Before Regina could even respond, she walked away in a rush. Not a second later, Brandon was at her side. He stared at her for a moment, his eyes as cold as they ever got. “Something wrong?”
“No.” She nodded, still confused about Sofia’s bizarre behavior.
What would Regina possibly want to discuss with Sofia? Brandon? Hell no! The last thing Regina wanted was to hear Sofia’s explanation of why Brandon wasn’t good enough for her or, worse, details about that moment they shared long ago.
“Are you sure?”
Regina must’ve looked as befuddled or maybe even as annoyed as she felt because Brandon was staring at her as if expecting a better explanation for her sudden change in mood.
“I’m sure,” she said then turned to the girls.
Sarah and Valerie had already walked away, tending to their little ones, and Pat had been called away by her mom. Regina smiled at Bell and Grace, hugging them both good-bye again. Bell told Brandon once again how nice it’d been to meet him, and they finally made their way out of there.
As expected, the mood was a bit tense in his Jeep. Regina hadn’t decided if she’d wait for Brandon to admit that Sofia Moreno was his Sofie from his past or if she’d bring it up on her own.
To her surprise, Brandon got right to it. “Did it bother you?”
She almost blurted out yes! She absolutely hated that the beautiful sexy Sofia with the curves to die for and those annoyingly adorable dimples was the girl from his past. But she took a deep breath and thought it better if she asked him to clarify exactly what he was asking. Did it bother her that it was Sofia or his reaction to seeing her? She still wasn’t sure which was worse.
“Did what bother me?”
“That your ex pretended not to know you.”
Disappointed but glad she asked for clarification, she shook her head. “Not at all.” She was surprised that after everything else that had come to light today he’d think she might be concerned about that. That was the least of her worries. “I had a feeling he might. My cousin Claudia can not only be annoying she can be a real bitch. If he’s been with her long enough that they’ve gone into business together, I’m sure he’s seen that side of her already. He probably figured she wouldn’t be thrilled that he dated her cousin, even if it was a long time ago.”
“Does he still look the same?” Brandon asked, lifting an eyebrow but stared straight ahead.
If this day had gone any other way, Regina might be tempted to smirk at that. But she was fairly certain that Brandon knew just how insignificant seeing Ricardo today was. It had nothing on the strangling feeling of knowing they’d be getting to the topic of Sofia and he might admit to feeling more for her than he’d actually first admitted.
“He does actually,” she said as indifferently as she could, glancing out her window. “His hair’s a little shorter now, but aside from that, he’s still the same as I remember.”
“So what happens if she marries him and he’s around for years? You ever gonna come clean?”
Regina shook her head, feeling a little annoyed that he was focusing on this when there was something so much more pressing she wanted to get to. “I see her once or twice a year if that. We’ve never been close enough that I’d feel compelled to tell her. Besides,” she said, turning back to him, “he’s a very inconsequential part of my past, someone I hadn’t even thought of until the other day when Pat called. We went out one summer, and when it was over, it was over. He wasn’t anybody that made a real difference in my life.”
She stared at him, waiting for a reaction to that. He had to know what she was trying to imply. After today, there was no doubt in her mind. The entire summer she’d spent with Ricardo had nothing on that one moment he and Sofia had shared so long ago.
“Good to know.”
That was his only response, and they were quiet for a while. Was he really not going to address the Morenos and their sister? It wasn’t as if it were something she was looking forward to discussing, but it would kill her wondering why—if Sofia still meant something to him.
She waited for what felt like a very torturous, long, few minutes for him to say something more about today. Anything. She could get creative and somehow bring it back to subject of his unexpected reunion with these people, but he said nothing.
Deciding she wouldn’t bring Sofia up specifically, she didn’t want to beat around the bush for too long, so she sat up straight and went with something close. “So that was interesting, huh? Bet you weren’t expecting to see all your old friends from back when.”
“They’re not old friends, Regina,” he said, staring straight ahead as he drove. “I told you about my neighborhood when I was growing up. I didn’t have friends. And you heard what your brother-in-law said. We didn’t exactly get along.”
Shrugging that aside, Regina reminded him of one thing. “Romero seemed excited about seeing you again after all this time. And everyone was very cordial.” He continued to stare straight ahead and said nothing, so she continued. “The girls said you were handsome but thought you looked a bit intimidating.”
They came to a stop, and Brandon unclenched his hand on the wheel then clenched it again tightly. He finally turned to her. “Is that right? What else did they say?”
His chilly demeanor confused her. Was it possible he didn’t realize she knew who Sofie was? Shouldn’t she be the one feeling a little perturbed about his reaction to seeing her? That after all these years he was obviously still feeling something for her.
“Valerie said you were always different.”
The light turned green, and he was back to staring straight ahead. “Valerie is Alex’s wife, right?”
“Yes,” Regina confirmed. “The petite blond one.” He chuckled dryly, continuing to stare ahead, and Regina peered at him. “What’s funny?”
He lifted a shoulder. “Before today, I don’t remember ever exchanging so much as a word with her.”
Regina watched as his jaw clenched, still confused why he was acting this way. “And that’s funny?”
“Yeah, it is,” he turned to her, but there wasn’t a trace of humor in his eyes. “Because she knows as much about me as I do about her.” Bringing his attention back to the road, Regina noticed how he clenched the wheel again. “Not a goddamned thing.”
Clearly the fact that Valerie would make such a harmless remark was offensive to him. But Regina wasn’t buying that this is what had him all worked up, and it made her insides wild with jealously. As much as she tried to calm herself, she couldn’t help but just put it out there. “Sofia said you’re a good guy.”
Instantly, it felt as if the air had been sucked right out of that Jeep, and they both sat there in suffocating silence.
Chapter Twenty-One
Brandon
The phone rang, and without looking at who it was, Brandon sent it to voicemail. He had a feeling the moment he realized what he was in for today that before the day was over someone would get to Regina about him and Sofie, but he hadn’t expected for it to be her.
“You asked her if I was?” he said, staring straight ahead because he didn’t dare look at her.
He could feel her eyes digging into him. The whole time he’d been stuck standing up there taking those damn pictures he’d seen her with all the yentas and wondered what they were filling her head with. That Sofie would say he was a good guy surprised him. If he weren’t so paranoid about all of them, maybe he would have been glad instead of suspicious.
“No. She just brought it up all on her own,” she said then added. “It actually came out of nowhere.”
He fucking knew it.
His phone rang again. This time he looked down to see who it was, but he didn’t recognize the number, so he sent it to voicemail again.
“Out of nowhere, huh?” he said, pulling onto the freeway exit. “What else did she say?”
“Is there more . . .?”
She stopped before finishing, but the sound of uncertainty in her voice made his he
art speed up, and he turned to her. “More what?”
“More to you and Sofia you didn’t tell me?”
Looking in her worried eyes now for as long as he could before he had to look back at the road, he didn’t see any anger or distrust—just apprehension.
“Why? Did she say there was?”
“Was there?”
His fucking phone rang again. It was the same number from before, but he’d be damned if he were answering it now.
“No, there wasn’t.” he said nearly through his teeth. “Now answer my question, Regina. Did she say there was?”
He turned to face her again, and she was peering at him now. The suspicion was undeniable now. “Why?” she asked, the uncertainty she’d spoken with earlier replaced with a more demanding tone now. “She didn’t say anything else, but is there something you’re thinking or worried she might’ve?”
Brandon gripped the wheel even tighter. His heated pulse was thrumming in his ears. “She didn’t? Did someone else?”
His brain raced, trying to remember if Regina had been alone with Alex or maybe Eric. Had the girls fed her any bullshit about how things had gone down between him and Sofie?
Once again his phone rang. Fuck! He was in no mood to talk to anyone right that second. He could barely contain the heat rising within him, enough to keep the conversation he was having with Regina under control.
Looking at his phone, he saw the same damn number on the screen again.
“Is that the same person calling again?”
Brandon nodded unable to even look at her at that moment. Thoughts of what someone might’ve told her inundated him. But the fact that she was sitting here questioning him with obvious distaste was what really pissed him off.
“You should answer it,” she said. “It might be important.”
Only because he thought giving his mind a break from his infuriating thoughts might help him calm, he hit the button on his earpiece. “Hello?”
“Brandon. Oh my God, I was about to give up and just call Regina. Is she with you?”
The female voice was familiar, but he couldn’t immediately place it. “What? Who is this?”
“This is Pat,” her sister said. “I didn’t want to call Regina because I don’t want her to freak. She plays it off pretty well, but I know when it comes to Daddy she just might. He was unconscious when I got my mom home.” Pat’s voice suddenly broke. “We have no idea how long he’s been out, but he was rushed to the hospital. They think he had a heart attack. I’m just getting here now. Is she with you?”
“Yeah, she is,” Brandon said, glancing at Regina, who was looking out the window.
Feeling the fear suddenly overcome him, fear of seeing Regina freak out replaced every ounce of anger that had started building just minutes ago. Suddenly, he couldn’t care less about any of that.
“Can you please bring her to Mission Hospital?” She rattled off the information about where it was. Then her voice broke again. “Don’t tell her he was rushed here, okay? Just say he wasn’t feeling well so we brought him in. We’ll tell her when she gets here.”
Brandon hung up and turned to Regina, dreading his next words to her. Her brow was arched a little too high, and he knew her interest in the phone call was zero—she was still thinking about whatever it was she’d been told about him and Sofie.
“That was Pat,” he said, and her expression changed immediately. “Your dad’s not feeling well, so they took him to the hospital.”
“What?” The panic was immediate. “That was Pat?” she asked, instantly digging in her purse. “Why did she call you?”
Brandon had no answer for that. He wasn’t even aware Pat had his number. “I don’t know, babe,” he said, reaching his hand out over her knee to try and sooth her. “She just said he wasn’t feeling well. Relax. It might not be anything.”
Regina’s hands were already beginning to shake as she dialed her sister.
“Pat!” she said. “What happened? What’s wrong with Daddy? And why didn’t you call me?”
She was quiet for a moment as Brandon jumped back on the freeway. He listened to her trying to get more out of Pat, but it sounded as if Pat wasn’t giving her much. “What do they mean you don’t know? What was he complaining about? Was something hurting him? Is he running a fever?”
As casually as he could, Brandon stepped on the accelerator. Talking to Pat seemed to have calmed her some, but apparently she wasn’t satisfied because she called her sister Bell as soon as she hung up.
Brandon listened quietly without saying a word, and he was glad she took his hand when he reached out for hers. Her hand still trembled a little, but it wasn’t shaking like when she’d first pulled her phone out.
“Are you sure you’re not keeping anything from me, Bell? Pat said she tried calling me first, but I had no missed calls, yet she called Brandon four times in a row.”
Glancing at the clock, Brandon wondered how long her dad had been out before Pat and her mom got there. He didn’t want to even think it, but if it had been a massive heart attack, her dad might already be dead. He’d hate to think of what Regina might do—how’d she’d react—if they got there and he was gone. Ever since she’d told him about her family not knowing a thing about her breakdown in New York, she’d reiterated how important it was that they never see that side of her. For whatever reason, it was something she was completely ashamed of. And worst yet, she was still insisting she didn’t need her meds.
By the time they got to the hospital, Regina had calmed considerably. Talking to both her sisters had done the trick. She explained to Brandon why Pat had his number.
“She asked for it the last time I had brunch at my parents. She said it was just in case there was ever an emergency. You’d be the closest one to me, especially since I mentioned how often I spend the night at your place.” This seemed to embarrass her, and he actually smiled when she added with a whisper, “My mom and Bell have it too.”
As soon as they were out of the car in the hospital parking lot, he came around and cradled her face with his hands then kissed her. “No matter what, baby, you can handle this. Okay?” He looked into her still-frightened eyes as she nodded. “I love you.”
“I love you too,” she whispered back, and after seeing the suspicion in her eyes earlier, hearing her say it with such sincerity was music to his ears.
~~~
Fortunately, her father was alive, but he was in surgery when they arrived. It almost felt as if Regina had gone numb. She didn’t shake or freak out when she was told that her father, in fact, had suffered a heart attack. He was in surgery to have three stents inserted and would need to have more surgery to have two more inserted on the other side.
The hysterical Regina who’d begun to lose it in the car when she was simply told her father wasn’t feeling well sat next to her mother the whole time, assuring her mom that her dad was going to be okay. Romero held Bell a few times when she’d broken down and cried, and Pat sniffled the whole time. Meanwhile, Regina remained composed and focused on keeping her mother calm.
At one point, Brandon followed her out into the hallway when she excused herself to use the ladies’ room and pulled her aside.
“How you doing?” he asked, looking into her almost glazed-over eyes.
She nodded, glancing away. “I’m okay,” she whispered. “He’s gonna be okay.”
“He is,” Brandon agreed immediately and then said the exact opposite of what he’d always been taught to believe. “It’s okay to cry, babe. If you’re worried or afraid, you can let it out.”
Shaking her head, she smiled weakly. “No, I’m fine.”
He let her go, and she rushed away to the ladies’ room. Brandon actually hoped she was going in there to cry. He knew hearing her dad was in surgery because he’d had a heart attack had to be terrifying.
I’ve never dealt well with loss.
Remembering her story about nearly using a gun to help her deal with the loss of her late husband, ma
de Brandon squeeze his eyes shut. He shuddered to think of how she’d deal if her dad didn’t make it.
The doctors seemed to think they’d caught it in time and he was safe. They’d insert the stents tonight. He’d be monitored for a few days in the hospital, and then he’d see his regular doctor and be scheduled for the second surgery to have the other two stents inserted. The most severely blocked arteries were being taken care of tonight. And while the other two were more than seventy percent blocked, they still could hold off on those so he wouldn’t have to be out so long and they could keep the surgery less invasive.
Brandon was in awe the entire night of how well Regina kept it together. Even after the doctors inadvertently mentioned the ambulance ride to the hospital and Pat and her mother had no choice but to tell Regina the truth that he’d been rushed there in cardiac arrest, she stared at them in silence but didn’t lose it.
By the time her dad had made it safely out of surgery and they’d all gotten a chance to go in and see him, it was early morning. Only two people were allowed in the ICU at once, and Regina asked Brandon to go in with her. The moment she laid eyes on him, Brandon saw it. For the first time since they’d gotten there, her face scrunched up, and for as much as she tried, she had no control over her quivering lips.
“He’s gonna be fine,” Brandon whispered, hugging her and kissing her head.
She clung to him and, to his relief, finally cried against his chest. He slid his hands up and down her back and continued to kiss her head. “Let it out, baby. It’s okay. You’ll feel better.”
As she continued to cry quietly against his chest, Brandon almost resented the fact that her sisters were willing and able to cry openly in front of Regina and she felt the need to be the strong one. Why?
Brandon had never been a religious person. He couldn’t even remember the last time he’d prayed. But seeing how long and how despondently Regina cried against his chest scared the hell out of him. Her dad had gotten through this, this time. Brandon was now actually praying he’d be fine after the next one.