Pilar showered, found a black skirt and button down short-sleeve shirt and dressed while watching the clock. She was running late for her daughter’s wedding preparations.
There was no way she could meet Samuel at three like he’d asked. Today was her daughter’s wedding and she should have remembered that. She quickly texted Samuel, Caro needs me today. Can we meet at the wedding and then reception later on?
She rushed as fast as she could, but the cross she wore for years wasn’t next to her nightstand. She finally found it in her safe, wrapped it around her neck and raced out the door.
The moment the elevator opened she read Samuel’s response, I’ll miss you. See you tonight then.
Good. At least whatever was bothering him wasn’t such a big deal that he wouldn’t see her again. Her heart relaxed slightly. She made it to the spa where Caro’s various friends all waved at her.
Finally, she arrived at the back of the salon and met her daughter and Valentina in the side room. Caro winked at her half-sister and then said as greetings, “Mama, you look rosy-cheeked.”
“Leave it, Caro.” Pilar took her seat. The hair dresser immediately started to brush her hair and then added mousse.
Caro laughed like she’d just been told a joke. “No, you’re glowing, Mama.”
Valentina added, “She spent last night with my papa.”
“Our papa, Valentina.” Caro lowered her voice and asked, “Did you, Mama?”
Pilar let the stylist divide her hair into quadrants and quickly said with her head down, “That’s neither of your concerns. We’re here for hair and makeup.”
Caro’s voice was sweet. “And to talk as a family, Mama.”
Today was going to be beautiful, just as Caro deserved. As the stylist began to pin one corner, Pilar lifted her face a little and avoided talking about her Samuel. “Caro, you put too much stock in talking.”
Caro laughed again. “And you’re avoiding the question.”
Clearly her children knew her too well. She glanced into the mirror in front of her and saw her daughter’s reflection that stared back at her. Pilar took a deep breath. “Last night your father and I had dinner.”
Valentina said, “And he left your room at almost 7:30 this morning.”
Her heart stilled. This modern age of having adult children who might comment on her dating life felt odd. She was the one to give them advice, not the other way around. She held still and waited until she could think. Finally, she simply said, “It was a long date.”
“I see.” Caro nodded in the mirror while the hair dresser began to pin another section of Pilar’s hair. Caro pointed to some pearls for her own hair and then said, “Mama, you don’t have to be ashamed. We know you love him still. You always have.”
“And my father always loved a woman named Pilar in his dreams. He’d call out for you.”
Oh. Her face heated as she let that bubble of hope grow in her heart that their love might work out. Pilar searched the mirror and quickly saw Valentina’s ears perked. Neither one of them needed to know how she felt or why. “I don’t really know Santiago. I loved Samuel, but part of me still thinks of the two men as different people. The Santiago I met here is different than your papa.”
Caro asked, “How?”
Last night Samuel had been with her again. His hands on her body felt the same as always and it was like no time had passed. She still pulsated from where he brushed his lips against her bare chest, just as he’d done when they were still children themselves. She clutched the chair and tried to explain how Samuel wasn’t her Samuel anymore either. She lowered her head. “He’s more timid about a few things.”
Valentina said like she was offended, “My father isn’t timid though, Pilar.”
Okay, that was the wrong tactic. Pilar bit her lip and decided to push through to change the conversation, fast. Again, the hair dresser began to pin more of her massive black hair to the top of her head while Pilar quickly said, “He hates driving. He doesn’t want to even consider calling himself Samuel, though he did warm up to seeing more pictures of his old life.”
Caro’s gentle nature showed in her caring voice. “Mama, what are you going to do if Santiago never remembers his life with you?”
Good question. Her heart knew if he didn’t remember her then she’d never truly be happy and neither would he. She wasn’t going to force herself on anyone and she’d have to let him go. She still couldn’t see much of what the hair dresser had done to her hair other than continue working on the updo, but she couldn’t avoid the question. Someone handed her a mimosa and Pilar gratefully took it. “I don’t know, mi’ja. I don’t know what’s happening with Santiago and myself other than we said we’d take it one day at a time.”
Pilar gulped the orange juice and champagne mix and put the glass on the counter in front of her.
Caro asked, “Can your heart handle that?”
The server was gone now so Pilar couldn’t grab another. She stilled and clutched the armrests on her chair. “Don’t worry about me on your wedding day. Your Luke loves you and that should be what’s on your mind.”
Valentina turned to Caro and asked, “How did you and Luke meet?”
Good. The waitress returned, and Pilar took a second celebratory drink.
Caro answered while her stylist put more pearls in her dark hair. “At college, though Luke didn’t know he was a Morgan then, but then we lost contact for almost ten years.”
Valentina leaned forward. “Ten years is a long time. How?”
Grateful that the conversation about Samuel was over, Pilar sipped her mimosa as the stylist worked through her thick hair.
Caro held her hand to her heart like she was living her words all over again. “Well, he went to medical school in California and then did a residency out there. I never thought I’d see him again but then he showed up at the bar Rafe and I went to when we were escaping one of my mother’s old people parties…”
“So he walked over to you at the bar?” Valentina sighed at the romance. “And you got back together in the end which is all that matters.”
“My friends are not old, mi’ja.”
Both of them ignored her though. Samuel’s children could have a healthy sisterly relationship despite being raised separately. If Samuel hadn’t been stolen from her, perhaps she’d be Valentina’s mother and not another woman. Pilar sipped and kept the thought to herself.
Caro shifted on her chair. “Valentina, we know you like this Anthony Morgan. Were you both in love?”
Pilar stilled and didn’t move a muscle, hoping she could hear the answer.
Valentina sounded dejected as she asked, “The truth?”
“Yeah,” Caro answered fast.
Pilar glanced through her mirror and wished she had a better view of Valentina, though it was probably good she didn’t.
Valentina told Caro, “He liked having me around and talked to me, but otherwise nothing happened despite how much I cared for him.”
Thank heaven. Pilar could report to Samuel his daughter had a crush. At one point, Caro had one on John Morgan, though she didn’t remember that now as she’d only been twelve years old.
Caro met Pilar’s gaze in the mirror. “Jennifer will breeze in here soon to check on us. It’s strange that she’s having some sort of romance with Anthony now.”
Jennifer. Another topic. The movie star was like a daughter that Pilar never had and didn’t raise. She was prickly but beautiful like a rose with its thorns, but underneath her hard exterior, Jennifer was still that little girl, so she said without giving too much away, “It’s good she’s over Peter.”
Caro’s nose twisted despite that she was getting ready for her wedding while she said, “She’s still pregnant though. Something seems off.”
Caro’s big day was something special and should be, but everyone deserved happiness. Pilar clicked her tongue like she always did to stop her children from complaining and then reminded her, “Jennifer deserves to be happy.”
Valentina’s voice was hoarse while she asked, “So you both support Jennifer?”
Pilar heard the panic in the young girl’s voice. Valentina must be heartbroken her crush was now with another. And yes, Jennifer hadn’t respected her wish to not immediately confront Peter and Belle, but she acted from pain. How to make them see Jennifer as she did? Pilar pushed back from the hair dresser to see Valentina directly. “Her mother wasn’t always kind to her.”
Caro let out a sigh like she’d heard this countless times before. “I know how you feel, Valentina. Jennifer was horrible to me half the time, but my mom will adopt any child in need.”
“Mi’ja.” Pilar cautioned, as honestly Jennifer shouldn’t be a conversation that happened on Caro’s wedding day. Today was supposed to be celebrating her and Luke’s love.
Caro then turned her chair as well. “She was horrible, but you love everyone so you don’t see their faults.”
“That’s not true.” Jennifer had many faults, but she’d also had a bad start. It wasn’t wrong to wish that she’d grow wiser, especially now that she’d be a mother.
Caro shook her head like she didn’t approve. “Valentina, Jennifer loved having me clean up after her.” But she softened as she returned her attention to her, but said to Valentina, “Don’t let my mother’s generous heart confuse you, sis.”
The hair dresser turned her chair back toward her mirror and began working again on more layers to pin.
No one spoke for a few minutes. High heels clicked in the distance and then Jennifer called, “Caro? Pilar?”
“Speak of the devil,” Caro whispered though they all heard her.
Pilar stilled and hoped Jennifer didn’t have a cutting remark.
Jennifer asked, “Who is the devil?”
“Jennifer!” Caro answered fast and even smiled at her as she asked, “How are you this morning?”
“I’m good.” Jennifer tossed her styled hair back and then walked closer to Pilar as she said, “I came to check out how your makeup artists and hair stylists were treating you.” She stared at the back of Caro’s head and nodded, “Love the pearls. I’m glad to see you’re coming along nicely.”
Jennifer was being sweet which meant she was happy. Pilar hoped all the drama would end soon and everyone she loved would be happy—including Valentina. “So, what’s going on with you and this Anthony?”
Jennifer grinned and leaned close as if telling a huge secret. “He’s being very nice to me—I’m going to go visit his villa after your wedding.”
Good. If Jennifer fell in love with someone else she’d be happier than hoping for a married man.
Caro drummed her fingers on the armrest. “Are you over Peter then?”
“No.” Jennifer turned away and checked Pilar’s hair as she said, “I’ll never be that, but I need to move on with my life too.” She shifted back toward her as she said, “Right, Pilar?”
“Yes, of course,” Pilar answered automatically. She clutched her cross tucked below her collar and quickly prayed everyone would be happy.
Jennifer announced, “Since the bride and her mother are going to look spectacular, I’m going to get a massage now. See you both at the wedding.”
She then flitted out the door she came from.
The room grew quiet as the stylists continued to work on hair and transitioned Caro to makeup for a base.
Valentina broke the silence. “Pilar, I thought you were going to be on my side.”
Samuel loved his daughter and Valentina had admitted she had a crush on the man Jennifer was now seeing, which was hurtful— true, but Jennifer needed to stop interfering with Peter and Belle. Somehow it had to be possible that everyone ended up happy. She let go of her cross and said, “There are no sides, Valentina.”
“But you and Papa…” Valentina’s voice trailed off, clearly too emotional to finish her sentence.
Pilar scooted off the stylist’s chair and walked over to the younger woman, touching her shoulder gently. “Your father and I are taking things slow. He doesn’t recognize me from before.”
Caro pushed her makeup artist away for a moment and joined the conversation, “If our papa or any man doesn’t scoop you up, Mama, then he’s a fool.”
“My father is no fool.” Valentina hugged her waist.
Oh no. This was all her fault. She’d always been harder on her Rafe and Caro to let them make their own decisions, but she hadn’t raised Valentina to know how to calm her down. She swallowed nervously and said, “Girls, let’s not fight on Caro’s wedding day.”
“Mama, don’t worry about us,” Caro said fast. “We are sisters now.”
Valentina turned her chair and hid her face in the hair dresser’s mirror, blocking Pilar from seeing her directly.
Pilar chose to sit back down and not push. However, she wasn’t sure she had a future with Samuel if she didn’t figure out how to help Valentina get over her crush on Anthony without showing her enthusiasm for Jennifer ending her obsession with Peter Morgan.
As the hair dresser worked on the top part of her updo, Pilar’s lips pressed together. Samuel didn’t want to be her husband anyhow. She was being foolish with opening her heart to a ghost. It was for the best if she didn’t pursue anything with him anymore.