COWBOY ROMANCE: Justin (Western Contemporary Alpha Male Bride Romance) (The Steele Brothers Book 1) (106 page)

“Why don’t you wait outside as I pay,” he said softly to Isadora. “I’ll be right out.”

She shrugged and walked outside. For some reason, a deep feeling of foreboding followed her out the door and waited with her outside. RING RING, RING RING. Her phone loudly yelled from her purse, startling her.

“Hello?” she asked, fearful.

“When are you coming back?” Fiona’s voice snapped. “I need you for pictures.”

“We’re heading back soon. Doran insisted we go to this creepy Italian restaurant, Roselli’s.”

“That place is creepy. I’ve heard they’ve been making concrete shoes on the side, if you know what I mean.”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“Whatever. Get back already. I need you.”

“Anything for you, my sweet.” She hung up and chuckled to herself. When the heck is that man coming out?

Finally, Doran appeared. His shirt had a red stain on the bottom that she didn’t remember seeing.

“Did you get sauce on yourself while you took so long?” she asked.

“What?” She pointed to the stain. He frowned. “I guess I did. She let me taste some sauce since they took so long.”

“Interesting. Well, thanks for lunch and everything. I’ll probably eat at my desk, but it was fun.” She felt she should be nice to the man since he bought her lunch and all.

“No problem,” he grabbed her hand, which she nearly thrust away, but decided to stay civil. “I like spending time with you.”

“Right.”

They walked silently back to the office. She insisted when they arrived she’d just go back in by herself and hurried back to her desk. She sat for a moment, contemplating what had happened. She traced the lines of her palms, memorizing the way it felt to have his hand in hers.

“Let’s get to this, Dora,” Fiona snapped. “I don’t have all day.”

Isadora sighed and tried to forget the man she so loathed made her feel anything at all (even though her hand still tingled from his touch.)

Chapter 3

“And then he held my hand, and it was weird,” Isadora said to Georgia the next morning after thinking over her lunch the day before. She’d stayed late at work, throwing herself into the paper cover, mostly to avoid Doran, her step-mother, and her father. It felt too awkward. “I think I need my own place.”

“I thought you hated that guy,” Georgia gave a thoughtful frown. “Do you like him now?”

“No, I still don’t like him. Why would you think that?”

“Well, I walked up to ask you to get some articles done ASAP, and you talked to me for twenty minutes about him. For the first ten or so, you discussed how ‘damn handsome’ he is.”

“I could’ve sworn you asked about the lunch for some reason.”

“No, I didn’t care about it.”

“Right. I’ll get to those articles right away.” Fiona approached with a serious look on her face. “Good morning, Fiona. Did you get your story done?”

“I was just going to ask that,” Georgia commented. “That was mostly why I came over, but then I got roped into this conversation about Dora’s step-brother. Which I really, really didn’t want to get roped into.”

“Where did you say you and Doran went to lunch at yesterday?” Fiona asked carefully.

“Roselli’s,” Isadora responded. “The food wasn’t as good as I hoped. My mom’s food was way better.”

“Did you realize if we call you Dora, and his name is Doran, it’s like the same name?” Georgia gave an expectant frown. Fiona and Isadora gave her a look in return. “I don’t know if I’ve been listening for this whole time.”

“Roselli’sexploded this morning,” Fiona said.

“What?!” Georgia and Isadora asked, shocked.

“Yeah, it seems they closed right after your lunch there. They didn’t open again for dinner, and this morning, they exploded.”

“Oh my god. I feel bad about criticizing the food then,” Isadora said sadly.

“Do they know what happened?” Georgia asked.

“Not yet. I happened to be jogging by when the first responders came. I stuck around a little bit. I heard there were a few bodies inside they think might have been shot.”

“Jesus. I wonder if it was the rude waitress.”

“This is a great story. I am so glad you stumbled upon it.”

“Yeah. I just think it’s weird that Isadora and Doran were just there, and the place had possible mob ties.”

“What does that have to do with us?”

“This has been great, but I have to get to work. You two please also get to work, huh?”

“Okay,” they both answered. Georgia nodded and went on her way.

Isadora turned to her friend, “What are you getting at with this?”

“Do you know anything about Doran’s dad?” Fiona responded.

“No. He lives in Ireland, that’s the extent I know about him.”

“Maybe you should ask his mom about it. I’m doing some research, but I haven’t figured it all out yet.” Fiona’s phone rang. “Excuse me, I have to take this.”

Isadora watched her go, wondering what she could be getting at. Doran wasn’t her favorite person, but he couldn’t be a cold-hearted killer. Of course, he was a Navy SEAL, and they aren’t exactly the non-killing type (as far as she knew.) She thought about calling her dad to clear things up, but he would never say anything bad about his pride and joy. She didn’t want to think about it - articles upon articles had to be looked over and designed.

Fiona disappeared for the rest of the day, chasing down her story. Isadora worked hard to get her work done, skipping lunch to get done faster. Georgia seemed pleased, delivering coffee and snacks every so often to her “favorite editor.” Towards the end of the day, Adam approached looking weathered from the long day.

“Hey Dora, how’s it going?” he asked, leaning on her desk. “Your compatriot seems to have deserted you.”

“She was on deadline,” Isadora smiled. “How are you?”

“Fine. We got the paper printed, and it’s going out tomorrow. What do you say we go out to that dinner I mentioned? I noticed you didn’t do lunch today.”

“I would like that. I’m a little grubby though. Could I go home and change, then meet you somewhere?”

“Sure. I have some finishing up to do anyway. How about the hipster bar downtown?”

“Sounds good. I’ll see you there.”

She smiled, checking him out as he walked away. Excitement flowed through her system - she finally had a chance with him. He finally asked her out. She quickly finished up and rushed home. In her mind, she planned out her outfit. She’d have to take a shower, shave her legs, and look fantastic.

“Isa, is that you?” her father’s voice came from the kitchen.

“I’m in a hurry right now, Dad,” she responded. “Can we talk later?”

“Do you know anything about Roselli’s?” he asked, moving into the foyer as she tried to run up the stairs.

“Fiona told me about it this morning. I have a date though, Dad. I need to un-awful myself ‘cause this is important.”

“I just… wanted to tell you to keep a low profile for a while.”

“Okay. I will try to keep under the radar of the paparazzi. Can I shower now?”

“Of course,” he gave a slight smile and let her move further up the stairs. “Isa?”

“Yeah?”

“You don’t look awful. You never can. You have the best parts of your mother in you.”

“Uh… thanks, Dad.”

She continued up the stairs to get ready. Normally, she would spend a little more time (okay, a lot more time) getting ready for a date, but she had to appear cool and not superficial. She braided her dark hair and put on enough makeup for the “natural look.” She wore a simple all black outfit and her favorite red flats. She rushed back out, avoiding her father (who sounded like he might’ve been crying) and rode her bike to the bar.

She had to stay responsible.

Adam stood outside, texting on his phone. She smiled, walking up to him with confidence.

“Hey, have you been here long?” she asked, hoping he hadn’t.

“Hey!” he greeted. “I literally just got here.”

“Wonderful!”

“You look very pretty tonight. You cleaned up good, kid.”

“Thanks, Adam. I appreciate it.” Is that a sexy thing to say? Maybe not.

They walked in together. The hostess greeted Adam with a familiar smile and welcoming words. She seated the two in a private booth near the back, the “VIP booth.” Isadora felt very much like a courted female, and she very much enjoyed it.

“You must have an in here,” she said as they sat down and were immediately brought the signature drink of the bar, a Dark and Stormy.

He laughed, “I do. I’m pretty close with the owner.”

“Awesome. I hope we get the VIP treatment then.”

“Yeah, Penny the hostess loves to say it’s VIP. We should get to business though.”

She sipped her drink, “Special date business?”

“Date business?”

“Yeah. Aren’t we on…”

“You’re funny, Dora. You know Victor and I are together.”

“Victor is your roommate.”

“I guess technically he is. But now he’s my fiancé. I wanted to ask you if you’d be in the wedding party.”

Her heart dropped to her feet, into the fathoms of her toes. “Your wedding party?”

“Yeah. You’re one of my favorite people, Dora.”

Oh. My. God.

Just then, Victor, a blonde man with impossible cheekbones, walked up with a grin, “Dora! How nice to see you. Has Adam asked you about the wedding yet?”

“I did. I think she’s a little stunned,” Adam laughed.

Isadora waved for another drink as Victor sat down. The couple started to describe their wedding: the winery, the color scheme, the party favors… every other torturous thing. She sank further and further into the booth cushion. She hoped she could be sucked into it and disappear into oblivion. Once Adam and Victor started flirting with each other instead of explaining their celebration of love, she escaped in a hurry.

She thought of riding home, but worried her father would judge her for getting home so early. Instead, she walked to her favorite bar and ordered a whiskey neat - she needed more alcohol for such a terrible night.

“Start the day with a tragedy, end with a tragedy,” she said to herself, gulping her drink as she sat alone on the bar patio.

“Hey stranger, where’s your date?” Doran’s voice greeted her.

She looked up into his smiling face, feeling somehow comforted by a familiar person, “He’s getting married to his boyfriend.”

“Sounds like a good date. Can I get you a drink?”

“Please do.”

He touched her hand, then went back into the bar. She gulped the rest of her drink and let the warmth fill the misery she felt. How could she have been so blind? She had no idea Adam and Victor were together - she honestly thought they were just close roommates. Maybe she just hadn’t listened enough, like always.

“I got us a couple shots and asked the bartender to make up his best bad date cocktail,” Doran said as he set down the drinks. “It might be disgusting.”

“Thanks, Doran,” she raised the shot, he clicked glasses, and they drank. She chased it with the “Bad Date Cocktail,” which wasn’t so bad. “How did you find me?”

“Your dad asked me to keep an eye on you. I saw your bike at that hipster place, didn’t see you there, so I went to the next nearest bar. It seems to be this one.”

“Good guess, Sherlock.”

“I expected you to be here with someone, so I’m pleasantly surprised.”

“I’m glad you relish in my misery.”

“I admit, I did get a little jealous when I heard you were on a date. I couldn’t help it.”

“I’m sure you could get a date if you wanted to.” She squeezed his cheeks like a grandmother with her grandchild. “You’re so cute.”

“Women do like a man in uniform,” he grinned, rubbing his cheeks.

“You are legitimately handsome, Doran. I think you’ll be fine,” she said, leaning back in her seat and sipping her drink. “Me, on the other hand, I’m destined to be in love with gay men and die alone.” Though, she thought frankly, that wouldn’t be so bad.

“Yeah right. You’re the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen.”

“Shut up. You’re just saying that because you’re my not-brother.”

“I don’t know what that means, but I’m not just saying that because your dad married my mom. You’re gorgeous.”

“Thanks. That makes me feel a little better. I think also the shot is catching up to me.”

“I aim to please. Want to play some cards?”

“Only if it comes with another drink.”

“Deal.”

They played Slapjack together, slapping the Jacks anytime they saw one. A couple times, they slapped down at the same time, touching hands for an awkward, but strangely erotic moment. She liked the change in him since he’d returned. He seemed more compassionate and loving than before, perhaps even nicer (though she’d mostly been fighting with him since he got back.)

“Maybe we should head home. I have to work tomorrow,” she said.

“That sounds like a good idea,” he answered. “Your dad was worried about you going out anyway.”

“Why is he so worried?”

“I guess he’s worried because of what happened with the Rosellis.”

“Just because our last names are similar doesn’t mean something’s going to happen to us. He thinks if something happens to one Italian family, it’s going to happen to every Italian family.”

“Maybe he has some unfinished business with them or something.”

“Do you think they were involved with,” she whispered, “the mob?”

He laughed, “Do you think that?”

“I heard some stories. Does that mean my dad…”

“I wouldn’t worry about it, Izzy. As you said, just because something happened to them doesn’t mean anything will happen to you. Plus, I’d never let anything happen to you or my mom.”

“But you’d let something happen to my dad?”

He gave a sideways, cocky grin. “I didn’t say that.”

“I think the point is that you didn’t say it.”

“Let’s not get into an argument when we had so much fun. Let’s go.”

She rolled her eyes, but stood to lead the way out. At that moment, she hated the thought of something happening to her father, and Doran letting it happen. Then again, she never completely connected with her father - he worked a lot, and sometimes she resented him for not grieving more for her mother. Isadora could never replace her mom, but it seemed he could.

“I rode my bike here,” she said. “Did you drive?”

“No, I rode my bike too,” he replied. “We can have a nice night-time ride.”

She laughed, “Maybe we should just walk the bikes. Or leave them here.”

“Where’s your sense of adventure, Izzy?”

She conceded, though she wasn’t happy about it, and they indeed did have a pleasant night-time ride. He made jokes to make her laugh, while also guiding them home safely. At one point, they stopped at an intersection, and he put his arm out protectively so she didn’t ride into the street as a car passed.