“I knew it. I knew it!” Sofia held her hand up and high fived Alex then held her hand up for Sal. “So you called Grace?”
Sal didn’t even raise his hand. “No.”
“What?” This was exactly what he expected from Sofia. She brought her hand down looking almost disgusted. “Why not?”
“Because I still have no proof. Grace isn’t gonna buy this shit. If the tables were turned I’m not sure I would either.”
“But you have to at least tell her there is a very high probability, Sal. What if you wait too long and she… you know moves on?”
Sal noticed Sofia’s level of a excitement take a sudden nose dive with that last question. “I’m working on it Sof. Romero’s doing some more digging for me. I’m hoping he’ll have something for me soon.”
“Grace won’t be moving on, Sof,” Alex said with a frown. “You didn’t see her the day Melissa told her about Vegas.”
Sal’s heart ached at the thought. Her agonized expression at Joey’s and Taylor’s when she told him she hated him would forever haunt him.
“You wanna bet?”
His thoughts were still so consumed in the memories of that horrible day that Sofia’s words barely registered, but he glanced at her as she pulled her phone out of her purse. “Does this look like someone who’s not moving on?”
Both Sal and Alex waited as Sofia’s fingers tapped and glided over her touch screen phone then flipped it around for Sal to see the picture on the screen. He reached over slowly, staring at the picture of an almost unrecognizable Grace on the screen.
“That was last night at the Voodoo lounge. She was there with someone and he seemed very smitten from where I was standing.”
Slapped with the overpowering feelings of raw jealously, Sal pulled his eyes from Sofia’s phone to look at her. “What do you mean?”
Alex took the phone from Sal. “Oh damn, this is Gracie?”
“Slide over to the next picture and you’ll see what I mean.”
Alex slid his finger over the screen and Sal saw his expression immediately go hard. “What the f**k? Who’s the guy?”
Sal grabbed the phone out of Alex’s hands. In the picture Grace was on the dance floor, smiling at a guy who had his arm around her waist. A guy he didn’t recognize as the older guy with the roses who’d come to pick her up that night. Sal’s insides were ablaze. “Did you talk to her?”
“Yeah. I asked her if she’d moved on already and she didn’t say yes but she didn’t deny it either, Sal. She said he was a friend but she looked spectacular. Like she’s ready to move on. Why else would she be at a nightclub all done up with another guy?”
Sal stared at the picture of Grace and the other guy, feeling ready to explode. Business date his ass. “What do you want me to do, Sof?” His gruff voice did nothing to hide what he was feeling and he didn’t even care anymore. He was done playing the part of the in-control brother. Seeing Grace in the arms of another man made him feel things he didn’t even know he was capable of feeling. “I don’t even have her number anymore and she won’t see me. She begged me to stay away from her.”
Julie stuck her head in the door. “They need one of you out here to sign for a delivery.”
Sofia frowned, shaking her head, but turned toward the door. “I got it.”
Even though he didn’t care about being in-control anymore Sal still tried to collect himself. He needed to gather his thoughts. He swiped Sofia’s phone again and the next photo made him suck in a breath. It was of Grace and the guy walking off the dance floor holding hands. She was looking down but the guy gazed at her with an undeniable look of desire in his eyes. He tried swiping again but it was the last picture on her phone.
“Fuck!” He tossed the phone as if he held it any longer it would burn a hole through his hand. Either that or he’d be buying Sofia a new phone since he had a very strong urge to fling it across the room.
Alex picked it up. “Dude. Valerie begged me once to stay away from her. I was stupid enough to do it for over a year.” Alex stared down at the phone, frowning. “Yep. This is what happens. Damn she looks different.”
“Hot is what she looked like,” Sofia said, walking back into the room. “I told her about Melissa not being pregnant.”
Sal felt the hair on the back of his neck stand as he turned and stared at his sister. “And what did she say?”
Sofia chewed the corner of her lip. “Obviously she’s still hurt, but I really don’t think you should wait on this, Sal. That guy she was with last night was totally into her and I gotta tell you.” Sofia turned and opened the cabinet, giving her back to Sal. “She seemed sad for a moment there when I brought up Melissa but she got over it fairly quickly. This could be her rebound guy you know. Even if she is just using him to help her get over you, he certainly didn’t look like he’d mind being used and abused by the suddenly hot Gracie.”
His jaw hurt from how hard he’d been clenching it the entire time Sofia spoke. If Sofia’s phone had still been in his hands it’d be in a million pieces now for as tight as he was gripping the arm of the chair. “But she said he’s just a friend.”
Sofia turned to him making a face. “Yeah, you think she’d actually tell me if she was doing anything else with him?” She pulled her apron around her. “Though her behavior around him last night sure made it look like she is.”