Unable to sit anymore, Sal stood up, nearly sputtering his words. “What was she doing?” He wasn’t even sure why he was asking. Just the thought crushed heavy into his chest like a freight train. Did he really want to know?
Sofia smirked. “Not much more than what you saw in those pictures.” She patted Sal’s arm. “She just looked like she was having a good time with him. That’s all. But it made me nervous, Sal. If he can make her forget about you even if it is only for an evening, that could be how it starts.”
“She’s right, man,” Alex added, still looking down at Sofia’s phone. “This would make me nervous as shit. Hell, I ain’t you and I’m nervous for you. You gotta move, Sal. Before this guy does.”
As tempted as Sal was to look at the photos again he resisted grabbing the phone from Alex. Even another glance at the ass**le with her in the pictures and he was certain Sofia’s phone would go flying across the room. Instead he pulled his own phone out of his holster.
“You calling her?” Sofia’s bright eyes were hopeful.
“No, I don’t have her number, Sof.” But they were right. He had to do something. “I’m calling Romero.” He walked past her and out the door with the phone at his ear. “I’ll be outside.”
He needed air—needed to breathe. If he stood in that room any longer thinking about Grace and the guy she’d been with things were going to start flying in every direction. For the first time Sal understood now how Alex’s temper could torpedo in an instant. He flexed his empty hand as he walked out the back door then paced, waiting for Romero to answer. When the call went to voicemail he hung up and dialed Vincent. He answered on the first ring. “Hey Sal.”
“Did Rose say anything else about this business date Grace was on last night?” The more he thought about it the hotter he got. He pulled on his collar and loosened his tie. His next call would be to cancel the meeting he had scheduled with the same investing group he’d been in the middle of negotiating with when Alex had called to tell him about Melissa showing up at the restaurant and dropping the bomb on Grace.
He didn’t care that day that he’d blown them off the moment he realized what had happened and he didn’t care now.
Vincent exhaled loudly, an indication that Rose had said something. “Out with it. Vin. Is she seeing this guy?”
God that pissed him off. Sure she was under the impression he’d betrayed her but it hadn’t even been a month. He couldn’t even begin to think about seeing anyone else and she was out dancing with this f**ker? And from what Sofia said, enjoying it?
“She didn’t say much about it last night,” Vincent said. “But this morning she texted me to say they’re going house hunting all day today. The guy she went out with last night I guess is buying the house with them.”
Sal stopped his pacing, his eyebrows shooting up. “They’re buying a house together?”
“I guess. She said he was going because he’d be part owner.”
Sal could barely bring himself to ask the next question but he had to know. Speaking through his teeth he barely got the words out. “Is he moving in with her?”
“Whoa. I don’t know about that. I can ask her if you want. But dude aren’t you having a kid with—”
“No I’m not!” His voice a near roar now and there was little he could do about it. “Ask her and call me back.”
“I’ll text her then forward you whatever she responds. I’m not supposed to be using my mom’s minutes. But Sal… ”
“What Vincent?” Sal’s patience was completely shot now.
“I was just gonna say, it may take a while because I can’t just ask her you know? It’ll be too suspicious. I’ll have to work my way to the question.”
“I’ll be waiting.”
After hanging up with Vincent Sal paced for a few more minutes outside. He knew there was no way Grace could be sleeping with this guy, but what other incentive would he have to buy her and her family a f**king house? He tried making sense of it. They guy owned a casino in Laughlin. Why would he be looking into moving in with Grace in California?
Once he felt calm enough at least to speak without growling he called and cancelled his meeting. There was no way he’d be able to concentrate on anything now.
He tried Romero again. This time he answered.
“You got anything yet?”
“I was just going through some of her email. But f**k she has a lot. I was able to filter out the ones that were just business. All the court crap.”
Sal ran his fingers through his hair. “Doesn’t she have a personal email?”
“Yeah, problem is, she uses that one for all her court shit too. But I’m getting hot. I found a couple between Melissa and her cousin—I guess your friend’s wife.”
Sal winced remembering how he’d skipped out on Jason’s wedding. After everything that happened he didn’t even want to be in the same room with Melissa and since she was a bridesmaid she would be there for sure. He’d lied through his teeth, telling Jason he was sick as a dog but he knew Jason had still been disappointed. He hadn’t talked to him since. “Kat?”
“Katherine? That’s what the email says.”
“Yeah, that’s her.”
“So I’m sifting through this shit and your name has come up but only to ask if you’d be in Vegas. The report for the text messaging just came through; I was getting ready to switch over to that. Maybe I’ll have better luck there. It’s huge though. I can only imagine the amount of garbage I’m gonna have to go through.”