Page 74 of Caught Up In You (Indigo Royal Resort)
“Right, well. I have secured the goods, so I’ll be leaving now. Soon as he finishes packing, we’ll be headed to the airport,” she commented.
“The goods? This isn’t a drug deal, Felicity,” he snapped back.
“Whatever, Tripp. Have fun with your little friends. Especially the little maid here. From what I’m told, she’s a pretty good time.” With one last snide smile, Felicity turned and walked away.
“Who’s Tripp?” Drea whispered to no one in particular.
“That bitch!” Leona said, clenching her fists. She started to go after her, but Dalton held out an arm, holding her back.
“Stay here. I’ll handle this,” he said, walking out of the bar.
Leona watched as Dalton followed his sister, turning toward the main part of the resort. She couldn’t believe that she hadn’t noticed the resemblance when she encountered Felicity earlier. Maybe it was the perma-scowl that Felicity seemed to have on her face, instead of Dalton’s ever-present, cocksure, happy-go-lucky grin. Slumping back down into the chair she’d been in, she looked over to the rest of her friends to see if they were as shocked as she was by what just went down.
“That’s his sister?” Drea hissed. Leona just shrugged.
"And that was the bitch who you found in La Isla Bonita?” Maeve asked.
“Yup,” Leona said.
“And you’re just going to let Cullen leave with her?!” Drea exclaimed.
“Maybe I do need this,” she said, reaching for the bottle. As she twisted the cap, she considered just taking a swig straight from it but then stopped herself. She wasn’t the only one who had gotten attached to Cullen while he was here. So maybe she wasn’t going to have the only broken heart. Recapping the tequila bottle, she stood up quickly and turned to head out of the bar.
“I’ll be back!”
The Filipe family house was quiet when she walked inside, except for the ever-present sound of the news on the living room TV. Part of her was starting to wonder if they ever changed the channel, much less turned it off. She called out, but there wasn’t an answer, making her curious where everyone was. Someone had to be home—her mom’s car was in the driveway. Wandering down the hall, she poked her head in her parents’ room, finding her mom sitting on her bed, book in hand with her earbuds in. She knocked on the mostly open door, but her mom didn’t seem to register her, so she let herself in and hopped on the bed.
The movement of the bed startled Anna, who let out a little yelp and dropped her book in the process. When she realized it was just Leona, she glared at her, leaning over to pick up the book. Removing her earbuds, she swatted at her daughter with the paperback.
“Oh, Dios mio! You scared me,” she said, repropping up her pillows and getting settled on the bed again. “I thought you were your father. I’m supposed to be putting away laundry.”
“I won’t tell,” Leona told her mother. “But what’s with the earbuds?”
“Ugh, your father and that damn news. I had to listen to something, anything, else.”
“He’s not out there, it’s just the TV turned on.” She climbed on the bed, grabbing the unused pillows and placing them behind her so she could sit next to her mom.
“Always is. He must have wandered into the garage,” she said with a roll of her eyes. “Why he can’t turn the damn TV off when he gets up, I do not understand. But what are you doing here? I didn’t realize you were off today.”
“I’m not. But I came to find Josef. Is he home?”
“Last I knew he was down helping Mrs. Bronson with some yard work. She offered to pay him and he jumped at it. Something wrong?”
“No,” Leona lied. “Cullen Cruz left today, which was a couple of days early. He’s taking a coaching gig in Atlanta. I just thought Josef would want to know he left early.”
“Why?”
“Because he was supposed to be here through the weekend. I just thought he’d want to know, since he left early,” she repeated. Even she could hear herself rambling, and it was all she could do to hope that somehow her mother would let it slide. But she knew better.
“Baby, I’m not going to lie—I don’t think Josef even realized Cullen Cruz was still here. He had a blast at camp, and he still idolizes that man, but it’s been a handful of days—he’s moved on. So, what is really going on?” Anna prodded.
“I didn’t realize he would move on so quickly. And I thought that Cullen had mentioned something about him coming swimming at the pool, so if he’d had his hopes up…” she trailed off.
“Sounds to me like you’re the one who is a little hurt that he left early,” Anna said, trying to look her daughter in the eye.
“What? No.”
“It’s okay to admit it, Lee. It's normal to have a crush on the man you’re sleeping with,” her mother said, a sly smile pulling at the corner of her lips.
