Bell had called her twice on the way home, but Regina wasn’t up to talking about what she knew her sister was likely calling about. She’d let both calls go to voicemail, and she saw she had one now, so she hit the voicemail button to listen to it.

“Gina, please don’t be mad at me. The only reason I brought up Brandon and Sofia again was because I wanted to make sure you knew I wasn’t trying to insinuate anything about him. Everyone agrees it was all in the past and you have nothing to be upset or worried about, okay, sissy? Call me, please. I wanna hear you tell me you love me and you forgive me. I’ll be waiting.”

Regina smiled, hanging up and hitting speed dial. As soon as her sister answered, she said exactly what she wanted to. “I love you, and there is nothing to forgive because you didn’t do anything wrong.”

She heard Bell let out a sigh of relief. “Oh good, you know I hate it when we fight.”

For the first time that she could remember all week, Regina laughed. “I’d hardly call this a fight, and how could you hate it when we never do?”

“You know what I mean,” Bell said, laughing softly. She must’ve been home now because Regina could hear Romeo in the background, squealing loudly. “Seriously, I wouldn’t have even asked Alex and Valerie to come over and talk to you today if I knew it would upset you. Sofia is a sweetheart and all and completely devoted to Eric, but the news was kind of a shock to me, so I figured it would be for you too. Alex was fairly certain that Brandon probably hadn’t told you anything about it. I hated for someone to mention it one day and catch you off guard. That could be uncomfortable. Even from what Valerie finished telling me today on the phone after you left, there isn’t a whole lot to the story, but still, if it were me, I’d hate for something like that to be brought to light in a crowd with me being the only one who didn’t know. It could make things very awkward, and I just didn’t want to risk that happening to you.”

Regina sat back slowly. Even hearing Romeo’s squealing laughter, which usually made her smile, couldn’t shake the ugly feeling she suddenly had. Valerie had called her back and told her more? She glanced up at the stairway and listened for the shower. It was still going.

“Belly Bell?” she started very apprehensively, but if she got all the information she needed to know from her sister, maybe she could avoid having to have this conversation with Brandon at all. “I’m almost afraid to ask, so please be gentle with how you lay it on me, okay?”

“What?” Bell asked, no longer laughing and also sounding as nervous as Regina.

“All he told me,” she said, lowering her voice when she heard the shower upstairs turn off and she got off the sofa, “is that they had a moment—a kiss.”

She heard the bathroom door open upstairs, so she started for the front door. Once outside, she continued. “He said she took it back right after and that was it.” She squeezed her eyes shut, afraid to ask her next question, but she had to. “What else did he leave out?”

Bell exhaled dramatically, and Regina knew that wasn’t good, so she held her breath, chewing the corner of her bottom lip. “Okay, so she called me back to tell me what she couldn’t say in front of Alex. Sarah told her it was a little more than a kiss. But you can’t say anything, Gina. Sofia confessed this to Sarah only. Her brothers and especially Eric don’t know this.”

Feeling the same irrational anger she’d felt on that ride home begin to simmer inside her, Regina gripped the phone. “How much more? Did they sleep together?”

“No,” Bell said quickly. “Well, at least I don’t think so.” Bell lowered her voice as Regina braced herself. “Valerie said it was an actual slip that Sarah even told her what Sofia had shared with her. Apparently, it’d been so long since Sarah had even thought about Brandon after you guys left Sunday, she and Valerie started talking about the incredible coincidence and how awkward it was to see Brandon for a moment there. Then Sarah mentioned how guilty Sofia had felt about the whole thing back then. Hold on,” Bell said and went quiet for a moment. Regina heard a door close and suddenly Romeo’s screeching was gone. “I came out onto the porch because I don’t want Romero to hear. Anyway, Valerie said when she asked Sarah why Sofia felt so guilty over just a kiss it was as if it dawned on Sarah that she hadn’t actually told Valerie everything. She made Valerie swear not to say anything, but even then, Valerie said it seemed as if Sarah backpedaled and toned it down. All she said was that the kiss Sofie and Brandon shared was a little longer than she’d first admitted. It actually took place in his bedroom, and Sofie confessed to Sarah that she enjoyed it more than she should have. Val says she thinks maybe there was more to the story, but it was obvious Sarah felt bad about what she’d already let slip.”

Bell paused for a moment, and the very thought sunk into the frothing cesspool of jealousy at the pit of Regina’s stomach. Of course Sofia enjoyed Brandon’s kisses—but maybe there’d been more?

“What Sarah did tell her, and again, this was strictly between her and Sofie, was that before Brandon reported back to duty,” Bell paused again almost as if she hesitated to go on but then she did, “she ran into him one last time, and he told her he was in love with her.”

The door opened behind Regina, and she turned to see Brandon standing there shirtless and wearing a pair of basketball shorts ,the kind he always put on at night before getting in bed and stripping down to nothing. This look usually excited her, but at the moment, she felt nothing but utter seething jealousy.