The second Sydney uttered the words “I chose you,” Sarah knew it. Angel would think it was all about her, and his theory about there being no such thing as a guy-and-girl platonic relationship would be up for debate again. That was something they hadn’t discussed in years. Seeing how he was acting now, she questioned whether or not she should tell him that part at all.

Enjoying his long lustful kisses, she decided she’d worry about that later. She had so many other things to talk to him about before that. Like how she’d already started putting together her email to her dad but kept deleting it and starting over.

After ending up on the sofa for a while and thinking she might have to tell him to lock the extra latches on the front door in case her mom happened to get home early, he finally pulled away and smiled. She could tell it was a struggle for him to restrain himself, but he did. “I know you’re anxious to tell me about your dad, and I wanna hear it, so I’ll behave.” He dove into her neck one last time. “For now.”

She giggled, squirming as he licked her neck. The truth was she was anxious to tell him about it. He finally un-wrapped his body from hers and sat up. “The rice should almost be done,” she said, standing up.

Seeing him pat his crotch down as he stood made her grin. “Good ’cause I worked up a big appetite at practice.”

“I just fried up some chicken br**sts I dipped in Italian seasoned bread crumbs,” she said, walking toward the kitchen.

Angel sat down on a stool at the counter. Sarah put their plates together and filled him in on everything her mom had told her about her dad. He was noticeably quiet throughout, and she had a feeling she knew why.

“And your mom doesn’t wanna be there when you meet him?”

She shook her head, stabbing her last piece of chicken with her fork. “She doesn’t even want to see him again. But I won’t go alone. You can come with me or Sydney—”

“I’ll go with you,” he said quickly. “But that’s not my point. So far, no one knows for sure if this guy is really your dad. I know it’s been a long time, but you’d think if he’s been looking for you for years he’d at least have the year you were born right or have some kind of documentation with your full name on it. Something. Your mom would be the only one who would know for sure if this guy is the real deal or not.”

“I could take a picture of him,” Sarah offered. “Then I could show it to my mom, and she could say yea or nay.”

Angel frowned before putting another forkful of chicken and rice in his mouth but said nothing. She knew he’d never been a big fan of her mom. Over the years, she’d filled him in on the details of her childhood. Sometimes she regretted telling him certain things such as all the times her mom had left her alone overnight because she was on dates. She’d meant to explain why growing up in Flagstaff she’d spent so many nights over Sydney’s. While it did explain why she’d been so close to Sydney and his family, it didn’t go over well for her mom. She saw the look of disapproval he attempted to hide when she told him about her mom’s rebellious years and how, even after knowing the kind of man her dad was, she agreed to move in with him.

“I don’t wanna force her, Angel,” Sarah said, walking her plate over to the sink and rinsing it. “She didn’t say she wouldn’t do it; she just said she’d rather not. I can only imagine how uncomfortable that would be for her.”

“This isn’t about her, sweetheart,” Angel said, wiping his mouth with a napkin. “Your safety is at risk here. Even if he is your dad, who knows what you might be getting yourself into with this guy? Like your mom said, he was a dangerous man then and probably still is. He’s done hard time. I know you’re curious about meeting him, but maybe you should slow down and think it through first. Sleep on it for a few days. Give it a few weeks even.”

Sarah glanced up from the dish she was rinsing then back down at the plate. She’d hoped Angel would be a little more excited for her, but she understood his concern. Sydney had warned her about proceeding with caution too, but he was still excited when she called him earlier and explained everything her mother had said.

“Sydney said he looks like a decent guy.”

There was no hiding the irritation that washed over Angel’s face as he stood up with his empty plate in hand and walked around the counter.

“I know. I know,” she said, suddenly feeling stupid about even saying it. “Looking decent doesn’t mean anything, and you’d think I would know this better than anyone, right?”

Angel set his plate down in the sink and wrapped his arms around her from behind, kissing her on the cheek. “I wasn’t even thinking about that, babe. All I’m saying is, from what you know about this guy, at least at one point in his life he was very bad news. I don’t want you taking any chances.”

“I won’t,” she whispered, spinning around to face him. He pinned her against the sink, looking into her eyes. She smiled, softly pecking him. “But it’s not even about meeting him so much. Of course I’m curious, but I’m more curious about meeting my brother.”

“If he’s even your brother,” Angel reminded her but kissed her the second she felt her smile level. “Baby, I know this has gotta be exciting for you, and I wanna be excited for you too, but I’d hate for you to get your hopes up and this turn out to be a letdown. I just don’t want you to get hurt.”