Sarah didn’t say a thing. For as much as she stared at them, it was all still so surreal. Instead of commenting because she had no words, she clicked on the second photo. It was another one of him, only he was much younger and very good-looking.

“That’s him too?” Valerie asked.

Sarah nodded, reading the caption on the photo. “This was around the time I met your mom.”

“No wonder your mom hooked up with him. He was hot.”

With a smirk, Sarah clicked on the last of the attachments, making no comment again. This was her father, and there was such a resemblance between her and him it felt weird to talk about him being hot.

The last photo popped open. “Holy hotness, Batman!” Valerie said, leaning in more. “Who’s that?”

“My brother,” Sarah said. “His name is Leonardo. Leo.”

Valerie looked at Sarah bright-eyed and then back at the photo. “Well, he doesn’t look anything like you or your dad, but he’s an altogether different kind of hot. And, Jesus, look at the tattoos. Talk about panty-wetting sexy.” She turned to Sarah again. “He’s like . . . intimidating but in a hot way.”

Sarah could see why Valerie would think so. Since she was always going on about her weakness for guys with big physiques, of course she’d think Leonardo was hot. The tattoos only added to his already daunting appearance. The photo was taken lakeside, and he wore swim trunks and a tank that showed off the many tattoos on his muscled arms, shoulders, and chest. There was even one on his neck. There were a lot of people his age all around including many bikini-clad girls. It looked like a spring break type of photo. He was holding a beer, and the big friendly smile and baseball cap gave the otherwise tough-guy exterior a softer feel. His eyes weren’t green like hers. They were dark brown and Valerie was right. He looked nothing like Sarah or her father. But she was also right about something else. Despite his tough appearance, he was good-looking. His jaw was perfectly chiseled, and the gleam in his eyes said he knew he was hot.

“Okay, you have to take me with you when you meet him,” Valerie said, still staring at the photo, smiling big.

Sara turned to her with a disapproving glare. “I’ve already told you. You and Alex can insist you’re not exclusive until you’re blue in the faces. Both of you are equally and ridiculously, I might add, obvious about how pissed you get when hearing about the other one possibly hooking up with someone else. I will not take you with me to meet my brother.” Sarah closed out the photo and her laptop. “How awkward would that be if you two actually hit it off?”

Valerie frowned as Sarah grabbed her purse and they headed out. “Speaking of,” Valerie said as they walked out the door, “Alex is doing one of his disappearing acts right now. I haven’t heard from him in almost a week, have you?”

Sarah told her about having worked the same shift with him at the restaurant the last few days and how Angel told her that not only was football practice getting pretty grueling but the finals for the extra classes Alex had taken over the summer were all sneaking up on him at once. So Valerie wouldn’t feel so bad that he’d been too busy to call her. She left out the part about him also getting his own place soon. Valerie hadn’t mentioned it, and Sarah wasn’t about to get in the middle of this. Too many times already she’d inadvertently let something slip about Alex that she assumed Valerie knew, and Alex would end up in the doghouse. Not that he didn’t deserve it if he was going to be lying or purposely keeping things from Valerie, but Sarah hated that you-ratted-me-out-again look she’d get from him each time it happened. She figured it was just a matter of time before Valerie found out anyway. Angel said his brother got his own apartment because it was cheaper than paying for hotel rooms and there was no way he was bringing all his conquests home. Not only was it disrespectful but their mother would kill him if she knew just how many he had.

That last part was added by Angel and was his own personal assumption, not an actual quote from Alex. But if Sarah had to speculate, based on all the things Valerie told her and how often she was certain he was with other girls, it was likely true. She’d keep it zipped for now about him getting a bachelor pad soon.

“It’s just as well, I guess. I really need to just move on and let things go with him,” Valerie said as they got in her car. “I’m this close to feeling ready to take the state exam. Once I have my real estate license, I’ll likely be meeting a lot of men in the business. I don’t need Alex coming around threatening any of them like he does now when the mood strikes him to resurface from oblivion.” She turned to Sarah. “You do know this year they play Hawaii in Hawaii, right?”

Sarah scrolled through her unread text emails on her phone and shrugged, not sure what that meant. “So?”

“I’m just saying they’ll be there all weekend.” Sarah glanced up at her in time to catch Valerie roll her eyes. “Alex already bragged about it. Do you remember who cheers there?”

It took Sarah a moment and then she remembered—Dana, Angel’s only “thorn in his ass” after meeting and becoming exclusive with Sarah back in high school, the same girl who’d nearly caused a riot at her prom when Sarah and Angel had won prom queen and king. Dana and her minions had all protested, making a huge scene and basically ruining the moment for Sarah. Then afterwards, Angel had still found it in his heart to give the pathetic bitch a moment to explain that she’d had nothing to do with it. It was infuriating, especially since by that time Sarah knew what he’d previously made out to be nothing but a few hookups with Dana had actually been a lot more.