He noticed the keychain that hung out of her purse with the San Diego Padres emblem. “So you’re a fan?” He gestured to the keychain after placing the cup of wine in front of her.
She frowned. “I was, but after the year they had last year… I dunno. The Diamond Backs are starting to look good.”
“What?” Romero stared at her in disbelief, loving the way her startled eyes opened wide. “You don’t just turn your back on your team when they have a bad year.”
“One? They’ve had like three or four in a row.” She sipped her wine.
Romero shook his head adamantly. “You from the San Diego area originally?”
“Laguna. I moved to La Jolla after college.”
“Close enough. Number one rule for a true sports fan. You’re born to your team. Choice was never an option. And even if you move away, that’s your team forever. You carry the keychain around daily. You should know that.”
Isabel laughed and he finally got to see what her face looked like lit up. All her cute expressions had slowly given away that she wasn’t as uptight as he initially thought—now that sweet smile that brightened her entire face was another tell-tale sign. He gulped hard. She was something else.
“No, I didn’t know that. Thanks for enlightening me.” They talked for a while longer about The Padres. Then he asked a few random questions about where she got her nails done and they made small talk about the horrible parking at the mall, but after seeing her bring the tip of her thumb to her mouth for the second time, the M on her finger stared at him. He finally asked something that actually interested him. “So who’s the M for?”
Her eyes did the asking.
“The M on your nail.” Romero handed her a second glass of wine.
“Wow, this is a lot,” she said, taking the cup. “Maybe I can pour half of it in another cup for Valerie.”
He watched her take a sip and he waited, taking a swig of his beer. She glanced around, looking antsy.
“Izzy?”
She looked back at him. Again she didn’t even have to speak, her eyes expressed her confusion.
He couldn’t help smiling. “The M on your nail. Who’s it for?”
She brought her hands up to look at her nails again. “Oh, my name.”
“Your name’s Isabel.”
“My last name is Montenegro.”
Romero took a big satisfying drink of his beer then said, “Ms. Montenegro. Is that what your students call you?”
She nodded. “Romero is your last name, right?”
“Yep.”
“So how come you don’t go by your first name?”
He shrugged. “Never have.”
“Why?”
“Long story. I just don’t.” He turned away from her questioning eyes. “You sure Valerie didn’t leave?”
“No, I’m driving. She didn’t bring her car,” she sighed. “But she is taking long. I hope she’s okay.”
“Why wouldn’t she be?”
She seemed apprehensive but finally said, “I think she was upset about something she and Alex talked about.”
“Ah,” Romero nodded, remembering all the drama those two had gone through over the years. “The never-ending booty call.”
“Is that what he calls it?”
“No.” He smirked at her murderous glare. “It’s what I call it. Those two have been going back and forth forever. They should just get it together or get it over with.”
“Well it’s been over with for a year now.”
“Hmm,” he chuckled, bringing his cup to his mouth.
“It has been,” she insisted.
“So why is she still getting upset about something he says?”
Her lips pressed shut. Romero couldn’t help feeling smug as she glanced away. Then her expression changed—softened. “That must be Sal.”
Romero turned to see Angel’s oldest brother being greeted by Angel and Sarah. “Yeah, that’s him.” He turned back to her. “Why?”
“I’ve heard a lot about Alex’s brothers. He looks just like them.”
Sal was still working on his master’s in business management, something no doubt Valerie had mentioned to Isabel—exactly the kind of guy Isabel was probably into. Of course, even without the education, Angel and his brothers always got this kind of reaction from chicks. He watched her, feeling a little disgusted, as her eyes lingered in Sal’s direction for too long, her dark eyes almost twinkled. For some reason he thought women like Isabel would be immune to this kind of shit, but her eyes even brightened, then there was an all-out smile.
Romero turned, fully expecting to see Sal giving her the same goo-goo eyes. Instead, he saw Valerie walking toward the bar, also smiling. Sal wasn’t even within eyesight anymore. As Valerie got closer, he could see her eyes were a little red.
“Are you okay?” Isabel asked as soon as she was close enough.
“Just dandy,” she said to Isabel then to Romero she said, “I need a shot. In fact line them up, I’m gonna need more than one.”
“Valerie, don’t,” Isabel warned.
“You said you’re driving right?” Romero poured the shot.
“Yeah, but—”
“So what’s the problem? If she needs a few shots, she needs a few shots.”
Valerie didn’t share anything about why she was feeling down. Isabel didn’t push either. Romero sensed it wasn’t something they wanted to talk about in front of him. He almost left them alone to talk, but then Valerie something that made him stop and pour himself another beer. “Did you meet Sal?”