Sarah told him about the story the man told Sydney being different from what her mother had told her about her dad all this time. She got as far as telling him about why she hadn’t gone into work because she needed to talk to her mom and she didn’t want to wait until after work. She’d had a feeling it was going to be a long one.

Alex walked out of the locker room and motioned for Angel that he was ready to go.

“Listen babe,” he said, hating to interrupt her, “Alex is gonna drop me off at the house, and I’ll come pick you up.”

“Are you sure you’re not too tired? I can tell you the rest on the phone if you are.”

“Hell no,” he said, already hurrying to Alex’s truck.

After everything he’d gone through today, he wanted nothing more than to have her in his arms now. He wasn’t completely over worrying that maybe Syd was in love with her like Alex seemed so sure of, but at least he knew now she hadn’t blown him off all day for the guy. Syd had left at noon like she’d told him in the morning, and there’d been good reason why she hadn’t answered her phone or responded to any of his texts. This was huge, and he could breathe a little easier now.

“Be ready for me. I’ll be there in a few,” he said before getting in Alex’s truck.

“My mom’s gone for most the night,” she said. “She had a date and told me not to wait up. I can make us dinner and we can hang out here if you want.”

“Even better.” Angel grinned, getting in the truck. “I’ll see you in a few. I love you, baby.”

“I love you too.”

Angel sat back, letting out a relieved breath. He didn’t even realize he was smiling so big until his smartass brother started in on him.

Chuckling, Alex shook his head as he pulled out of the parking spot. “Really? That’s all it took to tame the raging bull that smashed heads all through practice?”

Smirking, Angel glanced out the window. “She wasn’t with him all day. She was dealing with something else.”

“Yeah, well, I still wouldn’t let my guard down when it comes to this friend of hers,” Alex said as they waited at a stop. “Don’t you ever watch Friendzone? Every one of them longtime friends turned out to be secretly in love with the other and had been for years. Sarah’s a sweetheart, man, and she’s the worst kind of hot a girl can be.”

Angel turned to face his brother with a scowl. Alex had flirted with Sarah from day one. He loved riling Angel up, and Angel knew that’s all it was, but this was the first time he’d referred to her as hot. Not just that, he wasn’t being playful. He was serious, and Angel didn’t quite know how to respond to that, but he was curious about one thing.

“What do you mean ‘the worst kind’?”

“I mean she’s hot but doesn’t even know it.” He pulled out onto the street from the stadium parking lot. “In all the years this guy’s been around her—known her for what she’s really like—you really think he’s never had feelings for her that ran deeper than just friends?”

Leave it to Alex to burst Angel’s relieved bubble. “He’s gone now,” Angel said, clenching his jaw as he turned away from Alex and out his window. “And after the summer, he’ll be even further when he goes back to school in New York. It’s why she hadn’t seen him since we graduated from high school.”

“Good,” Alex said, tapping the steering wheel. “That’s where he needs to be: far, far away from your girl.”

Angel thought about that statement and everything else Alex had just said. He remembered Sarah’s devotion to the guy when she’d first moved out here and how close she’d been to leaving Angel to get back to him. Gripping his phone, he reminded himself he’d been Sarah’s first everything, not Sydney. They’d been together for almost three years now, and they often talked about their future: getting married after they graduated from college, opening their own restaurant, and having babies. He’d long ago accepted that Sarah and Sydney were proof that guys and girls could in fact be just friends. He couldn’t let one visit from this guy after two years and Alex’s caveman mentality derail all that and have him acting like an insecure overbearing boyfriend. Still, he’d never admit it out loud, but the start of a new school year couldn’t come fast enough now. He only hoped Sydney wouldn’t be making too many more trips out here before then like he’d mentioned he might.

~*~

Sarah

Angel’s hello kiss, the moment Sarah opened the door and let him in, left her breathless. “Well, hello to you too,” she said with a smile as he pecked her again then squeezed her tightly.

“I missed you today,” he whispered against her ear then kissed the side of her face, still holding her tight.

“I missed you too,” she said, pulling away and looking into his eyes curiously.

She’d seen that enamored look in them before many times, but this seemed different. She wondered if it had anything to do with Sydney, and it immediately worried her. Aside from the details about her dad, there were other things she’d be telling him tonight that she was certain he wouldn’t be thrilled about. In fact, because there was no way he’d know about all the other issues Sydney and Carina had dealt with throughout their relationship, the moment she told him the ultimatum was ultimately the last straw, she knew that Angel wouldn’t see it that way.