“I dunno,” Alex said, rolling over. “Something stupid I guess, but Valerie said none of them ever saw it coming, least of all the drunk guy. One moment his drunk ass was slurring something at Sarah, and the next he was on the ground.”

Staring at his already passing out brother, Angel thought about that. Sarah had described Leo as scary.

I thought he was going to kill him.

Tomorrow couldn’t come fast enough. Angel needed to know everything about this guy now. Angel knew all about explosive tempers. Sarah was no stranger to his. But she’d said it herself. As much as she’d been around him and his brothers and even Romero, who was worse than all of them, she’d never used the words scary to describe any of them. Brother or not an unpredictable and possibly dangerous guy was not someone Angel wanted Sarah getting close to.

~*~

Sarah

The entire ride back to La Jolla Sarah had thought about everything she had to tell Angel today. This might possibly have been the longest ride of her life. She’d had extensive time to think about what she’d be telling him, and she knew Angel was already suspicious of Leo. As discomforting as it was to have seen that side of Leonardo, at least he’d been up front and honest about it. He didn’t have to tell her, and the fact remained that in both instances when he’d just reacted, he’d done so in her defense. Angel couldn’t possibly hold that against him.

After spending the entire day with Leonardo, she’d picked up on a vulnerable side of him. While he’d said things to her that made her uncomfortable, including that he’d never felt what she brought out in him, she wondered if that was because of what she’d realized about him from the very first time she’d spoken to him. He wasn’t the best-spoken person she’d met. He was crude and cussed too much, but he had a soft side.

It was something she’d noticed from the very beginning. She got that when it came to saying nice things—sweet things—he had a hard time with his phrasing. It was as if he weren’t used saying those things to anyone. Maybe that’s why his choice of wording felt wrong. Just like when he called her baby girl. She tried to go with the theory that he thought like her dad, but it felt wrong, and since Angel couldn’t even stand hearing Sydney call her Lynni, she was certain he’d object to this. Yet she couldn’t bring herself to tell Leo not to call her that.

Another thing she’d confirmed this weekend was something she’d begun to pick up from Leonardo in the previous weeks. Regardless of the uncertainties she still had about him, her instincts told her he wasn’t out to hurt her. He’d made that even clearer this weekend. If he’d wanted to, he could’ve easily done so. Instead, he’d protected her, albeit a bit harshly. Except for that one moment she began to panic on the Jet ski, not once had she felt unsafe around him. She wasn’t letting her guard down about Leonardo. She knew better. There was still something off about him, but the one thing she knew now for sure was that he’d never harm her. She was certain, however, Angel wouldn’t understand, because even she couldn’t explain why she was so certain. So she decided that for now she’d keep that part to herself.

They dropped off Monica first, and then Valerie dropped off Sarah because both wanted to pick up the guys in separate cars. Sarah and Angel were getting a room. She’d been gone all weekend, and she was in no hurry to get home, not when she knew the alternative was to sleep all night and then wake up in Angel’s arms. Her insides were already going wild with anticipation.

Valerie met Sarah by the luggage claim, even though neither Angel nor Alex would be waiting for any luggage. They’d just agreed that would be a good place to meet. There were plenty of other family members, girlfriends, and even wives with kids waiting for the team. The arrival of their plane was announced, and Sarah couldn’t believe how anxious she felt about seeing him. It was almost silly. He’d been gone for just a weekend, but with everything that had happened that weekend, she felt as if he’d been on the other side of the world for months. She watched as some of the players began coming down the escalators. Some were wearing their jerseys others wearing school T-shirts or sweatshirts. Then she saw him. Both he and Alex were wearing jeans and their jerseys, only Angel wore a long-sleeved shirt under his while Alex wore a short-sleeved one.

“There they are,” Valerie said, nearly dancing next to her.

The instant both brothers saw them, they smiled big. Jesus, they both looked so perfect, but Angel’s gaze took her breath away and had her choking up already. Both she and Valerie rushed to meet them and were in their arms the moment they were close enough. Angel buried his face in her neck, holding her tight. “God, I missed you,” he said, inhaling deeply. “That felt way longer than three days.”

She pulled away to look at his face. “It did, right? I’m not just pathetically love-sick?”

Angel laughed. “Well, I hope you are because I sure as hell am, but, yeah”—he smiled big—“it felt way longer. Next time we plan ahead ’cause this ain’t happening again.”

They parted ways with Alex and Valerie and headed straight to a room near the beach. Sarah thought maybe he’d want to take a walk on the beach or have something to eat at one of the beachside restaurants, but even as early as it was, Angel said all he wanted to do was get back to the room, order in, and enjoy their time together. He didn’t say it and Sarah was certain it was because he didn’t want to ruin the mood they were in, but she knew he had to be anxious to hear everything else she had to tell him about Leonardo.