Bell placed another slice of cake on the plate Regina had just scooped ice cream onto. Then Bell stopped. “Wait a minute,” she said, pointing at Regina’s hand. “What is that?”
Pat eyes were instantly on Regina’s hand as well. Regina smiled big but said nothing. She glanced over at Brandon, who was now sitting with Romero, Angel, and Manny, laughing at whatever story Manny was telling them.
She was so relieved that any awkwardness between him and Sofia’s brothers seemed to wear off even more every time they were around them. They’d all been around for her father’s services, and then later they’d been invited to Alex’s home for Sal and Grace’s baby shower. Even Eric had been civil enough, and while he wasn’t going out of his way to chat with Brandon, they’d been in the same circle of guy talk more than once.
“Gina,” Pat asked, setting down the two plates of cake she had in her hand then picked up Regina’s hand to get a better look at her ring. “Is that what I think it is?”
“I don’t know,” Regina teased and turned in Max’s direction. “Is that what I think it is?”
The smile on Pat’s face instantly went flat, and for some reason that made Regina laugh. “Oh come on! What’s the big deal?”
Pat looked around wide-eyed, pressing her lips together, and waited for Valerie to walk away with another two plates of cake. “Don’t be ridiculous,” she practically hissed, but Regina caught the humor in her sister’s eyes. “We’re barely friends. The man is incorrigible.”
Regina smirked. “Ah huh.”
“Never mind that,” Bell said, coming around the table, and took Regina’s hand in hers. “Are you engaged?”
With a giddy smile, Regina nodded. “We weren’t going to make a big formal announcement, but I was waiting for you to be done with all the formalities and sitting down to relax to tell you guys and Mom.”
Pat hugged her first, congratulating her, then Bell, which caught the attention of Valerie and Sofia, who were walking by. “What’s going on?” Valerie asked.
“Gina and Brandon are engaged,” Bell nearly squealed.
“Oh wow! Congratulations,” Valerie said, reaching out to hug her.
Next came Sofia, who smiled big. “I’m so happy for you. You two are such a sweet couple.”
Regina barely had a chance to smile and thank them when both Pat and Bell whisked her away. They walked over to Brandon and practically tackle-hugged him. Then they rushed over to where Regina’s mom sat with her aunts eating cake. Within minutes, it was all everyone was talking about, and Brandon and Regina were besieged with hugs and well wishes.
~*~
Brandon
“¡Ay qué guapo!” Regina’s elderly Aunt Benny held Brandon’s hand in her fragile little hand, nodding with a big smile. “Bien venido a la familia—”
“Tia Benny.” Regina smiled and glanced back at Brandon. “Brandon no habla Español.” She turned back to Brandon. “She’s says you’re very handsome and welcomes you to the family.”
“Oh,” Brandon said, turning to her aunt with a smile. “Gracias.”
He was grateful he remembered one of the few Spanish words he knew. He wasn’t sure what Regina had said to her aunt, but he was fairly certain she’d once again reminded her he didn’t speak Spanish. Regina had warned Brandon about her aunt ahead of time. “No matter how many times I reminded her Ryan didn’t speak Spanish, he’d had to sit and listen to her long stories in Spanish many times. She’s probably worse now since she’s gotten older. Ryan always just smiled and nodded.”
Brandon did the same thing now. He smiled and nodded as her aunt nodded back and smiled then she glanced back at Regina. “¿Le dieron pastel?” She then turned back to Brandon with a concerned look. “¿Comio pastel? Está muy bueno.”
Again Brandon smiled and nodded. Regina smiled at him and shrugged. “She wants to know if you had cake.”
“Yes,” Brandon smiled, touching his stomach. “It was very good.”
Regina’s mother came over, and the three women began talking way too fast for Brandon to keep up with his very limited Spanish. Casually, he walked away over to the big aquarium in the next room. This was his first moment alone since they arrived, and he took a deep breath then exhaled slowly. These visits with her family with the Morenos around were getting a little easier. It was always a bit tense at first, but after a few minutes, he’d begin to feel more comfortable.
“Congrats.”
Brandon turned, surprised to see Sofie smiling at him. “Thanks,” he smiled, trying not to look as uncomfortable as he felt.
So far all the other times he’d had to be around her, especially since he’d been busy consoling Regina at her father’s services, she’d been the only one of the Moreno clan he had yet to speak to. He figured it’d happen eventually. He just didn’t think it’d happen when they were alone.
“Gina’s a great girl. You two should be really happy.” She glanced in the direction where Bell and Romero sat with her brother Art and his wife. “Her family really likes you too, as they should.”
Brandon smirked, nodding. “Yeah, Aunt Benny says I’m handsome.”
Sofie laughed sweetly. “Aunt Benny knows what she’s talking about.”
Feeling the smirk diminish, he took a sip of his beer, not sure how to respond to that. Sofie glanced around, a bit guarded.