Beast

  “And he likes Brad?”

  Allison thought of the conversation she’d had with Leonardo about the beast in him. She couldn’t imagine having his kid, breaking up, and then bringing another man around their child. The very thought made her cringe.

  “What’s that about?” Drew asked with a laugh. “I said he’s wound tight, but he means well. He just wants what’s best for her. He likes what he's heard about him so far, but I'm sure he'll approve.” Drew rolled her eyes, shaking her head. “Brad’s a publicist. It’s in his blood to schmooze. He’d charm the pants off anyone.”

  Instantly, Allison’s mind was back on Leonardo. “I don’t know about anyone.”

  She glanced over to where Sarah was now laughing with the other women at her table. Lila and Sonny were at that table along with AJ and Felix, who were engrossed in conversation as their wives chatted as well. Charlee and Hector walked over, splitting up when Hector joined the guys and Charlee stayed by the women. Within minutes, the ladies took a seat at the table where AJ’s wife had been sitting near Sarah. That gave Allison an idea.

  “Besides Charlee and the other wives of Hector’s friends, do you know any of those other women?”

  Drew glanced over curiously. “Not really. Some look familiar. Why?”

  Hesitating at first, Allison decided to change the subject and tell Drew what Lila had informed her of. Then she added what she’d been thinking the whole time Lila had told her and still was. Allison admitted she’d been doing the math. Assuming Sarah was Leonardo’s age if this went down in their last years of college and assuming they did four years, this still would’ve happened at least eight years ago. If this happened in their early years of college, then even longer.

  “What are the odds that AJ’s cousin still remembered the story correctly after all this time?” Allison asked. “Or that Leonardo is even the same guy? One thing Lila did say was that the Moreno’s restaurant chain is a family business that their parents first started. All their restaurants were in the San Diego area, which means they were all born and raised here. Leonardo’s never mentioned living in this area, only Mexico, Arizona, and then Los Angeles.”

  Drew glanced over to Sarah several times as Allison told her the story. Charlee was sitting even closer to her now. “Maybe we could ask her about it?”

  “No!” Allison said quickly, adding the part she’d left out. “According to this guy who told Sonny about it, he said Sarah nearly went for it.” Drew’s eyes opened wide, so Allison went on rolling her eyes. “This guy wasn’t even in the equation. How would he know if she almost went for it? That’s not something a guy would want to admit to friends, right? That his girl had nearly cheated on him. This guy obviously made assumptions, but still Lila said she wasn’t even supposed to be mentioning it to me. Not here anyway in front of them. So, no, you can’t just go ask her about it.”

  “Then I won’t ask.” Drew stood up. “She’ll tell me on her own.”

  “What?” Allison asked, standing up too and feeling a little panicked. “How are you going to do that without asking?”

  She’d only hoped to pick Drew’s brain a little about Sarah if she knew her, not have Drew go snooping around for answers. Drew tsked, shaking her head. “Ali, you of all people know there’s an art to getting people to open up. I may’ve majored in documentary filmmaking, but I was required to take a few interviewing courses in the process. Don’t worry. Whatever information I get out of her, she’ll volunteer herself and never even know I was digging for it.” Drew motioned for Allison to follow her. “This will be fun.”

  Allison gulped nervously. Even if it turned out to be true and Drew did manage to get Sarah to talk about Leonardo, she wasn’t sure how much fun it’d be hearing about it.

  Twenty-four

  BEAST

  The feel of the texts and the lapse in time between responses had been Leo’s first clue. He understood Allison was playing a big role in this wedding. Regardless of how short the notice was, this guy her sister was marrying was loaded and able to put something huge together in no time. Not only would being part of a wedding of this magnitude keep anyone busy, Ali had all her maid-of-honor duties to tend to during the wedding. Her responding with short texts to his and the long response times in between were to be expected. But he was certain she’d had a few moments throughout the entire day when she could’ve snuck in a call, or at the very least longer responses.

  She’d told him earlier the festivities were scheduled to end about eight in the evening. But she’d also said they weren’t throwing anyone out and Sonny had a lot of close friends who’d likely stick around a lot longer. Even if Lila did call it a night, given her condition and how tired she’d probably be by that time, this meant, if the party continued past the scheduled end, more than anything, it would be mostly guys—maybe couples.

  Allison mentioned who’d likely be keeping her company most of the day and night: her friend Drew, who was happily leaving her boyfriend behind for the weekend. Glancing at the time on the top corner of his phone, he replayed that conversation in his head. She’d been at his place again, and she’d just told him about the wedding and who she’d be taking.

  “Drew seemed more excited about all the possible single ballplayers who’d be showing up than disappointed she couldn’t bring her boyfriend.”

  It’d lit a small fire in the pit of Leo’s stomach, and he’d pulled Allison to him. “Are you?”

  The expression on her face had made him smile then, in spite of the heat he was feeling, and it nearly made him smile now. “Am I what?”

  “Excited about the single ballplayers?”

  She’d laughed at him and called him hilarious, another first for Leo. He’d been called a lot of things, but hilarious was right up there with the list of other adjectives like sweet and special that he’d never been called until Allison.

  Thinking about that was the only thing that calmed him now because it was almost ten and she still hadn’t called him to tell him how everything went, even as nervous as she’d been about her speech. But he knew there was no possibility that she might’ve already gone to bed, spent, and that’s why she hadn’t responded. About a half hour earlier, she’d finally responded to a text he sent her hours ago asking her how it’d gone. It consisted of a few pictures and a five-word response. It went beautiful. Still going.

  He stood on the back deck of his place, looking at the photos she’d sent. There was one of the bride and groom looking like a million bucks. A breathtaking one of Ali in her body-hugging very elegant gown. Another selfie of her and Drew, smiling a little too big, which explained why she might be avoiding calling him if she didn’t want him to hear her a little tipsy. Then another of the two of them taken by someone else because it was a full-length photo of them posing with the sunset behind them.

  “Who’s that?” O asked as he and Nine walked out the back door and onto the deck with him.

  “Ali.”

  “That’s Ali?” O reached for his phone, and Leo gave it to him.

  “Yeah, I told you she’s in San Diego this weekend for her sister’s wedding.”

  “That’s right,” O said, staring at the photo. “Damn, she looks . . .”

  Leo glared at his good friend and roommate like he better watch the next words that came out of that mouth of his. O laughed. “Beautiful. Older. Who’s that with her?”

  “Her friend, Drew.”

  “She’s fucking hot,” O said then added quickly. “Her friend, ass. Don’t look at me like that.”

  “For a white girl,” Nine said, scrutinizing the photo over O’s shoulder. “Eh, she’s okay. They all look alike.”

  “This guy.” O shook his head as he handed the phone back to Leo then turned back to Nine, who was sitting on the deck’s ledge now, a cigarette in one hand and a bottle of Jack in the other. “You always say that. Like you wouldn’t do this girl if you got the chance.”

  “Oh, I’d fuck her faster than I can snap my fingers,” he said, taki
ng a swig of whiskey straight from the bottle then handing it to O. “I’m no fag. But I’d send her packing as soon as I was done. White girls just don’t do it for me. Why do you think they call them crackers?”

  O took a swig from the bottle then frowned. “Really? Because back in the slave days they cracked that whip?”

  “Nah, man, that’s why black people call them that,” Nine said, shaking his head. “Hispanics call them that because they’re so bland, not like our hot and spicy chicks. They’re what my mom calls desabridas.” He motioned to Leo as he took a drag of his smoke then let it out slowly. “Beast has the idea with that hot little Mexican girl he’s bagging. That’s what I’m talkin’ about. Long dark-haired beauty with the poppin’ curves—”

  “Speaking of,” O said, interrupting before Leo could threaten Nine about what would happen if he didn’t keep his fucking eyes off Ali’s curves. “So, how’d the top-secret wedding go? The paparazzi ever catch wind of it? I haven’t heard anything about it yet.”

  Leo finally took his glaring eyes off Nine, who was chuckling and shaking his head. “I don’t know.” He hated the reminder of this. “I haven’t talked to her all day. Last I heard when she texted me was it was beautiful. So, I guess they haven’t had any interruptions.”

  “Well, that was a smart move not to have it in Los Angeles then,” O said, nodding in approval. “So, Ali’s gone all weekend?

  Nodding, Leo did what he normally wouldn’t have, but at the moment he needed to; he took the bottle O was offering and downed a good long swig.

  Nine hopped off the deck’s ledge. “So, what are we doing standing around here? It’s Friday night. Let’s go get some pussy.” He swayed his hips slowly like an idiot. “Just thinking of those poppin curves got my dick—”

  Leo grabbed Nine by the shirt and pulled him to him. “You must have a fucking death wish, asshole—”

  “Whoa, whoa, whoa,” O said, trying to get in between them. “Nine, you stupid shit, you’re just dying to cash in that ninth life, aren’t you?”

  “Ha!” Nine laughed, surprising Leo; though he was not feeling the humor. “You were right,” Nine said, jerking away from Leo, and Leo let him go. “I thought I hit a nerve earlier but still wasn’t buying that this little girl has you so seriously pussy-whipped, dude.”

  “Shut the fuck up—”

  That only made Nine laugh more, but Leo’s phone ringing had him forgetting his roommate’s stupid remarks and glancing down instead. Without explaining who it was or that he was going to take the call, he walked off the deck toward the driveway that led to the front yard. He could still hear Nine cackling, as Leo brought the phone to his ear when he was far enough away from them.

  “Hey.” His anxious heart was already speeding up, and he hadn’t even heard her voice yet.

  “Hey,” Ali said, and he could almost hear the smile in her voice. “Finally, I was able to get away long enough to talk to you.”

  “Away from who?”

  Leo could still hear music and voices in the background. Loud voices that sounded like mostly guys.

  “From the party. As expected, Sonny had a lot of catching up to do with his friends and ex-teammates. Surprisingly, even Lila is still out here. But I think they’re getting ready to wrap it up. Lila and Sonny, that is. They have that long flight to Venice, Italy tomorrow. But Sonny’s insisting the party go on. The bartender, DJ, and a couple of waiters are getting paid until whatever time the last stragglers leave.”

  Reminding himself not to be immature about this, that he had no reason to think she might be doing anything that would make him insane, he took a deep breath. “So, it was nice then? No incidents with the paparazzi?”

  “None,” she said, and again he could hear the smile in her sweet voice. “Not a peep until maybe an hour ago.”

  She told him about the news van outside the property that someone noticed, but they weren’t worried about the word getting out. With all the cars, caterers, and DJ setup, it was obvious AJ was hosting some kind of event, but there was no way the paparazzi would know what for. All the guests were close friends and knew the drill, so there’d be no leaks. She said AJ had also explained this wasn’t unheard of. One or several cars out there with cameras when he was having any kind of event at his home was normal.

  She was interrupted a couple of times. Each time Leo could hear it was a guy, and both times Allison’s giggling had the hair on the back of his neck standing and him gripping the phone a little tighter, but he let it go. Leo had never actually been in a real relationship, and he’d never thought he’d be one of those guys, the ones that lose their shit over something petty like this. But it was becoming increasingly annoying to know this had obviously been what’d kept her too busy to call him until now. She’d mentioned she invited Drew because she wouldn’t know anyone else there aside from Lila and Sonny and the owners of 5th street and their wives, but she hadn’t wanted to be a third wheel all night. Now these guys, whom he could only assume she didn’t know before tonight, had her giggling like a school girl?

  “So, Drew’s kept you company all night?”

  “Hmm, yeah, among some of the other guests.”

  “Like who?” Leo asked, feeling his insides balling up.

  “Just friends of Sonny. He’s got a lot of friends—”

  “Guys?”

  “Yes, but—”

  “Drew meeting lots of single ballplayers, Allison?”

  “She’s met a few.”

  “Have you?”

  “Well . . . yeah—”

  “Is that right? Is that what kept you so busy you couldn’t call until now?”

  Calm your shit.

  “No,” she said, finally sounding a little irritated with his dumb ass. “You really think they’re what’s kept me busy all day? I’ve been running around like crazy, but I’ve thought of you the whole time.”

  Leo bit his tongue and kept back the words that threatened to fly out his mouth. Even when you were giggling with all the ballplayers? But he had to or he’d blow it before he ever got a fighting chance at anything solid with Allison. It still didn’t feel real—he still didn’t feel worthy of a girl like her—and this was exactly why. He’d just begun to convince himself not to fuck this up, and then she went on.

  “I didn’t even get a chance to really relax and just mingle until about an hour ago.”

  “Yeah?” He squeezed the bridge of his nose, pacing in front of the garage, trying desperately to hold it together and not blow this. She was at her sister’s wedding for fuck’s sake. “So, who’ve you been mingling with for the past hour?”

  He squeezed his eyes shut, bracing himself for her answer. How the fuck was he going to handle this shit? He was nowhere near the calmer levelheaded guy he thought he’d become. His response to the guy trying to spook her was a perfect example of that and now this. And this was nothing but her possibly having gotten a bit distracted by some single professional baseball players. Only he knew that was it. Given a choice, anyone in her life who cared about her would rightfully try and convince her who was better for her. Hell, even Carson was a safer, smarter choice, and Leo couldn’t even argue that.

  “Everyone,” she said, but there was something in her tone that made him nervous.

  There was something telling about the way she’d lost the conviction he’d heard in her voice earlier when she was being defensive “Everyone?”

  “Yeah, I told you Sonny’s friend AJ has this huge family, not to mention extended family by way of the family who catered the party. They’re like a second family to one of his cousins and now good friends of AJ and his family by default.”

  She paused for an unnerving moment, and Leo waited because it felt like she had more to say. Like she was setting up for something bigger to say—announce. “I’ve had some very engrossing conversations with a few.”

  “Have you?” Leo asked, grinding his teeth. “So, you’ve met some interesting people. I’ll let you go if I’m keeping you fr
om anyone.”

  “No,” she said, back to sounding frustrated, but Leo was beyond frustrated himself now too.

  If she had something she wanted to say—let him know about why or who she hadn’t been able to tear herself away from to call him until now—she should just spit it out already.

  “I’m just saying,” he said, desperately trying to keep his cool. “It sounds like maybe you’d like to get back to these engrossing people. Don’t let me stop you.”

  “Maybe I do. But I’ll get back to them soon enough.”

  For a moment, he was staggered until he recovered. Only now he was on fire, and there was no holding back. “Get back to them now. Why the fuck are you calling me if—?”

  “Tell me about Sarah, Leonardo, the girl you conned into thinking you were her brother way back. I met her tonight.”

  Stunned silent, the inferno that’d ignited inside Leo, oddly petered out, despite the unexpected and rattling topic. While troubling that he’d have to discuss a subject he never thought he’d have to again—least of all with Allison—it sure as fuck beat what he’d begun to think she’d been implying.

  Twenty-five

  Allison

  There was still no proof Leonardo was the same guy in Sarah’s past. Allison continued to remind herself of this even in the wake of Leonardo’s sudden silence.

  “What do you wanna know?”

  His stony tone only knotted Allison’s insides up further. Sarah had been understandably vague. But the few facts that did match when Sara’s sisters-in-law were far more willing to revisit what Sarah had referred to as a “lost memory” until now, did point at Leonardo. And now here he was not exactly confirming it but definitely not denying it.