Forever Mine (The Moreno Brothers)

FOREVER MINE - Chapter 16

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 highlights 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 it was only him and his dad and neither cooked, 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, Sofie," 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, Sofie."

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 Sofie is 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.