Armando Returns (Barboza Brothers) (29 page)

She buried her face against his collarbone, tears spilling onto his bare skin. The proposal was unexpected, but it was perfect. She cried with a happiness she had never felt before.

The weekend passed too quickly for Armando and Katie. They woke up early to take a private jet to San Antonio so Katie could get back to work.

And now, on this Monday morning, Armando was driving Katie from the airport to her apartment.

“Please, call in sick again today,” Armando said as he reached for her thigh to give it a gentle squeeze. “You don’t need that job anymore anyway. Let’s just run away and get married. Today.”

Katie shivered at his touch.
“I wish I could, but you should’ve heard my boss when I called in late this morning. I’ll turn in a two week notice today. It’s the right thing to do.” She yawned. “I wish I could’ve slept in, though. I’m exhausted.”

He produced a sly chuckle.
“Hmm. Maybe I should’ve let you sleep instead of keeping you awake all night.”

She giggled.
“No, I’ll go to bed early this evening. I’ll be just fine.”

Armando nodded. All weekend they had a silent understanding to live in the moment. Even though they were engaged now, there was no talk of what would happen when they came back to Texas. He sensed that even though Katie was finally ready to tell her parents about their love—no matter the consequences—it would still be more difficult than he could possibly understand. Instead of adding to her stress with talk of setting a date, or quitting her job immediately to move to California and live with him, he stayed in the present. Basking in their
rekindled love. The more he thought about it, the more he knew it was a gift. Old love becoming new again. Their feelings growing and deepening in ways they never would have experienced if they hadn’t been torn apart years earlier. And he refused to do anything less than treasure each moment with Katie. No reason to talk about how different their lives would’ve been if they had stayed together.

They were together now. Nothing else mattered.

When they pulled into the parking lot at Katie
’s apartment complex, she gasped.

“
What’s wrong?” Armando asked.

“
Cars...oh no…” For a second it looked like she could hyperventilate. “My parents are here. Or at least, my dad is.”

Armando
’s eyes quickly scanned the parking lot. He immediately pulled into the first empty spot, turned off the car, then took her hand. “It’s okay, sweetheart. Don’t be scared. They can’t stop us anymore.”

A thin layer of tears formed in her eyes.
“I know. But I don’t like this.” She craned her neck to look farther down the parking lot, then around the side of the building. “What? That’s Mitch’s car!”

Armando rolled his eyes with a loud groan.
“That’s just great.”

Katie turned in her seat, staring straight ahead through the windshield.
“What the hell are they doing here? Waiting for me upstairs? What about the security company you paid to watch it for me?”

“
They only come by every few hours.” Armando’s head shook gently. “You don’t have to go up there, you know. You can come back home with me.” He put the key in the ignition, ready to start the car again.

She inhaled deeply and said,
“No. I’m not gonna put this off anymore. And I’m sure if I don’t face them now they’ll just bombard me at work. That’s the last thing I need.” She took her phone out of her purse to look for missed calls; there were none.

“
Okay.” Armando turned around to look at the apartment building for any sign of the people Katie dreaded seeing. “I’ll come with you.”

She shook her head rapidly.
“No. Not yet. I wanna see what they have to say first.”

“
Are you sure? I don’t know if I like the idea of you going up there alone.”

Her eyes met his.
“I’m sure. It’s not because I’m scared of what they’ll do to you. I just need to do this by myself. I’ll call if I need you.”

Armando held her gaze, nodding.
“All right.”

A smile flickered across her lips for a moment, and Armando reached behind her head and pulled her forward to give her a long, fervid kiss. When he let her go, he looked in her eyes, his face inches from hers.
“I’ll always love you, Katie. No matter what happens up there, even if you lose your family forever. I’ll always be with you.”

Her beautiful face lit up, and tears spilled down her cheeks.
“I know. And I’ll always love you, too.” She took off her engagement ring and placed it carefully inside a pocket in her purse. “I promise, I’ll tell ‘em we’re engaged
soon
.” Her eyes met his. “I mean it. But one thing at a time.” She gave his lips a quick peck, then opened her door and hopped out, like she was ready to get this over with.

Armando watched her in the rearview mirror. She rushed across the parking lot and to the stairs. When he couldn
’t see her anymore, he got out of the car and ran across the lot, keeping his eyes open and alert.
Surely she didn’t think I’d just sit out in the car waiting for her, did she?

He ran up the metal stairs, taking them two and three at a time, trying to be as quiet as possible. Echoes of angry voices suddenly filled the air as he neared the top. He instantly recognized Dwayne
’s and Lisa’s. And he assumed the male voice he didn’t recognize was Mitch. He hung back in the stairwell, out of sight.

The angriest person was definitely Lisa, whose shrill voice pierced the air. She shouted.
“We were worried about you! You just take off and leave all weekend without telling anyone where you’re going?”

Katie said,
“I’m twenty-eight years old, Mom. I’m way past the age of checking in with my parents when I go out of town. Besides, I sent you a text message. And none of you called to tell me you were gonna show up here this morning.”

Dwayne
’s voice was surprisingly calm. He said, “Honey, you know better than to think I take one of those little messages seriously. I needed to see you and know you were all right. Especially after everything that’s happened.”

“
Well,” Katie said, “As you can see, I’m fine. And if y’all don’t mind, I need you to leave so I can get ready for work.”

Lisa said,
“Work can wait. The four of us need to sit down and get things straightened out before you take off and leave town again. Worry everyone to death.”

“
You’re unbelievable,” Katie said. “For one thing, I have absolutely nothing to say to,” she pointed at Mitch as her eyes stayed on her Lisa’s, “
him
. We’re through. End of story.”

Mitch said,
“Come on, Katie. We can put all this mess behind us. Whatever you did, it doesn’t matter to me. I’m ready to start my life with you.”

Katie scoffed.
“Excuse me? Whatever
I
did? Have you already called Jennifer today? Do you have plans to meet in your car for a quickie at lunch?”

Mitch
’s face instantly reddened. He stared off at the wall in silence.

Dwayne asked,
“What are you talking about?”

Katie looked at her dad.
“He’s cheating. Didn’t anyone tell you?”

Lisa glanced up and down the hall then whispered,
“Shh! Someone might hear you.”

Katie huffed out a sarcastic chuckle.
“Oh, so
now
you care about the volume of the conversation.”

Dwayne stammered for a moment then said,
“Nobody told me about that.” He glanced at Mitch, then stared at Lisa. “You knew about this?”

Lisa rolled her eyes and quietly said,
“It’s not a big deal. He’s a catch. He’s probably got women throwing themselves at him all the time. And Katie works so much. It’ll change after they get married and she can quit her job and spend more time—”

Katie interrupted her.
“Wait. You think I work too much? Are you serious? It’s
my
fault that my fiance cheated? Because I’m not constantly taking care of his,” she cleared her throat, “
needs
? You’re the one who’s out of her mind.”

Dwayne let out a sinister laugh, then said,
“Well, I ain’t gonna put up with some guy cheatin’ on my little girl. Mitch, I suggest you get on outta here before I do something to you we’ll both regret.”

Lisa sighed.
“You’re overreacting, Dwayne.”

“
No, I’m not!” Dwayne grabbed Lisa’s shoulder. “I don’t put up with that shit and you know it. Some guy out there messin’ around, bringin’ home diseases?” He shook his head. “Not to
my
daughter. No way in hell.”

Katie pressed her lips together, trying to keep herself from crying. She was touched, forgetting that that Daddy actually stood up for her sometimes. Her voice on the verge of cracking, she softly said to her father,
“It’s because of his possible career in politics. She wanted me to delete the pictures because it might hurt his career later.”

Mitch inhaled a deep breath and stared down at the floor. Lisa rolled her eyes and fidgeted with her watch.

Dwayne took his hand from his wife
’s shoulder and asked her, “Why do you care so much about whether or not he has a political career? That’s no reason to badger Katie into marrying a guy who—”

Suddenly fuming, Lisa interrupted him with,
“I want her to go on to something more than just the wife of a district judge! It barely even counts as an election!”

“
I see.” Dwayne’s jaw set firmly as he nodded slowly, his eyes fixed on hers. “Didn’t know I was such a disappointment.”

Katie summoned a bit more anger at the mention of Lisa
’s true agenda. “So, you wanted to live through me? Because you had aspirations of being married to someone with higher standing, to impress your friends? Is that what it is? The glamour of being a governor’s wife?”

Lisa
’s silence spoke volumes. So, Katie pressed on as her mom’s eyes bored into hers. She gave her mother a smug grin and said, “Is that the real reason you made me break Armando’s heart? Because you thought he’d never run for public office and make you proud?”

In the shadows, Armando
’s pulse quickened as he waited for their response.

Dwayne
’s face grew sullen. He took a deep breath, then shared a glance with Lisa.

Lisa shook her head.
“That had nothing to do with it. And now’s not the time—”

“
Well, what was it then?” Katie shrugged. “Must’ve been something pretty damn bad for you to leave him for dead in the middle of nowhere.”

Dwayne
’s eyes widened, but he said nothing.

Lisa extended her hand toward Katie in a calming gesture.
“Let’s not overreact here.”

Mitch
’s eyebrows knitted as he asked, “Who’s Armando? Is he the ex-boyfriend you kissed last weekend?”

Lisa brought her hand to her chest, staring at Katie, then quietly uttered,
“What?”

Then they all turned to the sound of footsteps behind them as a man in a suit came out from his hiding place. He cleared his throat and firmly stated,
“I’m right here.”

Katie
’s hands flew to her mouth, covering it as she gasped. But Armando looked in her eyes, holding her in a gentle gaze as he slowly walked toward her, calming her. She kept her eyes only on him, ignoring whatever reaction her parents were having. When he came near he smiled and held out his hand, and she gladly took it. Together they stood, facing her parents.

Lisa
’s nostrils flared. Her eyes were set on Katie as if Armando wasn’t there. Her voice was soft but unmistakably angry. “You selfish little girl.”

Katie was about to scream at Lisa, but her eyes flashed to Dwayne, and Katie did a double take at what she saw.

He simply stared at Armando, his eyes glistening with tears.

Armando gave him a thoughtful stare in return.

Lisa shrugged as she looked Armando up and down, then turned to her husband. “Well? Aren’t you gonna do something?”

Dwayne shot his wife a cold glance, then he looked at Mitch.
“You need to get outta here, boy.” He nodded behind them at the stairwell, his voice stern. “Go on.
Now
.”

As Mitch headed for the stairs, Katie sensed it was time for privacy. She fished her keys from her purse and opened the door as fast as she could.

Everyone filed into the apartment in silence. First Armando, then Dwayne, then a hesitant Lisa, who glowered at Katie as she walked past.

Dwayne waited until Armando took a seat in the corner of the couch, then he sat close by in a recliner. Lisa pulled a chair from the dining room and sat beside her husband, hands folded in her lap.