Her father nodded but barely flicked a smile. “I’m afraid tonight we won’t get too much time to talk, but I trust Isabel will make arrangements for us to meet another time when we can speak more freely.”

Neither Isabel nor Romero got a chance to answer before he was interrupted by someone with a clipboard and earpiece who knelt down next to him. Her father spoke to the guy for a while before turning back to the table and apologizing. “That’s what I was talking about. It’ll be like this all night.”

Their table was the first asked to come up to the buffet. Since Isabel and Romero were the first back to the table, Romero took advantage to ask Isabel about Jacob. “Why does that guy call you Bell? I thought only your family called you that?”

Isabel glanced at him then down at the napkin she placed on her lap, positioning it just so. He saw her take a deep breath. “We go way back. I knew…” She cleared her throat. “I dated him in high school.” Feeling a heat rise inside him, Romero stared at her but she wouldn’t look at him. Instead, she reached for the salt. “Pat didn’t think you were coming. I didn’t get a chance to tell her.” She stopped when Pat and Art reached the table with their plates.

Romero didn’t care who heard. This was bullshit. He looked right at Pat. “You arranged for her ex-boyfriend to be here tonight because you thought I wouldn’t be?”

Her sister looked scandalized, and Art smirked but said nothing, setting his plate on the table. Isabel put her hand on his leg. “Romero, not here. We’ll talk about this later.”

Pat gathered herself then said, “He is going to be a Lieutenant Commander in the Navy—”

“I don’t give a shit what he is!” Romero sat up in his seat.

Isabel squeezed his leg. “Stop.”

Romero tried his hardest to stay in control of his temper but he really wanted to tell the bitch off right there. She was f**king with the wrong person.

“You need to watch the way you speak to—”

“Pat,” Art interceded. “You need to mind your own business is what you need to do.

Just then, Gina and Isabel’s mom returned to the table. With her eyes and mouth still wide open, Pat put her plate down on the table and glared at Art. If Romero’s expression was anywhere as intense as the anger he was feeling, her mother must have seen it. She then turned to Pat and asked. “What happened?”

“Nothing,” Isabel said, quickly

Romero turned to her and she gave him a look that begged. He took a deep breath. Only for Izzy he’d let this go—for now.

Her mother pressed her lips together and placed her plate on the table then turned to Pat. “Do I need to remind you, all eyes are on us tonight?”

“I’m not the one who—”

“I really don’t care, Patricia.” Her mother spoke through a fake smile. “I’m sure you have something to do with the tension I’m feeling at this table right now. Just sit down and eat.”

They all ate quietly, her father and Charles had obviously gotten sidetracked on the way back, but eventually they made it back.

Even after dinner and all the boring ass speeches they had to sit through, Romero couldn’t even look in Patricia’s direction without glaring. They started a slideshow of all the highlights of Isabel’s dad’d career as a judge. Romero excused himself to the restroom.

With one urinal broken and the other one occupied Romero stepped into a stall instead. He was nearly done when he heard someone step in the restroom talking. “I know, but I’m gonna be real busy for the next few weeks, so I can’t make any promises.” Romero was about to hit the handle to flush with his foot when he heard the next part and froze. “Yeah, but with her dad running for Mayor, this changes everything. This could open a lot of doors for me. I gotta stay close right now—be the ultimate sweetheart. Be patient and don’t worry. If I play my cards right, this will all work out. ”

Romero stood there with one foot in the air and held his breath, trying not to make any noise.

“Okay, I’ll call you and let you know as soon I make a few moves.”

The door opened then closed and there was silence. Whoever that was, had left. Romero’s foot hit the handle and he banged his arm trying to get out of there fast enough. He hadn’t heard Charles speak too much, he’d hardly been at the table. He was too busy networking as he put it. Romero had been too pissed most of the dinner to pay attention to him anyway.

He ran out so fast, he slammed into an older man who hit the floor like a brick. “Oh, shit! You okay?” He bent down to help him up but the old guy was dazed. “Give me a sec, son. I haven’t seen stars like this in years.” He shook his head and blinked hard, making Romero feel worse than he already did.

A woman who’d seen the whole thing rushed over to help. “Do you need help? Should I call someone? An ambulance?”

Great—just what he needed—for Isabel’s dad’s announcement dinner to make headlines for this reason.

“No, I’m okay,” the old guy said.

Romero sighed in relief. Between him and the woman, they got the man on his feet. By the time it was over, he had no idea which direction the person on the phone in the restroom could’ve gone. “Damn it.”

When he got back to the table, Charles wasn’t there. He looked over to where Jacob had been sitting most of the night and he wasn’t there either. He wondered if he should even mention to Isabel what he’d overheard. This could be something or it could be nothing. The guy couldn’t have been talking about Gina. She lived in New York. If it was Charles, it could just be work related, but if it was Jacob…stay close? Be the ultimate sweetheart? What the hell did that mean? To his Izzy? The guy was out of his f**king mind. But Isabel had said he’d be helping out with the campaign.