Again

  He walked to the door and peered into the peephole, smiling when he saw Emi in her softball outfit. He opened the door, feeling a little breathless at the sight of her.

  “Hey,” he said, unable to refrain from smiling so big. “I’m surprised you didn’t just come in.”

  Her eyes widened; then she shook her head. “I’m so freakin’ nervous about today.”

  “Why?”

  “I don’t care for my photo being taken, and from what Sly warned me, there’s gonna be a lot of that.”

  She smoothed her girlie short Padres jersey, which to Sydney’s relief bore her brother’s number, not Sabian’s. “How does this outfit look?” Emi turned for him with arms out. Since her hair was in a ponytail sticking out of the Padres ball cap she wore, he was able to see that the jersey did, in fact, say Romero on the back and not Sabian. Why he was so hung up on that he wasn’t sure, but he was a little too relieved by it.

  He’d been distracted momentarily, taking in her ample ass in her sleek-fitting yoga pants. They hugged that bubblicious ass so nicely he felt something shift in his pants, and he cursed himself, walking back toward the kitchen.

  “Looks good,” he said as reached the kitchen. “I especially like the cap.” He turned back to her once he was safely behind the kitchen counter where he could casually make sure what had happened in his pants wasn’t too obvious, but he couldn’t help smiling. “You’re adorable, Em.”

  She stared at him for a moment, looking as stunned as he suddenly felt.

  He hadn’t even thought, before the words had just spilled out. Hoping she wouldn’t read too much into them, he took the two steps toward his refrigerator and opened it. “So what time does this thing start?”

  It was a Sunday afternoon, and typically, if he hadn’t made plans with Cheryl, he’d be hanging out with Emi for at least part of the day. He didn’t have plans with Cheryl. She was doing a family girl thing with her mom and sisters. But he’d yet to respond to the matter of that curious text he’d received.

  “He should be here to pick me up in about a half hour.” Sydney turned to see her wiping her hands on her pants. “My hands keep getting all sweaty. I hope he doesn’t try to hold them.”

  Clenching his jaw, Sydney turned back to the refrigerator. Just the other day she’d insisted this wasn’t a date. Now she was talking about them holding hands? So what if when Sydney had held her hand it was harmless. They were friends. Best friends. She hardly knew this guy. It’d been refreshing the past few weeks not having to hear about her and Darren or anyone else for that matter. He didn’t realize just how refreshing it’d been.

  Refusing to comment on that because he didn’t trust for it not to come out wrong, he focused on something else. “Since when do you not like your picture taken? I seem to recall a computer file full of selfies.” When he turned to her, he had to smirk. It’s what he needed: a change in topic—mood.

  She crossed her arms in front of her, giving him a playful glare. “I was fifteen or sixteen in those photos, Sydney. I’ll be twenty-one soon, in case you’ve forgotten.”

  “God, don’t remind me,” he said, pulling a bottle of water out of the fridge.

  He motioned to ask if she wanted one, and she nodded, so he tossed her one. “That’s right.” She smiled. “You’ll be turning the big thirty this year right around the time I’ll be celebrating my big twenty-one. Those are pretty significant milestones. We should do something.”

  “It’s still months away,” he said, and as if on cue, her phone pinged.

  She glanced at it and her face said it all. The mixture of nerves and excitement as she texted back were undeniable. “He’s here!” she said, rushing to the door and stopping at the intercom when it rang.

  Taking a hard swig of his water, Sydney watched as she pressed the button. “I’ll just meet you downstairs; you don’t have to come up.” She turned with a wince at Sydney. “Was that rude? I mean there’s no point in him coming up when I can just meet him down there, right?”

  “Makes sense to me.”

  “Okay. Okay,” she said again, double-checking herself in the mirror before leaving.

  “Hey,” Sydney said, forcing a smile. She turned back to him with curious eyes. “You look fine. Relax and enjoy yourself.”

  Nodding, she took a deep breath before opening the door. “I’ll text you when I get home to tell you about it.”

  Chapter Ten

  Emilia

  The conversation Emi had had with her sister that morning had been longer than their typical calls usually lasting for at least an hour. They’d gone over all of Emi’s concerns. This was exciting. This was the Sly flipping Sabian! They’d gone back and forth, mostly texting, and had a total of two phone calls so far.

  Emi’s concerns were basic. Unlike her brother who had a stigma and made it into the headlines often and on occasion the tabloids, Sly didn’t make headlines for his temper. He made them for the big endorsement deals he signed and for the different celebrities, often fashion models, he was seen with.

  Typically, after all the squealing died down, she would’ve thought this through and said no. No matter how good-looking, rich, and famous he was, even he wasn’t worth stressing out her brother. But as Sly had explained when she’d hesitated to accept any of his invitations, it made sense. “You’re sweet. You’re easy to talk with. I felt comfortable with you even that first day I met you, and you’re not all Hollywood. I’m not looking for arm candy to show off at the charity event, not that you don’t have the looks for that, but you’re so much more than that.”

  She’d still hesitated, unable to even imagine herself around other celebrities. The only charity events she’d attended with A.J. were a few visits where she’d accompanied him to the children’s hospitals for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. But it was usually just him and maybe a few other players making the rounds to visit kids whose wishes were to meet them. Paparazzi and other Hollywood celebrities weren’t involved. Sly then made an even more profound plea.

  “I just signed a record-breaking deal with the Padres. I’m signed for at least three years. You’re Romero’s baby sister. I like the guy. Trust me. I would not be taking the chance of messing up my relationship with someone I’ll be forced to be around for the next three years, least of all Rage’s baby sister, just so I can get my freak on. Not to be an asshole or anything, but you’re forcing me to point this out. Let’s face it. I could make a phone call and have several girls at my beck and call if that’s all I wanted. But I don’t, not for this kind of thing anyway. I’m just looking to hang out, Emilia, with someone sweet, who I already know I can have a nice uncomplicated friendship with.”

  Then, of course, just when she was beginning to calm, he added the heart-stopping open-ended comment. “Whatever happens down the line, we’ll play by ear. You just have my word I won’t be making any promises I can’t or don’t intend to keep.”

  Liv and Emi had dissected that last comment down to every word because it’s what girls do. She hadn’t even mentioned this to Sydney. He’d for sure think her silly for digging so deep into the comment.

  Her sister thought it meant he was hoping more would happen—more than something meaningless that would sic all three of her brothers on him no doubt.

  Emi thought it was just his way of warning her he wouldn’t be making any promises, which was fine by her. Judging by her pounding heart as she rushed out of the elevator, she wasn’t sure she could handle anything more than just a friendship with the guy.

  As usual, he was in the lobby with a small crowd already around him, a few guys and two girls. He excused himself the moment he saw her. The curious glances she got from the small crowd turned her insides. She did not understand how famous people did it. This was nothing, and already she felt flushed, knowing she had so many eyes on her.

  Sly looked as sexy as usual in the Padres jersey he wore with jeans. It was the strangest thing. She noticed this about him the day they went to lunch. Unlike Sydney, he wasn
’t perfect, not in a natural way. Obviously, he could afford to clean up extremely well. He had expensive clothes, ridiculously expensive cars, and bright white teeth that looked just a little too white as if he’d had them redone recently. If his place and car were neat, she knew it was because he paid for them to be kept clean.

  With Sydney, it was more like that was just the type of perfect he was. It was a lifetime of being so particular and meticulous about everything he did—every choice he made. As attractive as Sly was, his obvious imperfections were, in a way, refreshing. He had a scar just under his hairline. Like her brothers, his language was not quite as clean as Sydney’s, not that Sydney didn’t drop the occasional F-bomb or even a few other unholy curse words. It was just that, despite all his fame and riches, Sly was clearly less refined.

  He’d held her hand the whole way to his car, but it wasn’t until she was inside it that she realized she’d just spent the entire introductory portion of their day together comparing him to Sydney. She tapped her forehead as he closed the door and circled the car.

  “Stop it!” she hissed at herself. “What is wrong with you?”

  That morning she and Liv had spent a good portion of their conversation discussing how she should react if he held her hand. Casual? Not make a big deal of it? Some people didn’t consider hand-holding a big deal, like Sydney obviously. When it finally did happen with Sly, what did she do? Her mind immediately focused on his callused hands—a rugged man’s hands so unlike Sydney’s. She’d teased him enough about his hands being perfectly manicured, which he adamantly denied doing.

  Emi remembered how she’d touched his hands, and while they felt soft in comparison to a rugged working man’s hands, they were still strong. Masculine. She remembered the visuals she’d had of having his hands on other parts of her body, gliding over her in the painstaking way he did everything: slowly, thoroughly, perfectly.

  “You okay?”

  She snapped out of her thoughts, feeling her face flush. “Yeah.” She managed not to gasp. “I was just thinking about a school assignment.”

  ~~~

  Everything Sly had said when he’d given her the speech to try and convince her he wasn’t looking for anything more with her but to have an uncomplicated innocent good time was true. He’d been a complete gentleman who tried nothing more with her than just holding hands. Though he did compliment her a lot and flirt in a sweet way but tried for nothing else—until the evening ended.

  The event had been just as he warned: full of celebrities and paparazzi. Because this was a charity event, he told her not to worry about rude paparazzi, not inside Dodger Stadium anyway where the event was taking place. Outside, the ones not invited were a few who inquired about who she was. Emi regretted wearing her Romero jersey because, immediately, she was asked if she was related to him or just a fan.

  Sly had already told her she didn’t have to answer anything. Just smile and walk past them. At the actual event, no one asked such nosey questions. Mostly, they interviewed Sly, asking him a few questions about the event: why was he there and other baseball-related questions. What were his predictions on the season? Did he think they had a chance at the play-offs or even the World Series?

  The entire time he’d held her hand it felt more like he was just trying to assuage her, make her feel comfortable in an environment she obviously wasn’t used to. She even did what she’d told Liv she refused to do—took a few selfies with some of the other celebrities, but only because each time she’d gasp about someone he’d smile and say, “Let’s go and meet her or him.”

  Then it was always Sly who offered to take a photo of her and said celebrity. The game was a big funfest. Comedians were funny, real players like Sly downplayed their talent or, in his case, knocked one out of the park when the comedian pitching heckled him a little too much. But it was all in fun.

  Afterward, they headed to Original Tommy’s in Los Angeles for chili burgers. Sly seemed surprised that she wasn’t aware he was born and raised in Los Angeles. “I’m so glad this place finally got a drive-thru,” he said as he drove through it. “I couldn’t come here for a long time because it would take just way too long to get through the crowd.”

  Emi didn’t want to burst his bubble, but his driving a Maserati through the drive-thru here had plenty of people turning heads, many of whom she was certain had recognized him even behind his dark glasses. Luckily, none approached the car, and they were out of there quickly.

  He drove back to Griffith Park, where they got out and sat on a bench. Again, like everywhere else they went, they turned heads. He’d even taken off his jersey just in case someone was on the fence about who he was; he didn’t make it easy for them.

  Just like when she’d gone to lunch with him and A.J., being around him was so much easier than she’d expected. She began to understand why he was so down-to-earth. Like A.J., he came from humble beginnings.

  Emi found herself refraining from laughing as often as she normally did. She was afraid she’d come across like Lucy, laughing nervously and becoming annoying. She covered her mouth with her napkin, remembering Sydney’s comment about wanting to stick a fork in his ear.

  When she glanced up, her eyes met with Sly’s deep blue ones. Sly was a tough guy. He reminded her of a blue-eyed version of his brothers: sweet deep inside, but on the outside tough as nails. At the moment, she saw the sweetness in Sly’s eyes.

  “You have gorgeous eyes,” he said, wiping his mouth then tilted his face with a sweet smile. “There’s something about you I can’t put my finger on. At first, I thought it was just because you were A.J.’s sister. By default, that makes you a good girl. And by good girl I just mean someone I can trust. You’d be surprised how many girls have tried to come into my life with ulterior motives.”

  Emi’s brows rose in curiosity and concern. She thought of her famous brother, who could be such a hothead but at the same time had a heart of gold and could easily fall for someone unscrupulous with ulterior motives.

  “Yeah,” Sly said with a nod and a frown. “I was warned, but I still had to learn the hard way.” He chuckled. “My mom always said the hard way was my favorite way to learn. Lucky for me, it left me a little jaded, and now, believe it or not, I tend to gravitate to good girls—at least the cute ones, who are almost guaranteed to be good girls.”

  He winked, biting into his cheeseburger as her heart pitter-pattered. This should’ve felt more like a dream come true. For the better part of the day, Emi had “Double the Sizzle” Sabian flirting with her, calling her cute, and gazing into her eyes. Sometimes he didn’t say anything for a few unsettling moments. It happened in the elevator on the way up to her apartment, and she thought her heart might explode.

  Thankfully, he’d already promised he was just escorting her up. That he wouldn’t dream of trying to get himself invited in. “This might seem fast to you, but like I said before, there’s something about you and . . .”

  He’d pulled out his phone in the middle of his little speech. In the car, he’d begun to tell her about what A.J. had said to him when he told him about wanting to ask Emi to the event.

  “At first, he didn’t say a whole lot, just stared at me very seriously. Kind of scary.” He laughed. “I explained that I thought you were cool and that we’d been chatting online and on the phone.”

  That didn’t surprise Emi. As hot tempered as A.J. was, unless he was at the point where he was going off on someone, he was the least vocal of her three brothers. “All he said that day was if you were okay with it he was and that he trusted me.”

  Now he tapped his phone as they walked out of the elevator. “I thought I’d gotten off a little too easy when I first told A.J. Then I got this text from him this morning. I guess he thought it over a little more.” Sly showed her the text from A.J.

  You’re my friend and teammate, and I meant it when I said I trust you. Just remember this is my baby sis and my family comes before EVERYTHING to me. Give her my love and have a good time today.
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  “Now that’s not exactly a threat”—Sly laughed after Emi read it and felt her face flush—“but I certainly ain’t looking to piss this guy off.” After laughing some more, he cleared his throat and, for the first time the whole day, seemed nervous then added. “In all seriousness though, Emilia, it’s not all because of who your brother is. I don’t wanna ruin what already feels like something I could definitely be into for the long run. So I’ve every intention of taking this slow. Whatever this turns out to be.”

  Of course, Emi wasn’t surprised by A.J.’s thinly veiled threat. But she was even more surprised at Sly’s complete honesty and how up front he was about the whole thing. His words had also made her entire insides tingle. This whole experience felt surreal, like some kind of dream but mostly because of who he was and also by how quickly this all seemed to have snuck up on her. Her mind had seemed muddled lately between school, her internship, and trying to figure out why she constantly felt something gnawing at her.

  They got to her door, and he turned to her curiously. “I could’ve sworn the room you had me buzz started with a twelve.”

  “Oh it was,” she said, digging in her purse for her keys. “I’d gone up to my friend Sydney’s place and was there when you got here.”

  She glanced up at him and tried not to freeze when she saw the way he was looking at her, like he was ready to say good-bye, but how he’d do it was what made her nervous. Her insides had been going wild most of the day, but there’d been a series of explosions in the last ten minutes alone. Sly had held her hand the whole way back to her apartment and now he stood, smiling at her.

  “I had an awesome time today.” His eyes drifted from her eyes to her lips.

  “I did too,” she said, trying desperately to focus on his eyes. “Thank you for inviting me. That was definitely a first for me.”

  He squeezed her hand, licked his lips then closed his eyes and let his head fall back with a small groan. Emi laughed nervously, not sure what to make of that. His eyes opened, and they were immediately on her lips again. “I said I wouldn’t,” he whispered as he stared at her lips. “I said I’d be good and not even try to kiss you, but I want to so badly.”