Tangled: A Moreno Brothers novella (9 page)

The surprised and impressed looks he got all around, including
from his wife, were not missed. Even he was pretty impressed with himself again.
But he’d already been given one free pass tonight. More than one actually.

Regardless of how easily Izzy had let him off the hook tonight
for jumping to conclusions so quickly, he knew he’d gotten lucky. He seriously
had to get it together. He wasn’t that guy anymore. He couldn’t just lose his
shit the way he used to once upon a time. As Manny had said, Romero had kids to
think of now, kids who could be scarred emotionally for life by being witness
to one of his uncontrollable rages.

Bottom line was, unless his Izzy actually did something with this
guy, which he knew would never happen, Romero had to learn to let shit go. Even
if Elliot were attracted to her, the only justifiable reason Romero could be
mad about that was if Izzy did anything to encourage him to do something about
it. He owed it to her and his kids to keep his temper in check. Tonight had
been too close.

Seven

Not so Clueless

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 refilled 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—”