“Nah,” he said, pulling out another beer for each of them. “Don’t do anything if you see her with anyone.” It almost hurt to say it, but he had to just admit it. “Things are different now. I haven’t even talked to her in months.”
Even after he’d just said he hadn’t seen Alex and Valerie together in a while, Romero still seemed surprised by this. “Months, huh? I knew it felt like a while, but I didn’t know it was that long.”
Sofia rushed in from the back. “Alex, have you seen my wallet?”
“Back room, top drawer of the desk.”
“Oh, thank God.” She turned back and kissed Eric just as she rushed off to the back office. “I told you I hadn’t lost it.”
Eric rolled his eyes but laughed and headed toward Alex and Romero. Alex greeted him, handing Eric a beer, then leaned back, listening silently as Romero explained what they were celebrating. Celebrating was the last thing Alex felt like doing. Even hearing Romero recite the song his uncle Manny had made up to help him remember a few key terms he had to know for his exam didn’t break him of his dark mood. But the song was pretty funny, so he did crack a smile, hearing Eric have a good laugh.
“Those two still act like I’m in the first grade.”
Alex finally decided to speak up. “What did they say when you told them you passed the exam?”
“I haven’t,” Romero said wide-eyed. “I’m looking to celebrate tonight my way. Knowing those two, they’ll insist I drop by their place like I don’t already know they’ll have cake, ice cream, and balloons waiting.” Eric laughed again, and Romero turned to him. “I’m not kidding. They’ve done it so far with every other milestone I’ve hit.”
Just when Alex was starting to get a little into the laughing mood, Angel and Sarah arrived. “Hey,” Romero said, turning to look at them. “I guess everyone got the memo.”
“What memo?” Angel asked.
Within minutes, everyone was all caught up on Romero’s news, including Sofie who had since returned from the back room. “Good for you,” she said with a big smile. “You should come with us next week when we all go on a day cruise to Catalina for Sal’s birthday.” She turned to Alex. “That reminds me. I need the final head count. You can still go even with your bad ankle, right? We won’t be doing much walking. Sal wants to do the Segway tour.” Alex nodded, but before he could say anything else, she went on. “Good and Valerie’s going too, right?”
The sudden awkward silence was quickly snuffed out by, of course, Romero. “Nope.” Romero grinned then turned to Alex. “But, hey, I’m hanging out with Nora tonight. She’s friends with Nadine, and fuck if that chick doesn’t ask about you every time I see her. I could tell them about Catalina. I’m sure they’d be down to go.”
“Oh Gawd no!” Sofia said. “Remember Sarah and I are gonna be stuck with these girls all day too. And no offense, Romero, but all your girlfriends are always annoying.”
Romero laughed. “What are you talking about? I’ve never had a girlfriend. And what about me? I gotta put up with Eric.”
Eric punched him in the arm but laughed. Sofia ignored Romero’s comments and turned to Alex. “Why can’t Valerie go?”
“That ship has sailed,” he said without looking at her or anyone.
Instead, he turned and pulled a shot glass out of the cabinet then grabbed a bottle of tequila. He was going to need lots of this to numb the overwhelming ache that confirming this one more time made him feel.
“Yeah, but by next week, things between you two should be all patched up, right?” Sofia asked, looking at Alex then turning back to Sarah, who said nothing.
Sofia had been too busy herself these last couple of months with school and an internship to notice Valerie’s longer absence this time. Of course, she would think this was just another one of their off-again deals. Alex took the shot and looked straight at Sarah.
“What do you think?”
There was no missing the way those cautious green eyes of hers glanced at Romero then back at Alex. She had to know Romero had already filled him in on seeing Valerie with another guy and what she’d told him about things being really over between Alex and Valerie.
But she turned and addressed Sofie not Alex. “Valerie has a lot keeping her busy now with her new career and all.”
“New man?” Alex asked, staring at her coldly.
He’d known all along Sarah had just been kind when she reasoned with him that all Valerie needed was time. He needed it straight now so he could end the delusion already. And if anyone knew, for sure, whether Valerie had actually been telling the truth that day—that she’d moved on that quickly—it was Sarah. So he waited for a response, staring at her with a purpose.
“I don’t know anything about a new man,” she said.
“Sure looked like it to me.” Romero scoffed.
“She has lunch with clients and stuff all the time,” she said too quickly then turned to Alex as if she caught herself saying too much. “But, uh, she has mentioned moving on a few times.”
“That doesn’t mean anything,” Sofia dismissed Sarah’s comments quickly then turned back to Alex. “You two have always been that way. But, seriously, let me know if anything changes, Alex. The reservations need to be made at least a couple of days in advance.” She tugged at Eric’s shirt. “Let’s go. The movie starts in less than twenty minutes.” She smiled at him big. “I want popcorn.”
As quickly as they’d all gotten there, they all made their exit. Romero downed what was left of his beer and said goodbye, leaving with Eric and Sofie. Angel rushed off to the back to get whatever it was he and Sarah stopped by for in the first place.
Sarah was the only one left standing there, looking a bit frozen. Alex hadn’t taken his eyes off her the whole time. Finally, he looked down but only to make sure he didn’t spill the extra tall shot of tequila he’d poured himself. “So what does that mean exactly?” he asked without looking up.
“What does what—”
“You know what I’m talking about, Sarah. Is she seeing someone or not?”
“I, uh, don’t think she’d want me to share—”
“Oh come on,” he said, looking up feeling thoroughly disgusted with himself for screwing things up this badly with Valerie. “What difference does it make at this point? She practically told me herself that she was, so just say it.”
“All she said was she moved on,” she said firmly. “But she didn’t mention anyone specifically.”
Of course, Angel would walk back in at that moment, but then Alex had all he needed to know.
“You sure that banquet room upstairs is gonna be ready for the wedding next year?” Angel asked.
Alex nodded. “It better be,” he said, taking the shot in its entirety then wincing and sucking a wedge of lime. When he was finally able to talk, Alex continued. “It’s already booked for a few other parties a few months before your wedding.”
Angel peered at him. “You gonna be okay to drive?”
With a humorless laugh, Alex grabbed the bottle of tequila and put it back where it belonged then stuck the shot glass in the dishwasher. “I’m fine.”
After Angel and Sarah left, Alex waited until all the employees were gone to finish locking everything down. He’d done it all in what felt like super slow motion all the while thinking about what Sarah had said. The entire drive home and the whole hour or two he sat on the sofa, staring at his phone, he tried in vain to convince himself to just let her go. It was over. But that stubborn flicker of hope would not let him forget what he felt from Valerie every single time he kissed her. What he saw in her eyes those last few weeks. There was no way she’d moved on. He refused to believe it. He’d be home free once his parents got back and he could take more than just a day at a time off from the restaurant to devote to her—if he could convince her to let him.
Then his phone rang.
He literally flinched it was so unexpected. It must’ve been close to midnight. The caller ID was private, and it alarmed him
as much as it gave him hope that maybe just maybe Valerie was calling him from a new phone. A work phone maybe. So he answered.
“Hello?” He heard breathing then someone take in a few gasping breaths and he sat up straight. “Hello? Who is this?”
“Mijo,” his father said in a strained voice. “Tu abuelito,” he said then cried softly.
Alex’s heart sank as he fell back onto the sofa, bringing his hand to his forehead. With all the emotion already flying high, hearing his dad so broken up had him choked up instantly.
The phone was muffled, and then his mom was on the line. “Mijo, abuelito is gone.” she said, confirming what Alex already knew just from hearing his dad crying. “He suffered a massive heart attack and . . .”
The rest of what she said was a haze of words strung together. He sat there, his head still resting on the back of his sofa, eyes squeezed shut, and his fingers pressed over them tightly. The tears that ran down the side of his face from hearing his mother also break down were a welcome release.
He hurt for his dad. He hurt for his mother, who he knew cried more over the sight of her strong husband so anguished. But he especially hurt because of Valerie. The irrepressible and brutal ache in his heart that had been building for months now and finally peaked tonight was ever present and mounting with the hopelessness of it all.
Finally able to take a deep breath so he could listen to what his mom was actually saying, he sat up swatting the tears away.
“ . . . he wants to be here at least a few weeks. We’ll come home just to pick up some more things, but then we’re coming back. We’ll be gone a lot from here on. We’ve been discussing this for some time now: retiring to spend more time with the family we hardly ever see anymore. We were going to talk to you about it when we got the chance. Do it gradually, but now . . .”
“Wait, wait,” Alex said, clearing his throat and sitting up slowly. “What do you mean retiring? Like from the restaurant? Completely?”
“Yes,” she said, sniffling. “That’s been the plan all along. We’d hand the business to you and your brothers and sister when we retired. It’s just happening sooner than we had planned. Sal has bigger plans for more restaurants, but we’ll discuss this another time. Right now, I just need you to know that the next few weeks and months are going to be difficult, but we can get through this as a family. Your father and I will be counting on all of you, but especially you, Alejandro, to run the restaurant and monitor the construction until your brothers are done with school.” She sniffed again and took a long trembling breath. “You see, Mijo. Everything does happen for a reason. For reasons only God knows, he took your abuelito just when we thought he was doing better, but he made it so your father doesn’t have the added worry of rushing back to the restaurant. It’s a small consolation, but he can mourn in peace and for as long as he needs to. There was a good reason why your education was postponed, but you will go back and finish. For now you don’t know how grateful we are and what a reassurance it is to know that you’re there to keep everything under control.”
He listened to his mother for a little bit longer as the reality of everything that had happened in the last few months sunk in.
The utter bitterness began its slow deluge into his heart, overwhelming his senses and his ability to breathe or swallow without the enormous ache in his throat. Maybe he and Valerie were never meant to be. Maybe he’d been right about not deserving her. Maybe, as usual, his mom had hit it right on the nose about everything happening for a reason.
Being a full-time business owner—a reluctant workaholic desperately trying to drown out the fact that he’d failed his parents so miserably—was exactly what he needed. It might just be only way he’d ever get over Valerie. He sure as hell would have neither the time nor the slightest inclination to focus on a social life now much less a girlfriend.
He fell back onto the sofa when he hung up with his mom. The continuing ache in his heart was unbearable. The brutal reality of what life had handed him came barreling down on him mercilessly. He squeezed his eyes shut again, feeling a warm tear escape the corner of his eye. Try as he might, and he sure as fuck was trying, the damn tears wouldn’t stop. Abuelito was gone.
He tried once again in vain to swallow back the suffocating emotion, but it was impossible. As much as his devastated heart was still trying to fight it, he had no choice but to accept it now.
He’d really lost Valerie—forever this time.
A Note to My Wonderful Readers
To all my wonderful readers, I hope you enjoyed reading about Alex and Valerie’s college years. Please take a moment to leave a review on Smashwords.
Okay, okay, DON'T KILL ME! I know a cliff hanger from me is a first for you, but If you've already read Always Been Mine, you know how things end, and if you haven't, you don't have to wait to see what happens! The conclusion, Alex and Valerie's FULL LENGTH novel is already available for purchase everywhere! Read the excerpt at the end of this note.
If you haven’t already read them, please check out the rest of the books in The Moreno Brothers series!
Forever Mine—Angel and Sarah’s story
Forever Mine is now available in its Spanish version everywhere. Here is the link to the post in my blog with the links to all retailers: Para mi. . . por siempre
Forever Yours—Angel and Sarah—the college years
Sweet Sofie—Sofia and Eric’s story
Always Been Mine—Alex and Valerie’s story
Romero—Romero and Izzy’s story
Making You Mine—Sal and Grace’s story with a bonus Angel and Sarah short story
Fate is a spinoff series of my first series, The Moreno Brothers. Now available in the Fate series:
Fate (Fate #1)—Vince and Rose’s story
Breaking Brandon (Fate #2)—Brandon and Regina’s story
Still to come in the Fate series are Sydney and Lorenzo's stories.
My 5th Street series is about the love lives of the young aspiring boxers from the 5th Street boxing gym in East Los Angeles. The first four books in that series, Noah, Gio, Hector, and Abel, are available now.
Also available is my debut traditionally published novel with Simon & Schuster/Atria
Desert Heat
Coming Soon
Coming this Christmas: Another Moreno Brothers Novella
Tangled—A Romero Christmas story
Coming November 13th 2014
My next full length novel.
The final book in my 5th Street series
Felix
Read an excerpt of Felix after the following excerpt of
Always Been Mine
The conclusion to Alex and Valerie's story.
Here’s a little peek at what you’re in for (available now):
Excerpt from Always Been Mine
Alex felt the air sucked out of him. His heart did a wild gallop, and he swallowed hard, trying to remain composed. It amazed him how different she looked from a year ago. She was still the same Valerie he’d known since high school. Delicately petite and blonde, yet there was something different. Even as small a woman as she was, her entrance was enormous.
He thought of how busy she’d been a year ago, working on getting her real estate license. She spent most of her time studying for the state exam in tattered jeans or shorts. He remembered her honey-blonde hair constantly in ponytails and wearing t-shirts. His t-shirts.
Now she stood there in a sexy little ivory skirt suit. The only color to her outfit was the soft pink lace camisole under the jacket. Her golden locks were in a glamorous updo with strands that fell perfectly around her face. The wisps of hair accentuated her high cheekbones. Then she smiled with those full lips he’d never been able to get quite enough of. Beautiful.
She wore her signature very high heels. He watched in awe as she walked across the yard to greet Angel and his fiancée, Sarah. It always amazed Alex that not only could she walk in those big heels she did it with such elegance.
Valerie’s
posture was as perfect as ever. She’d always exuded confidence. That was just one the qualities that first attracted him to her so many years ago.
He was aware that he hadn’t taken his eyes off her since she walked in. Fully aware, and he didn’t care. His eyes roamed her body freely from top to bottom and back up again. He’d expected it would be pleasant to see her again. Pleasant didn’t even begin to describe what he was feeling now.
“Damn, is that Valerie?” Romero asked.
Alex stiffened. Even after all this time, he didn’t like anyone else looking at her that way, especially Romero’s dumb ass.
“She brought a friend, Romero.” Eric pointed out. “Maybe she’ll put a good word in for you. You damn sure will need it.”
To his relief, the only person Valerie had walked in with was her roommate, Isabel. After all this time, he’d actually lost sleep the last couple of nights over the possibility of her showing up with another guy. He wasn’t even sure why. It had been so long. It only made sense that she would be seeing someone now. It really shouldn’t bother him. He was long over her.
Alex had only met Isabel a few times. She was much taller than Valerie and attractive in an exotic yet inhibited way but a bit too uptight for his taste.
Romero took one look at her. “Not my type.”
Eric laughed. “Since when do you have standards?”