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?”
“No. I’m not home yet. I’m out having dinner.”
Her sister was silent for a second then came the inevitable, “Umm… okay… with who?”
Isabel glanced at Romero again who hung on her every word. “With Valerie.”
Thankfully, the waitress dropped off the onion rings. “Oh… okay, tell her I said hello.”
“I will.”
Romero picked up an onion ring and took a bite. He glanced around very obviously. “I don’t see Valerie.”
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 sat back again. “I’ll have to start keeping tabs on what those things are.”
“Why? So you can torture me?”
“Exactly.”
Isabel rolled her eyes. “I think I can make it through the rest of this dinner without turning into a turnip again.”
“You wanna bet?”
Their eyes met and she smiled, giving in. “No.”
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.”
He wiped his mouth shaking his head. “That’s f**king hilarious.”
She didn’t get it. “What is?”
“You!” He pointed at her plate. “The foods been here for five minutes and you haven’t even taken a bite.”
“I was about to.”
“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’.”