Outranked

 

Even though it was heartbreaking all over again for Valerie, Isabel was proud of her. She’d confronted her demons. As sure as she was the day of the shower that she was completely over Alex, seeing him again had been so much harder than she had imagined. The devastating kiss he planted on her when he got her alone, almost did her in, but she managed to stand her ground. Isabel hadn’t been mistaken about Alex being shaken at the wedding shower. Valerie had lied tellin him she was seeing someone else now.

There were a few more events coming up before the wedding, but Isabel was determined to get Valerie through this. If that meant she had to be there for her at all the events, so be it. That made her think of something else—Romero. Since he was one of the best men in the wedding, he’d be at all the events as well. In the two weeks since the shower, she hadn’t quite been able to stop thinking of his smug smirk, and that look in his eyes when he called her sexy.

The woman doing her nails smiled at her suddenly, and Isabel realized she’d been smiling silly. She felt her face warm. What a goofball she must look like, sitting there staring into space with a big, inane smile.

As she usually did when her nails were drying, she wore her earpiece and spoke with one of her sisters or her mom. Since she’d been so busy lately with all the papers she had to grade, she had to get creative about making time to keep in touch with her family. This time it was Pat.

“Hear me out, okay?”

Isabel laughed. “Nothing good ever comes after those four little words.”

“But this is a good thing, Bell.”

“So why the forewarning?”

Her sister sighed. “Because I already know how you are. No is always the first word out of your mouth at the mention of anything out of your little comfort zone.”

“Not true.” But it was. She could almost see her sister rolling her eyes.

Instead her sister took a deep breath. “Whatever you say, Bell. Anyway, Charles has a friend visiting in a few weeks. He’s a highly ranked officer and—”

“Pat, you said you wouldn’t do this again.”

“Will you let me finish?”

Her sister would never stop trying to set her up with her husband’s highly ranked friends. Just like with her education and her career, Pat was such a control freak. She just had to have a hand in her sister’s love life as well. Isabel took a deep breath. “Go ahead.”

Ouch! “Just give it to me up front. What’s wrong with him?”

The last guy Pat set her up with was the creepiest guy she’d ever met. Pat hadn’t met him until that night either. His eyes would bug out sometimes for no reason.

“There’s nothing wrong with him. I’ve actually met this guy a few times. Only I didn’t realize he was single, or I would’ve had you two meet a long time ago. He’s very good-looking, Bell. I promise, and he’ll only be here for a couple days. He’s stationed in Germany right now, but he’ll be back in California for good in a few months. Charles and I were going to have dinner with him when he flies out, so I thought it would be nice if you would join us.”

Who was Isabel kidding? Pat wasn’t going to take no for an answer. “When?”

“Some time in the coming weeks.” Isabel could almost hear her sister’s smile. “I’ll let you know when I know for sure what day.”

She wrapped up her conversation with Pat and gathered her things. On her way down the escalator, she was lost in thought. Visiting Germany might be nice one day.

“Izzy!”

She glanced around, spotting him at the bottom of the escalator. Romero stood there in jeans and snug black t-shirt. Since the t-shirt was much tighter than the dress shirt he’d worn at the shower, she could now see his impressive build. She could definitely see why he was in the security business.

She took his hand, taking notice of the firm grip. They stepped aside to let everyone else go by and stood off to the side of the escalators. “I was getting my nails done. What are you doing here?”

“Let me see?” He held her hand in his, examining her nails. “Very nice—no M this time?”

She shook her head, taking her hand back and examining her nails again. “No, they always get me with something extra. This time it was my toes.”

Romero looked down and smiled. “Very nice.”

The way he said that made her face heat up and she prayed he wouldn’t notice. “So what are you doing here?”

Just like at the party, even a simple question like that seemed to amuse him. “I just came down to uh, find a few tools I needed.”

“Nah, they didn’t have what I needed.” Isabel got that same feeling when he looked at her, that there was some kind of inside joke, and she’d been left out again. Only this time there was no one around whom he might be csonspiring with. “So what do you do after you get your nails done?”

“I’m… uh… now?” He caught her so off guard. She couldn’t come up with an excuse fast enough. Why she was trying? She had no idea, but she’d always been that way. Her first reaction to an invitation from any guy was to think of an excuse to say no.

“Yeah, why not?” For the first time, he didn’t seem so sure of himself. But he’d asked the perfect question. Why not?

“Okay. I am getting kind of hungry.”

The wicked smile was back. What could he possibly be thinking that was so damn amusing?

To her surprise, he suggested her favorite restaurant at the mall, calling it his favorite as well—Frisco’s, the fifties style burger joint with servers on roller skates. The waitress brought over their menus, but Romero told her he already knew what he wanted. The double Frisco with onion rings, and a strawberry shake. He asked her to bring out the onion rings first, like an appetizer. Isabel ordered the same. She handed her menu back to waitress. “Only make mine a single.”

Romero didn’t even wait for the waitress to leave before asking, “So, really? Friday night and you didn’t have plans?”

He made it sound so unheard of. “I don’t always make plans until the last minute.” As if all her plans weren’t meticulously thought out days in advance, but she kept a straight face.

She had to think fast. “Like who calls.” Because God knew, her phone would be ringing off the hook. “Or if I’m even feeling up to it, by the time I get home.”

“True,” he said, with that evil, evil smile, “because I just might wear you out.”

Isabel could’ve kissed the waitress for interrupting the moment. The waitress set their shakes down in front of them, and though Isabel pretended to be completely distracted by them, she couldn’t help but notice him sit back and really take her in again. As if when he’d done so at the shower, it hadn’t been enough.

“Wow.” Again, he didn’t bother to wait for the waitress to walk away. “I’ve never met someone who blushes so fast. It’s…” He snapped his fingers and laughed. “Just like that.”

Isabel noticed the waitress glance at her before walking away. Her face got even hotter. She took the straw in her mouth, closing her eyes for an instant. Her phone rang in her purse and she didn’t care if it was telemarketer, she was answering. “I gotta get this,” she said to a still smiling Romero. She pressed talk without even looking at who it was. “Hello?”

“Bell, I almost forgot. Daddy’s birthday is next week. I’m making dinner for him at my place. Keep Saturday open, okay?”

“Sounds good.”

Romero’s eyes were on her the entire time. His lips wrapped around the straw of his milkshake, but his eyes never swayed from hers. “Are you near a computer? Can you look something up for me?”

Isabel picked up one of the onion rings, tearing it and half. “Trust me. If you knew my family, you’d understand why I said that. That was my older sister. If I had said I was having dinner with a guy, she would’ve had me on the phone forever, giving me a complete interrogation. She’s very… inquisitive about that kind of stuff.”

“Ah.” He nodded. “One of those. So I take it you’re not currently in a relationship, if she’d be that damn nosy about who you’re having dinner with.”

Isabel laughed. “I like the way you put it better.”

He didn’t laugh. “Are you?”

For a moment, she thought she’d evaded the question. “No, I’m not.” She bit her onion ring. “But my sister’s determined to find me the perfect guy, yet. So who knows?”

Finally, the man frowned. Even his frown was a very nice one. “Your sister? Why do you need her to find you a man?”

Isabel shook her head. “Not a man. I said the perfect man. You see, my sister is convinced only she can find someone good enough for me. Apparently every guy I’ve ever dated wasn’t.” She shrugged. “I just humor her. Not much else I can do. Aside from being too inquisitive, she’s also very assertive.” She stirred her shake.

“And you just go along with whatever she says?”

Isabel looked up from her cold drink. Now it was her turn to be amused. Romero seemed almost irritated. Funny how her sister could do that to people before they even met her. “I’m telling you, if you knew her, you’d understand. It’s easier to just go along with it than to argue. Besides, I don’t see the harm in going out on a few blind dates. She’d never steer me wrong. And as long as I’m single and ready to mingle why not?”

She couldn’t believe she threw that last comment in. Who even says that anymore? She felt her face warm again.

Romero jumped right on it with a grin. “You ready to mingle, Izzy?”

She sat up a bit, clearing her throat. “It’s… just an expression.” She bit into her onion ring, hoping he’d have mercy on her since she was obviously blushing again. But no such luck.

“You do that a lot.”

Admitting it would be her best bet. She didn’t want him to get the idea he had some magic power over her. Not that she could remember anyone else making her blush as consecutively as he had. “I know. It’s a curse.” She took a sip of her shake, unwilling to meet his eyes.

“I heard you’re shy.”

She looked up at him. “Not really. Just some things make me a little… uncomfortable.”

He laughed. “I didn’t think so. But you know what you’re good at?” Isabel waited. “Dodging the questions that make you uncomfortable. Why would admitting you’re ready to mingle make you uncomfortable?”

“It was a silly way to put it. I just meant as long as I’m not involved in a relationship, what harm is there in my sister setting me up?”

Their food came and they were silent while they set themselves up to eat. Romero took a bite of his cheeseburger while Isabel placed her napkin on her lap. It wasn’t until she was halfway through spreading the mustard evenly on the bun that she noticed he was staring at her. “What?”

“What are you doing?”

She looked down at the bun in front of her. “What do you mean? I’m putting mustard on my bun.”

“Yeah, but you do it like you’re painting, not a smidge outside the lines,” he laughed. “And the salt and pepper, it’s like you were counting each grain. Do you always do that?”

She frowned. Valerie had always teased her about her eating habits, as well as all her other habits. “Too much salt isn’t good for you.”

“No, you weren’t. You were still busy painting your bun.”

Ignoring his comment, she pressed her bun on her burger and picked it up. He watched her with that never-ending grin as she took a bite.

“I wasn’t rushing you, I was just sayin’.”

They finished their meal and the waitress came by to offer them desert. They both passed. If Valerie had been there, they would’ve shared something. The waitress put the bill down on the table and Romero took it. Isabel reached for her purse. “How much is it?”

“Get out of here. I got this.”

She bit her lip, unsure how she felt about him footing the bill. “Are you sure?”

“Yep, plus I’m not done yet. When she comes by again, I’m gonna order a beer. You want one?” Then he rolled his eyes. “That’s right, you drink wine. I don’t know if they have any here.” He reached for the drink menu. “I’ve never—”

“I drink beer.”

“You do?” he asked, bringing his attention back to her.

“Yeah, just ‘cause I didn’t have any at the shower.” She hated that he obviously had her pegged as a prudish teacher who only sipped wine. “But I’ve been known to throw a few back here and there.”

Romero smiled, flagging the waitress down. After several rounds, Isabel said she had to drive, but she asked for water and they continued to talk. She’d never felt as witty as he made her feel, because he laughed so much at some of the things she said. Though the majority of the time she wasn’t trying to be funny.

“So you said your sister sets you up a lot. Obviously, these guys she’s picking are not the winners she thinks they are, if you’re still single.”

For a second Isabel entertained the preposterous idea that he might actually be interested in her single status. But she shook the thought away, remembering Valerie’s comments about how Romero, the former bouncer, went through women like Isabel went through books. She lifted a shoulder, stirring the ice in her water with the straw. “They’ve all been nice. But there has to be more than just what she thinks is perfect. There has to be chemistry.”

“And what is perfect to her?” He swallowed the last of his beer and set the bottle on the end of the table.

“Respectable, good career, good place in society, someone she thinks will take good care of her little sister.”

His expression went serious for a moment. “Good place in society. What the hell does that mean?” The waitress came by and took the bottle. Romero held up a finger for another beer.

Isabel took a deep breath. Normally, she wouldn’t get so personal but over the course of the evening she’d begun to feel more and more comfortable talking to him. She found him to be a breath of fresh air, especially compared to all the uptight guys she usually dated. Not that she considered this a date, but having someone like Romero even as just a friend could be a fun—different. “Everyone in my family, with the exception of my mother and me has at least a master’s degree. My sister is married to a Lieutenant Commander in the U.S. Navy. Most of the men she sets me up with are up there in rank, either that or someone she met in graduate school.” Isabel sipped her straw. When she looked up it was strange to see not even a trace of a smirk on Romero’s face. “That’s the way she’s always been.” She shrugged. “She just wants the best for me.”

Halfway through her explanation she’d begun to rethink telling Romero all this, especially since she still wasn’t sure exactly what he did for a living. He might take offense.

The waitress set the new beer in front of Romero and he took a swig. “Well, good luck finding Mr. Perfect based on a fucking rank or degree.”

And there it was. She definitely wasn’t asking him what he did for a living now. She didn’t want him to think she was judging him. “So what about you? You have any brothers or sisters?”

He shook his head. “Nope, just me and my uncles. Which reminds me.” He pulled out something from his back pocket and handed it to her. “I almost forgot why I came here.”

Her attention went from the paper in her hand to his eyes. “I thought you said you were here looking for tools?”

The smirk was back and now it was his turn to look a little embarrassed. Isabel felt a flutter in her belly and her face warm. “I uh, was hoping to run into you, actually. I was here last Friday, too. I remembered you saying you got your nails done here on Fridays.”

Isabel was floored, but at the same time filled with a strange excitement.

He ran his fingers through his hair. “My uncles get Padres tickets from some of their clients sometimes.” With the smirk gone, their eyes locked and Isabel felt her heart speed up. He pointed at the tickets but kept his eyes on hers. “I thought you might wanna go. It’s tomorrow night.”

“I… uh.” She gulped, still trying to get past the fact that he’d sought her out two weeks in a row. “I have a lot of papers to grade this weekend.”

She could do this. Romero was one-hundred percent the opposite of any guy she ever dated, but there was nothing wrong with going to a ballgame with a friend. She looked back at him. “Okay, I think I can work something out with those papers.” His face brightened immediately. That smile was beginning to do things to her.