11. Carmen

CHAPTER 11

CARMEN

“She’s getting so big!” My mom grinned with a slight squeal in her voice, and the smile on my face matched hers.

“She is, isn’t she?” My lips twitched as I looked past the phone I was holding up as I did my weekly video chat with my mom. For a moment, I was distracted by the tall, dark, and handsome man on my couch, who was currently busy petting a sleeping Stitch on his lap. My beautiful fur baby had taken to Andres easily, and I was almost convinced after Andres being around for the last two weeks, Stitch was starting to like him more than me. But it might have something to do with the fact Andres loved to spoil him with treats.

“You should make that banana peel water! I bet your Monstera will love it.”

“Yeah, I should,” I agreed, trying to tear my eyes off my guy. I was completely in love. I had no idea how me, Miss Done With Even Trying To Find Someone, had done just that and turned into Miss Obsessed.

Thankfully, I didn’t really have to overthink it because he was Mr. Obsessed, too.

“So, are you going to tell me what’s making my ni?a smile that way, or you going to keep me in suspense?” my mom finally asked. I was actually pretty surprised she hadn’t asked earlier.

“Me? Smiling?” I laughed and then pressed my lips together. “I’m not smiling,” I tried to deny.

“You’re lying,” my dad interrupted, popping his face into the screen, “But if you’re not ready to tell us, it’s fine.”

“It’s fine?” Both Mom and I repeated, each of us equally surprised.

“Yes, it’s fine,” he repeated. “If and when you want to share what’s happening in your life, we’re here.” My insides went all warm and fuzzy. I loved my dad. After my divorce, he had worked really hard on letting me choose what boundaries to set with everyone, and that included them.

“I don’t even know you,” my mom scolded as she glared at him. “She should tell us.”

“Mi amor, she will, when she’s ready.” He sighed, staring lovingly at my mom. “When she’s ready, she will,” he confirmed, then turned his attention to me.

“I’m not…” I started to say I wasn’t lying or keeping anything from them, but I couldn’t outright lie. I bit down on my lip and looked above the screen. Andres’ gaze locked with mine. His brow rose, and I knew he wouldn’t mind meeting them.

“She hasn’t met anyone,” my mom cut in before I could make up my mind on how to introduce them. My parents weren’t completely old school, but I had a feeling there was no way my dad would want to meet his only daughter’s new man while he was sitting shirtless on her couch on an early Sunday morning. “Speaking of love…” my mother started to say, and I groaned.

“Mom––“

“Just remember! Next Thursday night at seven! Martin offered to pick you up, and I gave his mom your address.” My eyes widened. I’d completely forgotten about the blind date and my mom’s little matchmaking setup. I turned so I wouldn’t have to look at Andres. Not that he’d be angry, or I was scared of him. I wasn’t at all! But there was no way I could explain while my mom was on the phone.

“Mom, about that date…”

“Wear something nice and please, chula, don’t have more than one margarita. You start to swear like a sailor when you do.”

“I do not,” I argued.

“You do,” my dad chimed in. I rolled my eyes.

“Mom––“

“Oh! And your brothers are coming out in two weeks. Maybe you can fly out for the weekend? We can have a carne asada. It’s been too long since I’ve had all my babies home.”

“Mom––“

“We love you! Bye!” And with that, my mom, like she could sense I was about to cancel the date she’d set up, hung up on me. I set the phone down on the small table I kept close to my front door and looked up at the ceiling.

“Shit,” I whispered. It wasn’t a minute after that I felt Andres’ body behind me. His heat covered my back, and I leaned into him, resting my head on his solid chest.

“Date?” Andres asked, his lips already on my earlobe, his hands at my hips. A deep shiver ran through me, covering my skin with goose bumps.

“My mom,” I groaned before turning to look at him. He was sexy. His hair was all rumpled from sleep. We’d had a long night in bed and out of it. My lips twitched as the memory of all the places we’d done it at my house filled my head. “My mom set this date up. It’s the son of one of her friends from church.”

“From Arizona?”

“No.” I shook my head and stopped. “Kinda? I’m not really sure where he’s from. But yes, my mom and her friend are back in Arizona. My mom found out he’s coming to the school for an interview. He’s some ex-Marine turned professor, and I guess he’s looking to move here.”

“And your mom wanted to play matchmaker,” he guessed. I chewed on my bottom lip. He knew a lot about my past and divorce, but I knew it was time to fill in a couple of blanks.

“My mom worries,” I started to explain. “She understands why I moved and why I came to California. And she completely supports it, as does my dad, but…”

“She’s a mom,” he filled in, and I nodded.

“Mostly, she worries I’m all alone here.”

“You’re not alone. Not anymore.” His promise made me melt into him.

“I know.” I smiled and took a deep breath. “After my divorce, I worked a lot on myself,” I shared as he simply held me, his hand stroking the small of my back. “And I found myself. Not the same version of who I used to be, but one I think is better than who I was. I know myself better. When I got married…” I swallowed hard. “I was young and naive. I thought life could only be one certain way.” I shrugged. “My parents were always loving and never ever mean or abusive to each other or us… so I’m not sure why I let…” I cleared my throat from the emotions that started to bubble up. “Why I let things get so bad with Sam.”

“We don’t have to talk about this if you’re not ready.” I smiled and lifted my body up on my toes.

“I know I don’t have to. I want to.” And it was the god’s honest truth. Andres knew facts, but I hadn’t talked about this with him yet. It was time.

“There were things I didn’t realize until after I walked away that made me realize we weren’t as okay as I’d once thought. He’d say things, small things about me or what I wore, and slowly, I started to change. Then, after we got married, we tried to have kids but…” I shook my head. “Nothing took.” I smiled weakly. “I think that was a hit to his male ego or pride, I don’t know. Then one day, it wasn’t just words he was throwing around.” Andres’ jaw clenched tightly.

“The first time, I convinced myself it had been an accident. But by the third time, I was done. I looked at myself in the mirror and told myself I wasn’t going to be that person. Not when he still wanted to have kids. Why would I willingly want to bring innocent kids into an environment like that?” I sighed.

The reminder of what I’d been like, of what that situation had been, sat heavily on my shoulders, yet it felt like a lifetime ago. Like I wasn’t even a shadow of the person I’d once been.

“I left and went directly to the hospital. They took pictures and called the police and my family,” I recounted. “My parents had no idea, and they were horrified. My dad wanted to kill him.”

“I bet,” he growled between his gritted teeth. “Baby.” Andres’ hands rose and held my face with so much gentleness that it brought tears to my eyes. “I hate that you went through that. I’d never––“

“I know.”

And I did.

Andres was a lot of things.

Older and wiser, I felt I saw people more clearly than I did when I’d been younger. No longer wearing rose-colored glasses, I saw Andres for who he was. Warts and all. I knew him, and he knew me. It was crazy to think how confident I felt considering everything between us was pretty new and well, nutty. Stalking each other? Who would have guessed that worked? But for us, it did.

Andres could be arrogant and cocky. Stubborn and obsessive. He’d made his own mistakes in the past and owned up to them. But he was also kind and sweet. Thoughtful.

And like me, he had been working on mending not just himself but his relationship with his sister as well. We had both been through our share of highs and lows, each different and difficult, but they’d shaped us into who we were. And because of that, it helped us see what was in front of us and not want to waste time playing stupid games.

“I love you, Andres.” His eyes went melty, and I knew in my heart he was it for me. Everything I’d gone through happened so it would lead us to right where we were. “And if you’re up for it, maybe you wanna fly to meet my family in two weeks?”

If you had told me a month ago I’d be asking a man to meet my family, I would have laughed in your face. But that was the funny part about life. You just never knew how much it could change from one moment to another.

“I’d love to.” He smiled and dipped so that our lips touched in a brief but sweet kiss. “Maybe you wanna come with me to LA and meet Betty?”

“You really want me to meet her?” He nodded, and I smiled, happy he’d asked.

“I told her about you.” The smile on my face grew so much I was shocked it didn’t hurt.

“You did?” I giggled before pressing my face into his chest. I loved the way we fit. Like two pieces of a puzzle that finally found one another after being stuck in different corners of a box.

“I did. I told her I met the girl I was going to stalk for the rest of my life.” This made me snort. Knowing Andres, he probably had worded it exactly that way, and his sister probably shrugged it off.

“Oh, boy,” I mumbled with a smile and glanced up at him. “Is it okay if this girl you wanna stalk for the rest of her life wants to stalk you back?”

“That would be the best, actually.” He chuckled as he stroked my hair and tucked the loose strands behind my ear. “She wants to meet you, too.”

“Okay, I’d like that.” Then, because I felt fearless, I suggested, “Maybe later, we can video chat my parents so they can meet you?”

“Later?” A knowing brow rose, and heat hit not only my face but my entire body. He knew exactly what I meant by that.

“Yeah…” I pulled away just enough to reach for the hem of my oversized sleeping shirt and slide it up and over my head. Leaving me naked in front of him. I’d never been the kind of woman who enjoyed walking around naked, or at least I hadn’t been before Andres. I loved the way he looked at me. Like he couldn’t believe I was real. His eyes on my skin felt like a caress I couldn’t get enough of. My fingers stroked his bare chest, and I loved the way his muscles twitched beneath my touch. “Much, much later.” I grinned.

But I didn’t get to say or see much after that. Not when my sexy stalker of a man bent and pulled me over his shoulder before he stomped his way to my bedroom, and in fact, it wasn’t until much later, the next day actually, that we FaceTimed with my parents.