Текст книги "Breaking Brandon"

Автор книги: Elizabeth Reyes

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Текущая страница: 15 (всего у книги 20 страниц)

Shit.

The guy smiled then it seemed to hit him, too, as his face suddenly brightened. He laughed, walking over to them “No fucking way,” the guy said then turned to his daughter who tapped his lips with her little fingers. “I’m sorry, baby,” he said, kissing her fingertips. “Bad daddy.” He turned back to Brandon with a wide smile. “That you, Billings?”

Doing his best to hide how incredibly uncomfortable he suddenly felt, Brandon forced a smile. Regina was already smiling at him quizzically. “You know each other?” she asked.

“Yeah.” Brandon stood up, reaching to meet her brother-in-law’s already outstretched hand. “That would be me,” he confirmed. “Romero, right?”

“Well, I’ll be damned,” Romero laughed, nodding. “You and Gina? Holy shit what a small world.” His expression went a bit serious, but there was no hiding the continued smirk, the one Brandon remembered his smartass wearing all the way from grade school through high school. “She’s my baby sis now. You better be treating her right.”

Regina laughed. “I’m older than you, Romero.”

“Yeah, but much smaller.” He winked.

Just then Mandy squealed loudly and nearly jumped out of Romero’s arms, reaching her hands over his shoulder. “S and S!” she screeched, squirming for Romero to put her down.

All three of them turned as two little girls in frilly dresses, who looked to be a few years older than Mandy, walked into the backyard from the driveway, each holding onto an even younger boy’s hand. Romero lowered Mandy down to the ground, and she ran to them. As they got closer, Brandon could see the two girls Mandy now hugged were identical.

“Oh my God, is that the twins?” Regina asked.

“Yep,” Romero said, looking back at them with a smile. “Sienna and Savannah.”

“They’re so big!” Regina gasped. “Jesus, the last time I saw them they were babies.”

Brandon was still trying to make sense of what this all meant. Just because Romero had been good friends with Sofie’s brothers growing up didn’t mean he kept in touch with them still. Most people lost touch with their childhood friends. He stared at the two little girls, pretending to be as interested as Regina and trying to keep his cool. This was not so bad, he tried convincing himself. It could be worse.

“Yeah, well, that little dude with them is little Alex a.k.a. The Taz.” Romero laughed. “As in Tasmanian Devil. He’s nonstop trouble. And now he has two of them little devils,” Romero shook his head. “Alex has his hands full lemme tell you.”

What Romero had just said didn’t even register until Brandon’s eyes moved up from the kids to the guy standing behind them now, holding a baby carrier in his left hand and a tray of some kind in the other—Alex Moreno—and he was as big as ever.

Brandon watched, frozen to that spot as the petite blond woman walking in behind him in heels as big as Regina’s and carrying a baby bag asked Alex to take the baby inside. Bell walked over to greet them as everyone’s talking began to buzz in Brandon’s ears: Regina and Romero talking about Alex and his siblings and their kids, Romero’s uncles talking loudly and laughing even louder, the kids laughing and squealing, chasing each other around his and Romero’s legs, and then Regina’s words that brought everything to a screeching halt.

“Oh, good, they’re all gonna be here today? I need to catch up with them. I haven’t seen any of them in years.”

Well. Fuck. Me.

“So how do you two know each other?” Regina asked, smiling as she leaned into Brandon.

“We grew up in the same neighborhood,” Romero answered first. “Izzy told me you were seeing a marine.” He turned to Brandon, his eyes still big with enthusiasm. “I knew you were in the Marines, but even when she told me Gina’s new boyfriend’s name was Brandon, I never would’ve imagined it was the same one. This is some crazy shit.” Romero turned toward the back door then back to Brandon and pointed with his thumb. “You remember the Morenos, right? That’s Alex and his brood there. Remember Valerie from high school? After all their drama . . .” He laughed. “Those two are married now. They all are, and . . .” He stopped and seemed to ponder something for a second, bringing his fist to his mouth.” Er, you guys didn’t get along the greatest back then, huh?”

Regina and Brandon exchanged glances; then Romero tapped his arm and laughed. “That was a long time ago. Some people may disagree, but I think we’ve all matured since then.”

Romero puffed his chest, making Regina laugh. “Yeah my sister would definitely disagree.”

Just as Romero began to protest, there was an outbreak of laughter, wheezing, and snorting coming from the table behind him. “No fucking lie!” His uncle was saying to Regina’s sister Patricia, pointing at the other guy at the table. “Just ask him. Tell ’er, Max. And don’t leave shit out.”

“Hey!” Romero called out loudly with a frown. His uncles both looked up at him, still laughing. “Watch the language. There’s a bunch of kids around!”

“Not to mention ladies,” her sister Patricia added with a raised brow and a smirk.”

“Where?” his uncle asked, looking around as animated as ever, and the laughter erupted once again.

Romero rolled his eyes, turning back to Regina. “Okay, maybe not everyone’s matured.”

Regina laughed, but something distracted her. “I still mix them up,” she said, looking in the direction of the driveway with the smile. “They all look so much alike. Which one is that one?”

Both Brandon and Romero turned at the same time. “That’s Angel,” Romero said, waving him over.

Again as if frozen in time, Brandon watched as Angel waved but motioned he’d be over in a bit. Both he and his wife, who Brandon remembered as Sarah, his girl from way back, were surrounded by Regina’s mom and some of her other relatives greeting them, including Valerie who’d resurfaced from within that back sliding door. This was a fucking nightmare—Brandon’s worst nightmare. For a moment, he actually considered that he might be getting punked.

“They’re gonna trip out when they find out you’re Gina’s new man.”

“Why?” Regina asked smiling—obviously oblivious as to what was unfolding before her eyes.

Brandon turned in time to catch Romero wink at her. “You gotta know the history. We all go way back.”

It had just dawned on Brandon that since he realized who Regina’s brother-in-law was and that he’d shortly be reunited with the last family on earth he ever wanted to be reunited with he hadn’t uttered a single word—he’d gone mute.

“I know that one,” Regina said. “That’s their sister, right?”

Swallowing hard, Brandon didn’t even want to look. He kept his eyes on Romero, who glanced in the same direction Regina was focused on—the driveway. “Yep, that’s Sof.” He turned back to Brandon with an evil grin. “Betcha remember her, huh, Brandon?”

Feeling his insides warm by the second, Brandon knew there was a choice to be made here. Either he turned to look at Regina, who he could feel staring at him or turn in the direction of the driveway. Still hoping this day—this whole fucking situation—could be salvaged somehow, he chose the latter and turned in the direction of the driveway.

Sofie was addressing the little girl whose hand she was holding. Eric walked up next to her, holding a sleeping baby against his shoulder and was quickly mobbed by a few women wanting a better look at the baby. The little girl had the same huge brown eyes as Sofie. Then Sofie glanced up, meeting Brandon’s eyes for a second before looking down at the little girl again. Not a second later, her head jerked up, and their eyes locked.

Chapter Twenty

Regina

Betcha remember her, huh, Brandon?

It wasn’t so much Romero’s question as it was Brandon’s reaction to it that had Regina slowly coming unglued. As if watching the uncomfortably long moment he and Sofia shared when they first saw each other hadn’t been enough to make Regina’s skin crawl, what Romero had said suddenly sunk in. Brandon grew up with these people, the junkyard dog brothers who didn’t like him around their sister. Brandon had practically frozen at the sight of her then was in no way able to recover casually from what seeing her had done to him.

Sofie.

This was the girl from Brandon’s past—the only girl he’d had such heavy feelings for before Regina—the girl who’d started off the chain of events that ultimately led him to give up attachments of any sort, to stop living.

Regina wanted to think rationally. That was a long time ago. Sofia was happily married now and had been for years. Brandon was in love with Regina now, and she absolutely believed that—his feelings for her were practically tangible. But that moment he and Sofia shared had spoken volumes. There was still something there, and Regina, who’d never once been insecure, was now drowning in utter jealousy. As special as Brandon made her feel, Sofia was even more special to him. She’d been his very first real experience—the only girl to have touched him in such a way he’d never forgotten her. Evidently, no matter how many years had gone by, he was still feeling something.

Regina had always liked Sofia. She’d always liked the entire family. They were beyond pleasant to be around, and she’d even had some great conversations and good times with Sofia and her sisters-in-law at gatherings like this one. There was never anything not to like about them, until now. She knew what growing up around them had been like for Brandon, but, at that moment, Regina knew she could very easily hate Sofia.

It was irrational, she knew. Sofia had never been anything but sweet to Regina, but it killed her to know Sofia was the cause of Brandon’s first broken heart. Regina knew now that Sofia had used him to alleviate her curiosity, but if she’d been the least bit interested in him in any other way—she’d been his first choice—Sofia might be here with Brandon instead of Regina. The only reason Brandon had even noticed Regina to begin with was because she’d reminded him of Sofia.

What’s past is prologue. What’s past is prologue.

Regina closed her eyes for a moment in a desperate attempt to calm herself. She reminded herself that if things had gone differently in her life, she, too, might be here with someone else, her husband, Ryan. Regardless of why and how things had come about between Regina and Brandon, everything happened for a reason, and that’s why he was here with her now.

Brandon tugged her hand. “Your sister’s calling you, babe.”

Regina snapped out of her thoughts to turn in Pat’s direction. She was standing with her cousin Claudia and Ricardo, motioning for her to come over. Great.

Forcing a smile, she turned to Brandon, who’d now snapped out of the stupor Sofia had put him in. He smiled back at her in what felt like a hopeful smile. Hopeful of what? That she hadn’t caught the gazing exchange between him and Sofia? Or that she still hadn’t picked up on who she was? Starting toward her sister, she pulled Brandon along with her. “Come on. It’s time to meet Ricardo.”

Ironically, coming here today, she’d thought this might be the most uncomfortable moment she and Brandon would be dealing with. Pat wore a mischievous grin. Before she could say anything, Regina shook off the unnerving thoughts of Brandon and Sofia. She smiled big and hugged Claudia. “Hey, where have you been hiding? I haven’t seen you in so long.”

“I know,” Claudia said, pulling away. “I’ve been so busy trying to get my business going. It’s been crazy.” She turned to Ricardo, who was smiling nervously at Regina, and wrapped her arms around his arm. “This is my boyfriend, Ricky. Honey, this is my cousin, Gina.”

Regina had met Ricardo the year she decided to take the summer off school and came home. She spent most of her time on the beach where she met the former US Junior Surf Team member trying to go professional. He was working as a part-time surf instructor in the meantime. While he was very nice on the eyes and made for an exciting summer fling, other than trying to make the US team, he truly was a beach bum. He had no real aspirations of doing much else with his life, and her sister Pat had been the first to point that out.

Pat was probably the reason why the fling went on longer than it might have. Unlike her sister Bell when she first brought Romero around to her unimpressed older sister, nothing was more satisfying to Regina than seeing Pat’s disapproving face whenever she walked into a family gathering on the arm of her eye-candy beach-bum boyfriend. Maybe if Regina had been serious about him, it might’ve bothered her. Instead, she got a kick of annoying her sister to pieces.

She and Ricardo had both agreed neither was looking for anything serious, and Regina knew her stay in Southern California was only temporary. By the end of the summer, the fling had run its course, and Regina had the perfect excuse to end things. She was going back to New York. They agreed to keep in touch, and they had for a few months, until all communication had slowly tapered off.

Regina smiled, holding out her hand and waiting for Ricky to either come clean about knowing her already or pretend not to. She’d already decided if that was the card he wanted to play she didn’t care either way. She saw her cousin once or twice a year, and they’d never been close, so it didn’t matter to her. Not surprisingly, Ricardo cowardly chose the latter. “Nice to meet you, Gina,” he said, reaching out his hand.

Regina went along, introducing them to her boyfriend while her insides still roiled about the real elephant in the room. After some small talk, they got back to the topic of Claudia’s house cleaning and landscaping business and how she and Ricardo had met when he applied as a landscaper. Pat immediately gave Regina a knowing look.

“That was way back when I was first trying to get things going,” Claudia said.

“Yeah,” Ricardo added as if Regina really cared. “I was just looking for a job on the side, but I was still doing surf lessons at the same time.”

“Now he runs the landscaping part of the business, and I run the housekeeping side,” Claudia said proudly. “We stay real busy.”

Brandon gave Ricardo as much attention as he deserved since he was such a complete nonissue. He glanced away often, though Regina had to wonder if his indifference with Ricardo was intentional or if he truly was too distracted with other things to care much.

Glancing behind Ricardo, Regina’s eyes met with Valerie’s. Valerie, who was standing with Sarah, smiled big. She tugged Sarah as they both made their way toward her and Brandon. Regina wondered how much about Brandon and Sofia either knew. Sarah smiled as big as Valerie when she saw Regina, but there was no missing the way her mouth fell open when she saw Brandon. Both she and Valerie spoke in voices too low for Regina to hear as they approached, but the big smiles were back once they were close enough to reach out and hug her.

Pat was busy grilling Claudia about the business she’d started up, so Regina could focus on Valerie and Sarah.

“Oh my God, you look so good,” Valerie said, hugging her. “Isabel told me you were moving out here. You’re staying for good, right?”

“Yes, I’m pretty sure,” she said, pulling away from Valerie’s tight hug then hugging Sarah. “The job I’m working on now will take at least a year, if not longer, but I like being close to the family, so I think I’ll stay.”

They both turned to Brandon. Before Regina could figure out whether she should introduce him as if they didn’t know him, Valerie turned to him. “Isabel said this was her first time meeting your boyfriend. I take it this means you and Brandon are an item?”

Regina nodded, her knotted insides getting tighter. She wasn’t sure how she should address the fact that, unlike her and Ricardo, Valerie was not going to pretend not to know Brandon. “Yes, we met on the base two months ago.”

“Oh,” Valerie turned to Regina, still smiling but her brow lifted significantly. “So it hasn’t been long?”

Without giving Regina a chance to respond to that, Sarah turned to Brandon. “What a small world.” She smiled sweetly, turning to Regina for a moment. “Brandon and Angel and his brothers grew up just a few houses away from each other and went to the same schools.” She then turned back to Brandon. “How’ve you been, Brandon? Obviously, life in the Marines suits you well.”

“Always has,” Brandon said with a small smile. “And I agree,” he added, looking around, the already small smile waning a bit. “It’s a very small world. But I’ve been good. It looks like the family is really growing.”

Just then one of the twins ran over to Valerie, screeching as The Taz caught up to her, holding something out with an evil laugh that made the little girl scream even louder. Even Valerie braced herself. “What is that?” she asked, her face contorted in disgust.

“It’s a worm!” his sister screeched, hiding behind Valerie.

Out of nowhere, Alex swooped down and lifted him easily over his head and onto his back. “Boy, didn’t you promise you were gonna behave?” he asked the now-laughing-hysterically Taz. “Drop the worm,” he ordered, trying to sound firm, but Regina could see he was holding back a smile.

With the worm dropped, Alex began putting him down, tapping him on the behind. “No more worms, you hear me? Go take care of your sisters.”

Just behind him Angel now approached, also putting down his own son, who quickly took off after The Taz. They were both headed at top speed toward Mandy’s outdoor playset.

Alex kissed Valerie then turned to Regina with a smile but addressed Brandon first. “Billings?” he said. His smile wasn’t quite as bright as when he smiled at Regina. “Long time.”

Brandon nodded, glancing around. “Yep. Long enough. I see the second generation of Morenos is growing fast.”

“That it is,” Angel said, wrapping his arms around Sarah’s waist from behind. “What about you? Any kids yet?”

Brandon shook his head, and Sarah smiled then winked at Regina. “You never know though. He and Gina have been dating for a few months now.”

Bell and Romero approached them. As usual, Romero wore a huge grin. “Isn’t this crazy?” Romero asked. “Gina and Billings. I never thought I was gonna see this guy again. Now we just may be related someday.”

“What is that you guys always say,” Pat suddenly chimed in. “Easy! They’ve only been dating for a few months, and Brandon hasn’t been made to jump through all our hoops yet.”

Feeling Brandon tense, Regina turned to Pat, trying not to sound as annoyed as her comment made her. She hoped Brandon didn’t think she meant all of them as in the Morenos as well. Regina knew Pat meant her family, but with all of them standing there, it could easily be construed as all of them as well. The last thing she needed today was for her sister to add to the already mounting tension. “Pat—”

“You see here,” Romero’s uncle Max stuck his phone in Pat’s face. “That was me back in high school.”

With a frown, Romero suddenly scoffed. “Will you stop trying to convince her you were good-looking once upon a time.”

“Once upon a time?” Max lifted his collar on both sides. “I’m a fucking chick magnet. What are you talking about?”

They all laughed, and for a few minutes while Romero, Max, and Pat went back and forth, the attention was off Regina and Brandon. The phone got passed around to the guys, who all laughed and poked fun at Max for the clothes he was wearing in the photo.

“Check out the Fonz.” Romero laughed.

Sal and Grace arrived. They came over and chatted and said hello to Regina and Brandon. Much like the other two brothers, Sal was civil but not overly friendly to Brandon. They were the only couple who arrived without kids.

“You don’t have any kids, Sal?” Brandon asked, and he seemed to have loosened up just the tiniest bit like Regina, but neither was completely relaxed.

Sal and Grace smiled at each other. Then Sal patted her belly. “Third one is on the way, and the other two are with her sister and my cousin Vince. They’re married but holding off on the baby making for now, so they often take our two rug rats for the day or even the whole weekend. But, yeah, we have two: boy and a girl. They should be here in a few.”

“Where did Sofie and Eric go?” Bell asked, looking around. “I saw her earlier, didn’t I?”

With the exception of Romero, Max, and Pat, who were still caught up looking through the photos on Max’s phone, there was an obvious shift in the mood of the group. Alex’s jaw actually tightened as he, too, looked around.

Sarah cleared her throat. “Last night she told me the baby had been real colicky this whole week. She and Eric might be inside with him.”

The subject was changed, and then Bell announced the food was ready. Time seemed to move in slow motion as they all served themselves and sat down to eat. Fortunately, they all had their hands full, trying to serve and feed restless kids and dealing with babies. The novelty of Brandon, their old neighborhood acquaintance, being Regina’s boyfriend wore off for the moment. Regina and Brandon sat with her mom and a couple of aunts instead of at the table with the Moreno clan.

“Why didn’t daddy come?” Regina asked her mom.

“He’s been real tired this week,” her mother explained. “The doctor switched his medication, and it makes him sluggish. We got up early and attended the Mass, but when we got back home, he said he wasn’t feeling up to coming. I told Bell I’d stay and eat, but then Pat’s taking me home.”

“But he’s okay, right?” Regina asked, feeling a bit worried.

“Yeah, yeah.” Her mother patted her hand. “It’s just gonna take some time for him to adjust to the new medication. He wasn’t feeling ill or anything, honey.” She smiled. “He was tired and not in the mood for crowds. I left him on his recliner, watching TV. He even reminded me twice to be sure to bring him back cake.”

Regina smiled, feeling a bit relieved, but she didn’t like to hear that her once-active dad didn’t even have the energy to attend a family function. It wasn’t like him.

Trying not to over think things, Regina ignored the fact that when Sofia and Eric had finally made it out into the yard again they sat at the furthest table from her and Brandon. It was understandable that they might feel a little uncomfortable. Then the one time she thought her and Sofia’s eyes had met Sofia quickly looked away without addressing her. After finishing up eating, Regina excused herself to use the bathroom inside. Once out of the bathroom, she made an unexpected detour towards the baby’s room when she heard him whimpering.

“Oh, Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou, Romeo?” she whispered as she turned the corner into his room.

He was already standing, holding the rail, and his little whimpering face brightened the moment he saw her. Like she’d seen him do so often before, he screeched, jumping up and down. He stood there with the biggest but near toothless smile as he held out his little arms to her.

“Just like your daddy,” she said, picking him up out of the crib and kissing his bald head. “Always smiling and laughing.”

Knowing Romeo’s diaper likely needed to be changed, Regina walked over to the changing table and laid him down. He kicked wildly, making the loudest noises as she began undoing the onesie he wore.

“Shhh!” She giggled. “Seriously, must all you Romeros be so loud?”

Still smiling, she leaned in and kissed him again on the forehead. She loved that she’d been able to convince her sister to go with her first choice and name him Romeo. Bell had been worried he’d be teased mercilessly in school. Both Regina and Pat had laughed and had reminded her who this kid’s father was.

“If he’s anything like his dad,” Pat had sneered, “no one is gonna be teasing this boy.”

She turned when she heard someone at the door. “Hey.” Sofia smiled a bit awkwardly. “I heard him screech and thought mine had woken.”

Regina’s sudden cheery mood deflated at the sight of her. Sofia looked as perfect as ever. It was disgusting.

Stop it.

“No,” she said, trying to sound as normal as possible and turned back to face Romeo. “This little guy is ready to go join the party. I’m just changing him first.”

“So how’ve you been?” Sofia asked, coming to stand next to her by the changing table.

“Good, good.” Regina nodded as she finished wiping Romeo clean. “I moved back to California, so I’m happy about that.”

“I heard,” Sofia said while tickling the bottom of one of Romeo’s feet. “That’s good you get to be near your family. I can’t even imagine being so far away from mine.” She cleared her throat and went on. “And you’re with Brandon now.” It was a statement, not a question, and it took Regina by surprise. She froze for a moment then turned to face her. Sofia smiled a little less awkwardly now and more genuinely. “He’s a good guy.”

“I know he is.” Regina turned back to finish changing Romeo and did her best not to sound bitchy, but her response was already too quick.

If Sofia even tried to bring up her past with him, she’d snap for sure. Regina did not need to hear about how Sofia rejected the man she was now in love with, especially now that she knew Sofia’s presence alone still had such an effect on him.

To her surprise, instead of saying more, Sofia reached out for Romeo, who Regina had finished changing. “Can I hold the little chunkers?” she asked with a big smile.

Regina let her pick him up, and to her relief, they moved on to small talk about Romeo, Sofia’s baby, and his colic as they made their way back outside. Brandon was engaged in a conversation with another Moreno, Sofia’s younger cousin Vince, the one who’d been watching Sal’s kids today. From what Regina knew Vince was a career military guy too. This was probably why Brandon seemed so at ease talking to him. She also doubted Vince knew anything about Brandon’s past with Sofia, since she also knew he hadn’t grown up in the same area as the other Morenos. They were likely talking about their lives in the military, exchanging stories like the ones she’d often heard her own father exchange growing up.

The ease in which he’d been talking was gone the moment he looked up and saw Regina with Sofia.

“He woke up?” Bell walked up to Sofia, forcing her to look away from Brandon’s piercing stare.

“Yeah,” Regina said. “I changed him already.”

“Thank you, sissy,” she said with a smile as Romeo practically jumped out of Sofia’s arms at the sight of his mommy. Bell held her arms out to him with a big animated smile. “I’ll take my baby boy now,” she said to Sofia. “I need to get him fed before he gets cranky.”

As soon as Regina was back at Brandon’s side, he leaned into her ear after slipping his hand in hers. “How much longer we gonna hang around?”

Relieved that she didn’t have to be the one to suggest ducking out early, she shrugged. Normally she would’ve hung out much later, but her shoulders had been so tight and tense from the moment she realized who Sofia was to Brandon, she could hardly wait to get out of there and have a glass of wine or two. “Well, you’ve met everyone except my brother and dad, but neither are gonna make it, so you can meet them another time. If you want, we can leave now.”

They made their slow, steady exit, saying good-bye to everyone. Sofia, once again, conveniently disappeared, and Regina couldn’t be more relieved. They’d almost made a smooth exit, except for Bell’s ill-timed request that Romero snap a few photos of the three sisters before Regina left. She then asked Valerie, Sarah and Grace to get in the photo too.

“Wait,” she said after Romero had already taken a few. “Where’s Sofie? She needs to get in here too.”

The entire time they’d been there Brandon and Sofia had been as far apart from one another as possible. Usually, the entire length of the backyard had been between them. Now Brandon stood but a couple of feet away from the group of women taking photos. And Pat was looking in the back door calling out for Sofie.

Within minutes, both Sofia and Eric walked out together. Neither looked particularly thrilled, and Regina did not miss the deadpan way Eric looked at Brandon. It wasn’t a glare, but it certainly wasn’t welcoming. Sofia lined up with the women. Romero wasn’t the only one taking the photos now. Regina’s mom had gotten in on it, and that meant they were going to be there a while because she took forever to take her photos and was very demanding about everyone staying put until she was done.

Finally, they were done. Then her mom suggested that the guys line up this time. To Regina’s horror her mom turned to Brandon. “You too, hon. Anyone my kids bring home, whether a friend or more, is automatically welcomed into the family, so get in there.”

Brandon turned to Regina, who had nothing for him except a rueful smile. This would be over soon enough, and then they could get out of there. Regina squeezed his hand and tiptoed to kiss him as they walked past each other. Instead of escaping back into the house as Regina thought Sofia might do, she came over and stood by Regina and the other girls to watch the guys line up.

Of course, Brandon stood off to the side on the opposite end from where Eric stood.

“Stop with the faces, Moe,” Manny said from where he was sitting. “Swear to God, this guy . . .” He turned to his wife Aida, shaking his head, then back to Romero. “For all the laughing and goofing off you do, you’d think you’d do it for one stinkin’ photo. How many more pictures of you looking like mug shots do I need on my walls! Smile, will ya?”

Regina was glad there was no one heckling Brandon about his rigid expression. While he wasn’t making hard-ass faces like Romero, he certainly wasn’t doing any smiling. Still she couldn’t help but feel warmed that he was being such a trooper. Just coming here today to meet her family had to have been hard enough for him. She’d felt his unease mounting as they’d driven there. And then for things to turn out this way, she was certain he was regretting having come here at all. She just hoped it was all he regretted.

After giggling, Sarah turned to Regina, who couldn’t quite take her eyes off of Brandon. “Wow,” Sarah said. “I still can’t believe you and Brandon are together. I mean what are the odds that of all the marines you could’ve hooked up with down at that base, it would be Brandon?”