Page 68 of Finally Mine
It took Gloria a full ten seconds to notice she was fanning herself. “Oh my. What just happened? Did I pass out?”
Harper laughed and dragged herself to a standing position, delight written all over her flushed face. “I think this is Aldocoming around and pulling out all the stops. Prepare to be swept off your feet.”
“I don’t think I’m ready for that.Can’t he just say hello to me once a week for a year or so until I get used to looking at him?”
“I don’t think that’s howhe works. You’ll be married in no time,” Harper predicted.
“You’re such a weirdo.”
“You love me,” Harper countered.
“Yeah, maybe.” Gloria was still staring at the crowd where Aldo had disappeared.
She felt the weight of a stare and turned to face her mother.
Sara’s eyebrows were an inch higher than usual. “And what do you want to say about that?” Sara asked quietly, nodding her head in the direction Aldo had gone.
“About what?” Gloria asked innocently.
“I might be your mother, but I am a woman first. I recognize that look. The handsome, sweaty athlete likes you.”
Gloria laughed. “Yeah, he likes me today, and then tomorrow he’ll be back to pretending I don’t exist.”
“Maybe he needs a good woman to help him find his way,” Sara suggested pointedly.
“After the mess I just got out of, you want me to go running after another man?” Gloria rolled her eyes.
“Mija, if you don’t run after that man, I’m going to check you for a pulse.”
She couldn’t help but laugh. “I don’t see you putting yourself out there into the dating world.”
“If it convinces you to spend some time getting to know that man biblically, I will find a date.” Sara started scanning the crowd as if looking for an appropriate man. Gloria didn’t doubt her mother’s ability to snag a date on the street. She was beautiful, confident, and a smokey-eyed Latina. Basically irresistible.
“Mama! I might be ready for some biblical action. But I’m not sure if I’m ready to forgive him for acting like an ass. If Iwasready, I don’t know ifhe’sready to be what I want.”
Sara’s smile was bright. “I have great hopes for your future, Gloria. You’re a smart girl. A strong girl. Maybe you’ll have a little fun figuring things out.”
A little fun. Gloria wasn’t certain she remembered what that was. Sure she’d discovered how much she enjoyed hard work. But fun? And there was the fact that Aldo still owed her an explanationandan apology.
“Hey, Gloria, we’ve got a snafu with the entertainment tonight,” Ricky Lesser called to her, waving the microphone she’d personally tested this morning.
Crap.
Not only did she have to make sure the rest of the day went perfectly, she also had to decide if she was going to give Aldo Moretta a toehold in her life.
39
“I’m not sure how we got talked into this,” Gloria confessed to the woman next to her. Harper had somehow managed to convince Joni, Claire, and Gloria to help her run herd on Mrs. Agosta’s three foster kids at the Fourth of July festival. Mrs. Agosta was a lovely woman in her early 70s who was absolutely worn out by three energetic kids.
“Harper can be very convincing,” Joni said, looking fondly in Harper’s direction. Harper was juggling Ava, the toddler, on her hip while Henry danced around her listing all of the festival food he wanted to eat. Robbie, the oldest, stood a few steps away from his younger siblings and pretended he didn’t know them.
Biting her lip, Gloria overstepped her bounds. “I think it’s wonderful that you two are getting to know each other,” she confessed.
Joni sighed. “I wasted a lot of time grieving, blaming, and wishing things could have turned out differently. I missed out on a lot of living. Harper helped me see that.”
“She’s good at that, isn’t she?” Gloria said with a smile.
“Gloria, there you are!” Kate Marshall jogged up, her two teenagers shuffling behind her. “You pulled it off,” she said, sweeping an arm around the park. “I’ve been looking for you all day to tell you what a great job you did.”
