Breaking Brandon

“Are you sure?”

Regina must’ve looked as befuddled or maybe even as a

“I’m sure,” she said then turned to the girls.

Sarah and Valerie had already walked away, tending to their little ones, and Pat had been called away by her mom. Regina smiled at Bell and Grace, hugging them both good-bye again. Bell told Brandon once again how nice it’d been to meet him, and they finally made their way out of there.

As expected, the mood was a bit tense in his Jeep. Regina hadn’t decided if she’d wait for Brandon to admit that Sofia Moreno was his Sofie from his past or if she’d bring it up on her own.

To her surprise, Brandon got right to it. “Did it bother you?”

She almost blurted out yes! She absolutely hated that the beautiful sexy Sofia with the curves to die for and those a

“Did what bother me?”

“That your ex pretended not to know you.”

Disappointed but glad she asked for clarification, she shook her head. “Not at all.” She was surprised that after everything else that had come to light today he’d think she might be concerned about that. That was the least of her worries. “I had a feeling he might. My cousin Claudia can not only be a

“Does he still look the same?” Brandon asked, lifting an eyebrow but stared straight ahead.

If this day had gone any other way, Regina might be tempted to smirk at that. But she was fairly certain that Brandon knew just how insignificant seeing Ricardo today was. It had nothing on the strangling feeling of knowing they’d be getting to the topic of Sofia and he might admit to feeling more for her than he’d actually first admitted.

“He does actually,” she said as indifferently as she could, glancing out her window. “His hair’s a little shorter now, but aside from that, he’s still the same as I remember.”

“So what happens if she marries him and he’s around for years? You ever go

Regina shook her head, feeling a little a

She stared at him, waiting for a reaction to that. He had to know what she was trying to imply. After today, there was no doubt in her mind. The entire summer she’d spent with Ricardo had nothing on that one moment he and Sofia had shared so long ago.

“Good to know.”

That was his only response, and they were quiet for a while. Was he really not going to address the Morenos and their sister? It wasn’t as if it were something she was looking forward to discussing, but it would kill her wondering why—if Sofia still meant something to him.

She waited for what felt like a very torturous, long, few minutes for him to say something more about today. Anything. She could get creative and somehow bring it back to subject of his unexpected reunion with these people, but he said nothing.

Deciding she wouldn’t bring Sofia up specifically, she didn’t want to beat around the bush for too long, so she sat up straight and went with something close. “So that was interesting, huh? Bet you weren’t expecting to see all your old friends from back when.”

“They’re not old friends, Regina,” he said, staring straight ahead as he drove. “I told you about my neighborhood when I was growing up. I didn’t have friends. And you heard what your brother-in-law said. We didn’t exactly get along.”

Shrugging that aside, Regina reminded him of one thing. “Romero seemed excited about seeing you again after all this time. And everyone was very cordial.” He continued to stare straight ahead and said nothing, so she continued. “The girls said you were handsome but thought you looked a bit intimidating.”

They came to a stop, and Brandon unclenched his hand on the wheel then clenched it again tightly. He finally turned to her. “Is that right? What else did they say?”

His chilly demeanor confused her. Was it possible he didn’t realize she knew who Sofie was? Shouldn’t she be the one feeling a little perturbed about his reaction to seeing her? That after all these years he was obviously still feeling something for her.

“Valerie said you were always different.”

The light turned green, and he was back to staring straight ahead. “Valerie is Alex’s wife, right?”

“Yes,” Regina confirmed. “The petite blond one.” He chuckled dryly, continuing to stare ahead, and Regina peered at him. “What’s fu

He lifted a shoulder. “Before today, I don’t remember ever exchanging so much as a word with her.”

Regina watched as his jaw clenched, still confused why he was acting this way. “And that’s fu

“Yeah, it is,” he turned to her, but there wasn’t a trace of humor in his eyes. “Because she knows as much about me as I do about her.” Bringing his attention back to the road, Regina noticed how he clenched the wheel again. “Not a goddamned thing.”

Clearly the fact that Valerie would make such a harmless remark was offensive to him. But Regina wasn’t buying that this is what had him all worked up, and it made her insides wild with jealously. As much as she tried to calm herself, she couldn’t help but just put it out there. “Sofia said you’re a good guy.”

Instantly, it felt as if the air had been sucked right out of that Jeep, and they both sat there in suffocating silence.

Chapter Twenty-One

Brandon

The phone rang, and without looking at who it was, Brandon sent it to voicemail. He had a feeling the moment he realized what he was in for today that before the day was over someone would get to Regina about him and Sofie, but he hadn’t expected for it to be her.

“You asked her if I was?” he said, staring straight ahead because he didn’t dare look at her.

He could feel her eyes digging into him. The whole time he’d been stuck standing up there taking those damn pictures he’d seen her with all the yentas and wondered what they were filling her head with. That Sofie would say he was a good guy surprised him. If he weren’t so paranoid about all of them, maybe he would have been glad instead of suspicious.

“No. She just brought it up all on her own,” she said then added. “It actually came out of nowhere.”

He fucking knew it.

His phone rang again. This time he looked down to see who it was, but he didn’t recognize the number, so he sent it to voicemail again.

“Out of nowhere, huh?” he said, pulling onto the freeway exit. “What else did she say?”

“Is there more . . .?”

She stopped before finishing, but the sound of uncertainty in her voice made his heart speed up, and he turned to her. “More what?”

“More to you and Sofia you didn’t tell me?”

Looking in her worried eyes now for as long as he could before he had to look back at the road, he didn’t see any anger or distrust—just apprehension.