Angel’s brows came together slightly. “Another one?”

“Yeah,” she said casually, making the screen black on her phone. “He just wanted to show me a photo of a fish he caught over the summer. Said it was his first ever.”

Angel raised his brows curiously now. “Oh yeah? Let’s see.”

As much as she was already trying to convince herself it was silly to be thinking the photo was somewhat inappropriate, she knew Angel would no doubt find it questionable too. Was he really showing off the fish or something else? This was her brother!

Earlier, before his performance in the shower, she’d actually thought Angel might let go that her brother had referred to her as beautiful more than once. She’d been too turned on at the moment to put much thought into his well-timed thrusts, but now that she gave it more thought, it could be a sign that like with Sydney he was already having his doubts about Leonardo.

I trust no one.

Sarah gulped, clicking on her phone and handing it to him nonchalantly, not even wanting to look at him as she adjusted her purse in the cabinet. He was silent for a moment as he took in the photo, until she finally turned to look at him.

“Cool, huh?” she asked, feeling lame but wanting desperately to play it off as if she’d noticed nothing unusual about the photo Leonardo had chosen to send her.

Angel eyes went from the screen up to hers then back down again. “Yeah, cool.”

It was all he had to say, but she didn’t miss the tightening of his already locked jaw. She took the phone as soon as he handed it back without another word about it. It was just an innocent photo from her brother—a photo that would likely have Valerie drooling and asking her to forward it to her, especially after she heard about Thing One and Thing Two whom Alex had taken the day off to hang out with.

Angel handed the phone back to her, and Sarah was a little surprised he didn’t say more. “Time to get back to work,” he said with a stiff smile and leaned in to peck her.

First chance she got she’d forward the photo to Sydney to ask his opinion. What she loved about Sydney most was how objective he could be, but often times, even when she thought Angel was overreacting, Sydney played devil’s advocate taking Angel’s side—helping her see he wasn’t just being a hard ass. Somehow she got the feeling this would be one of those times.

Chapter 9

Angel

With just a week before his first game and the fall semester starting the Monday after that, Angel was relieved Sarah had been right about Syd not making it out to see her again. She’d mentioned he got a job and made sure to emphasize that his new roommate was a girl Syd said was “pretty cool.” Angel got that Sarah was hoping that would soothe his doubts about her longtime friend feeling for her more than just that—friendship.

It didn’t.

But he was done with the negative attitude. Thankfully, Sarah had toned down the talk of Syd, and it was back to the minimum, only mentioning once or twice a week that he’d checked in with a text or quick phone call. Between Sydney and Leo, Angel had to be careful about being the suspicious boyfriend who questioned everything about his girlfriend’s friend and her newfound brother. But f**k if he didn’t have enough to worry about with Syd, now Leo with his compliments and the near-naked photo he sent her made it hard not to feel suspicious.

So far, from what little Angel had shared, Alex hadn’t questioned the validity of Sarah’s dad and brother. But there was no way Angel was telling him about that photo. Alex would no doubt make his opinion crystal clear. Angel doubted Leo would show off his catch by sending that photo with his shorts hanging that low to any dude, or they’d for sure think his ass g*y. Unless he’d specifically planned on sending it to a chick, it would be the only reason he’d even take a picture like that. He was certain Alex would agree, so he kept it to himself. The last thing Angel needed was for Alex to refuel his suspicions.

Maybe it was the best or only photo he had of himself with the stupid fish, and he hadn’t thought it through before sending it to his sister. Maybe the guy was just an idiot. Who knew? But he was done listening to Alex and Romero. Neither of them had ever come close to having what he and Sarah did. Where the hell did they get off giving him that kind of unsolicited advice? From now on Angel would be cool and keep his thoughts to himself about it all. He’d concentrate on being the supportive boyfriend Sarah needed instead.

Grabbing a couple more slices of pizza from the kitchen’s island countertop, Angel headed back into Romero’s front room where his uncles were setting up for the charades tournament they’d all soon be playing. It was his uncle Max’s birthday, and this was how he chose to spend it. The man was part owner of a titty bar, he was single and in his thirties, and this is what he was doing on the Saturday night of his birthday? What was worse was that, with Sarah’s mom gone all weekend, there were things Angel would much rather have been doing at her place right then. Instead Sarah was adamant that they had to be there. Since Romero had never missed out on any of the parties or gatherings they ever had, it was only right to at least show up for a little bit. At least Angel had gotten Sarah to agree they’d only hang out a few hours. He smiled as he sat down next to Sarah.

“All right, let’s get this shit going ’cause I got some places to be later,” Romero said, standing up. “Teams?” He glanced at Angel and Sarah. “No-brainer. You two are one.”

There were a few guys there from Manny and Max’s bar, and Romero teamed them all up. “Sof and Eric got five minutes to get here or they miss round one,” Romero said to Angel then turned to Alex. “Alex, me and you?”