Always Been Mine (Moreno Brothers)

Chapter 1 - Part 1

One year later

Anticipation was something Alex Moreno had experienced many times. He'd mainly felt it after not having seen Valerie for days. It was usually a welcome feeling. The excitement was well worth it in the past. But this anticipation had been building for weeks, if not months. Damn it if it wasn't beginning to get annoying.

What he was feeling now made no sense. For the third time, he wiped his sweaty palms with a napkin and threw it in the trash. He just didn't get it. The anticipation was to be expected. He hadn't seen her in over a year. The nerves that accompanied it were what he didn't understand. What the hell was there to be nervous about? He'd never been nervous about seeing her before.

As the maid of honor and cousin of the bride, Valerie Zuniga was obligated to be at all these events. Alex had had plenty of time to mentally prepare, and he thought he was. Sure, it had been more than a year since he last seen or spoken to her. It still shouldn't be that big a deal. He'd see her, they'd catch up, and that would be the end of it.

He strolled around his parent's backyard. The knot in his stomach was firmly attached and building from the moment he woke up. He tried to concentrate on the final touches. The backyard had been completely transformed. The tables and chairs had arrived early in the morning. A massive canopy almost enclosed the yard in its entirety. Professionally decorated tables with expensive, elaborate flower centerpieces sprawled throughout the yard. His parents didn't mess around when they threw a party. To them, this was huge.

His younger brother Angel would be the first of the siblings to get married. The Moreno's were going all out and sparing no expense. This was only the wedding shower. The wedding was still months away.

Alex glanced around. Everything was pretty much set. Romero and Eric, Angel's two best friends, were setting up the bar. Alex figured since they were Angel's best men in the wedding, he'd let them handle one big thing at this party. What could be more fitting than the bar for those two.

Angel stuck his head out the back door. "You guys ready? We have people arriving."

Eric gave him the thumbs up while Romero continued to obsess over the way the kegs were placed.

Alex walked over to them. "That's enough, Ramon. What are you doing?"

Romero had always gone by his last name. Alex only called him by his first name, Ramon, when he wanted to annoy him.

"You don't know about this." Romero didn't even look up as he kept shifting the keg in the barrel of ice it sat in.

"I run a restaurant with a bar. You're a bouncer."

Romero stood up. "I own a security firm."

Alex loved ribbing Romero. He was the only one of them that hadn't attended college. Instead, he worked as a bouncer at several bars and did some private investigating for a few agencies until he saved up enough to start up his own security firm. He'd actually done well for himself. At twenty-two, he already owned his own business. Even Alex had to admit that was pretty impressive. Of course, he'd never tell him that. It was too much fun clowning him.

"You have two employees." Alex tried not to smirk.

"There's four now, ass. And I'm looking to hire more in case you're interested. I'm gettin' real busy."

"Really?" Eric asked. "I didn't know business was that good."

"Yeah, and I'm branching out now. I just got my PI license. You're looking at Private Eye, Romero."

"No shit?" Eric smiled, impressed. "So you get to spy on people and stuff?"

Alex rolled his eyes. Leave it to Eric to ruin his fun. Romero started telling Eric about all the gadgets he'd recently bought to track people, and Alex lost interest. He turned to see people entering the back yard from the kitchen door. Alex frowned. They were supposed to be coming in through the side gate. He glanced at the side gate. That's when he saw her.