Alej stopped what he was doing to get a better listen. “Get off me!” a woman said loudly.
Instantly, he headed toward the door. Looking both ways, he spotted the couple near a car several stores down. A man had a woman pushed against a car, and he spoke loudly into her face. Though Alej couldn’t make out exactly what he was saying, he was obviously mad.
“Don’t get involved, hijo,” Alej turned back to his dad, who was standing just inside looking through the window. “Probably just a lover’s quarrel.”
Turning back to the couple just in time to see the guy backslap her, he headed toward them, in spite of his dad’s warning. No fucking way could he stand back and watch a man put his hands on a woman.
“Pendejo!” the woman screamed, going apeshit on him, swatting him with both hands.
But she was no match for the guy who grabbed her hands and slammed her against the car. Alej had already hurried up his pace, but the moment he realized it was Cido—putting his hands on Isa—his insides ignited, and he was in a full sprint.
His fist landed squarely and with full force against Cido’s temple, making him nearly fall and let go of Isa’s hands. Alej charged at him, ready to tear him apart. “Hijo de tu puta madre!
He’d just landed another unforgiving blow to Cido’s face, turning his face into a blood-splattered mess when a car skidded to a stop just behind the car they’d been standing at. “Break it up!”
Alej’s hands were in the air the moment he looked up at the cops pointing guns at them. “He attacked her,” he said breathlessly, his heart still pummeling against his chest.
The cop closest to them nodded. “We saw,” he informed him. “Saw you run out to defend her. You . . .” He motioned to Cido cautiously with his gun. “Hands against the car. Now!”
Watching as they proceeded to take Cido into custody, Alej turned to Isa. “You okay?” She nodded. “What happened?”
“He must’ve followed me here. He confronted me when I got out of the car and was pissed when I told him I came to talk to you.”
One of the cops approached Alej before Isa’s explanation could even register. Cido sat in the car, handcuffed now, his face still a mess as both Alej and Isa were interviewed separately.
“Ha!” Both Alej and the cop interviewing him turned to the other cop who was interviewing Isa by the squad car when they heard the outburst. “This guy’s already facing all kinds of felony charges.” He leaned into the open driver-side door, turning to Cido in the back. “What, are you stupid?”
Alej turned to the back seat of the squad car where Cido’s bloody face stared daggers at him. Alej almost laughed too. Did that hijo de puta really think Alej could ever see him put his hands on Isa and it not end violently? If it hadn’t been for the gun pointed at him at the time, there was no doubt Alej would’ve beaten the motherfucker unconscious. Every muscle in his body still rippled with rage, from the visual alone of seeing him backhand her.
The cops finished up their interviews with Alej and Isa, finally hauled Cido’s ass away, and then had his car impounded. Not only had the idiot followed Isa out here, then attacked her, but he’d parked his car in a loading-only zone.
They were finally alone and free to talk because even his father excused himself after the entire commotion was wrapped up and Alej told him he’d close the restaurant down himself.
“Has that asshole ever done that before?” Alej asked, still not past or sure he’d ever get over seeing Cido putting his fucking hands on her.
“Never. I was as shocked by it as you were.”
Shocked didn’t even begin to describe what Alej was still feeling over the whole ordeal. But he kept that to himself. Searching her eyes, Alej breathed in chunks of air in an attempt to calm himself still. After making absolutely sure Isa wasn’t in any way injured, he managed to calm enough to give her a short tour of the restaurant. But he had something more urgent to discuss with her, now that he finally could.
They ended up in the kitchen, each leaned up against one of the counters facing each other, and Alej’s eyes couldn’t get enough of her. She was even more beautiful than in all the dreams he constantly had about her all these years.
“When you said Cido had told you everything, what did you mean?”
Alej glanced down at her still flat belly. “That you’re pregnant, but it doesn’t matter—”
“Dios mio!” Her hands were at her mouth as he jerked his head up to her big beautiful but suddenly welled up eyes. “Magdalena was right.”
“Who?”
She shook her head. “Is that what he told you?”
“Yeah, you’re not?”
“No! Cido’s never even kissed me.”
His stunned heart doubled over with the anger of knowing that fucker had been behind his heartache all these months. The rest of what she rattled off was all blurred together. That she’d been too shocked to clarify what Cido had said about them living together at the truck festival. That after months of working for them, not weeks the way that asshole made it sound, she and her mother had moved into an apartment behind their house, but only because the trailer park they lived in had gotten so dangerous. And it was only after several more months, when their plumbing went out, they’d been forced to move into their home, but she shared a bedroom with her mom not Cido.
She stopped and shook her head again, her face scrunching in pain. “I waited for you all those years, and then . . . you were married.”
“My wife is gone, Isa. So is the baby. Soy vuido.”
Unbelievably, her pained expression went even more severe as she buried her face in her hands and sobbed. “I’d heard something about that. I’m so sorry. I truly am. I would never wish for something like that no matter—”
Alej wrapped his arms around her, unable to hold back any longer. He bear-hugged her before she could even finish the thought. Overwhelmed by the enchanting scent that was still all Isa even after all this time, he kissed the top of her head. “I know you wouldn’t, mi amor.” Feeling a mix of emotion, Alej did his best to snuff the feelings of guilt. He deserved this, damn it. “Did you forget I know you better than anyone ever will?”
Isa pulled away and looked up at him. “I tried to tell you the day we ran into each other last. I moved out of his place months ago. I’m not even working for him anymore. When you said you knew, I assumed it meant it didn’t matter—”
“I assumed,” he said, cradling her face in his hands now, “that you were going to tell me about the pregnancy.” He squeezed his eyes, remembering the horrific dread of thinking she was about to say it that day. “That you’d be marrying him soon like he’d told me. I couldn’t bear to hear you say it. So, there was never anything romantic between you and Cido?” He searched her sweet eyes. “Then why was he so mad about you coming to see me?”
“There never was, but it’s why I made the decision to move out of his place,” she explained. “He’d begun to get territorial, and even though he was good to me then, and I had no idea if I’d ever see you again, it just didn’t feel right.” She shook her head, her brows pinching as the tears streamed down her face. “I waited all these years for you, Alejandro. After seeing you at the food truck festival and I knew he’d given you the impression that we were actually living together, I wanted you to know the truth so bad.”
“I know now, mi adoración.”
For the first time in all the years he’d dreamed of and prayed for the day he could finally do so again, he leaned in and kissed her lips. It was everything his heart had been yearning for and yet so much more. No words could express the utter euphoria his heart felt at that moment.
None.
Yet, despite the exhilaration his entire body was feeling, there was an urgency inside him. He needed her to understand something before they discussed anything else. Pulling his face away, he brought his arms around her again and tugged her to him.
“I won’t profess to be as pure or as perfect as you. But I need you to know this, mi a
mor.” Pressing his lips together for a moment, he thought about the best way to say it. “I mean no disrespect to my late wife. Because every woman deserves to be cherished by her husband—her soulmate. Only I wasn’t hers, and I swear to you I waited for years for you too. Getting married and giving up the option of being free to be with you, should our paths finally cross again, was not something I’d even consider. I kept saying I would only consider it if I ever met someone who made me feel everything I’d ever felt for you, and I knew that would never happen. But I hadn’t anticipated having to do so because it was the honorable thing to do. It’s the only reason why I didn’t wait. But even that was a fluke, Isa. I swear to you. I’d fought going there despite finally giving into a relationship. I know she thought I was just being mindful that we weren’t married and I didn’t want to disrespect her, especially since we hadn’t even been going out long. Then we got drunk and careless one night. But I promise you, before that, I’d planned on waiting forever for you.”
He waited unsure but hopeful that she’d believe him because it was absolutely true. Isa searched his eyes for a moment without saying anything. Then she tilted her head suddenly as her brows furrowed. “Earlier when you thought I was pregnant, you said it didn’t matter—”
“It didn’t.” He shook his head, smiling at her widening eyes as she stared at him in disbelief. “Eres el amor de mi vida, Isa. After all the years I waited to find you and then seeing you again for the second time since we’d lost touch, I realized my life would never be complete without you. When I heard about the Ochoas’ arrests, I wasn’t sure if you’d been swept up in that mess as well. I scrambled to find you to help get you out of jail. Then I thought of the possibility of them running away to hide in Mexico once they made bail and taking you with them. When I saw the way you looked at me the day I ran into you again, I knew. Even after all these years, I’ve always been able to read you, and I knew you were in as much pain as I was. I kept thinking about it after. Maybe you were pregnant and set to marry him but, like me, it was only because you felt you had no choice. You thought I’d never take you back now. It’s when I decided, short of an actual betrayal while we were together, there’d be no sacrifice I wouldn’t be willing to make to have you back in my life. I’ve been looking for you for weeks now.”
Isa touched his face now, inhaling even as he wiped the tears from her cheeks. “I owe Magdalena a ton of gratitude.” She smiled when he peered at her in question. “My ex-coworker and good friend now. She was with me that second time we ran into each other. She’s the reason why I’m here tonight. I’ve never met someone so persistent, but if it weren’t for that, I wouldn’t be here.”
Alej listened as she told him about everything her friend had uncovered—the conclusions and theories she’d come to and insisting Isa reach out to him to find out if any of it was true.
When she was done, Alej kissed her again softly. “I owe her a lifetime of gratitude because it’s what her persistence has given me now. A lifetime of happiness.”
Feeling Isa wrap her arms around his torso and rest her face against his chest, felt as perfect as it always had. Alej kissed the top of her head, praying he’d never wake from what still felt more like a blissful dream than reality.
“Marry me, Isabella.” She turned up to look at him wide-eyed as her lips quivered. Alejandro nodded with a smile. “I’ve always known it’d be the first thing I’d want to do once I had you back in my life. I’ve waited long enough, Isa. Even finally getting this restaurant going has been bittersweet because you were missing from the picture. Please complete my life and say you’ll marry me.”
“Of course I will, Alej,” she squeaked, bringing her hand over her mouth. “I’ve been dreaming of becoming your wife since I was ten. I just can’t believe it’s finally going to happen.”
“Believe it, mi cielo. Te adoro.
“Y yo a ti.”
Epílogo
Isabella
Technically, they waited to get married. But after having waited so long for their happily-ever-after, Alejandro refused to wait even another day to have Isabella back in his life on the daily. The very next day Isabella gave notice at work, not even a two-week notice. She put in her notice effective that day. It felt rude, but after all the years she’d waited, it felt more than justified.
Her mother was supposed to have moved with her into the house Alejandro and his dad were renting once their lease was up on their apartment, even though Isabella moved in with him immediately. But Isabella hadn’t lied about her mother being very independent as she’d explained to Cido when they moved out of his place. A few weeks after Isabella had moved in with Alejandro, her mother let her know a studio apartment had opened up in the same building they’d been living, one she could afford on her own, and the landlord was allowing her to transfer her lease to that one. She also let her know she intended on renewing her lease once it was up and that she’d be fine. A few years later, when one of her aunts lost her husband, her mother moved back to Mexico to help her raise her children.
The only reason Isabella and Alejandro had waited even the three months they had to get married was because Alejandro was adamant about giving her that princess wedding she’d always dreamed of—one that would rival her quinceañera—and they needed time to plan it. Though after just two months of planning, they had to speed things up before she’d been forced to wear a maternity wedding dress. Just like that, just three months after their reunion, they’d been married in a big beautiful wedding with their first child on the way.
Life couldn’t have been better, and it almost felt worth all the years they’d been forced to be apart. Alejandro had been right about Cido. With assault charges added to his already mounting legal problems, Cido and Octavio fled the country. They were both considered felons on the run, and if either so much as stepped foot into the country again and got caught, they’d go straight to prison and do heavy time. Even their dream team of lawyers couldn’t help them now.
It’d been almost six years since they fled, and Alejandro and Isabella had been married, and they hadn’t heard a word about or from them since. Alejandro’s dad was certain they’d taken their dirty money and opened up a restaurant under assumed names in Mexico. Alejandro had been annoyed that they hadn’t been able to nail them. But all Isabella cared about now was that they never see them again. As long as it’d been, and as much time as they could potentially be slapped with, she was certain they’d never take their chances and come back into the US.
Now Isabella stood there, watching as the moving truck pulled in backwards into the driveway of their beautiful new home at the end of the cul-de-sac in one of La Jolla’s newest and most upscale neighborhoods. Alejandro and his father’s dream of owning a successful restaurant had really taken off. They’d since expanded what started off as a small taco place to what was slowly transforming into a very profitable swankier Mexican restaurant.
“Chava, mijo, ven aqui.”
Isabella held her hand out to Sal, her five-year-old and oldest, before he ran out into the street as he appeared to be readying himself to do. “Stand here with your brothers.” She turned to her three-year-old who was climbing into the wagon with her two-year old. “Alex, be careful you don’t step on Angel, hijo.”
Angel whined as Alex plopped down carelessly next to him, making Isabella shake her head in disapproval. As usual, Alex, the little brute, had been anything but careful. She turned to Alejandro, who got out of the truck and walked over to her with a big smile. Sofia, their baby who Isabella held in her arms, was instantly reaching out to him.
“Come here, princesa.” Taking the baby in his arms, Alejandro leaned in and kissed Isabella. “That’s all of it. That place is cleaned out, and I turned the keys into the landlord. This is officially our new home.”
They both turned to look up at their home. It was literally their new home. They’d been paying month to month at their rental for months because they’d been out of their lease for a while.
But they’d had to wait for the neighborhood and their home to finish being built. Finally given the go-ahead, they’d started moving in just a week ago.
“It’s perfect,” Isabella said, smiling big. “Because I’m never moving again.”
Alejandro laughed, walking toward their open three-car garage where he’d backed up the truck. “Never say never, Isa.”
Sal followed his father as Isabella pulled the wagon with Alex and Angel toward the garage as well. Maybe it was all the times Isabella had moved before she hadn’t had much to pack. But after six years of accumulating furniture and dealing with four children while trying to pack everything and get it moved, Isabella was exhausted and over it. She meant it. The five-bedroom house was perfect for their family. They’d originally planned on stopping at three kids, despite not having gotten a girl even after the third try. Now that she’d accidently gotten pregnant a fourth time and especially because they’d been overjoyed to finally get their princesa, Isabella knew for sure they were done.
As long as they could afford to keep up with the mortgage in this beautiful neighborhood, Isabella didn’t see the point of ever moving again. She wondered why Alejandro hadn’t just turned in the moving truck and moved the rest of their stuff in their van. They’d been at it all week and started sleeping in the new house days ago once their bedroom sets were all in. “There wasn’t a whole lot left to move was there?” she asked as she reached the back of the moving truck. “Did you really still need this big thing?”
“No.” Her husband smiled mischievously. “But there was something else I thought would be easier to move in this.”
Isabella peered at him. “Alejandro, what did you do?”
“You’re the one who said, if we ended the month doing better than expected like the last several months, that we could get it. You have to admit we ended last month with a bang.”
Moreno's: Moreno Brother's prequel (Moreno Brothers) Page 21
