“It isn’t. Bianca shared your news with me and, of course, I know I should wait until Alec wants to tell me, but I’ve been a career woman who has been pregnant and I know that there are other considerations... Anyway, I just wanted to let you know I’m here if you need someone to talk to. I realize you don’t have a mom and I know you are very capable but... Oh, Lord, I’m rambling.”
Scarlet was upset that Bianca had told her mother. She turned to face the older woman and saw the concern and worry on her face. She’d felt attacked a moment earlier but now she realized that Elena was concerned.
“It wasn’t Bianca’s news to share,” Scarlet said.
“I know. I tried to pretend I didn’t know but frankly that’s not the way I’m wired and after I realized you didn’t have your mom...well, I thought you might need someone. And I know you don’t know me but I want to fix that.”
Scarlet also thought she saw a bit of joy. Elena might be the first person to see this baby just as a source of joy. Unlike Alec and her, who had been busy trying to figure out what to do next.
“It’s okay. I was trying to keep it quiet as I’m not sure I’m ready for it to get out on social media.”
“Bianca swore me to secrecy, but I just couldn’t keep away,” Elena said. “I want us to try to have a relationship. It’s different with Bianca because I can just show up at her house and boss her around, but I won’t do that with you.”
Elena Velasquez was funny, Scarlet realized. And really sweet. “I’d like that. I’m not sure how long I’m going to stay in Cole’s Hill. I sort of just came to give Alec the news... Well, I actually thought he was Mo at first.”
“My boys really can be dumb sometimes,” Elena said. “Would you like to have lunch? Maybe once a week. We can do it my house or wherever you like.”
“Okay,” Scarlet said. “That sounds nice. Thank you, Elena.”
“No, thank you. I know I came over unannounced and then proceeded to be a meddlesome mom but I’m not someone who can just sit by and wait... But I won’t be too pushy. Well, I am pushy, but you can always tell me to back off,” Elena said.
Scarlet nodded. Her mom hadn’t been around since she was a child and she had very few relationships with women who weren’t her age or just a few years older, so this was different. They started walking again and Elena was more relaxed talking about current events and life around Cole’s Hill. She admitted to being glad she worked in Houston, soshe could sometimes escape from the bustle of small-town gossip.
After Elena left, Scarlet tried not to let the feeling of melancholy bother her. If her father had been a different sort of man, if he’d married a woman like Elena... But he hadn’t. It was nice to have Elena now, but she didn’t need a mom. Her child would have a grandmother who wanted to be in the baby’s life, and that was something she’d never thought was a priority before.
But did Scarlet have what it took to be the baby’s mother?
Alec had askedhis housekeeper to make sure the garden and pool area looked like something out of a romantic fantasy tonight. She’d sent him several pictures from which to choose and she’d hit it out of the park. The entire backyard had been lit with fairy lights in the trees and bushes. There was music playing through the landscape speakers and a thick carpet had been laid in the sitting area under the portico.
He took one more look at everything before he left to go and pick Scarlet up. Mal had been right the other night when he’d said that waiting sometimes wasn’t the answer. Alec had been letting his fear dictate his silence with Scarlet. He wanted them to be a couple, and while he was the first to admit that there was no way they were going to have everything sorted out before the baby came, they were certainly on the path to that.
So he’d done it. Pulled the trigger and gone to the jewelers in Houston to buy her a ring. He’d planned a night that would show her how much she’d come to mean to him. He could work from anywhere in the world. Unlike his brother Diego, who had to stay in Cole’s Hill because of the ranch and his horses, Alec’s job was pretty much online. So he could be wherever Scarlet needed to be.
He knew his parents might not like that; his mom especially preferred that they all lived in Cole’s Hill. But she also was realistic. He’d stopped by his parents’ house the night before to talk to them about it. Though it would be embarrassing if she said no, he couldn’t ask a woman to share his life without telling his parents about her, the baby and how he wanted a life that he might have with Scarlet.
He ran his hands down the side of his dress pants, felt the ring in his pocket and realized his hands were shaking.
He had also given Mo a heads-up about his plans, but his twin said he’d already seen it coming. Alec wasn’t sure if that was true or not.
He took his time driving to Scarlet’s house to pick her up. He parked in front and fiddled with the in-car audio system so that when they got back in the vehicle, the song that had been playing the first time they danced would come on. It wasn’t a particularly romantic song—“Hey Ma” by Pitbull and J Balvin—but it was their first song.
He flipped down the mirror to check that his hair was in place and then got out of the car. He’d never felt so nervous. Then Scarlet opened the door and he saw her standing there in a cocktail dress with her hair up. Simply put, she was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen.
She was everything that he hadn’t realized he’d been looking for and suddenly he understood what Mal had meant when he said he needed to up his game. When he stood there staring at Scarlet, he had to wonder if he was good enough for her. Most of the time he was a good man but there were days when he did what he had to in order to get by. He could improve...not that she’d asked him to.
“I’ve never known you to be so quiet,” she said in greeting.
“You’re gorgeous tonight. I just can’t believe that you’re mine,” he said at last.
“Am I yours?” she asked with an arched eyebrow.
“I hope so. I like thinking of us as a couple,” he admitted. And frankly, if she didn’t, then this entire night was going to go downhill fast.
“I like it, too,” she said. “You’re looking very dashing tonight. Who knew you owned a tux.”
“I was wearing one the night we met,” he reminded her, putting his hand on the small of her back as they walked down the steps that led to the driveway and his car.
“It was your brother’s,” she reminded him.