Forever Yours (26 page)

Valerie turned to Sarah and shrugged with a smirk. It was obvious that Monica was already squealing inwardly. Sarah was glad she was wearing her sunglasses or they’d see the utter dread she was feeling. How the hell was she getting out of this? Edmund was already smiling at her a bit too friendly for her liking.

“Sure, sounds like fun,” Valerie said, and they all started slowly through the crowd toward the massive party boat. “You guys staying out all day?”

“
All
day,” Edmund said again, looking back at Sarah with a sly smirk. “We go way out then park in one of the coves and just hang out. So far out you girls can sunbathe topless—or even less—if you want.” Sarah and Valerie exchanged glances as Sarah’s stomach took another dive. “We tow the Jet skis with us so everyone takes turns or pairs up with someone and takes them out.”

Sarah didn’t even realize she was tugging at her beach bag again until Edmund turned to her and reached out. “Let me carry that for you, sweetness,” he said. “Is it getting heavy?”

“No,” she said nodding and grabbing on to her bag a little tighter.

Nervously, she lifted her glasses to the top of her head, instantly regretting it when she saw Edmund’s eyes go wide and his mouth open in a wide smile. “Wow, those eyes,” he said, staring at her.

The other two guys turned to look at her including Valerie. Like an idiot, she dropped the glasses back over her eyes, not wanting him to think she’d lifted them on purpose.

“Too bright,” she said, feeling her cheeks warm.

“No, wait, wait.” Edmund held his hand out. “Lift them up.” He turned to his friends. “Paul, check out her eyes.”

To Sarah’s horror, they’d all stopped walking and waited on her to lift her glasses. Even a few of the guys walking by who’d heard Edmund making such a big deal seemed to be waiting. Sarah lifted them quickly and saw Paul’s smile just fall.

Feeling her face on fire now, she dropped the glasses again, wishing they covered her entire face. Her mind raced to think of a way to get out of getting on that boat, especially now that both Edmund and Paul were looking at her the way they were. The second Paul turned away Edmund leaned in and whispered, “His ex has eyes like yours.” He chuckled. “Only yours pop out more because your hair and lashes are so dark. It’s not often you see eyes like yours on a brunette.”

He went on a little more about her eyes, but Sarah tuned him out. She watched as Valerie and Monica started taking off the shorts and sarong each wore over their bikini bottoms because it was time to walk out onto the enormous boat with the blasting music. Sarah lifted her glasses to the top of her head again, wondering if she should just stick them in her bag. She didn’t want to chance losing them if they fell in the water.

“Take off your sarong, Sarah,” Valerie said as she shoved her own in her bag. “We’re gonna be hip deep in water by the time we make it out to the boat.”

Looking around, Sarah gulped. She had her hotel key. She could say she wasn’t feeling well and head back on her own.

No fuddy-duddies.

“Yeah, take it off.” Edmund grinned.

With her stomach in a ball, she took her sweet time, putting her glasses in her bag, and then slowly started to untie the sarong knot at her waist.

Suddenly, she felt two big arms around her waist from behind, and she gasped, nearly losing her balance.

“Hey, baby girl, I’ve been looking for you.”

She turned to see Leonardo smiling. He pulled one arm away but kept a hand on her waist. Leaning into her ear, he whispered. “Something wrong? You look uncomfortable.”

She nodded but kept working on the knot, not wanting to look at Valerie. If Leonardo had picked up on her uneasy demeanor, no doubt her cousin would too.

Leonardo pulled her to him a little closer. Sarah thought Angel’s glares were intense, but Sofia had hit her observation of her brother on the nose. Leonardo’s glare bordered on scary. “What is it? These guys bothering—”

“No, no,” she said quickly, feeling the need to touch his arm. “Nothing like that. We just met them,” she whispered, turning her back to Valerie, Monica, and other guys. “They seem nice enough. I just . . . I don’t think Angel would be thrilled about me getting on this boat with them, and—”

“So don’t,” he said, taking her bag with authority, then looked up behind her. “We’ll catch up. I have a Jet ski.”

“Sarah, are you sure?” Valerie asked, her voice going high.

Obviously she didn’t recognize Leo from the photo she’d showed her weeks ago. Sarah turned to face her cousin, feeling a sudden enormous relief that she wouldn’t be getting on the boat. “Yes, this is Leonardo.”

Valerie’s expression eased instantly. “Oh,” she said then smiled and addressed Leonardo. “Are you sure you’ll be able to find the boat?”

Leonardo assured her they would, though Sarah didn’t care if they did or not. In fact, she preferred it if they didn’t. She had no desire to be on that party boat and sit out in a deserted cove somewhere then take turns going out on a Jet ski with one of those guys. Worst case scenario, she’d meet Valerie and Monica back at the hotel later that night. But telling Angel she’d spent her day with her brother beat telling him she’d jumped on a boat full of booze and guys they’d just met.

Hanging out with her brother would definitely be easier for Angel to hear about when she told him tonight about her day rather than the alternative.

“You know,” Leonardo said, tossing her bag effortlessly over his big shoulder as they walked away from the shore. “You’re the only one who calls me Leonardo. Everyone else calls me Leo.”

“But Leonardo sounds so much better,” she said. “I like it.”

That murderous glare he’d worn just moments ago was replaced with that soft somewhat vulnerable smile she’d seen on him during their chats on more than one occasion now. It was a sweet smile so opposite of what you’d expect to see on such a fierce-looking guy like him. “I like hearing you say it.”

~*~

Angel

“This is bullshit,” Alex said shoving the last piece of sushi in his mouth. “We come all the way to Hawaii, and this is the most we get to see of the place outside our hotel and that fucking football field?”

“At least the food was good,” Angel offered, sitting back and looking out into the herd of people walking the beach. “And it’s not like we paid for this vacation turned nightmare. Just think of it as hell week in Hawaii.”

They were in between their torturous two practices scheduled for that day. The coach let them all go back to the hotel for a few hours to rest and grab something to eat. Then they’d be back on the field again for practice number two. This was the first moment they’d had to get out and see a little of the nearby beach since that first night they screwed up so bad.

The practices the coaches were putting them through weren’t regular practices either. He was having them run the most unforgiving drills. No doubt he was hoping to tire them all out to the point none would even consider going out to party tonight when it was all over. All Angel and Alex could think of then was getting back to the room and passing out.

“Have you talked to Sarah today?” Alex asked, frowning down at his phone screen.

“No,” Angel said, pulling his own phone out of his pocket. “I texted her this morning, and she texted me back but that’s the last I heard.”

“Have you seen what Valerie’s been posting?”

Angel couldn’t help frowning. “Posting where? I haven’t been able to get onto my Facebook page in weeks.”

Not that he’d tried much. He’d always thought Facebook such an annoying waste of time and something he’d never really gotten into.

“Hmm,” Alex said, nodding. “Then you haven’t.”

He waited for Alex to elaborate a bit more on that because he really didn’t want to ask. He was almost afraid to. He knew Alex wouldn’t even be mentioning it unless it had something to do with Sarah. Angel stared at his brother as Alex continued to stare down at his phone. He nearly burned hole through that big brick head of Alex’s and nothing.

“What’s she posting, Alex?” Angel finally asked almost through his teeth.

Alex glanced up at him finally. “Pictures of Havasu. I was surprised when she mentioned Sarah was there with her, but then”—he chuckled looking back down at his phone—“I guess after Sarah heard about Friday night I can see why she took off.”

“That’s not why she did,” Angel said, not sure why he needed to make that clear.

“Oh yeah?” Alex asked, sounding completely unimpressed and still not looking up from his phone. “Well, good thing for you she didn’t because the place looks just like I remember it. Everyone there’s getting laid tonight.”

Angel glanced up and waved the waitress down. He wasn’t having this conversation with Alex. He’d overheard some of what he and Valerie had talked about last night. From what he could make out, Valerie wasn’t convinced that Alex had really gone back to his room alone Friday night. So it didn’t surprise him that he might be thinking the same about her. But Angel knew better. That wasn’t something he’d even consider worrying about when it came to Sarah.

The young waitress came over, and Angel asked for the check. She was in the middle of asking if they’d be ordering any dessert to which Angel was already saying no to when he heard Alex say something about Leo and Sarah. The waitress nodded, leaving the check at the table and walked away. Angel narrowed his eyes on Alex, who held up his phone to Angel.

“At least with her brother there she’s got someone looking out for her,” Alex said.

Angel reached out and took Alex’s phone. Valerie had posted several photos under the caption “
Hot in Havasu
.”

Among them there were plenty of girls in bikinis on a boat surrounded by shirtless guys all flexing their arms and holding up whatever they were drinking. He searched for Sarah or even Leo in the crowd but didn’t see either.

He looked up at Alex a little annoyed that he’d managed to get him worked up for nothing. “Where?”

“Scroll through them,” Alex said. “She’s in there somewhere on a Jet ski.”

Just as Alex said it, Angel froze, staring at the photo of Sarah sitting behind Leo on a Jet ski. Except for the life jacket he wore, Leo appeared to be shirtless. Just like all the other guys partying with them. Just like the photo he’d sent Sarah weeks ago. Angel scrolled to the next photos that appeared to be taken consecutively as Leo and Sarah spun around doing donuts in the water. Sarah’s arms hugged Leo tightly. Her entire body pressed against his back as she held on for dear life with a scrunched up but still smiling face.

Angel reasoned with his already thudding heart that this was her brother. They’d already established he was a good guy, so why hadn’t she mentioned he was there? Had she invited him? Did she maybe think Angel would be upset and so she decided to not mention it?

She wouldn’t, not after everything they’d been through in the past about omitting the truth for the sake of unpleasantness. He scrolled through the photos, searching for more with her in them, his heart bracing himself to see her in even one photo with
any
dude looking too friendly or standing a little too close to her. It was even more infuriating now to think of the photos she’d had to see of him and Dana and some of those other pushy chicks wrapped around him, because if he saw even one as remotely close to that with her and another guy he was going to blow a fuse. Hell, the ones with her and her brother already had him seeing red when he knew they shouldn’t.

After scrolling a little more, Angel saw that the only other photos of Sarah, aside from the one of her on the Jet ski with Leo, were ones that appeared to be taken another time—possibly the night before because it was darker and all three girls were dry and obviously dressed differently. While there were some with Valerie and that other girl with other guys, Sarah was in none of those. Clearly, she wasn’t as stupid as he was to get caught up in compromising photos.

“I think you’ve stared at those long enough,” Alex said as he stood up.

Angel glanced up to see the receipt on the table. He’d been so caught up looking through all the photos he hadn’t even noticed the waitress had come by and picked up Alex’s card and he’d already paid and signed.

Standing up, he handed Alex’s phone back to him and hit speed dial on his own as they walked out together. Not surprising, Sarah’s phone went to voice mail. He almost didn’t leave a message but decided to at the last second. “Sarah, it’s me. I’m between practices.” He paused for a moment, thinking he should just tell her he loved her, and he was hoping to talk to her but decided to ask what he really wanted to know. “How come you didn’t tell me Leo was in Havasu with you? I just saw the photos. Call me or text me when you can. I’ll be free for about another hour.”

“She didn’t tell you her brother was going?” Alex asked as they stopped and waited for the light to turn green for them to cross.

“She didn’t tell me
she
was going,” Angel admitted, “until last night when I talked to her after practice and I found out she was even there.”

Staring straight ahead, Angel didn’t want to see Alex’s expression. He was never sure what Alex would have to say. Would he be an antagonizing smartass or would he have something helpful to say? Not that Angel felt he needed any help, he just felt like venting. Seeing Sarah’s body wrapped around Leo had done something to him, though he knew it was unreasonable to be pissed. Bottom line is Sarah knew that while Angel was coming around she’d still only met the guy once. Her dad was still a mystery—a mystery Leo likely had the answers to—and that still didn’t sit well with Angel.