She replayed the whole argument back in her head, trying to pinpoint the exact thing that set him off.
Sides.
He thought she was taking sides, and that they’d gotten to her. About what? With her heart still at her throat, as much as she wanted to go after Brandon or at the very least call him, she decided it’d be better to give him a little time to cool off. She picked up her phone ready to call Bell again instead. Just before hitting speed dial, she changed her mind. Bell had told her everything she knew. She scrolled down her contact list, looking for Sarah’s number. She could swear she’d exchanged numbers with all the girls at one point.
Her stomach tightened as she scrolled down quickly and saw Sarah Moreno. Chewing the inside of her cheek, she mulled it over whether she should call her or not. What would she say to her? That first Valerie and then Bell had passed on Sofia’s secret—something she’d trusted Sarah with? And now Regina was calling hoping to get even more from her?
Clicking the back key, she stared at her contact list again. Unlike when she searched for Sarah’s name, she scrolled further down, slowly this time. Then she saw the name she was looking for: Sofia Diego. Did she dare?
Call me please if you need to talk about anything. I mean it, okay?
Regina remembered it feeling so odd when Sofia had said that to her. It almost felt as if there was something Sofia wanted to talk about—Brandon. Of course, Regina had no intention of taking her up on the offer, but given the circumstances, she now felt as if it were something she needed to do.
Worst case scenario, they slept together. But that still didn’t explain why he would think they were trying to get to Regina or that she would be taking sides. Sides to what? That her brothers might still think Brandon had taken advantage of Sofia? So what? Sofia obviously not only went along with it she admitted to enjoying it. And Sofia naïve? That was a joke. From the moment she met the spunky Moreno sister, naïve was the last thing Regina thought her. Somehow Regina didn’t buy that Sofia would be that naïve even way back then. Regina remembered hearing some of the funny stories the girls told while sitting around having martinis and wine in past gatherings. Sofia might be sweet, but she’d been a sneaky one. Those brothers of hers didn’t know the half of it.
The truth was that their sleeping together wouldn’t be the worst-case scenario. What if Sofia had always been secretly in love with him? What if that’s what Sarah had kept from Valerie? Regina knew firsthand how easy it’d been to fall in love with Brandon, how sweet and wonderful he could be. The thought of him reverting back to the cold Sergeant Billings she’d first met choked her up. She needed to get to the bottom of this now.
Would calling Sofia make this worse? She debated about it, going back in forth on whether to try Brandon first instead. One thing was for sure. She needed answers now. There’d be no sleep for her tonight if she didn’t get them.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Brandon
The keys slammed so hard against the glass coffee table it cracked. Brandon’s phone rang for the second time, but he refused to answer it. He couldn’t talk to her right now. He didn’t even want to hear her voice, yet he was dying to. How the f**k did that even make sense? Sitting back on the sofa, he brought his hands to his face, and he slid them both down roughly, taking in an angry breath. He wasn’t even sure if he was more angry or hurt.
All week he’d been afraid something like this might happen. From the moment he realized the Morenos were a part of Regina’s life, he’d wondered how that would affect their relationship. He could deal with seeing Sofie if he had to. Like Sunday it might be uncomfortable, but he’d since decided it was a sacrifice he’d be willing to make for Regina. Any feelings he may’ve had for Sofia had been dead and buried for years. He knew now after experiencing real love that what he felt for Sofie had been nothing more that infatuation and maybe a desperate need to feel cared for as he thought she might.
As tempted as he’d been to bring up the subject this week, he hadn’t. Regina had already been dealing with turmoil since her dad’s heart attack. He didn’t want to add to it. He knew talking about Sofie and her brothers and the shit they might tell Regina about him would be a sore point, but he didn’t realize how infuriating it would be. The thought of them possibly poisoning her mind about him had bothered him all week, but a bigger part of him was confident she’d be immune to any bullshit they might feed her. He couldn’t be sure, but as far as he knew, today was the first time this week she’d heard anything more about him and Sofia, and already she was acting suspicious. Not once since her first reaction to his questioning her about her therapist had she been secretive.
One conversation with Alex and Regina was already having her doubts about him. That’s all it took, and he could only imagine what being around them longer would do. She believed what they said already. He saw it in those hesitant eyes. He couldn’t deal with this. He wouldn’t. She wanted his side of the story? Why? All this time around him—knowing him—falling in love with him wasn’t enough to prove that things hadn’t gone down the bullshit way Sofie’s brothers said they did? She expected him to plead his case to her now?
“Fuck that!” he said, flinging his phone across the room where it hit the wall and slammed down on the floor in one piece.
He wondered for a moment if he’d be making a trip tomorrow to the wireless store for a replacement until he heard the text message alert go off. He sat there, staring it at it without moving until it went off again. With the amount of close friends he had, he didn’t get many texts, so he knew it had to be her. Unable to fight the curiosity of what she might have to say to him, he got up and walked toward it.