“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 f**king 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 f**king 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 f**king 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.