Seven
Not so Clueless
T
he week after Thanksgiving, when Isabel and the kids went back to school and work, was time for the sneaking around to start. Surprising Romero wasn’t going to be easy. Already he’d been suspicious about her private talking with Elliot. In hindsight, maybe she should’ve waited until she got back to work to tell Elliot about the baby. But it couldn’t be helped. Not telling Romero was making her want to burst. She wanted to tell everyone she could. Not only that, she also needed to inform Elliot that she’d have to take some time out this week to go get the official confirmation that she was pregnant.
It felt sneaky having to lie about where she’d actually been headed that morning, but that was the least of her worries. The morning sickness had kicked in a lot sooner with this pregnancy, and already she’d had to cover up being sick when Romero had been home while it happened. That was going to be the ultimate doom of this surprise. Holding off telling him was one thing, his not figuring it out before Christmas would be another.
Valerie had tried in vain to get Isabel to make the announcement this big elaborate thing as they’d done when she announced her first pregnancy. That time she and Valerie had found out almost at the same time that they were pregnant. It was Valerie’s second pregnancy, but everyone had been equally excited for them both.
That time Romero had been more stunned than anything. The whole gang had been at Moreno’s restaurant, celebrating Father’s Day. Valerie and Isabel had gotten up to make a toast to their fathers then finished off the toast by saying, “And speaking of fathers, guess who else is going to be one.” The announcement was made to a very surprised and happy crowd. Later, when they’d finally had a moment alone, Romero confessed he didn’t have a clue about what it’d be like to be a dad.
The very first time he held his daughter in his arms he’d told Isabel he already knew he was going to love fatherhood. Her pregnancy with Romeo wasn’t as much of a shock for him. He’d been anxiously waiting for her to miss her period. Each time she didn’t, she saw the grim disappointment in his eyes. He was so ready for another one, and though he did try to hide the disappointment each month that passed and she wasn’t pregnant, he was as good at hiding that as he was at hiding his annoyance about Elliot. But when she finally had told him she was pregnant, he actually got a little choked up. That time she’d told him in front of only Manny, Max, and Aida. Of course, Manny got a lot choked up just as he’d done the first time.
Isabel knew this surprise would be even more emotional for Romero. She could tell he was pretty much convinced she’d made up her mind about not having anymore. So she was being greedy this time. She wanted the moment all to herself, the kids, and, of course, his uncles. It would be a family thing Christmas morning before her sisters and Mom came over since Manny, Max, and Aida always spent the night Christmas Eve. They just had to be there the moment the kids awoke. As simple as she was keeping it, she still had a few things up her sleeve.
It’d be fun to drop a few hints here and there. Romero was terrible about picking up on hints. She knew this. There would be no danger of him figuring it out before Christmas morning, not from her hints anyway. So the clue dropping would be mostly for her pleasure. The next couple of weeks would be fun.
She was home now and it was dinnertime. Stirring the soup in the pot, she grinned, feeling sinful about what she had planned. Amanda ran through the kitchen, squealing loudly with Romeo giving chase.
“Hey, hey, hey,” she said, turning to the kids. “That’s enough. Go wash up and get ready for dinner. Daddy’s on his way home right now.”
A few minutes later the kids were still running around when Romero walked in the kitchen door. As he usually did when he caught her at the stove or sink, he wrapped his arms around her waist from behind and kissed her cheek. Then it happened just as she planned it. He sniffed her hair. “You smell good,” he said.
“Thank you.” She smiled, biting down on her bottom lip.
“But different,” he added, moving her hair aside gently kissing her neck then sniffing again. “That’s not your usual perfume. It’s . . . different.”
Okay, maybe she shouldn’t make these hints so much fun because she almost felt like giggling.
“It is different,” she said simply then added, “I bought it the other day.”
Feeling him pull away slightly, she took advantage of the separation to reach for more salt. “You bought new perfume? Why?”
She shrugged, glancing back at his hardened, peering eyes. She didn’t wear perfume often, but when she did, it was the one she’d been wearing for years—Envy—Romero’s favorite. He said it reminded him so much of the night he confirmed he was nuts about her, the night they first kissed. So she knew he’d notice the difference tonight.
“I was at the store the other day and smelled a sample. It brought back memories, so I bought it.”
“Memories of what?”
Isabel pulled out a few bowls from the cabinet. “Of those innocent sweet days of my youth when I used to wear it. It’s called Love’s Baby Soft.”
Holding her breath for a moment, she waited for his reaction to that. Instantly, his arms wrapped tightly around her again, and he pressed his mouth to her ear as he inhaled deeply. “Memories of who?”
Now she did laugh. She should’ve known he’d take it there instead. “My sisters mostly,” she said. “We all wore it. My mom got us each a bottle when we were very young. I guess I was just in the mood for something that smelled baby soft.”
As expected. Clueless. Aside from saying he liked it and that it did smell sweet and very girlie but he still liked her other one better, he made no other connection. He was gone for a moment to wash up and change before he came back to sit down for dinner.
With the kids at the table now and Amanda doing most of the talking, Isabel wondered if she should even try dropping another subtle hint. When Amanda got going, it was hard to get a word in, something that frustrated Romeo when he was trying to get his two cents in.
They were all quiet for a moment, digging into their cocido, so Isabel took advantage. “I found out today where the name Denver came from.” Romero looked up from his bowl but said nothing. “His son is named Warren. Apparently, they named their kids after the cities where they were fairly certain the kids had been conceived.”
She laughed genuinely just as she had the day she and Elliot had actually had the conversation. Romero’s expression went hard again just as it had earlier when she told him she’d bought new perfume. “What’s so funny?”
The kids were both looking at her now too, smiling curiously, so she instantly regretted laughing. Okay, that was enough with the hints for tonight. As young as Romeo was, he was already showing signs of being a little too much like his dad. While he could be the biggest sweetheart and she knew Max and Manny teased Romero about having a momma’s boy on his hand, he could also be very touchy and quick tempered.
This would likely make Amanda laugh, even Romero, but she had a feeling Romeo wouldn’t think it so funny. In fact, she knew her son as well as she knew her husband. This would very likely have him pouting like the four-year-old he was.
“Nothing,” she said, getting up for a second serving. “Just something silly Elliot said. I’ll tell you about it later. Anyone ready for more?”
“I am!” Romeo said loudly. “Your soup is delicious, Momma.”
“Thank you, baby. I made it special for you,” she said, reaching back for his bowl. “How ’bout you, Mandy? Ready for more?”
Amanda shook her head. As usual, her daughter’s bowl was still more than half full. The girl ate enough, but she was slower at eating than her father was at picking up on hints.
After filling Romeo’s bowl, Isabel brought it back to him. Only then did she notice the strange way Romero was watching her, but she didn’t comment. Instead, she asked him if he wanted more. He shook his head, lifting a brow. Again, she didn’t comment. She went back and re
filled her own bowl. When she got back to the table, Romero was still staring at her strangely. “What?” she finally asked.
“Tell me now.”
Isabel looked at him, confused. “Tell you what now?”
“What were you laughing at?”
Glancing at Romeo, she was glad he was too distracted digging into his food to notice, so she gave Romero a warning look and shook her head, mouthing the word “later.”
It wasn’t a big deal really. Isabel just knew Romeo would object to hearing his own mother suggest what his name would be if she’d used Elliot’s method for naming kids. They went to Elephant Butte Lake every summer with the Morenos, and she was fairly certain one of the many times they’d snuck off on the jet skis or got sneaky in the water the month before she found out she was pregnant with Romeo had done the deed. The actual name of that city was Elephant Butte. It was silly, and she knew Romero would think it funny too. But she could already hear Amanda running around calling her brother Elephant Butte and him pouting about it. The kids did enough bickering without her adding to it. She didn’t need the aggravation.
They finished up their dinner and went through their nightly ritual. Romero cleared up the kitchen while Isabel put the kids in the shower and got them ready for bed.
She was finally in the bathroom, brushing her teeth, when Romero came from behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist, then looked at her in the mirror. The expression on his face wasn’t as amorous or aroused as she expected. It was hard, and his grip around her went tighter. “Silly Elliot makes you laugh, Izzy?”
She let her shoulders go limp. “Really? Is that what you’ve been thinking about all this time?”
“You left me hanging with something funny he said to you that couldn’t be discussed in front of Mandy and Romeo.” His grip around her went even harder. “What was I supposed to think? That this guy is saying things to you that make you laugh but might piss me off to the point we’d argue in front of the kids? Or that he’s saying things to you that are unsuitable for my kids’ ears and you know that would really piss me off, yet you’re giggling about it?”
Isabel turned around to face him, bringing her arms around his waist. “First of all”—she brought one hand up to caress the sharp arch of his furrowed brow—“I need you to promise me that you’ll let go of this notion that you have anything to worry about when it comes to Elliot.”
“What did he say to you?”
“Did you hear what I just said?”
“I did and I’m not promising anything until you tell me what he said that we couldn’t talk about in front of the kids.”
She inhaled deeply. “It wasn’t even anything he said really. It was what I was thinking when he explained about his kids being named after the city where they were conceived. Amanda would’ve been Pacific Beach and Romeo would’ve been . . .” She waited for it to sink in, lifting an eyebrow.
It took him a moment, but then she saw the humorous twinkle in his eyes the moment it hit him. “Elephant Butte,” he said with a smirk, but his brow pinched again. “Why couldn’t you say that in front of the kids?”
She gave him a look. “Because it would’ve become Amanda’s new nickname for her brother and you know how your son gets. It dawned on me the second I saw them smiling at me curiously.”
The smirk turned into a frown again but not nearly as intense as his earlier expression. “You gotta stop coddling him so much, babe. That kid needs to man up, needs to be able to take some ribbing, especially with uncles like Max and Manny. He’s in for a lifetime of that shit.”
Isabel frowned right back. “He’s four, okay? I think we can hold off on the taunting a little longer. But you”—she jabbed his chest with her finger—“you need to stop getting so worked up anytime anything about Elliot comes up. It’s completely uncalled for and a little insulting, I might add.”
Romero lifted her onto the sink. “I’m sorry,” he said, kissing her softly and spreading her legs.
Kissing him back and already feeling aroused just from his fingers caressing her over her panties, Isabel still felt the need to continue. “You know I’d never do anything or carry on with him in an inappropriate way. You don’t think I realize who I’m married to?” He slipped his hands into her panties now, sliding two fingers deep into her, making her tremble. It was harder to speak now as her breathing got heavier, but she had to finish. “You don’t think I know—”
He kissed her deeply, wildly, his tongue mimicking what his fingers were doing to her, and then he pulled away and sucked her neck. “What is it you know, baby?” he asked in between sucking her neck. Unbelievably, Isabel felt the beginning of a climax already. “That you’re all mine?” She nodded as his fingers found that perfect spot and he began to work it so perfectly. “That this,” he said, touching the most sensitive of spots. “This is mine and no one . . .”The sensation was building fast now. Isabel loved how Romero knew her body so well. Knew exactly what he was doing to her, so he slowed the rhythm of his fingers. “No one,” he whispered again against her ear as she gasped in anticipation, “gets to even fantasize about it.” His fingers were magical and her body began to quiver. “Say it, baby,” he said against her lips then plunged his fingers into her again. “No one.”
A gasping moan escaped her again. “No one,” she agreed breathlessly.
He devoured her mouth just as her climax began making her moan in his mouth, for a moment forgetting about the kids being just a few doors down. She kissed him madly as the amazing sensation shot through her body again and again.
After all this time with this wonderful and sometimes hard-to-understand man, Isabel understood him perfectly. This had only confirmed it. As offended as she began to feel sometimes by his suspicions, Romero was just incapable of controlling this part of him. He did trust her. Of this she was sure. He had to. There was no way she’d ever do anything that would upset him in that way. She’d been irked earlier that he might think she would, but he’d now made it clear it was not what he was worried about. He simply couldn’t even bear the thought that Elliot might somehow begin to covet her. And if she was completely honest with herself, until Thanksgiving evening when she told Elliot about being pregnant, she hadn’t completely forgotten about that one conversation they’d had where she’d been inclined to leave certain parts out when discussing it with her best friend and sisters.
Even on Thanksgiving night when he’d pulled her aside to ask her about Reagan, the married girl who’d come on to him, she’d gotten the strange feeling that he was trying to feel her out: see how she felt about adultery.
When she first told him she was pregnant, he seemed stunned. Though he quickly made mention that she did appear to be glowing. He said pregnancy clearly suited her and the moment he’d walked in that evening he’d thought her more stunning than usual. When she’d been momentarily staggered by the way he’d looked at her when he said it, he’d changed the subject to ask about what Romero had said, so she’d gone on to explain how he still didn’t know, and they moved past the awkward moment.
Of course, Elliot was beyond brilliant. A man like him would never be so blatant. He’d been more than professional with her, and she’d since shaken all thoughts about the possibility that he was feeling anything for her. Still, she had to give it to Romero.
His worry hadn’t been completely unfounded.
The good thing was this was almost over, and she reminded herself it was a complete hunch. There was no way she’d ever admit to Romero that she’d ever gotten a weird vibe from Elliot. He’d be furious with her for not having quit the second she picked up on it, but it felt almost arrogant to do so. Even in those the two incidents, Elliot hadn’t done or said a single thing that proved he’d done so inappropriately.
Another thing she wouldn’t be telling Romero was she really wished she could quit now but couldn’t because Elliot had actually told her he’d appreciate her staying at least until Christmas break. She wouldn’t tell Romero, partly becaus
e it would ruin the surprise and partly because, while Romero was terrible at picking up on hints, he’d become a pro at one thing—reading her emotions.
This was why she still wasn’t sure she’d be able to keep the pregnancy from him until Christmas. If she told him she was tempted to quit now, she was certain he’d pick up on the fact that it was more than just because of how exhausted she was. He’d know something was up. Romero had a way of getting things out of her when he really set his mind to it and knew there was more to what she was admitting to him. She had no doubt if he really believed there was more he’d get it out of her and likely insist she quit ASAP.
In spite of the vibe she’d picked up from Elliot, he truly had been a complete gentleman to her thus far. She didn’t want to leave him high and dry before he could find a replacement. This had started as more of a favor to her than anything, but he did say he’d begun to count on her a great deal now and scheduled many of his lectures and assignments with her assistance in mind. So she’d just have to bite the bullet and hang in there for another couple of weeks.
Romero lifted her and carried her off to their bed for what Isabel was certain would be another amazing marathon evening of lovemaking. As he lay down next to her, he was about to start doing what she knew he loved doing so much of before he’d even take off his clothes—kiss her until she was nearly losing her mind again. But she stopped him to say something she had to.
“I love you, Romero.”
His response was immediate. “I love you too, baby.”
But she wasn’t done, so she touched his lips with her finger before he began devouring her mouth again. The moment she was able to come up for air she had to say it. “Please know that, no matter what, you don’t ever have to worry about me not being yours and yours only for eternity. Okay?”