Romero

  “Don’t act like you read.”

  Sal looked up and smiled when he saw him. “Funny you’d walk in. I was just reading about your future father-in-law. Alex had mentioned it but said Valerie told him it wasn’t a for sure thing. I didn’t know it was official.”

  When Romero got close enough he got a glimpse of the headlines. “It’s already in the papers?”

  “Yeah, front page. And they have a whole section about it on the inside.” Sal tapped the paper. “You here to eat?”

  “Yeah.” Romero’s eyes were still on the paper. “I’ll take the usual.”

  Sal walked away from the bar to put in Romero’s order. Romero turned the paper around and read the headline: Superior Court Judge Arturo Montenegro III Announces Run For Mayor.

  Isabel and her family’s picture had made the front page. He skimmed the story and the few other pictures, flicking Pat’s face with his finger before turning the page to see the rest of the article. There were more pictures including one of Isabel and Jacob standing alone talking. Feeling that inner heat that had become too familiar these days, he scanned the rest of the pictures. There was another of them in the background of one of her father. Fucking Pat stood with them with a big toothy smile. She sure as shit loved the up-and-coming Lieutenant Commander. Except for the picture where Isabel stood alone with him, Isabel appeared annoyed.

  His eyes were back on the picture of Isabel and Jacob. Almost obsessively, he studied how they looked at each other. Was this the moment she’d been looking for the spark?

  “Who’s that with Isabel?” Sal asked.

  “Her ex-boyfriend.” It wasn’t until then that Romero realized how tight his jaw had become and the words he’d spoke were through his teeth.

  Sal laughed. “Is that why your eyes are nearly burning a hole through my paper?” He tugged at the paper. “Lemme see.”

  Romero shoved the paper at Sal. “Dude!” Sal smirked then examined the paper. “Where were you?”

  “She had to be there an hour early, so I wasn’t there yet.”

  The smirk on Sal’s face was still there and it irritated Romero. “You gonna need a drink this early?”

  “No, I’m not gonna need a drink this early,” Romero said, reaching for the paper again.

  Sal laughed again, but handed him the paper. “So what was her ex doing there?”

  Romero filled him in briefly about her damn sister and her ex being a big shit in the Navy—in no way hiding his aversion to the whole situation.

  “Heads of military are not going to get him far ahead in an election. He’s better off sticking with the people he already knows. Being a judge, he probably already has all the connections he needs. City council members, legislators, and a bunch of city officials, who I’m sure owe him a favor or two.” Sal took the paper Romero was still staring at and tossed it on the counter behind the bar. “Will you stop? She’s with you now, not him.”

  “Yeah, but if it were up to her fucking sister, Izzy would be with him.” Everything he’d felt the night before when he found out Jacob was her first, came flying back at him. “I’m no match for that shit, Sal. They all got their master’s degrees, Izzy’s gonna start working on hers soon—her dad’s running for Mayor for Christ’s sake!”

  A waiter brought out Romero’s breakfast burrito and placed it on the bar in front of him. “Thanks Julio,” Sal said, and then he frowned, pouring Romero a soda. “First of all, it’s not like you’re trying to get the girl. You already have her. Right? And last time I saw you two together, she seemed really into you—shocker.” He laughed. “I’m kidding, but here’s my second point: I hope to hell you didn’t sit there with that mouth of yours and talk the way you always do in front of her family and would-be in-laws. Did you?”

  Romero chewed and covered his mouth, remembering Max the night Isabel met his uncles. “No! As a matter of fact, I’ve been trying to tone it down. Ever since I realized how much my uncles fucki—” He caught himself and Sal rolled his eyes. “How much they cuss.”

  “Try harder, dude.” Sal tossed a few napkins in front of him. “No one’s perfect. I’m certainly not, but why call attention to your imperfections with something so obvious as your overuse of the cringe-worthy language. From what you tell me, I can guarantee you her family doesn’t toss around the F-bomb as much as you do, and especially not now that they’ll be in the eye of the public. Everything they do or say from here on will be scrutinized. And if you’re going to be rubbing elbows with all these big-shots, you don’t wanna embarrass Isabel or do something that would taint her dad’s campaign in any way.”

  That pissed Romero off. “Why would I do that?”

  Sal raised his eyebrows and tossed the paper in front of him again. He knew exactly what Sal meant. He thought the same thing last night. Romero didn’t look at it. Instead, he took a bite of his burrito and said nothing.

  “These elections get ugly, Romero. His opponents will be looking for anything and everything to use against him. And your temper gets pretty ugly.”

  Romero stared at him but kept chewing. Needing to change the subject he finished chewing and asked, “What do you know about golf?”

  Sal’s eyebrows pinched. “Enough. I play a few rounds a week. Why?”

  “Her dad mentioned maybe playing a round or two. I’ve never played. I told him I never have. He said I’d catch on.” Romero shook his head. “I don’t wanna make an ass of myself.

  Sal lifted a shoulder. “I’m outta here as soon as Alex gets here. So I’m free for the rest of the day. We can go to the driving range and I’ll show you the basics.”

  Romero shuffled his schedule around in his head, then swallowed the last of his burrito. “Let me make some calls. I can probably do that.”

  ***

  Sal was definitely the most patient of the three brothers. He laughed at times like when Romero was sure Angel and certainly Alex would’ve been done with him. But it was a give and take. Alex or Angel would’ve just showed Romero how to stand and swing. Sal explained the steps one by one, from the proper way to shift your weight to the importance of the back swing and the rotation of the shoulders. Then there was the transition, the impact and finally the through swing and finish. “I’m going for one round of golf here, Sal. Not trying to take Tiger fucking Woods down.”

  Sal wasn’t laughing. “I thought you were working on toning the language down?” He pulled on Romero’s arm, straightening it out. “And this isn’t rocket science, Romero. This is just the basics. ”

  Romero frowned, concentrating on his transition. After about an hour of hitting balls, Romero couldn’t believe Sal was still completely committed to making sure Romero had it right. “Remember to keep your wrist locked when you’re transferring your weight to your left leg.”

  Romero did as instructed, huffing and sighing through most of his lesson, but in the end, he was grateful Sal was so damned anal. He at least had the basics down. “So what else do you know about politics?” he asked, as they walked back to Sal’s car. “‘Cause I don’t know shit. All I know is they’re a bunch of fucki… a bunch of crooks.”

  Sal laughed. “That’s your uncles talking. They’re not all bad. Some actually want to make a difference.” They reached his car and Sal opened his trunk. He swung his golf bag in. “I wouldn’t worry so much about that. Something tells me he’ll be more interested in talking about you. What you want out of life. What you have to offer his daughter.”

  Romero frowned. Jacob and all his damned medals came to mind. Fuck.

  “Don’t sell yourself short, man.” Sal closed his trunk and they both walked along either side of his car. “You’re a good guy, and most importantly, you genuinely care about his daughter. That’s what really matters. You just gotta watch that mouth of yours.” They got in the car. Romero thought about his and Isabel’s family ever meeting—what a nightmare that would be. Sal shoved Romero’s shoulder just as he pulled the car out of the parking space. “What are you frowning about? You sta
rted your own business all by yourself and it’s doing well. Not too many can say that. Hell, offer to do some security for him. He’s gonna need it now. This may even open a few doors for you. Security in politics is huge.”

  That reminded Romero of the conversation he overheard in the restroom. Open doors. He still didn’t know who had said it and which daughter he’d been talking about but he’d for sure be on alert from here on. “He’s got security already.”

  “He’s gonna need more. Trust me.”

  Romero stared out the window. It wasn’t a bad idea. “Maybe I’ll bring it up.”

  “One thing, dude and I wasn’t playing when I said this earlier. You better keep that temper of yours in check. If her ex is gonna be around, you better be cool. Don’t blow this. I’m telling you. The press will eat it up. The smallest of scuffles with this guy, especially at one of these events, and it’ll be all over the papers the next day.”

  Romero squeezed his hand into a fist, taking a deep breath. Just the thought of this guy trying anything or her sister pushing to get them together again would set him off. “I know.” He tapped his chest a couple of times with his fist and forced a smile. “I got this.”

  Normally he really meant it. This time he was worried.

  ***

  It wasn’t like Pat to show up unannounced, so when she did, Isabel worried. She opened the door quickly. “Something wrong?”

  “No, not at all.” She glanced into her apartment. “Are you alone? Or is he here?”

  Isabel stepped back to let her in. “Romero is working late tonight. He won’t be home until later.”

  Pat’s head jerked back to face Isabel, the alarm screaming in her eyes. “He moved in?”

  “Well… no but he’s been staying here a lot.” Isabel and Romero still hadn’t talked about moving in together. She was beginning to wonder if they even had to. He was there all the time now anyway.

  Pats mouth pinched to one side. “It’s only been a couple of months, hasn’t it? And he’s already staying here a lot?”

  It had been a week since her father’s announcement and she’d gotten into it with Pat the very next day over the phone about her little Jacob stunt. She wasn’t getting into it with her again, especially not about Romero, so she ignored her question. “What’s going on? Why are you here?”

  The expression on Pat’s face changed suddenly. She was up to something again. “We’re almost all set up to start the campaigning full throttle. Charles found a great campaign manager—Gary Foster. He has an impeccable record of accomplishment.” Pat put her purse down and took a seat on the sofa. Isabel sat across from her in the chair. “Daddy’s friend owns several shopping centers in this area. He has a few vacant shops he’ll donate temporarily to the campaign for us to run everything. The donations are already pouring in.”

  Pat filled Isabel in about all that was going to be done, from the signs and billboards to the radio interviews and finally got to the reason for her unexpected visit. “Everyone is doing their part. My firm will donate their time to look over all the legal aspects of what we can and can’t do. What we need most is for people to get the word out. That’s where you come in. Gary thinks you should let your union and the school district know that daddy has a plan to get more funding to the schools so they can stop making so many cuts. This way we can get their endorsements. And then maybe if you can commit to putting in a few hours a week to make phone calls and pass out flyers. It’s gonna be a lot of work but if we all pull together we can do this.”

  Isabel waited for the catch. With Pat, there always was one. “That’s it? Just get the word out and put in a few hours in a week?”

  Pat nodded, smiling. “Can you do that?”

  Isabel eyed her suspiciously. “You came over here to tell me that?”

  “Well…”

  Isabel knew it. She frowned. “What?”

  Pat sat up straight. “I ran into Jacob again—”

  “No.” Isabel crossed her arms in front of her.

  “You don’t even know—”

  “I know you, so no! I can’t even believe you’re still pushing this.”

  “Pushing what, Bell? All I was going to say was he asked about you. About you and Romero—how serious this thing with him is.”

  “And you said?”

  “Well, I wasn’t aware he was staying here so much and since it’s only been a couple of months I said… I wasn’t sure.”

  Isabel glared, undoing her arms and placing her hands on her thighs. “You know I wouldn’t have invited him to daddy’s dinner if it wasn’t serious, Pat.”

  “Bell, please listen to me. I know you think I’m just meddling, but I love you and I’m worried. That’s all.”

  “Worried about what? You don’t know anything about Romero. You’ve never even given him a chance. The moment you heard the words ‘he didn’t attend college’ you made up your mind. An education and a bunch of medals aren’t all that matter, Pat. I know to you it does, but not to me. He’s a good person and he’s good to me.”

  Pat nodded, leaning over and placed her hand over Isabel’s. “I’ll admit that at first that’s the only thing I didn’t like about him. But you were there. You can’t tell me the way he snapped that night of the dinner wasn’t a bit worrisome. If this is what he’s like now, can you imagine how much worse he’ll be with time? He glared at me the entire night. He has abusive written all over him.”

  “That’s ridiculous.” Isabel couldn’t help but think of the heat in his eyes the day he heard Michael’s message. And how Alex could barely hold him back the day after, when he looked ready to kill Lawrence. She’d seen that look in his eyes several times now, but not once had she felt threatened in any way. “He’s not like that, Pat. Trust me, he would never hurt me.”

  “Not yet.” Pat squeezed her hand. “Belly Bell, I work these kinds of domestic abuse cases all the time. The relationships all started beautifully. But they all say the same thing. The signs were there from the very beginning. The women chose to ignore them because they were so in love. Then when family members stepped in to try to help, these men turned them against their family. They’re manipulative—”

  “Jesus, Pat. You really think I’m that stupid? And what do you mean these kinds of cases? Nobody is abusing anyone in this relationship.”

  “These women are not stupid, Bell. They were in love and desperate to believe these guys could change—would change—for them. But some people just can’t be changed. I have a bad feeling about him. Art said the same thing, too.”

  “He did?” That worried Isabel. Art was much less judgmental than Pat. Worse yet, he never agreed with Pat about anything.

  Pat nodded. “Anyway, that’s why I really came down here but I also was hoping you’d consider spending some time with Jacob.” Isabel began shaking her head and Pat squeezed her hand again. “Listen to me, not in a romantic setting or anything. Gary asked me to draw up the schedules for the volunteers. You wouldn’t even be alone with him. I could just schedule you on the same days. You’d be there with all the other volunteers making calls. He has so much to offer, Bell.” Pat put her hand up before Isabel could protest. “Not that Romero doesn’t. I just want you to be open to the possibility of staying friends with Jacob in case things don’t work out with Romero.” She gave Isabel a hopeful smile. “He said he didn’t realize how much he missed you until he saw you again.”

  Isabel stared at Pat but didn’t return the smile.

  “And,” Pat added, “I could’ve just done it without asking you first. You already knew he’d be helping with the campaign, but I wanted you to be with me on this.”

  “That’s just it.” Isabel pulled her hand away from Pat’s. “I’m not. I’ll do what I have to, to help dad. If Jacob is there when I go in to help, then he’s there, but I won’t be trying to develop any kind of friendship with him.”

  Pat smiled. “Fair enough.” She patted Isabel’s knee and stood up. “I’ll start working on the schedules tonig
ht and give you a call in a few days to let you know when your first shift is.”

  Isabel walked her chipper sister to the door, who said her goodbyes much too contentedly. On the surface, this little visit from her sister seemed to have gone Isabel’s way, but somehow she couldn’t help feeling like she’d been had.

  CHAPTER 15

  No one else

  Waking up next to Isabel felt like something Romero had been doing forever. He couldn’t even imagine not waking without her in his arms anymore. He spooned her closely to him, kissing her cheek. She didn’t open her eyes but the corner of her lips rose ever so slightly. He smiled and whispered, “Don’t wake up.” To which she immediately opened her eyes and he frowned. “Izzy, you did just the opposite.”

  “I was already awake.” She turned her body around to face him. “My eyes were just resting.”

  “But it’s Saturday, you don’t have to get up this early.”

  “Actually I do. Remember? I have to go in for a few hours and do some campaigning for my dad.”

  Romero tried to hide his irritation as she sat up. Thoughts of Jacob were immediately on his mind. She said he’d be helping out, but he knew there was no way she’d know when, where or how. He’d already told himself he wasn’t letting Pat or Jacob be the cause of any friction between him and Isabel. They just weren’t worth it.

  He ran a finger down her bare back, wondering if even in the winter they’d still wake up naked. “I love waking up next to you, baby.”

  She turned to him. “I love it, too.”

  He stared at her, the words at the tip of his mouth. Then she said them. “Why don’t you just move in already?”