way Romero looked at Isabel at the party, there was no doubt about it now. Isabel wouldn’t be walking away from this one as easily as she thought.
Romero didn’t look too shabby himself. He wore a Padre t-shirt that hugged him pretty well. He was obviously still working out as much as she remembered he used to. There was no way Isabel could not notice that.
After awkward hellos and goodbyes, they were out the door and Valerie stuck her nose through the curtains. Even with Isabel’s heels, Romero was half a head taller than her. They made a really cute couple and Valerie giggled as she texted Isabel to tell her.
She walked back to her room to get ready for her own date with Luke. Even though things were beginning to look positive, Valerie couldn’t help feeling a dull ache in her heart. She was really counting on Luke to help her get rid of it. She needed to remind herself to stop comparing him to Alex. As much as she hated to admit it, no one would ever live up to him. She may as well, stop hoping someone would, and accept Luke for the man that he was.
*
The restaurant was busy as it always was lately. With renovations done and the construction all cleared out, Alex and his older brother Sal started a campaign on the internet. They even ran a commercial twice a day on the local radio station.
Because Angel and Sarah were already looking for a place to lease to open their restaurant as soon as they got married, Sal had plans of possibly making the restaurant some kind of chain eventually. But he didn’t want it to be too commercial. He wanted to keep the authentic quality his parents had created with the same recipes. Alex had no doubt he could do it.
Sal was by far the most driven of the three brothers. Alex and Angel had gone to college because it was expected of them. Their dad hadn’t given them a choice. But Sal loved it. Even though he was the oldest, he was still in school.