That alone pissed Lila off. “How did he look at you?”
“Like I should be in there working off this fat, not adding more to it.”
Instantly, Lila got at her for continually being so self-deprecating. But Ali cut her off, saying she knew she wasn’t fat. Her point had been that Lila had nothing to worry about. The good thing was that Ali said she’d likely not have time to come in and interview any of those bad boys for a few weeks. She had finals still and a couple of papers to write.
Another thing happened yesterday before Lila had to “run her errands” and be forced to see Marcelo. Bianca had cornered Lila to tell her that her friend Toni would be in town today. She was a cosmetologist who owned her own salon up in Big Bear. According to Bianca, Toni was highly skilled and willing to give Lila a makeover for her big night out. So, she’d be getting her hair, nails, and makeup done now.
Ali was excited for Lila. While Lila tried to get on board, it was nerve-wracking. She had to work and thankfully so or she would’ve worried about this all day if she’d had the day off like Bianca tried to give her. But Lila did agree to leave early with Bianca to her home where Lila showered and Toni was set up to work her magic.
To Lila’s surprise, the other girls showed up bearing gifts such as different shoes, jewelry, and perfume she might want to borrow. They broke out the margaritas again; though Lila was so nervous she didn’t have any.
The dress she’d borrowed from Marcelo’s mom, while not a designer dress by any means, was quite glamorous. It was a long black lacy long-sleeved gown. Marcelo’s mom had fixed it so it hugged her body perfectly. The flesh-colored slip underneath covered all the pertinent parts just so but was short enough you could see enough of her long legs underneath. The slit on the front left-hand side also went all the way up to her thigh where the slip underneath ended. The plunging neckline wasn’t too low, but like her sister, being top heavy made the cleavage show that much more dramatically.
“Oh, my God, I love it.” Roni said as the other girls’ jaws dropped, and Drew whistled when Lila walked out of Bianca’s master bathroom in the dress.
“Hot mama!” Drew said, taking her in.
“Oh, that Sly’s gonna be drooling,” Nellie added.
Lila laughed nervously, stepping in front of Bianca’s closet mirrored doors. It was stunning, and Toni had done an amazing job not just styling her hair but doing her glamorous makeup. Lila couldn’t get over how shiny and sleek her long dark tresses looked. It was amazing how far some expensive hair product and styling could go, which reminded her of something.
“My sister’s birthday is just around the corner,” she said, turning to Toni. “I’m getting her contacts finally, and now I’m thinking maybe it’d be nice if I can get her a makeover. She gets down about her looks a lot. If you can do something different to her hair then maybe give her some tips on how to do her hair and makeup on her own, it might give her a little more confidence. I could pay you.”
Toni waved her hand in front of her as she sipped her margarita. “No need. I love doing makeovers. Just let me know when so I can plan a trip down.”
Lila insisted she’d at least pay her for her gas. Though they quickly got back to the subject of her and Sonny. “Now comes the tricky part,” Lila said, pulling the strappy high heel shoes she’d be wearing out of the box. “I’ve only worn these a handful of times but haven’t in a while.”
“Well, it’s a good thing you practiced with those street walker shoes of mine. “Roni laughed. “These don’t look too bad.”
She put them on and practiced walking around in them in Bianca’s big bedroom. “Work it girl,” Toni said, laughing.
They all agreed it’d be better if she’d forgo the necklace, leaving her cleavage to be the center of attention in that area, but she did go with the diamond-studded silver hoop earrings Nellie brought. She also wore the matching diamond-studded silver bangle bracelet.
By the time Sonny arrived to pick her up, she felt ironically like what he’d first called her the night they met at the concert—Cinderella, all done up and ready for the ball.
“Jesus, as if I didn’t think you stunning already. You look amazing,” he said, pulling her to him the moment he was close enough.
He looked beyond amazing himself in his black tux. She’d seen photos of him in tuxedos online, but seeing him in person was beyond breathtaking. Lila didn’t think she’d ever get used to the fact that this was her man. It still felt so surreal.
The girls took a few photos before Lila and Sonny made their exit. Still nervous about tonight, Lila took deep breaths as she sat in the back seat of the town car driving them to the wine-tasting party. “What’s wrong?” Sonny asked, running his hand up and down her thigh.
Lila shrugged. “I’ve never been to anything like this.”
“Just relax.” He lifted her hand to his mouth and kissed it. “You’re gonna be fine.”
When they arrived, she was glad Ali thought to ask Marcelo’s mom about the dress. Everyone was dressed so glamorously. While she felt completely out of her element, at least she didn’t feel underdressed. Lila glanced around as they walked into the posh restaurant bar. Was this the lifestyle she’d really have to get used to?
As if reading her mind, Sonny leaned into her. “I only ever do anything this fancy a handful of times a year,” he whispered in her ear. Lila turned to look at him and he smiled. “Most of the fundraising stuff I do is sports-related: the baseball camp or visiting kids in hospitals and such. I promise you this isn’t the norm or anything you’ll need to prepare to be doing often.”
They walked over to a group of people sitting at a long table. Fortunately, Lila had done her homework and looked up AJ “Rage” Romero, Sonny’s friend whose birthday they were celebrating tonight. She also looked up more of his former teammates and some of his new ones. While his friend from his Padres days lived in the San Diego area, this event was taking place in Hollywood. So, there’d be teammates from both the Padres and the Dodgers in attendance.
Lila could at least say she’d heard of them now. The group greeted them as they arrived at the table. The guys stood up to shake Lila’s hand as Sonny introduced her to AJ’s family, his siblings, and their spouses. AJ had yet to arrive, but she knew who his brothers Nathan and Isaiah were before they were even introduced. The resemblance was uncanny.
Something about Sonny having such a close friend whose short fuse had earned him the nickname Rage gave Lila a tiny bit of solace. She’d seen some of the footage of him losing it on the field. It meant all these good friends of his were used to dealing with someone who had little control of his temper.
God forbid she’d ever lose it like she had in front of all those other athletes, but they might not be so quick to judge. “So, you are for real?” Olivia, AJ’s sister, said with a big smile as she shook Lila’s hand then winked. “Not that Sonny is that big of a ladies’ man or anything of the sort. He’s just been so picky all these years.”
“Not picky,” Sonny interjected, squeezing Lila’s hand. “Careful. And my being so damn careful almost blew up in my face.”
“It did,” Lila reminded him with a smirk.
“That’s right it did.” He winced. “But I fixed it, and now I’m certain she’s exactly what I’d been holding out for.”
Lila’s heart thudded as he continued to walk around the table and introduced her to everyone else. They took a seat and ordered drinks. Sonny assured Lila she’d be fine if she had a glass of wine or two. She agreed to have one but sipped it very slowly.
When AJ arrived, they did the big surprise thing as he entered. Then dinner was served, which Lila wasn’t even aware they’d be having. She thought it was specifically a wine tasting. So, it was a relief since she hadn’t had anything to eat since breakfast. She’d just been too nervous about tonight.
Sonny was asked to pose with a few of his old teammates and then some of his new ones, and Lila was left at the table with AJ’s family. “Why do you c
all him Sonny?” Emi, AJ’s younger sister, asked.
Lila smiled, wiping her mouth with her napkin. “That thing he said about him being careful blowing up in his face? I didn’t know who he was when I met him. I’ve never followed sports.”
She went on to explain about him giving her his middle name and her being so clueless. How because of his promotional tour, their relationship until last week consisted of mostly emails, FaceTime, and phone calls, with a few short visits in between. So, they hadn’t even gone out in public where he’d be recognized and she’d know he was famous. She left out the real reason why she refused to call him Sly or Sylvester even. Ali had since mentioned that Tatiana even sounded like a horny slut. Her sister had mimicked the way Tatiana purred his name when he’d answered the call she’d gotten to hear: Sly Just hearing someone call him that made her think of the bitch. So, she was glad most referred to him as Sabian.
“Oh, wow,” Emi said with a laugh then turned to her brother Nathan. “You see. You said he was dreaming when he’d talked about holding out for someone who didn’t know who he was.”
“I always thought it was possible,” Isaiah, AJ’s other brother, said. “Just because we follow baseball so closely, it seemed like such a long shot that he ever would. But think about it. I bet we could run into an LA Kings player for example and not have a clue who he is since we don’t follow hockey. At least I wouldn’t be able to name a single player on the team.”
“This is true,” Emi agreed, and that made Lila feel less lame about not knowing who Sonny was before last week.
It also made her feel better to hear he really hadn’t lied about why he’d kept the truth from her. Even his friends were aware of his desire to meet someone who didn’t know who he was. It made him all the more attractive to her. Most guys in his position would use their status as a heartthrob superstar athlete to get as many women as they could. Sonny had done just the opposite, played his status down in exchange for a deeper connection with someone ordinary like Lila rather than a superficial one with one of the many supermodels and other celebrities so easily accessible to him.
Everything had been going smoothly. There hadn’t been any uncomfortable situations, and Lila hadn’t let any F-bombs slip. If it hadn’t been for a couple things that happened toward the end of the evening, Lila might’ve called it a solid success.
First, they’d done enough moving about the restaurant, mingling and Sonny impressing Lila to no end with his charm and wit. But she’d spent most of her time talking with AJ’s sisters and sisters-in-law. They were all so sweet and welcoming, and Lila had no doubt that, like the ladies from 5th Street, she’d fit in with these women just fine, despite their different lifestyles.
Then it happened. Sonny had moved away to talk with AJ, his brothers, his cousin, and a couple of older guys he said were AJ’s uncles. He’d warned Lila they could be loud and a little obnoxious, something they’d immediately confirmed when she met them. They could also give Lila a run for her money with the amount of F-bombs they dropped even with their nephews telling them to bring it down a notch—more than once.
They spoke so loud Lila could pretty much follow their conversation along with the one she was having with AJ’s sisters. Someone in the crowd of loudmouths ribbed Sonny about finally getting serious with a girl. Then one of his uncles was quick to point out that Sonny had been pretty fucking serious about Emi once upon a time there.
Lila hadn’t missed the way someone hissed at him to “shut the fuck up,” and their voices were hushed, but instantly she was annoyed. If they were speaking of Emi, AJ’s sister who’d she’d spent so much time pleasantly chatting with tonight, the least Sonny could’ve done was give Lila a heads-up. It was awkward as shit because just as Lila had heard the comment loud and clear, she was sure Emi had too.
Olivia continued what she’d been talking about, her expanding dog-grooming business. But the words were out there now, lingering in the air like the elephant in the room no one addressed. Just making eye contact with Emi felt uncomfortable after the fact.
By the time the evening was over, Lila was more than relieved. Despite the uncomfortable turn the evening had taken, she’d had a nice enough time. But aside from the surprise about Emi, her head had begun to spin a little with all the different athletes and even a few celebrities she did recognize. It felt like she had to be “on” the whole time, and she was ready to be off already. For as glamorous as she knew she looked, she still didn’t feel as sophisticated as some of the other women there, who clearly did this often.
The moment they were in the privacy of the back of the town car, Sonny addressed what was obviously on Lila’s mind. “In case you’re wondering, yes, it is Emi, AJ’s sister, who his uncle was talking about. And, yes, she is probably one of the few women I dated who I ever began to feel serious about.”
Feeling a flash of jealousy and even more annoyed that he hadn’t told her before tonight, she turned to him, lifting a brow, but before she could say anything he went on. “I would’ve mentioned it, but I knew you were already nervous about tonight. I didn’t want you preoccupied with that. I figured, since the Romeros are a family I plan on staying close to, I did plan on telling you after tonight in case it ever came up later.” He shrugged, kissing her hand. “I should’ve figured, with his loud-ass uncles there, it’d come up sooner than I anticipated. It’s no big deal. We didn’t date long, and as you can see, she’s happily married now. In fact,” he added with a chuckle. “She dumped my ass for her husband.”
That floored Lila, not that Emi wasn’t attractive. Despite the extra curves, she had a cute shape, something Lila kept trying to convince her sister of—that guys liked curves. Both Emi and her sister Olivia had some major hourglass figures, and both their husbands were damn hot; though Lila wouldn’t be admitting that to Sonny. Except now Sonny was telling her even he’d had a serious thing for Emi and she dumped him?
“You might’ve shared that with me when I told you about Marcelo cheating on me.”
“She didn’t cheat on me,” he clarified. “I guess she and Syd had been good friends for a long time, and she didn’t realize her feelings for him until she and I started dating. She didn’t start seeing him until after she broke things off with me, but she admitted he was the reason why she did.”
Lila refrained from asking if he’d slept with her. Since he said she was one of the only girls he’d ever taken seriously, the answer to that was likely yes. Lila didn’t need the visuals anytime she was around the girl again. Besides, obviously, Emi hadn’t felt enough for Sonny. She was married now and had been more than gracious tonight. Lila didn’t want to hate her, but she was curious.
“How long ago?”
“Years,” he said. “She’s since gotten married and even had a couple of kids. What happened between us is ancient history and never even brought up now for obvious reasons. Why make her husband or anyone I’m with uncomfortable, right? But Manny and Max are a different story. They don’t do subtle or tact for that matter.”
As if that little revelation hadn’t been enough to nearly sour the otherwise pleasant evening, Sonny’s phone lit up in the center console, distracting them both momentarily. It wasn’t lit long because he sent it to voicemail. But it was long enough for Lila to see the name on the screen: Tatiana. Sonny set the phone back down after sending it to voicemail, and Lila glanced out the window, determined not to let the bitch ruin her evening. But she had to ask, so she turned back to him. “I thought you said you blocked her.”
“I meant to.” He reached for his phone again with a frown. “But I forgot to. I hadn’t heard from her since the day I cut all ties with her. Not until tonight that is. It’s the second time she’s called.”
The screen lit up again, this time with what looked like a text. “That from her?”
“Yeah.” He nodded, unlocking his screen, then chuckled under his breath and tapped his screen. “She must be drunk.”
He turned to Lila, leaning in to kiss h
er, but she pulled back, eyeing him curiously. “What did she say?”
Pressing his lips together, he seemed to think about it for a moment. “She’s inviting me to stop by her place.”
Lila’s brow arched immediately. “Even after you dismissed her? What did you say?”
“I didn’t. I’m not encouraging that shit with any kind of response. I just added her to my auto-reject list. I won’t even see when or if she ever calls or texts me again.”
He leaned in once again to kiss her. Lila let him this time as what he’d just told her sunk in. This bitch knew he and Lila were a couple now, and she was still inviting him to come down to her place? Taking a deep breath even as Sonny reiterated that Tatiana was officially blocked, Lila reminded herself of two things. She had to because he couldn’t physically block her if he ever saw her again and he was bound to.
One: she’d never fight over a man. And two: a disrespectful whore throwing herself at a taken man—even if it was Lila’s man—was not worth going to jail for.
Chapter 19
Sonny
In the following weeks after Sonny successfully blocked Tatiana from all his social media, phone, and email, she seemed to have taken the hint. It also seemed Gio and Noah were using her less and less for any press-related stuff around 5th Street, especially given that their latest up-and-coming prize fighter refused to work with Tatiana. But she’d still be an ever-present face at the press conferences that had anything to do with the Dodgers.
Sonny made sure to be completely honest with Lila about this. While it didn’t sit well with her to know Tatiana would still have limited access to him, she understood that was out of his hands. All Sonny could do was promise her she had nothing to worry about. He wouldn’t be allowing Tatiana’s nonsense to come between him and Lila.
Lila now had other things to keep her preoccupied when he wasn’t around. Her career as a professional boxer was moving fast. She’d had several official fights now under her belt, all won by TKO but not against anyone that mattered. Styles had just said she needed to start setting a record, even if it was against unknown fighters like herself. Getting a fight lined up against someone that really mattered would take having an impressive record. So far, Lila was undefeated and starting to make a buzz.