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  Slowly, he met all her family, including her brothers. One of them Sydney felt a little star struck by: A.J. “Rage” Romero, the star catcher for the San Diego Padres.

  Ironically, he was the youngest of her brothers but physically the biggest. Meeting A.J. was a little unnerving at first, but he seemed as down-to-earth as Emi and the rest of her family—especially when Emi let A.J. in on her elevator moment with Sydney. A.J. had been the brother who’d rigged her phone. It was almost weird to see such an otherwise intimidating-looking guy known as Rage laugh so heartedly hearing the story.

  So far, Sydney knew Emi had three older brothers and an older sister. Both her parents were dead, and all her siblings resided in the San Diego area. He’d been right about something else. She was young—only nineteen and the baby of the family.

  “So how’d you end up in Los Angeles?” he asked as they took a seat at one of the picnic tables under a canopy.

  “I go to ESU,” she explained. “Why I live in that luxury building you and all those other suits live in is a long story. I started school last year but had to come home after a few months, and the only way this family would let me go back was if I agreed they could put me up in that ridiculously priced building with all its security and such.”

  Before Sydney could ask about the long story, a familiar-looking girl holding a toddler sat across from them, smiling big. “Livi told me you were seeing someone now,” she said, addressing Emi. “I didn’t know you were bringing him today.”

  Sydney exchanged glances with Emi. As comfortable as she’d been the whole time, she suddenly seemed a little embarrassed.

  Chapter Two

  Emilia

  “No,” Emi shook her head, feeling her face heat. “This is Sarah’s friend Sydney.”

  Rosie turned to Sydney then smiled even bigger. “Oh, okay. I thought you looked familiar. I remember you. I’m Rosie,” she explained as little Ruby squirmed in her arms, “Vince’s wife.”

  “Yeah, yeah,” Sydney said, nodding and reaching out his hand. “I thought you looked familiar too. Sal’s sister-in-law too, right? How’ve you been?”

  “Good¸” she said, shaking his hand then letting Ruby down. “Making babies.” She patted her belly. “I just found out another one’s on the way.”

  “That’s right,” Emi stood up and walked around to hug Rosie. “Livi told me. Congrats.”

  A commotion ensued as Alex and Valerie walked in with their brood. “Ooh, you two look cute,” Valerie said as Romero and his wife Isabel approached them.

  “I knew you’d like it,” Romero said, smiling smugly and dusting off his vest then tilting his fedora at her. “You can look, but you can’t touch, Val.”

  Alex gave him a glare as Valerie and Isabel rolled their eyes.

  “My cousin,” Emi quipped. “He’s such an ass.” Both Sydney and Rosie turned to her curiously. “You know they all go way back, right? Well, a couple of months ago at Alex’s twins’ birthday party, someone brought up how Valerie and Romero kissed in high school. I guess Romero had forgotten all about it, but now he won’t let it go. He just loves rubbing it in every chance he gets.”

  They turned to see Romero and Isabel posing for Valerie as she attempted to take a photo of them in their near matching outfits. They did look cute: Isabel in her high-waisted, pinstriped pencil skirt and long-sleeved white button-up blouse and Romero in his pinstriped slacks gray vest and long-sleeved dress shirt.

  “I don’t want you saving this so you can zoom in later, Val,” Romero said with a smirk.

  Sarah and Angel, who were standing next to Alex, laughed while Alex half smirked half frowned.

  “Pan up! Pan up!” Romero continued to tease with a huge grin. “My eyes are up here. Don’t be so obvious, girl.”

  His wife nudged him with her hip, laughing.

  “Easy, Ramon,” Alex finally said as everyone around them laughed.

  “This family . . .” Emi shook her head. “It’s a good thing my aunt and uncle are inside now. I swear. No respect.”

  Sydney’s eyes widened. “Wow,” he said, smiling big and making Emi laugh.

  “That’s different,” Emi said, feeling her face heat and remembering how she’d pressed her face against his waist while holding on to a body that’d been much harder than she’d expected.

  The guy also smelled as delicious as he looked. She cleared her throat, getting back to his comment, when she realized how quickly her thoughts had gotten away from her. “How could you not laugh at that?”

  Emi turned to Rosie and told her about the “Take Chuy!” moment they’d had earlier, and, within seconds, she was at it again, though she did glance back at the door a few times to make sure her aunt wasn’t coming out. “And this is why I didn’t bring Darren today.” She shook her head, still giggling. “I just started seeing the guy. No way is he ready for this family.”

  As unexpected as it was to meet Sydney that day under those circumstances, even more unexpected was the impression he made on Emi. From what she’d previously gathered even before the dreaded elevator incident, she thought he was a bit of a snob. Albeit a perfectly groomed snob with charcoal eyes that could melt icebergs, but a snob nonetheless. That wasn’t the first time she’d been in the elevator with him. Just the first time he’d acknowledged her. He was usually reading something on his tablet or too busy on the phone, having some kind of high powered conversation, to notice her.

  His tailored suits were clearly expensive as was the rest of his wardrobe from his shoes to his watches and cufflinks. Even his sunglasses looked like they cost a small fortune. Couple that with their obvious age difference, and he was the kind of guy she thought she could never relate to. Yet here she was feeling just as comfortable with him as some of the guys she’d dated in the past few months. Maybe more so.

  Aside from all that, there was something so charming and sweet about him. Like how genuinely saddened he’d become after they’d talked to Cristina. Emi hadn’t been exaggerating when she’d said her heart was broken for Cristina and Mando’s kids, but she’d made note of how Sydney gulped as he’d hugged Cristina tightly.

  “Seriously, Cristina,” he’d said, holding her hand as Cristina had wiped the tear that dripped from under her glasses. “If there’s anything, anything, you need, please don’t hesitate to call me. Okay?”

  It’d been more than a few minutes after they’d spoken with Cristina, and he still appeared lost in his thoughts, visibly upset for Cristina.

  “You okay?” Emi asked, cautiously after they’d been sitting back at the picnic table where they’d eaten earlier, and he still hadn’t said a word.

  He glanced at her wearily then forced a smile. “Yeah,” he said, clearing his throat. “Just sucks so badly. Their kids are so young, and now they’ll grow up without their dad.”

  “I know,” Emi whispered with a frown.

  They’d sat for a few more quiet moments until Uncle Manny’s wheezing laughter and his wife’s snorting had them chuckling again.

  As if meeting Sydney this way wasn’t ironic enough, things got even more ironic a little later. “So are you hanging around for the rest of the weekend?” Sarah asked, all bright-eyed. “Tomorrow’s our combined spring birthdays’ party. This one’s at Sal’s place.”

  “I can’t,” Emi said with a frown. “I drove out here with A.J. He just finished a series against the Dodgers. He’s my ride home, and he needs to be at LAX tomorrow afternoon to fly out with the rest of the team to New York.”

  Sarah started to pout but then stopped and smiled. “Sydney’s staying until tomorrow night so he can make the party. If you don’t have to be home early tomorrow, you two can drive back together.” She turned to Valerie. “Isn’t that crazy that they live in the same building?”

  Valerie’s eyes widened in agreement, but then the two got caught up talking about some of the details of tomorrow’s party.

  Emi turned to Sydney, who stared at her blankly then shrugged. “You’re more than we
lcome to ride back with me.”

  By the time the gathering at Moe’s was over, it was settled. Not only would she be spending another day with Sydney, the man whose first impression of her was “fart girl,” but she’d also be making the more-than-two-hour drive home with him Saturday night.

  ~~~

  As expected and as usual, the party that following day was over the top. But Emi had to admit it was pure genius that they’d thought to do it this way every year now. If they had a party for every one of the kids in the combined Moreno and Romero families, there’d be a party every weekend of the year.

  Emi was still trying to wrap her head around her new and unlikely friendship with Sydney. After knowing him for less than two days, she felt like she’d known him much longer—at least a few months. She also still couldn’t get over how he was nothing like what she’d imagined him to be. Of course, that could have everything to do with how he became aware of her to begin with. God, she’d never live that down.

  She’d also been wrong about another thing. Sydney was well-spoken, and his professional standing said enough about his level of education, but he wasn’t the least bit pretentious. Something told Emi he had every right to be. He hadn’t worn a suit to the kids’ party on Saturday, but even in his laid-back attire—jeans and a short-sleeved open dress shirt over a white T-shirt—he still exuded an air of classiness. The kind that just screamed well bred. He couldn’t be vulgar if he tried. Even his insistence that he hadn’t called her fart girl spoke volumes. Any of the other guys in this family would’ve owned up to it, and the name would’ve probably stuck with her for good.

  Because Sydney and Emi were two of the few at the gatherings not paired up, they kept ending up together. He was supposed to be Sarah’s friend—her guest—yet here they were again eating their food together. Emi chalked it up to everyone being too busy serving and feeding kids, which made her curious.

  “So I take it you’re not married since you’re here alone?” she asked as she dipped her tortilla into the delicious chicken mole Grace had made.

  He shook his head and waited until he was done chewing. “Nope, not anymore.”

  “Oh, but you were,” she said. “I was wondering since you seem to be the same age as all these baby-making machines.” She tilted her head. “Any kids?”

  “Nope,” he said again with a strange smile. She couldn’t make out whether it was pensive or maybe a bit regretful. “I keep changing my mind about whether or not that was a good thing—that my ex and I held off starting a family. At my age, I should be at least thinking about starting one.” He glanced around. “As you said, just about everyone else my age is already way ahead of me. Here I am not even close. Who knows? Maybe it’s too late for me even. But at the same time, I’m grateful to not have to be dealing with being a part-time dad or custody issues.”

  “Too late for you?” Emi asked, her jaw dropping. “Are you kidding? You can’t be a day over thirty.”

  “I’m twenty-eight.” He smiled. “Twenty-nine in a few months. And let me tell you time flies after you hit the big twenty-one. Seems like that was just yesterday, and now here I am, pushing thirty already.”

  That surprised Emi, not that he looked older than twenty-eight. He just seemed older—more mature than the average twenty-eight-year-olds she was used to. Maybe now that she knew him better that would change. Before this weekend, she would’ve thought him a young-looking thirty-five or so. He just seemed so put together. Intimidating even.

  Powerful.

  That was the word she was searching for. He looked not just like a boss but a boss’s boss, the guy who made everyone in the office nervous when he stopped by to visit. At her school, her professors were all so sure of themselves, but their demeanor seemed to change if the dean ever dropped in to listen to one of their lectures. Emi always assumed anyone who held that kind authority—power—had to be at least in his mid-to-late thirties.

  “I have a cat,” he said.

  That surprised Emi and she tilted her head, smiling. “You do? You don’t strike me as a cat person.”

  “I’m not,” he said with a smirk. “I’ve always been a dog person, but I sort of got stuck with Homer when my elderly neighbor Earl up the hall died suddenly. Homer was his pride and joy, and when I went to give his daughter my condolences the day she was over at his place packing up his things, she told me Homer was gonna have to go to the shelter. She and her grandkids, who lived with her, were allergic. Homer was ten at the time, so I figured he didn’t have much time left himself. I knew Earl wouldn’t have wanted him put in a shelter, so I took him in, and three years later, he’s still around and healthy as a horse.”

  Emi smiled, feeling her heart warmed by Sydney’s kindness. Before she could comment on that, Sarah sat across from them. Angel stood by her side. They were free for a moment from their kids. Sarah looked a bit worn out. Emi could imagine all the work they’d put into getting a party this over-the-top together. “I’m gonna grab a beer,” Angel said. “Anybody want anything?”

  “I’ll take a glass of wine please,” Sarah said, tapping his hand on her shoulder.

  “Got it. How ’bout you, Syd? You wanna beer?”

  Syd said he’d take one, and then Angel turned to Emi. “Sorry, Emi, but if your brothers catch me bringing you booze, they’ll hang me. I can bring you anything else though.”

  “I’m good,” she said, tapping her plastic cup of soda.

  As soon as he walked away, she leaned into the table closer to Sarah. “Please. Like my brothers could ever claim they didn’t drink before they were twenty-one.”

  “Do they watch you as closely as Angel and his brothers watched their sister once upon a time?” Sydney asked with that big perfect smile—yet another flawless thing about him.

  She was beginning to wonder if there was anything not perfect about the guy. There wasn’t a hair out of place. Earlier she’d even noticed his nails appeared almost manicured. They were so neatly groomed.

  “They used to,” she admitted, taking a sip of her soda. “But I’m nineteen now, living on my own. So they need to get over it.”

  “Nineteen’s still a baby.” Sarah smiled.

  Emi laughed softly, her laughter feeling a bit disingenuous for some reason. “Well, if my brothers knew some of the things their baby sister has done, their hair would fry.”

  Sarah’s brows lifted, full of playful curiosity, and Emi didn’t miss the strange look she got from Sydney. She felt her face and neck flush, and she took an even longer sip of her soda, feeling ridiculous now. That’s not how she’d meant for that to sound. She was just being facetious. Why? She wasn’t even sure, but talk of her being so young and a baby had sort of irritated her. Not that she was getting any ideas about trying to impress Sarah’s friend in any way. Sure, she was younger than he was, and his first impression of her had been just a fluke. They didn’t have to make her out to be that lame and immature. Only now her stupid comment may have just confirmed that.

  She cleared her throat, attempting to backpedal. “I mean I’ve had alcohol before and stayed out way later than I’m sure they imagine I’d stay out. Stuff like that.” She smiled at Sarah, glancing at Sydney as Angel returned with their booze. “You know my brothers. That alone would fry their hair.”

  “Uh huh,” Sarah said with a playful wink. “Don’t worry. Your secret is safe with me.”

  “What secret?” Angel asked, sitting down next to Sarah.

  “If I tell you, it won’t be a secret,” Sarah said, pecking him on the lips before taking a sip of her wine.

  “Ooh secrets,” Valerie said, plopping down in the seat next to Angel.

  Her husband, Angel’s brother Alex, took the seat next to her. “Who’s telling secrets?”

  Emi glanced up and met Sydney’s eyes as he smirked as if he knew she was squirming in her seat now and why. “So what are we talking about?” her sister Livi asked as she sat down next to Emi, placing a plateful of food in front of her.

&nbs
p; “Secrets apparently,” Alex said, taking a swig of his beer, and Livi’s eyes brightened.

  Emi’s head spun, thinking of how to change the subject, but before she could, Sydney did.

  “If you all knew what I did, you’d know there are no secrets.” They all turned to him curiously, and Emi was relieved. “You know what they say about big brother, right?” he continued, now that he had their attention. “I can’t give you guys the details, but I’ll just say this. It’s all true,” he said, lifting a brow and taking a sip of his beer.

  “Oh, that’s right,” Sarah said. “You would know, wouldn’t you?” She turned to the rest of them to explain. “Sydney works for the people who design the satellites and stuff.”

  “We’re not the only company,” Sydney explained.

  “But you’re contracted by NASA. That’s huge, and”—she turned back to everyone with a big smile like a mother or in her case more like a sister would wear when bragging about a brainy sibling—“Sydney was just recently promoted as one of their top execs.”

  Again Sydney smiled humbly and corrected her. “Executive in charge of the IT and design department, not the entire company.”

  “The whole company is about designing, Sydney,” Sarah argued.

  Clearly, she was not letting him off the hook or allowing him to undervalue himself for the sake of modesty.

  “Sydney was wooed away from his previous highly impressive company, which flew him all over the world. I’m just saying Syd”—she turned and smiled at him proudly—“it is a big deal no matter what you say. Anyway”—she turned back to Angel and Valerie specifically—“if anyone knows about satellite tracking and all that stuff, it’s Sydney.”

  “But like I said, I can’t say too much,” Sydney reiterated. “All I’m saying is, if you ever plan on doing anything shady, be aware anything and everything can be tracked. Right down to the color underwear you wear and your whereabouts at all times.”