“Yeah, well, I sure as hell felt like it, let me tell you.” Cindy walked up to them and Alex turned to her. “Never put up with a customer like that, okay? I don’t give a shit about the customer always being right. I’ll kick them out on their asses before I let them treat my employees like that.”
Cindy nodded, smiling. “Thank you, Alex.”
The front door swung open, and a frightened older lady rushed in. “There are two men fighting in the parking lot.”
Sarah rushed out behind Alex as he practically sprinted into the parking lot. All Sarah could think as her heart pounded nearly through her chest was that Angel would be getting there soon. She wondered if maybe he’d arrived early and it might be him fighting the idiot Alex had just thrown out. To her relief, it wasn’t Angel, and the rude jerk was pinned against a car. The much bigger guy fighting him or rather subduing him had his elbow lodged against his throat. The woman who’d been at the restaurant with the guy stood off to the side, crying.
“I want him arrested!” The rude animal gasped, spitting out blood.
It was only when the guy holding him against the car laughed that Sarah made the connection.
Leonardo.
“For what?” Leonardo asked. “For not letting you beat your girl?” Leonardo pulled his arm away from the guy’s throat, picked him up away from the car a few inches, and then slammed him back down. “You fucking pussy!”
“The only one who’s gonna get arrested is you, asshole,” Alex said, pointing at the guy on the car. “For trespassing on my property after I told your ass to leave. Let ’im go,” Alex said to Leonardo.
Leonardo picked him up and then shoved him away. The man stumbled a bit, wiping the blood off his face. Alex lifted his wrist and looked down at his watch. “You have two minutes to get off my property.”
The guy took his time walking to his car. He and his date got in, and he revved it up then skidded out of there like a mad man.
Leonardo, who was nearly as big as Alex, turned back to Alex. “Sorry, man, I didn’t mean to cause any trouble. I’d just driven up when I saw him pushing his girl around. I got out of my car and asked him nicely to stop. He didn’t, so . . .” He shrugged with a smirk. “I went easy on him and just popped his lip open.”
Leonardo flexed his fingers with a grimace.
“Nah,” Alex said. “No worries. I’m glad you did. That’s what dicks like him deserve.” Alex held out a hand and Leonardo shook it. “Thanks for not letting him do that in my parking lot. That’s the last thing I want customers seeing when they drive up.”
Alex explained that the man had just been kicked out for being a rude asshole then talking to his girl the way he had. Sarah was still staring at Leonardo—her brother. Her heart thumped a mile a minute.
Nodding and smiling, Leonardo brought his eyes from Alex’s to Sarah’s. “Sarah, you’re even more beautiful in person.”
“What?” Alex stopped mid-stride, making Sarah look away from Leonardo.
She’d seen that hardened glare on Alex all too many times, so she explained quickly. “This is Leonardo,” she said, “my brother. Angel said he told you about him.”
Alex’s eyes went wide and that glare softened. “Yeah.” He turned back to Leonardo with an understanding smile. “Yeah, he did. So you’re her long lost brother, huh?”
Leonardo smiled a strange little smile and nodded.
“I was meeting with him after my shift,” Sarah explained. She turned to Leonardo, a little confused. “I thought we were meeting later? Did I miss a text or something?”
“No,” he said, looking a little embarrassed suddenly. “I just got here a lot earlier than I thought. My friend, the one I’m staying with tonight, is still at work.” He lifted a shoulder. “I knew you were working, so I figured I’d stop by and check out the restaurant you talk so much about.”
“C’mon in,” Alex said, starting back toward the entrance then turning to Sarah. “Sarah you can take off now if you want.”
As tempted as she was, she knew better. “Angel is meeting me here, actually. He’s coming with us.”
“Ah.” Alex nodded. “Well, then come in and grab a bite or a beer while you wait for Angel. Go ahead and wrap it up Sarah so you can sit and wait with him until Angel gets here.”
Clearly, Angel hadn’t shared the doubts he so obviously had about Leonardo still with Alex; otherwise, she was certain he wouldn’t be so willing to give them time alone. He probably hadn’t told Alex that she hadn’t met Leonardo in person yet either. She knew Alex would have been suspicious or at the very least cautious, yet he’d practically encouraged her to leave with Leonardo—alone.
Sarah had Leonardo sit at the bar while she finished up her last two tables then went to put her apron away and grab her stuff from the back. Alex had the kitchen staff put out a mini dessert buffet on the house to make up for the disturbance they’d been witness to.
Before heading to the bar to sit with Leonardo, Sarah stopped and grabbed a few warm churros from the dessert bar. Cindy and Lilly, another one of the waitresses on duty, stopped by.
“I didn’t know you had a brother,” Cindy said with a big smile.
“What she really means,” Lilly said, smiling even bigger, “is we had no idea you had a brother who looked like him.” Her mouth fell open incredulously. “Oh. My. God. How come this is the first we’ve heard of him?”
Sarah smiled. “It’s a long story. I’ll have to tell you about it another time.”
She walked away before they could ask the millions of questions she could already see dancing in their eyes. Leonardo’s eyes swept up and down her casually as she approached him, and he smiled when they met hers.
“Done?” he asked.
“Yes,” she said, taking the stool next to him at the bar. “Now we just wait for Angel. He should be here real soon. His practice was over about twenty minutes ago. He’s coming straight here.”
Leonardo stared at her for a moment without saying anything then smiled. “I still can’t get over how much your and Omar’s eyes are alike. Of course, his are not nearly as amazing as yours, but, still, you definitely got his eyes.”
Smiling nervously, she turned to Jaime, the bartender who approached them from the other side. Leonardo had a nearly full beer in front of him, so Jaime pointed at Sarah. “Can I get you anything?”
“Just water, Jaime. Thank you,” she said then turned to Leonardo, who was still looking at her. “As many times as I’ve seen you online, it’s weird to actually be with you here in person.”
The conversation felt a little awkward at first, but within minutes, she was feeling more relaxed, and he even had her laughing a few times. Glancing out the window, she caught a glimpse of Angel’s car pulling into the parking lot, and she knew he’d be coming in through the back. Thinking it might be weird to have him come up to them without being able to explain why Leonardo had shown up early first, she excused herself for a moment. She met Angel at the back door just as he walked in. He was holding a single rose, and he handed it to her then brought his hand around her neck and kissed her.
She let the kiss run a little deeper than she normally would at the restaurant during business hours when everyone was there. But she figured they were way in the back. When she finally pulled away, she smiled then brought the rose to her nose and smelled it. “What’s this for?”
“Some guy was selling them on a street corner.” He kissed the tip of her nose sweetly and smiled; her eyes took in the deep dimples that formed on his cheeks, and she sighed. After all these years she’d never get enough of them. “I figured I haven’t brought my sweetheart flowers in a while. Why not?”
Smiling big, she pecked him again, thanking him for being so sweet then remembered, and her stomach got a little tense. Slipping her hand in his, she turned around and started back towards the restaurant. “We’ve had some excitement here today,” she said, turning back to look at his curious face. “So much so your brother saw fit to set up free d
essert for all the customers.”
“What?” he asked, tugging her hand so she stopped just outside the office.
“Some jerk was giving Cindy a hard time. He got really loud and obnoxious, so Alex asked him to leave. The guy refused then started cussing at his girlfriend, and Alex had to physically throw him out.”
“You’re kidding me,” Angel asked with a too amused smile.
He walked into the office, pulling Sarah along with him. “You threw someone out?” Angel asked Alex, who was sitting at the desk.
Alex spun around and smirked. “I’m surprised no one texted you to tell you about it sooner.”
Sarah laughed. “I’ve been busy,” she said. “Otherwise I probably would’ve.”
“That’s right,” Alex said, standing up. “You’ve been entertaining your company. Where’d he go?”
Angel turned to Sarah, his smile not nearly as amused as it’d been just moments ago. “Who are you entertaining?”
“Leonardo is here,” she said nonchalantly.
Angel tilted his head, his forehead furrowing, but said nothing. Then there was the inevitable lift of that very telling annoyed brow. “Why?”
“He roughed up that idiot I kicked out,” Alex informed him as he walked past Sarah and Angel.
Suddenly Angel’s annoyed expression went a bit murderous. “What?” He turned back to Sarah. “Why? Did that guy do something to you?”
“No,” she assured him quickly. “He was rude to Cindy. It was her table.”
“The guy was one of them assholes who like slapping women around.” Alex stopped at the door and explained. “It’s why I had to get physical with his ass. I didn’t like the way he talked to his girl. I guess when Sarah’s brother drove up in the parking lot the guy was being more than disrespectful with his girl, pushing her around or something, so her brother let him have it.” Alex chuckled as he began to walk away. “Popped the guy’s lip good.”
Angel turned back to Sarah again who nodded in confirmation, but she saw that look in his eye—the one she knew all too well. “So how long has he been here?” he asked. “I thought he’d agreed we’d meet with him later?”
Chapter 12
Angel
It was tiny—the almost undetectable movement of her brow—but Angel saw it. The just as seemingly insignificant lift of her chin only confirmed it. Already Sarah was going to become defensive, defensive of a guy she’d only just met for the first time: Leo—her brother.
“He got here earlier than he’d anticipated,” she said, walking over to the cabinet to put the rose Angel had given her away. “So”—she turned back to Angel after closing the cabinet—“since he didn’t have anywhere else to be and his only friend out here was still working, he decided to stop by. I’ve talked to him enough about the restaurant that he knew the name. But he’s only been here for fifteen minutes.”
The defensive expression Angel had definitely noticed just moments ago eased up and she smiled. “It’s not as if I met him on my own somewhere isolated or dangerous. Alex has been here the whole time, and even though Alex said I could leave early, there was no way I was going to until you got here.” She walked past him toward the door but held out her hand. “C’mon, let me introduce you to him. He said he’s looking forward to meeting you.”
Trying not to frown, Angel took her hand and followed her through the main dining room and into the bar. The bartender was just setting a new beer in front of Leo and took his empty bottle. He stood when he saw Sarah and Angel coming. He was bigger than Angel expected.
Sarah did the introducing, and both guys shook hands, smiling politely. “I’ve heard so much about you. I feel like I know you already,” Leo said as he sat back down on his stool. “College football, huh? I haven’t been following. What’s your record so far?”
“Three and 0,” Angel said. “This last one was close. Our defensive line has had some holes lately because of some injuries, but my brother comes back this week, so that’s a good thing. The team we play this week is also three and 0, so after this Saturday, one of us will have a loss.”
Leo’s eyes opened wide in what appeared to be genuine enthusiasm. “That’s gonna be the game to watch this weekend, then. I’ll be on the lookout.”
Angel nodded, taking the stool behind Sarah’s and pulled it up closer to her so his legs came around her. He brought his hand around and rested it on her thigh “So how’s it feel to finally meet your sister in person?”
Leo smiled even bigger and turned his attention to Sarah. “I was just telling her it’s all I’ve thought about for weeks. The anxiousness to see her in person just built with every conversation we had.” He brought his eyes back in Angel’s direction as he lifted his beer bottle to his lips. “You have no idea.”
Leo peered at Angel while taking a swig of his beer. “No, I don’t,” Angel said, refusing to read more into that last comment.
He’d already made a conscious decision, from the moment they’d agreed on a date to meet with Leo, that he’d be open-minded. Angel was giving the guy the benefit of the doubt regardless what his gut said.
“I can’t even imagine,” Angel said as indifferently as he could, “finding out I have another sibling out there at my age.”
They made some more small talk until Leo finished his beer, and then Leo excused himself to the men’s room before they headed out to the marina.
Sarah turned to Angel as soon as Leo was out of hearing range. “So what do you think so far?”
Angel did his best to sound optimistic, though he still wasn’t feeling it. “He seems cool. I like what he did for that girl in the parking lot. It says a lot about a guy who’ll stand up for someone he doesn’t even know, just because he knows it’s the right thing to do.”
It really did. Angel knew Alex was impressed by that as well—probably why he was so quick to tell Sarah it was okay for her to leave early with Leo. But then he had no way of knowing this was their first time meeting.
Sarah’s phone buzzed on the bar counter, and she reached for it as she told Angel how she hadn’t even recognized Leo at first and how she feared when they were told there were two guys fighting outside that it might be Angel and the jerk Alex kicked out.
She read her text then smirked and responded. “I don’t suppose you’d be okay with me accompanying Valerie and her girlfriend to Havasu this weekend for an Oktoberfest thing.” She continued texting without looking up. “She wanted to go out there all summer and never got to, so she’s making up for it now. Sarah glanced behind her then looked up at him, raising a playful brow. “She didn’t say it, but I’m sure it has everything to do with Alex being in Hawaii all weekend. I know she’s been worried about it. I’m sure it’s her way of keeping her mind busy and not driving herself crazy all weekend.”
Angel slipped his hand in hers, glad that Sarah didn’t even seem to be considering it. He remembered how Sarah had caught that stupid lie about him not having seen or talked to Dana in years. “You’re not worried about my weekend in Hawaii, are you?”
“Of course not.” She looked up at him a bit playfully. “I shouldn’t be, right?”
“Of course you shouldn’t,” he said, squeezing her hand. “Sarah, I told you—”
“Then I’m not,” she said quickly, leaning into him. “Not at all. I promise. I was just teasing you.”
Angel wrapped his arms around her and did something he didn’t do too often in the restaurant because he knew it made Sarah uncomfortable to be so blatant; he kissed her softly at first and then he started taking it a little further.
“You two ready?” Leo’s loud voice in such close proximity made Angel flinch and pull away from her.
Sarah looked up at Leo, and Angel couldn’t tell if she was embarrassed or startled—probably both. “Yeah,” she said, her face flushing a bit, confirming to Angel she was a little embarrassed. “We’re ready,” she said, grabbing her purse from the stool.
Angel’s eyes met Leo’s for a second, and the guy
smiled softly but offered no apology for obviously startling them. Without another word, they headed out.
Once out in the parking lot, to Angel’s relief, Leo informed him he’d just follow them. “My friend lives near the marina, so I can just head to his place from there. But first,” he said as he held out his hand before Angel and Sarah walked past his truck toward Angel’s car. “I have something for you, Sarah.”
They stopped just behind Leo’s ride: an older model pickup truck. He opened the passenger door and pulled out a bouquet of roses. Sarah’s hands were immediately at her mouth.
“I asked my mom and sister,” he said, dipping his chin as he walked toward them, “what, if anything, I should bring you, and they both agreed you could never go wrong with flowers.”
Never go wrong?
He handed them to Sarah, and she took them, smiling big. “They’re beautiful. Thank you,” she said then leaned into Leo, bringing her free arm over his shoulder. “You didn’t have to get me anything.”
Leo quickly wrapped both his arms around her back and squeezed. “I wanted to. So glad to finally meet you, Sarah.”
Angel stood there for what he knew was a reasonable amount of time, but still it felt too long. When it was finally over, Sarah and Angel walked away and Leo got in his truck. Angel didn’t say a word even as they placed the roses in his trunk and walked around either side of his car. They got in and Angel started up the car in silence.
“What?” she asked.
Staring straight ahead and then into his rearview mirror, Angel shook his head. “Nothing.”
“You’re being weird.”
Angel had to laugh. What else could he do? Never in a million years did he think he’d be doing what he was doing tonight: going out with Sarah and a dude she’d met just a month ago—a guy who’d just confirmed she’s all he’d thought about lately, had driven hundreds of miles to see her, and had brought her flowers. But what he’d said earlier to Leo was true. He really had no idea what it would feel like to find out he had another sibling out there at this age. Not only that but it was different for both Sarah and Leo. Neither of them had any other blood siblings. Sarah had told him about Leo’s stepsister—one he’d only met a few years ago—no way was that the same.