Read Online Tangled: A Moreno Brothers novella by Elizabeth Reyes - Free Book Online Page B

refused to come when
Elliot had invited him too. It all seemed innocent and harmless enough. Yet the
annoyance still lingered.
    Minutes later, when they announced the buffet was ready for
everyone to come up and help themselves, Romero waited until Elliot got up to
serve himself. He leaned into Izzy, lowering his voice. “He brought you
flowers?”
    As if prepared for the question, she quickly clarified, “It’s a
table arrangement. He said he didn’t want to walk in empty-handed, and since
this is a restaurant, he felt silly bringing a dish or dessert, so he brought
that.” She pointed at the arrangement sitting at the center of the table where Alex
had put it down. “And he brought it for the host, so technically, it’s for the
Morenos, not me.”
    Romero pursed his lips, staring at her with no choice but to
accept the explanation. Though admittedly it did make him feel better. He
stopped short of asking why they’d taken so long to get back to the table and
what the hell else they’d been talking about for so long. He knew his unease
with Elliot was unfounded and he had nothing to worry about, but he couldn’t
help feeling irritated regardless. He was, however, determined not to ruin the
holiday over something he knew wasn’t worth it.
    “There goes Romeo,” Isabel said, standing up. “I’m gonna go help
him.”
    “Babe, leave him. He can serve himself.”
    She gave him a look then shook her head. “He’s gonna make a mess.
And that’s a brand new outfit he’s wearing.”
    Just then Alex and Angel sat down across from them with loaded
plates, reserving a seat each for Valerie and Sarah. “Where’s Valerie and
Sarah?” Izzy asked.
    “Making sure the younger kids don’t make a mess,” Alex said,
placing his satin napkin on his lap.
    “You see,” Izzy said to Romero with a smirk. She leaned over and
kissed him. “Aren’t you gonna eat?”
    “In a minute when the line dies down,” he said. As soon as she
walked away, he turned back to Alex and Angel. “What I need is a fucking shot.”
    Alex’s eyes were immediately filled with humor as he glanced back
at the buffet area where Elliot still was. “That bad?”
    “What?” Angel asked, confused.
    “Isabel’s boss is here.” Alex chuckled. “A divorced professor.
Isabel’s his assistant and you know this guy.”
    “Why’s he here?” Angel asked, looking as irritated by this as
Romero.
    “Thank you!” Romero said, standing up. “She invited him.” He
shrugged. “Don’t get me started. I need a beer. You guys want anything?”
    They both said, “Yes,” and he was off toward the bar. With all the
employees having the day off, there were no bartenders on duty either, but Eric
and Sof were behind the bar. “Grab me three beers, Eric, yeah?”
    “They’re not all for you, right?” Sofie teased, smiling.
    Romero smiled. “Nah, your brothers. You guys sitting by us?” he
asked as Eric placed the beers on the bar one by one. “There’s still room.”
    “Four o’clock.”
    Max’s loud voice in his ear made him jerk his head away, and he
turned to his uncle with a scowl, feeling even more irritated. “ What? ”
    Max asked Eric to get him a beer too and a soda for Manny then
repeated, “Four o’clock,” gesturing with his eyes.
    Romero turned in the direction Max had gestured and stopped cold
when he saw Izzy and Elliot standing in a corner, chatting again. They were each
holding a full plate in one hand and a drink in the other. Just then Elliot
glanced in their direction then said something to Izzy, who turned to Romero
and smiled. She turned back to Elliot, and in the next second, they both
started back to the table.
    Was she kidding him with this shit? Izzy had to know this guy
being here in the first place was already trying his patience. Having to not
only hear but see the admiration in his eyes when he called her amazing was bad
enough, but seeing his wife blush like a school girl about it had just shot
things up a