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“Oh no. I already told you. You didn’t do anything. He did, and he’ll get what’s coming to him.”
Isabel bit her lip. “Did you see the paper this morning? They made a pretty big deal about it. And I saw it on the news. They were talking about how badly he’d beaten you.” So the last part was a lie. It hadn’t actually made the television news. Not that she knew of anyway. But it was working. She had his attention and he was frowning.
“Really? I saw the paper but didn’t see the television reports.”
“Yeah, and it wasn’t just the local news either. I guess because my father was there and someone got wind that it was his daughter’s boyfriend who had been arrested. I felt terrible when they kept repeating how bad your injuries were.” She took a sip of her champagne taking in his how rigid his expression had become. “The worst thing is my sister was telling me this will probably be all over the news at least until the election. My dad’s opponents will no doubt take the story and run with it. Making the Mayor’s daughter’s boyfriend out to be a monster who tore a poor Navy commander to shreds.”
The rigid expression was now an all out scowl. “Is that what they said? The paramedics weren’t even called. I wonder where they’re getting their facts from.”
“Probably the police report. I don’t know, or witnesses,” she sighed. “I can just see it now. The cameras and news crews will be there at every court appearance repeating the story over and over. This is a nightmare. My family is so upset with me about this.”
He sat up straighter, visibly disconcerted. “They shouldn’t be angry with you, Isabel. You didn’t do anything.”
“But they are, especially Pat. This may cost my dad the election. I only wish there was some way to fix this.”
Michael stood up and brought the champagne bottle from the counter. He filled his glass and refreshed hers. She could see his mind was working then he changed the subject. “Can I ask you something?”
She nodded cautiously. “Yes.”
“Where’d you meet this guy?”
“At a wedding shower.” She’d give him as little information about Romero as possible.
“I don’t mean to be out of line here, but I don’t understand how someone as obviously intelligent as you could get involved with the likes of him.”
Tempted to defend Romero, but knowing she was there to convince Michael she was now having second thoughts about him, she refrained. Instead she lied. “I really don’t know.” But she did throw in a jab. “I think maybe I was just taken in by his good looks and his tough guy persona. A lot of women are attracted to that.”
Immediately, his face turned to stone. “Fighting dirty isn’t tough. It’s what cowards do.”
“Fighting dirty?” Anger almost overtook Isabel but she caught herself. Even though she didn’t understand how a one-on-one fight with no weapons and no one else jumping in could be construed as dirty, she nodded. “You’re right. He is a coward.” It almost hurt to say it. Romero might be a lot of things, but a coward certainly wasn’t one of them.
Seemingly content with her response, Michael’s expression morphed into a smile. “So does that mean you’ve made up your mind? You said you were considering breaking things off.”
Isabel sipped her champagne. “I need to talk to him. I haven’t today at all. I’m still too upset about it.”
“What’s there to talk about? The man is a raging monster. You saw him last night. He had no self-control. Don’t you ever worry that…” He stopped and his eyes opened a bit wider. “Has he ever gotten that way with you?”
Isabel shook her head, but she was purposely unconvincing. “No.”
“You sure? You aren’t lying to protect him. Are you Isabel?”
“Can we talk about something else? I’m trying not to think about him today. That’s why I’m here.”
Even with his face so messed up, Isabel was able to see the satisfied undertone of his smile. “I thought we’d made a connection on that first date your sister set up for us. That’s why I was so surprised when you didn’t call me back.”
Isabel resisted rolling her eyes. So surprised. Really? Instead, she decided to stroke his ego. “When my sister started the whole set up, I still hadn’t met Romero. By the time it finally happened I was already seeing him. But believe me.” She lowered her eyes and smiled. “I was really tempted.”
That puffed his chest a little. “I’m glad to hear it. When I saw you last night, my jaw nearly hit the floor. You looked even more amazing than I remembered. And trust me, you left quite an impression.”
He told her about how he’d watched her most the night and how by the time she’d walked over to talk to Pat and Charles he was convinced that boyfriend or not, he should make a move. “Even though things turned out the way they did. I think I made a good call, because look who’s come to pay me a visit already?” He reached over and clinked his glass to hers. “Let’s eat. I put the shrimp cocktail in the fridge.”
He stood up and went to fetch them. Isabel walked over to the small table by the kitchen. She used the time they ate to ask about his work and threw in a few questions about what his colleagues would think when they saw how badly he’d been injured. Each time she noticed how it irked him and he attempted to change the subject.
