#TBT Syd and Angel Scenes!
**Spoiler Alert!
I realize because just about all my books are stand alones many of you read them out of order. So some of you might’ve even read Again (Sydney’s story) before reading any of the Moreno Brother’s books and that’s fine because you didn’t NEED to. But did you know there is a LOT of back story to his, Sarah’s and Angel’s story? These are a couple of scenes that help you better understand Syd’s reluctance to fall for his best friend again! But If you haven’t read Forever Mine or Forever Yours,
these scenes may contain spoilers for you! Consider yourself warned!
Scene #1 – In Forever Mine, Syd unsuccessfully tries to convince Angel he has nothing to worry about his friendship with Sarah. Angel just ain’t having it.
For the past ten minutes, Angel sat in the office, staring at the pencil he twirled through his fingers. Sarah’s voice from her earlier call was still on his mind.
Sofia popped her head in. “Someone’s here to see you out front.”
Angel sat up. “Who?” Sofia shrugged and walked away in a hurry.
He got up and walked to the front of the restaurant. As he turned the corner, he saw his guest. Every muscle in his body tightened, and automatically he clenched his fists. Alex left the hostess desk and walked past Angel toward the dining room, oblivious as to what was going on.
Sydney glared at Angel “I got a bone to pick with you.”
Maybe this wouldn’t be such a bad Christmas after all. He’d felt like kicking someone’s ass all week, and now here was Sydney, of all people, calling him out. Sydney wasn’t a small guy, and he had a fairly good build, but either way, Angel felt certain he could take him. Hell, the way he was feeling, he had been ready to take Alex earlier. Angel smirked and leaned against the entry archway to the dining room
“I thought you and Sarah would be back in Arizona by now.”
Sydney was still glaring at him. “Have you listened to any of her messages?”
Angel’s teeth locked and swallowed hard. “I’ve heard all I need to know.”
“Then you know she’s a wreck?”
Feeling a dull ache in his heart, Angel shook off any thoughts of Sarah in pain. She was happy now. She was with Sydney, where she’d wanted to be all along.
“I’m sure you’ll fix that.”
Patrons were beginning to arrive in groups, filling up the front entrance, Sydney moved closer to Angel. “Is there somewhere else we can talk?”
Angel glanced at the hostess desk. Alex had already sent someone to cover it. He walked out the front door without saying anything, and Sydney followed.
The weather was considerably cold with many of the people arriving in coats and heavy jackets. But Angel felt hot.
The yellow Impala was parked across the street. Angel squeezed his eyes shut for a second, remembering that night. He leaned against Alex’s truck parked just two cars away from the restaurant’s front door.
“I don’t have a lot of time.” Angel crossed his arms over his chest.
“I’ll make this fast.”
Angel did his best to look bored.
“Sarah loves you, Angel.”
Angel stared at Sydney, his expression shrouded. “Funny, she’s never told me that.”
“She couldn’t. She felt too guilty saying it when she knew she was going to be leaving,” Sydney said. “That’s just the way she is.”
Of course she’d felt guilty.
Angel chuckled. “She loves me so much she’s dying to go back to Arizona to live with another guy?”
Sydney stared at him. “For someone who claims to love Sarah so much, you really don’t know shit about her, do you?”
Angel pressed his lips together, making every attempt to remain calm. “I know she lied about why she really wanted to go back, and that she’s been in love with someone else this whole time.” His words oozed with bitterness.
“You have no idea, do you?” Sydney shook his head. “Sarah and I go back a long way, and yeah, she loves me. I love her too.”
Angel felt the knife, already lodged deep in his heart, being twisted viciously.
“She’s like a sister to me, always has been and always will be. But the thought of her being close to any other guy besides you has you so fucked up you’re gonna lose her.”
Angel’s pulse rose. He stared at Sydney square in the eye. “She’s made her decision.”
“You made it for her.”
“She made it the day she decided no one would stop her from going back to you,” Angel clenched his teeth, “not even me.”
Sydney glared at him in disbelief. “So, that’s it? You’re gonna let your insecurities come in the way of your feelings for her? You’re letting her go, just like that?”
Angel didn’t respond. It took everything in him to not bang his fist against Alex’s truck.
Sydney looked disgusted. He shook his head and began walking away. After only a few steps, he stopped and turned around. Angel hadn’t moved.
“You know, after all she’d told me about you, I expected a lot more. I was actually happy that she’d found you. But now I can see I was way off. I’m glad she’s coming back to Arizona. You don’t deserve her.”
Angel felt the same sick feeling he’d felt that night he’d seen Sarah with Sydney. The same feeling he’d felt when he was sick the entire next day. He glared at his feet.
“I’m sure you two will be very happy.”
Sydney turned around one last time before getting in his car. “Yeah, you would think that.”
Sydney drove away, revving the engine loudly as he past Angel.
Sarah loves you, Angel. As much as he wanted to believe it, the thought of her undeniable attachment to Sydney made it impossible—the way she’d dressed for Sydney that night and the way she’d held his hand in the restaurant. It was clear how she really felt about him, and it stung like hell.
Scene: 2 In Forever Yours, Angel’s fed up about wondering and decides to ask Sydney point blank if he was ever in love with Sarah. Sydney’s answers surprises him.
He and Sarah had been on the phone late in the evening when, once again, Syd called on the other line. Not wanting to be too pissy about it, Angel hung up but told her to text him when she was off the phone. Over forty minutes later, he finally got the text from her saying she was off the phone and to say goodnight.
Angel picked up the phone and dialed. No more dicking around. He was getting this over with tonight. Sydney answered after the first ring.
“Angel, what’s up?”
He knew Sydney must be wondering why he was calling, and it was late, so he got right to it. “I need to talk to you.”
“Yeah, yeah,” he said, sounding concerned. “Everything okay?”
“Everything’s fine . . . I think,” Angel said then paused. “I know you and me talked about this, years ago—that time you came down and we talked at the restaurant and you assured me I had nothing to worry about when it came to you and Sarah. You said your relationship with Sarah has always been a platonic one. And while you love her, it’s different than being in love with her.”
Angel waited for a response in vain. The fact that Sydney was saying nothing made him nervous. He thought maybe by now he would’ve interrupted him and said something to reassure him that what he’d said back then still stood. But he didn’t, so Angel went on.
“I gotta tell you, man—and I’m just being honest here—I never bought that shit for a minute. So when she told me you dropped your girl for her, you gotta know what I was thinking, right?”
“Yep,” Syd finally said, and Angel waited, but Sydney didn’t say more.
“So am I right?”
There was no immediate “no” from Syd, and Angel stood up from where he was sitting. He fucking knew it!
“Look, Angel,” Syd said, exhaling. “I’m gonna be honest with you now. It’s up to you if you wanna tell her this. Personally, I don’t think it’s a good idea, but I’ll leave it in your hands. Okay?”
Syd stopped as if waiting for a response from Angel, so he shook his head, confused. “Okay?”
“Dude, of course I was in love with Sarah. How could I not be?” Angel froze where he stood, completely speechless. “When she left for La Jolla, I had every intention of waiting for her to get back so I could tell her. She was going through so much shit I didn’t want to add more complications to her life especially because she was so adamant that we were just like brother and sister. I even admitted to Carina way back in the beginning that I was in love with Sarah, but once she started seeing you and I heard in her voice the way she spoke of you—what you made her feel and how she went from talking about that being the worst time of her life to it being the best because of you—I knew I’d waited too long. I didn’t stand a chance. So I had a choice to make. Either I told her I was in love with her and couldn’t deal with seeing her with someone else and lose what we’d had for so many years or keep my mouth shut and accept it. Accept that she’d never be mine and keep the best friend I’d ever had.”
“So you’re still in love with her?” Angel almost regretted asking now. His dumb ass never even considered the possibility that Sydney would admit this. “Is that why you broke up with Carina?”
“Nah, man, I love Sarah, yeah, but Sarah’s in love with you—so much so I’d never even hope that something might go wrong between you two, because I know she’d be inconsolably miserable, and I’d never want that for her. My admitting to Carina way back before I got serious with her that I was in love with Sarah was my biggest mistake. She never got past it especially since Sarah and I stayed so close all this time. Look,” he said, suddenly sounding very serious, “I wish nothing but happiness for Sarah, and I’m genuinely hoping you two are together forever, because I know it’s what she wants. But let me be clear about one thing, Angel. I ain’t going nowhere. So it’s up to you if you wanna tell her everything I just told you and open up a can of worms or just believe me when I tell you that you have nothing to worry about. Sarah’s yours, man. Has been since day one and will be forever. I’m under no illusions of thinking that’ll ever change.”
Angel stood there, stumped. Was he pissed? Was he worried? He wasn’t sure how the hell he felt about this. “Huh,” he said because it was the only thing he could think of to say.
Sydney chuckled. “I always knew we’d be having this conversation someday, and I always figured you’d have something to say about it.” He laughed now. “But it sure as hell wasn’t that.”
Angel sat on his bed now, feeling like he needed to make a threat of some kind—warn Sydney if he ever got any ideas he’d come after him because it this were anybody else it’s exactly what he’d be doing—but with Sydney it felt unnecessary.
“From what Sarah’s told me about you, I think you’re probably trying to decide whether you should kill me or not.” Sydney laughed. “I tell you what. Why don’t you sleep on it? Just keep this in mind while you’re trying to decide. Even if you two broke up tomorrow, I wouldn’t dream of trying for something more with her than what I have now, and it’s not because I’d be afraid of ruining our friendship. In hindsight, I fucking wish I’d had the balls to chance it back before she met you, even if it meant risking our friendship. But I wouldn’t now. You know why?”
“Why?” Angel asked, still not sure how he felt about all this.
“Because once she met and fell in love with you, I knew I could never compete with that. You don’t compete with the love of someone’s life, and you’re hers. Believe me when I say I know Sarah. Okay? She’d never get over you. If you could just see it as clearly as I do, you’d know. She’s yours man. All yours. Forever.”
Angel stood up, feeling almost dazed. He’d known for years that Sarah was the love of his life and that he’d never get over her if he ever lost her. No matter how many times she said it to him, it seemed impossible to believe she could possibly feel for him everything he felt for her. The last thing he ever expected was for someone else to be pointing out that he was certain she was. Least of all Sydney.
To his surprise, when he looked in the mirror, he wore a crooked smile. “Forever mine,” he said without even thinking.
“Yeah.” Sydney let out what sounded like a defeated or maybe satisfied breath. “Forever yours.”
There is also a mini prequel to Forever Mine that shows you a little more of Syd and Sarah’s background growing up. It’s about the length of one of my regular chapters. You can read it by clicking HERE for FREE!
