What She Doesn't Know

Chapter 15

A glow personified itself around Isabella as she walked down the steps in the morning to make breakfast for the guys. Thoughts of making breakfast for her children and her husband crossed her mind. She would busy herself around the kitchen with kids screaming and throwing food at one another.

The kitchen would be a disaster and her sleep levels would drastically deteriorate. That's the cost of being a mother she supposed. Her hand rested on her barren belly. Her thoughts moved to Leo. He was barely around and when he was, they barely spoke. Bringing children into their lives now would be a mistake.

Sadness clouded over and her mood changed. Last night was a moment of weakness for both of them. Leo was angered and she was upset. What did sex accomplish if they couldn't fortify a solid relationship outside of the bedroom?

"Good morning, Mrs. Moretti." Thank God for Derek, or else her thoughts would have taken her down a darker road she did not wish to enter.

Plastering on a smile, she greeted him. "How did you sleep? I'm starting to make some coffee and cereal if you want any."

He took a seat at the table and politely asked for both coffee and cereal. "I slept real good. Your couch is wonderful. Thank you, Mrs. Moretti."

"I believe I told you that you can call me Isabella, Derek."

A blush tinted his cheeks. Calling her by her first name seemed to cross a line in his head because they weren't friends. Her husband was his boss and not to mention, he'd put a bullet in his head for disrespect. "With all due respect, I feel more comfortable calling you Mrs. Moretti."

"That's not a problem at all, Derek." She placed a couple of cereal boxes down on the table with a bowl, spoon, and a gallon of milk to go with it. "The coffee will be ready in a moment."

Derek chose what he wanted and began eating to fill the void of unfamiliarity. Mrs. Moretti was the opposite of Mr. Moretti which unsettled him. The stories in school that were whispered around campus withheld information about his wife. Perhaps the reasoning behind it was because nobody knew. Or if they did, they thought Moretti would shoot them if they spoke a word.

Which made perfect sense. She was beautiful and welcoming while Moretti was dark and domineering.

A cup of freshly brewed coffee was set before him and Mrs. Moretti set her things down a chair over from him. He had finished his first bowl and was pouring a second when she asked if she could check his eye.

He complied and turned his eye to her. Her gentle pad of her thumb brushed the tenderness of his bruise. "Does that hurt?" He shrugged his shoulders. She had dealt with enough patients who would shrug their shoulders in order to mask the pain.

"Let me get you another ice pack. The swelling has gone down, but this is for extra measure."

Derek was grateful that she hadn't pushed the issue of his pain. Every time he blinked he wanted to cringe. She came back with a hand towel wrapped around the pack. "Keep that there for two minutes and then take it off."

He followed her orders and they sat together at the table, eating their breakfast. Mrs. Moretti carried the conversation which Derek was thankful for. He wouldn't know what to say to her, or if he'd say anything at all. He'd probably let the cannon loose and inform her of her husband's real job.

He'd be deader than a dead horse being beaten after being killed.

Mr. Moretti came down moments later. He had on a pair of sweats pants and a loose-fitting white shirt. Derek was taken aback by his choice in style. His hair was no longer combed to perfection but in a disarray.

Moretti sat at the table. Derek's spine immediately straightened. There was no exchange between the two of them as Derek watched Moretti's muscles flex as he reached for a box of cereal and the milk.

"Thank you for your hospitality," Derek said in an attempt to clear the air.

"No problem, kid. You slept well I presume?"

"Yeah. Thanks."

Moretti nodded as he took a bite of his cereal. The air fizzed with tension as no one spoke a word. Mrs. Moretti sensed it and asked him some questions about school, but he couldn't shake the unwelcoming feeling of Moretti's eyes glaring at him.

"What did you do in high school, Mrs. Moretti?"

She smiled and tucked hair behind her ear. He noticed a slight mark of bruising just below her ear, an obvious sign of what had occurred last night. Lucky Moretti. "I played soccer in the fall and ran track in the spring. I was also involved in community service where I first found my love for helping people."

Derek nodded with appreciation. A well-rounded individual. But how did she meet Moretti? He asked her as much.

A feminine giggle left her lips. He looked to Moretti and watched as he took a sip of his coffee as if uninterested in the conversation. "I was in college and a couple of my friends and I went to a bar after one of our nursing exams to let loose. We were sitting at the bar and the bartender was Leo. We got to talking and he asked me out on a date."

Maybe I should be a bartender.

"I said no."

Maybe not.

He looked over at Moretti who huffed. She giggled at him. "The next week my friends and I returned and he asked me again. I said I'd think about it. We didn't go back for three more weeks. After that, I saw him in a coffee shop and he bought my coffee. The rest is history."

Derek still couldn't believe Moretti was turned down. Only stories professed how terrifying trade was with him.

Moretti seemed to be bored with the conversation and leaned back in the chair to stretch. The bottom of his shirt came up and Derek saw little bruises littering his abdomen and trailing lower and higher.

Leo noticed Derek's eyes and smirked. He looked away and saw Mrs. Moretti's cheeks hold a slight hue of pink. Damn, they really got it on while I was in the house with them.

"I have work today and you're coming with me." Leo pointed to Derek. "I'm going to show you some things that will come in handy." Derek gulped.

Isabella began cleaning up the dishes and put the boxes and milk away. "Have fun, but be careful of that eye."

"I will. Thanks, Mrs. Moretti."

"C'mon, kid. I'll get you a change of clothes as well."