Moreno's (Moreno Brothers Series) - Elizabeth Reyes Page 0,7
Isabella. You going to the parranda this Saturday?”
Alejandro noticeably slowed his slathering of butter on the cob and eyed Juan Carlos, but then went back to focusing on what he was doing. Juan Carlos hadn’t lived in Pueblo De Oro long enough to know about her and Alejandro’s history. Taking advantage of this, Isabella smiled, feeling evil. But it was a necessary evil.
“I might, since I’m not allowed to dance yet.”
Juan Carlos smiled even bigger. “I’ve only been to a couple since I moved here, and they’ve been cool. I looked for you both times.”
“Yeah, I haven’t been to any lately. But I have been before, and you’re right. They are fun. I’ll try and make it out this weekend.”
“Good.” He smiled sheepishly. “Last two times I brought my guitara. I’ll bring it again and play for you.”
As Alejandro finished preparing Juan Carlos’s corn and then his friends’, Isabella asked Juan Carlos more about his guitar playing. She knew Alejandro as well as he knew her, and instantly picked up on his change in demeanor during the conversation she continued to have with Juan Carlos. Even if he hadn’t said a word throughout .
Isabella made sure to lay it on thick and did a little extra giggling at anything even remotely silly Juan Carlos said. When Alejandro was done with their food, she realized she may’ve laid it on a little too thick because Juan Carlos was suddenly a little too confident.
“So, what are you doing now?”
“Um . . .” She glanced at Alejandro, whose intense glare practically burned a hole through her, then turned back to Juan Carlos. “Nothing. Just hanging out.”
“Come hang with me at the placita. We’re just—”
“She can’t,” Alejandro said, making her heart spike.
Juan Carlos’s eyes narrowed in obvious confusion. He glanced at Alejandro then Isabella then back at Alejandro. “Why not?”
“Because she’s hanging out here,” he said, simply then added, “With me.”
It took a moment for Juan Carlos to understand Alejandro’s attitude, but once he did, he nodded, even as his friend chuckled. Lifting his elote at Alejandro, he then tipped his bangora at Isabella but said nothing before walking away.
Alejandro eyed Juan Carlos then turned to Isabella. “I’ll be there with you at the parranda this weekend.”
Isabella did her best to hide the smile as her insides burst with excitement. “But I thought you’d be at the dance?”
“Is that where you want me to be, Isa? While you’re at the river listening to this guy play guitar for you?”
“No,” she said too quickly then backpedaled. “I mean I heard you tell that girl you might be at the dance.”
“That was just me being polite with a customer, Isa. Why would I want to go to a dance without you?”
Feeling her heart flutter, Isabella shrugged. “Well, I thought because Cido said you two—”
“Cido,” he said openly and without bothering to lower his voice since their other best friend was busy flirting with three girls buying esquites, “says a lot of shit, but you should know by now he doesn’t speak for me. So, wherever you’re at Saturday night, I’ll be there right next to you.”
This time Isabella did smile. She was not about to argue, not when she’d gotten exactly what she’d wanted: confirmation that, even as he’d gotten older and was now going to high school in the city with older girls, Alejandro was still one hundred percent feeling for her what she felt more profoundly for him with each passing day.
Capítulo 3
The Invite
Isabella
With the pueblo growing so fast, it started happening more often now. Newbies to town, especially older ones who attended the preparatoria in the city, weren’t immediately in the know about Alejandro’s and Isabella’s unspoken claims over each other. But the chisme still got around fast about other things in town, like when the Negrete family bought a huge piece of land on the outskirts of el pueblo. The parades of workers crossing back and forth through town to get to their land and build the lavish ranch and stables were daily. It also created jobs for people in town as well. A whole lot of local handymen were hired. Instead of having to go all the way into the city to look for work, they now had jobs just a twenty-minute walk from town. Faster if they had a car or horses.
As usual, news traveled fast, and word was that the Negrete family consisted of El Vuido Negrete and his three sons. From what Isabella’s mother had heard through the