She nodded, and normally his concern for her would warm her, but she got the feeling from his tone he was worried about more. One of his regular questions all week when she’d got back from seeing her dad had been “who else was there?” This time she’d given him the answer without him having to ask, and it was the first time all week that someone besides her siblings and her mom had been there. Even with the hunch that Brandon was bothered by the fact that she’d been late because she’d been talking to Alex and Valerie, she wasn’t prepared for his next question.

“So what did Alex and Valerie have to say that compelled you to stay and chat longer, Regina?”

His tone was hard—accusatory—and it had her taking a step back. Brandon’s eyes widened slowly and glanced down at her feet.

“My sister, actually, just asked if I knew about you and Sofia.”

Instantly, he jerked his head up to glare at her. “What about me and Sofie?”

The sound of those last three words, especially coming from him, and the fact that he’d said “Sofie” despite her deliberate choice to avoid the now too-cute-to-stomach nickname, may as well have been a piece of wood grinding against rock. It ignited something within her, but she attempted to remain calm. She did not want this to turn into an argument, though given the look in his heated eyes, it already felt inevitable.

“The same thing you told me,” she said, lifting her chin. “That you two shared a moment once upon a time. She is the same Sofie you told me about, right? Or is—”

“No,” he said, his brow lifting. “She’s the same one. What else did they say?”

“What else do you think?”

That flicker she’d seen earlier in his eyes was an all-out flame now. “I don’t know. Your sister wouldn’t know much, but if Alex was telling you, I can only imagine. I doubt his spin on how things went down between me and Sofie was favorable to me.” Those blue eyes burned into her now with conviction. “I told you Sofie’s brothers never liked me.”

“You may’ve not gotten along with them Brandon, but from what I know of them, they’ve always been very sweet and fair.”

Brandon scoffed. “I’m sure they were with you. They didn’t hate you.”

“The word hate never came up once today,” she explained. “As usual, Alex was very sweet when he explained the whole thing. Since it was so long ago, he said he wasn’t even going to bring it up. He said that it just didn’t feel right not saying anything.”

Those piercing eyes went darker and harder with every word she’d said. “Yeah, I’m sure his ass was in no hurry to give you his bullshit version of what happened.”

“So why don’t you tell me your side, then?”

Both his brows shot up, and he dropped her hand. “My side?”

“I meant—”

“There’re sides now, Regina?”

“No!” she said, reaching out for his hands, but he backed away.

“What else did he tell you?”

“That’s it,” she insisted, her heart racing. Then she changed her mind, so she shook her head and watched as his already heated eyes narrowed in on hers. “He told me a lot more than you did, and,” she paused, lowering her voice, “I know now things were different than how you explained it.”

“And you believe him?” His words were laced with anger and exasperation.

She stared at him, torn between telling him what Bell had asked her not to or keep it to herself. “Brandon, it’s not that—”

“You believe him?”

His expression fell, and this time there was only one thing she heard in his lowered voice—pain. She didn’t think Sarah or Valerie had made up what Sofia herself had admitted, and it was so long ago, so she didn’t understand why he’d be so wounded by her believing it.

“Is there anything you left out?”

He stared at her for a moment, shaking his head, still incredulous, and she was suddenly filled with regret. Had Sarah gotten it wrong? Was it possible that, just like she’d forgotten that she’d never told Valerie Sofia’s secret, she’d gotten her facts wrong too?

In a flash, the hurt in his eyes changed. It wasn’t gone, but it was now accompanied by disgust. “I fucking knew it!” he said, backing up. “They got to you.”

“What?” she said, walking toward him, unable to believe how angry this made him. It only made him speed up, and he was already at the bottom of the stairs. “No one got to me. What are you talking about?”

“Is that why you took your sister’s call outside, Regina?” He pointed angrily at the front door. “To make sure I didn’t overhear your conversation? Since when do you do that?”

She shook her head, feeling like an idiot that she didn’t think her going outside to talk to Bell would set off any alarms. This was Brandon. He picked up on the smallest of details. “This is crazy. Why would they be trying to get to me?”

“Did he tell you what a worthless loser I am too?”

“No! Brandon, stop this. I’d never believe something like that anyway. I know you’re not.”

He came to an abrupt stop halfway up the stairs and stared at her for an achingly long silent moment. “But you’d question if . . .” He shook his head and started up the rest of the stairs.

Regina brought her hand to her mouth, feeling the lump at her throat growing by the second. How had this gone so wrong? Just when she’d decided to follow him up, he rushed down wearing a T-shirt now, holding his shoes in one hand and his keys in the other.

Her heart plummeted. “Where are you going?”

“Home and you know what?” He turned to her. If she didn’t know any better, he’d lost some color in his face. “Don’t worry about taking sides, babe, because I’ll tell you right now,” he said as he flung the front door open, "I won’t be pleading my case to anyone, not them or you. That family can kiss my ass, and if you believe the bullshit they’re feeding you, then you can too.”

Before her rattled brain could wrap itself around his words, she flinched at the sound of her front door slamming shut. She was frozen to that spot for too long before she finally sat down at her kitchen table.

“What just happened?” she whispered to herself, bringing her trembling hand to her mouth.

She replayed the whole argument back in her head, trying to pinpoint the exact thing that set him off.

Sides.

He thought she was taking sides, and that they’d gotten to her. About what? With her heart still at her throat, as much as she wanted to go after Brandon or at the very least call him, she decided it’d be better to give him a little time to cool off. She picked up her phone ready to call Bell again instead. Just before hitting speed dial, she changed her mind. Bell had told her everything she knew. She scrolled down her contact list, looking for Sarah’s number. She could swear she’d exchanged numbers with all the girls at one point.

Her stomach tightened as she scrolled down quickly and saw Sarah Moreno. Chewing the inside of her cheek, she mulled it over whether she should call her or not. What would she say to her? That first Valerie and then Bell had passed on Sofia’s secret—something she’d trusted Sarah with? And now Regina was calling hoping to get even more from her?

Clicking the back key, she stared at her contact list again. Unlike when she searched for Sarah’s name, she scrolled further down, slowly this time. Then she saw the name she was looking for: Sofia Diego. Did she dare?

Call me please if you need to talk about anything. I mean it, okay?

Regina remembered it feeling so odd when Sofia had said that to her. It almost felt as if there was something Sofia wanted to talk about—Brandon. Of course, Regina had no intention of taking her up on the offer, but given the circumstances, she now felt as if it were something she needed to do.

Worst case scenario, they slept together. But that still didn’t explain why he would think they were trying to get to Regina or that she would be taking sides. Sides to what? That her brothers might still think Brandon had taken advantage of Sofia? So what? Sofia obviously not only went along with it she admitted to enjoying it. And Sofia naïve? That was a joke. From the moment she met the spunky Moreno sister, naïve was the last thing Regina thought her. Somehow Regina didn’t buy that Sofia would be that naïve even way back then. Regina remembered hearing some of the funny stories the girls told while sitting around having martinis and wine in past gatherings. Sofia might be sweet, but she’d been a sneaky one. Those brothers of hers didn’t know the half of it.