Then Styles did it. He set up a match impressive even for him. It’d be her first real fight as he put it and just a month away now. She’d be fighting for the title. Lila would be boxing the former Gold medalist from the UK, and now welterweight world champ, Sadie Mannering. Sonny was certain Mannering’s camp was likely thinking they were playing it safe and why Lila was given a shot at the title. Lila was still unknown for the most part. Champs did that when they wanted to hold onto their titles a little longer—fight “bums”—and in the world of boxing, despite Lila’s talent, she was considered worse than a bum. This was her first fight ever against any real contender. Of course, they could mask the fact that they’d agreed to have Mannering fight Lila for that reason by pointing to her undefeated record.
She’d signed her first endorsement with Under Armour, and as promised, Styles got her that fifty grand he’d said he would. She also filmed her first commercial, and much to her relief, she had one simple line. It was basically one of those slow-motion commercials of Lila working out and then running and looking like a hot badass wearing their product. All she had to do was read their slogan at the very end. She had a photo shoot later that week for the posters they’d be using to publicize her much-anticipated debut fight.
Sonny walked into the gym to pick Lila up after her shift there. She’d since bought another car with her endorsement deal money. The car wasn’t brand new and far from fancy, but it was more reliable than the one they had, which they were keeping. Since Sonny was certain he’d be able to pick her up on time, Ali had dropped her off today.
He did a double take when he saw Ali there, not just because she was there when she didn’t need to pick up Lila, but because of how different she looked. Lila had mentioned more than once about Ali’s preoccupation with her weight and the low self-esteem it created. He’d almost forgotten about Lila mentioning that she was getting Ali a makeover. She’d told him about it a few days prior, but he hadn’t seen Ali in the last couple of days. Lila had been pleased with the outcome and now he could see why.
He’d thought Ali adorable from the moment he’d first met her. Not just because of those giant eyes behind the thick lenses, but she was a younger, slightly fuller version of Lila. Despite how much more womanly Lila appeared to be than her younger seemingly docile little sister, Sonny knew better. He’d been privy to her little sister’s spunk from day one.
Though he wasn’t stupid enough to say it out loud, Ali had the kind of curves guys would appreciate, even if they weren’t as rock hard as Lila’s. With her contact lenses now, a new sexier hairdo, and a little more makeup than she’d worn before, Ali might give Lila more to worry about than her sister’s self-image. Already he could see the subtle turning of heads as she waited outside one of the training rooms with a notebook in her hand.
That reminded him of why she was there. Lila had also mentioned her unease about her sister coming down to 5th Street today to interview a few of the thugs from the work-release program. He’d just walked up to Ali when Lila walked up to them as well. “Hey.” He pecked Lila hello then turned to Ali with a smile. “You look different.”
Ali smiled sheepishly. “I’m still getting used to it, but I like it.”
“Your friend did this?” Sonny asked as he slipped his hand into Lila’s.
“Bianca’s friend,” she clarified. “I think she did an excellent job.”
“She did,” Sonny agreed, turning back to Ali. “You look”—he shook his head, trying to find the appropriate words— “very grown up now, womanly?”
He winced, turning back to Lila, hoping he hadn’t chosen the wrong word. She smirked, peering at him. “Not too grown up though. She’s still my baby sister.” Ali rolled her eyes with a smile. “And even though I didn’t think there was anything wrong with the way she looked before”—Lila turned to Ali with a stern look at first then smiled— “I do love the new look and the little pep in your step it seems to have given you. I’ve already seen the way some of these meatheads eyed her as she walked in here today.”
Ali laughed. “You’re too much, Lila. No one is looking at me. But I am grateful to be rid of those glasses. That alone would’ve been enough to have me walking a little happier. So, the rest is just icing.” She smiled big, making Sonny smile with her, because she looked so happy. “Best damn birthday gift ever, but”—the big smile quickly waned as she eyed Lila suspiciously– “I know why you’re here. And you need to be gone. I don’t want you anywhere around threatening these guys I’m interviewing with your evil eye. I’m already nervous enough as it is. Not scared,” she clarified quickly. “Just nervous about not botching this interview. I need to get this right.”
“You’ll do fine,” Lila assured her. “And that would be the old Lila, thank you very much. The new Lila has since turned over a new leaf. My days of snapping without thinking are long behind me.”
Ali scoffed and even Sonny couldn’t keep a straight face when he heard that. Gio walked up to them, mirroring the same double take Sonny had done when he saw Ali. “Wow, you look different.” Ali giggled while Lila smiled proudly. “Bianca said the makeover had made a big difference, but I didn’t think she meant this much.”
“It’s the bottle-cap lenses being gone that make the biggest difference,” Ali said. “It’s what feels most different to me anyway. My head feels lighter.”
She laughed while Lila frowned. “They weren’t that bad. I think you looked cute in them.”
“Yeah, if you’re into nerdy little bookworms with glasses so thick they could see into the future.”
Sonny was distracted by the two guys a few yards behind Gio, walking toward them. One of them fit the description of what Lila had described to him just a few days prior: bald, built like a truck “like he had nothing better to do in jail but work out,” and full of tats. He couldn’t blame her for being uneasy about these guys being free to roam the gym. The guy with him wasn’t nearly as big, but he looked just as thuggish and was equally inked up.
Gio was in the middle of explaining about the guys Ali would be interviewing when the two guys walked up and stopped just behind Gio. “Ready when you are, chief.”
It was the other guy that asked, not the bald one. That idiot was too busy eyeing Lila curiously instead. Lila was facing them as Sonny was, but Gio and Ali had to turn to the guys behind them. “Hey,” Gio, said smiling. “Right on time. Here she is.”
Noah walked by on his phone, distracting Gio. Gio called out to him then turned back to Ali and the guys. “Give me a sec, guys. I gotta tell him something before he leaves.”
He rushed away, leaving the two guys staring blankly at Ali. The bald one sized her up, his brows pinching as the corners of his lips began to curve up. “Jelly.”
The word silenced them all for a moment. Sonny wasn’t sure what the guy meant, but it was clear what Ali and Lila were thinking by their scandalized expressions.
Lila was the first to snap everyone out of their stunned silence, and she did it like only Lila would. “Excuse me?”
“Yeah, it is Jelly.” The guy ignored Lila altogether yet continued to peer at Ali with a bemused expression.
“She has a name and it’s not Jelly, asshole.”
“Whoa!” the guy with him, who’d been just as stunned as the rest of them, finally spoke up then laughed nervously, turning to the asshole. “Dude, what are you doing?”
Ali, who didn’t appear as stunned as she’d first been, reached out and touched Lila’s arm. “Lila, no—”
“No, bullshit!” Lila said, taking a step forward, but Sonny held her back. “That is fucking rude. Who are you to—?”
“Lila, I don’t think he means what you’re thinking,” Ali said, shaking her head adamantly.
“What are you thinking?” the guy asked with an attitude, so Sonny took a step in front of her.
“That Jelly’s an offensive way to refer to someone you don’t even know,” he said, staring the thug down.
“But I do know her,”
the guy retorted.
“And you call her Jelly?” Lila asked, trying to get around Sonny, only he stood firmly in place, not letting her. “That’s still fucking rude.”
“I don’t know what you think it means, but—”
“I know what you meant,” Ali interrupted him then she glanced at Gio, who was on his way back. She turned to Lila with a purpose. “It’s not at all what you’re thinking. I’ll explain later.”
She lowered her voice, but Sonny still heard her ask Lila to please go and that she’d handle it. “Why and how does he know you?”
“From the last time I was here,” Ali said quickly, nudging both Lila and Sonny away.
“So, did you all get acquainted?” Gio asked as he reached them.
“Sort of,” Ali said then turned to Lila. “I’ll call you as soon as I’m done. I promise.”
That last part was mouthed as she shooed them away with her hand then turned back to Gio and the two guys. Lila finally grudgingly walked away.
“Unbelievable.” Lila huffed as they walked out into the parking lot. “What else could the idiot have meant?”
“Ali seemed to be okay with it,” Sonny reminded her. “So, we’ll just have to wait until she calls and explains. I don’t think he’d have been that ballsy if he really meant what we were all thinking.”
“Well, he has done time. The fucktard can’t be the brightest.”
Sonny laughed, opening the passenger side door for her, then leaned in and kissed her. “God, I love my feisty girl.”
It wasn’t until he’d closed the door and started around the car that he realized he’d just dropped the L word on her so nonchalantly. His heart thudded and he felt like the fucktard now. Not sure if he should address it and wondering if she’d even caught it, he took a deep breath before opening the driver’s side door.
The whole drive back to his place, Sonny was a mess. He couldn’t tell if Lila was being weird or if he was just being paranoid. They still spoke of the thugs and Ali, but she didn’t seem nearly as mad as she’d been about it earlier.
Sonny could barely concentrate on everything she was saying as he tried to wrap his brain around what he’d just done. It felt so natural, and he hadn’t meant it in an I love pizza type a way. At the moment, he’d really meant it. While he knew Lila hated how easily she could lose it like she’d begun to do with that guy, Sonny loved how protective she was of her sister. As well she should be. Had it been one of his sisters, he would’ve been just as quick to snap at the asshole.
So, it’d been a heartfelt statement, one he’d never given much thought to as to how he’d go about ever saying it to someone for the first time. Now he’d just blurted it out and neither had addressed it. He had to fix this. This committed and serious relationship thing may be new to him, but he was certain the moment you declare your love for someone should be more memorable and far more romantic than this. There was probably a relationship fail list somewhere he’d just topped.
Deciding he’d deal with his blunder head on, Sonny thought it’d be best if he waited until they got back to his place. He could use the subject to get Lila’s mind off Ali and the whole Jelly incident that still had her riled up. But his plans were derailed when they got to the top of his driveway.
“Whose car is that?” Lila asked, sitting up straight as they came around the circular driveway and parked behind the silver Lincoln Town car.
Sonny refrained from groaning but did let out an exasperated breath. “Guess you’ll be meeting my mom tonight.”
“What?” She turned to him, wide-eyed. “Your mom? Why didn’t you warn—?”
“I didn’t know,” he explained before she could get too worked up. “She does this every now and again. Shows up unannounced. I spoke to her the other day and your name came up. I told her I was seeing someone now—like seriously so—and she said she looked forward to meeting you. But we didn’t make plans to do so.” Shaking his head, he let it fall back on the headrest with a chuckle. “I should’ve known that woman wouldn’t wait on me.”
Without waiting for Lila to react, he got out of the car and came around Lila’s side. She was making her way out but slower than normal. “Sonny, I don’t think I’m ready for this.”
“For what? Meeting her? It’s no big deal. She probably made dinner. It’s what she normally does when she shows up like this. We’ll eat, chat, and then she’ll be on her way. The woman is nonstop. She has a million things always going on.”
Lila eyed him, still looking unsure. Sonny could only hope his mom would be in and out; he had other more pressing things he wanted to get to before this night was over.
They walked in the house hand in hand. Sonny winced when they heard more than one voice coming from the kitchen and some giggling. Lila turned to him, even more wide-eyed now. Sonny squeezed her hand in reassurance. “My sisters,” he said in a lowered voice. “I should’ve known they’d wanna meet you too. I mentioned to my mom that I’ve been having you over after work lately.”
“Santino, is that you?” his mother called from the kitchen.
His sister Millie walked out into the front room where he and Lila were. “Sonny,” she said with a big smile and headed to them.
Madge and his mom followed, both going straight to him. As expected, his mom blew into the room and took over. Sonny didn’t even get a chance to do the introductions. She introduced herself and his sisters, and within minutes, they were all in the dining room, chatting and eating his mom’s homemade tequila-lime shrimp fajitas. “Rose Marie, these are delicious,” Lila said after wiping her mouth then sipping her water.
“Thank you, chiquita,” his mom said then quickly went into the spiel on how easy it was to prepare the shrimp.
Lila and Sonny exchanged glances throughout the dinner as his sisters and mom very quickly and quite skillfully interrogated them but made it sound like a regular conversation. Mostly Sonny could tell they were digging to see just how serious Sonny was about Lila. He was certain they were skeptical that he was taking this any more seriously than all the other times he’d begun to see someone. And here all Sonny could think of was the conversation he’d be having with Lila the moment he got the chance.
“Santino has never called me specifically to tell me about a girl.”
“Mom,” Sonny said, hoping to derail where this was going. “She doesn’t wanna hear about that.”
Lila and his sisters laughed. “Yes, I do,” she said, touching his hand.
“I’m not gonna embarrass you, Mijo,” his mom said, waving him off. “He didn’t say he was calling to tell me about you, but a few minutes into the conversation, it just came out of the blue. ‘I met someone.’ It’s when I knew. This is different. In all the years he’s been traveling around for his baseball and calling me to tell me about life, work, his endorsements, and television appearances, not once has my Santino ever talked about who he’s dating. Not without much reluctance and complete vagueness, and that was only when I brought it up. This time he brought it up, and he wanted to tell me about you. I gotta tell you it made me nervous.”
Lila and Sonny exchanged glances again, and he could see she was touched by this. “You really didn’t know who he was?” Millie asked, shaking her head.
Crinkling her nose and looking a little embarrassed, Lila shook her head. “I had no idea. I’ve never followed sports. I know it sounds stupid with me being a boxer now, but I just didn’t. Before I did a little research on him and his teammates, I honestly couldn’t name a single player on the team, much less recognize any of them, including him.”
“I believe you,” his mother said a little too loudly. “I believe you, chiquita.” She reached out across the table and squeezed Lila’s hand. “Before tonight, I wasn’t so sure.” His mother fell back in her chair as if completely relieved. “Now I’ll sleep better.”
“Mom,” Madge said as surprised by her reaction as Sonny felt.
“What?” his mom said, sitting up. “Don’t tell me you didn’t
have your doubts when I told you he said she’d never heard of him. A girl from Los Angeles.”
His sisters admitted to being a little doubtful too, but also said they were convinced now and very happy for them. By the time his mother and sisters blew out just as fast they’d blown in and judging by his mother's relieved reaction, Sonny knew she’d had one goal tonight: to make sure Lila was the real deal and not just some gold digger playing him. She and his sisters likely planned the whole thing the night he told her about Lila. They’d even called in Evangelina, his regular cleaning lady, to come in tonight to help clean up the mess they’d made in the kitchen. His mom tipped her very generously before once again giving Lila and Sonny crushing hugs and assuring them she’d be back soon.
“Treat her like a princess always, okay?” Sonny nodded with a smile and his mother turned to Lila. “Just don’t break his heart. I honestly don’t think he’d have the first clue how to handle that. I’m telling you—”
“Alright, alright,” Sonny said, nudging his mom off.
His sisters laughed while Lila seemed to blush. Once they were gone, Lila and Sonny headed to his bedroom. He knew she was anxious to shower since she didn’t get a chance to first thing as she normally did when they got to his place.
They stood in his master bathroom, cuddling and giggling about his mom’s comments. They were now undressing each other as they waited for the shower water to warm, when her phone rang in the other room. “Oh, that might be Ali,” she said, rushing out in just her bra and spandex bottoms.
Sonny followed her to the door and waited. She nodded when she picked up her phone and answered, “So, how’d it go?”
That cute brow lifted as she listened silently. “Hmm,” Lila said, not sounding the least bit satisfied with whatever it was her sister was saying. “And why does this excite you, Allison?”