His response once again had been almost immediate. They’d set up a time, and now she sat there just minutes away from when they’d decided the chat would take place. For the first time since this all came about, she didn’t tell anyone about this. She was nervous enough, so she figured she’d do this alone and then share it with Angel, Sydney, Valerie, and even her mom.

She sat in front of her laptop now, waiting for the indicator to flash. When it did, she clicked on it and up popped the screen with a smiling Leonardo. “Hey,” he said with an even bigger smile.

The first thing Sarah noticed was the low voice. It was how she’d expected him to sound, but it was so resonant it made her clear her voice, afraid hers might squeak.

“Hey,” she smiled, back pulling a strand of hair behind her ear in nervous reaction.

She tried her best not to stare at all the tattoos or his muscles that bulged out of his tank. She knew from experience that the only time Angel and Alex’s bulged that way was just after they’d worked out. It made her wonder if he’d just finished working out, and if so, was there a reason for that?

The scars were another thing she’d noticed. She couldn’t be sure because they were on the light side, but he had quite a few just under his hairline at the tip of his forehead. Trying hard to relax, she did her best to just enjoy the excitement that he was very likely her brother.

“I gotta tell you, Sarah. You’re all I’ve been thinking about lately. It’s just so crazy that I have a sister. I don’t think it’s really sunk in and probably won’t until we meet, but this is close.” His fingers tapped the desk in front of him, and then he laughed. “Shit. I didn’t think I was gonna be this nervous.”

“Good. I’m not alone,” she admitted, clearing her throat again. “I was pretty nervous about this.

His smile went from big bright to soft and sweet. “Don’t be. I’m the least intimidating person you’ll ever meet. I promise.” She could hardly believe a guy that looked like he did could sit there and say that with a straight face. But he sat up, straightening up a little without laughing as she expected him to. “So how are you? You have a free day today?”

“Sort of.” She smiled. “I’m off today. My boyfriend is working, and my mom’s in Vegas, so I have the place to myself and pretty much nothing else to do.”

“Hey, sounds like a good time to get to know your brother.” He smiled again, sitting back and crossing his arms. “How long you been with your boyfriend?”

It took her a little by surprise that that would be his first question, but she didn’t over think it. She just answered as casually as he’d asked. “Almost three years.”

“Really? Wow.”

Taking his prompt, she shot right back. “How ’bout you? You have a girlfriend?”

“Nah.” He shook his head then sat up again, leaning his arms on the table or desk in front of him.

He wasn’t lying when he said he was nervous. He seemed really antsy.

“I had one for a little over a year, but we broke up a few months ago. It’s just as well,” he added with a shrug. “Since I’m seriously considering moving out to California with Omar, it wouldn’t have worked out. Things were already shaky between us. Oh, hey, that reminds me. You’re in the San Diego area, right? How far is that from Hansen Beach?”

“About an hour,” she said, thinking about it. “Yeah, I think it’s like halfway from here to Los Angeles.”

“That’s cool,” he said. “We’ll be pretty close to each other.”

“Yeah,” she smiled, trying to sound as excited as he did, though she wasn’t sure if that made her more nervous than excited.

As the conversation went on, Sarah found herself relaxing a little, even laughing at some of the stories he told her about his childhood. His friends in Phoenix sounded a lot like Angel’s friends. He’d known them his whole life, and they were still really tight.

“Aren’t you gonna miss them when you move away?”

“Uh . . .” He seemed to ponder that for a second. “Well, one of them might come out there with me. My closest friend, Alonzo. And the others said they’d visit. Plus, I plan on going back a lot. I recently bought a Jet ski. It was used but still in real good condition, and we’ve been having a blast out here in Havasu this summer. We’re out there almost every weekend. I plan on making the trip back out a lot.”

Sarah thought of the first photo he sent on the lake then the second and how he’d been in his swim trunks. The longer she talked to him, the more she felt as if maybe he was the real deal. Not once had he flirted with her or even said she was beautiful. He was so down to earth he even reminded her a little of Romero the way he’d let some F bombs slip here and there, but he’d quickly apologize.

“So have you had a chance to talk to Omar about the past? About his time in jail or about the rest of the family? You know anything about his brothers and sisters?”

“No,” Sarah shook her head. Even her mom didn’t know much about her dad’s family except that they were all trouble according to what little she had told her, but she’d keep that to herself for now. “I really haven’t talked to him, and my mom doesn’t know a whole lot about his family. They weren’t together long when she got pregnant and he went to jail the first time,” she explained. “Then when he got out again and they moved in together she said he didn’t take her around his family at all and really didn’t talk about them.”