He searched her eyes for what she might be thinking. Then she smiled really big and hugged him hard. “That means so much to me.”

Not exactly the words he’d hoped to hear, but he held her tight anyway. Saying it felt right and that's all that mattered.

*

Brunch at his house went well with other members of his family meeting Sarah for the first time, including his oldest brother Sal. She was such a natural and everyone seemed to like her immediately. He’d hardly been able to keep his eyes off her the whole time. He took her home as soon as they were done eating so she could get her dinner at home over as soon as possible.

When he got back from dropping her off Eric was in the kitchen sitting at the bar with a plateful of food and Sofia was warming something up in the microwave.

“Thought you were spending the day with your dad?” Angel asked as he walked to the fridge.

Eric spoke with a mouthful of food. “Already ate with him.”

Angel looked down at Eric’s abundant plate. “You’re kidding right?

Eric didn’t flinch. “Nope. He’s watching some boring ass golf highlight’s DVD, so I thought I’d come over and see what you guys were up to.

As if he couldn’t imagine. But Angel didn’t mind. He felt bad for Eric. Since Eric’s parents were divorced and he lived with his dad he rarely got a home cooked meal. That’s why he was over so much in the Moreno kitchen. As far as Angel was concerned both Eric and Romero were like family.

Sofia pulled a plate with sliced apple pie on it from the microwave. She added a big spoonful of vanilla ice cream to the top.

“Looks good, Sofi,” Angel eyed the pie as he pulled an energy drink out of the fridge.

“Not for you.” She took the plate and set it in front of Eric.

Eric grinned at Angel “Thank you, Sof.”

“You’re a fat ass. You really gonna eat all that?” Angel leaned against the sink.

“Shit, I’m gonna go get me some more of your mom’s kick ass mashed potatoes.” Eric said putting another spoonful in his mouth.

“I made those.” Sofia beamed.

“Sarah liked them too.” Angel smiled at Sofia. “You’re getting better every year, Sofi.”

Sal walked in the kitchen. “Getting better at what?”

“Everything.” Eric said.

The comment threw Angel, and he thought he saw Eric and Sofia exchange a glance. Both Sal and Angel stared at him. Eric finished chewing and cleared his throat.

“I mean I heard Sarah say she’s getting pretty fast in track.” He looked at Sal, “But Angel was talking about her cooking.”

Sal turned to Sofia with a big smile. “That’s my baby sis.”

Sofia started putting dishes in the dishwasher. “Not a baby, Sal.”

Sal turned his attention to Angel. “So, I guess everyone is growing up around here. You brought a girl home to mom and pop, Angel? Really?”

“He’s got it bad.” Eric grinned.

Unamused, Angel shot him a look. “What’s the big deal?”

He took a swig of his drink and hoped someone would change the subject. But he had a bad feeling. He saw it in Sal’s face. He walked in the kitchen with a purpose. Sal pulled a chair from the breakfast table and straddled it.

“So, how long?” Sal asked.

Sofia answered for him, “Three months and a few weeks.”

That surprised Angel. He wasn’t even sure how long it’d been. He knew it’d been a few months, but that was it. “How do you know?”

Her expression teased him. “Sarah and I talk about a lot of things.” She glanced at Eric, and then back at Angel. “She just mentioned it the other day.”

“Wow.” Sal said. “So, tell me about it. What made you decide you wanted to be a one woman man?

Knowing Sal wouldn’t let up until he knew everything, Angel decided to just give him a brief rundown of the whole thing.

Very brief.

Sal looked settled in for a full detailed account, but that wasn’t going to happen. Angel did his best to sound bored.

“I met her in school. She was the new girl this year, didn’t really know anyone.” Angel shrugged for good measure, “I thought she was cool so we hung out, introduced her to the guys, and Sofi, and I’ve been hanging with her since. No big deal.”

He wondered if anyone was buying it. Everyone had seen him tonight. Hell, he’d never made an effort to hide his affection for Sarah before. But tonight was different. Telling her he loved her had done something to him. He couldn’t figure it out. All he knew was that every time he kissed her, touched her, or even looked into her eyes, it ignited something in him.

Sal looked satisfied. “She seemed nice enough.”

“She is really nice.” Sofia agreed. “I like her a lot.”

Eric groaned. “Oh, I ate too much. Sofi, why’d you feed me so much?”

Glad they were off the subject, Angel took advantage. “Good, that’s what you get. So, we working out tomorrow?”

Eric sat back in his chair with his hands on his stomach. The pained look on his face made Angel laugh.

Without missing a beat, Sofia put a cup of fizzing water in front of Eric. “Here drink this.”

Angel and Sal looked at Sofia. “What? That’s what dad drinks when he eats too much.”

Eric did as he was told and downed half the concoction, stopping with a face of pure repulsion. “What was that?”