Page 60 of Sleeping with the Frenemy

Leo knew that to Sofi he’d just been her uncle, but to him Manuel “Maserati” Santana still seemed larger-than-life. It was weird to hear about the guy who’d been one of his idols sitting around with a little girl marking up a map of the world and making plans for after a career that others envied. “He’s the reason you want to be a world traveler now?”

“I wouldn’t say ‘now’ as if I never cared about it before, but I guess everything that happened got me thinking about opportunity and wasted time. I’d spent so much time wishing I could go places instead of just going. I don’t want to run out of time like he did. I want to see the places we’d marked on that map.”

Leo’s heart froze. Was Sofi just going to take off again for another year? Was this what she planned to do from now on? What about him? It was obvious that something was happening between them again. What was he supposed to do while she traveled the globe?

“It’s not that I don’t like traveling,” he said. “But I’d rather drive somewhere. Then I can stop whenever I feel the need, get out, and walk around.”

“I feel like I could get into hiking,” Sofi said. “And I’ve always wanted to go to the Grand Canyon.”

“Let’s do it. We’ll take Tostón on a road trip,” he said, relieved that she would meet him halfway.

“Sounds like a plan,” she said with a smile. Although Leo still worried that one day it wouldn’t be enough for her and she’d take off again.

By the time they made it to the top of the stairs, Leo heard the sound of scrambling paws. Tostón skidded around the corner of the stairwell like a car inThe Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, almost slid into the back door that led to the alley, but corrected himself at the last second and booked it up the stairs to Leo. His whole back half wiggled as he greeted Leo as if he hadn’t seen him in years instead of hours.

“Hey, son.” Leo shut and locked the door. “Mommy’s not feeling good right now, so just be gentle okay?” He swore Tostón knew what he was saying, because he pranced over to Sofi, but didn’t hop up on her like he did to Leo. Instead leaned into her legs and stared up at her in adoration.

Sofi’s hand dropped and stroked his head. “There’s my baby boy,” she cooed. She lifted her head and looked around. “When did we get back to the apartment?” she asked.

“Just now,” Leo replied, coming to stand in front of her. “Let’s put you to bed.”

“I’m not tired. I don’t want to go to sleep,” she said, reminding him of Rosie arguing with Saint and Lola.

He decided to take a page out of their book. “How about this, I’ll go get you some pj’s to change into and then we’ll set up camp in the living room?”

“Okay,” she said.

“I’ll be right back,” he said as he walked around the couch toward her bedroom door. “But I need you to drink the rest of that water. Then I’m going to get you another one and some painkillers.”

She looked at the bottle in her hand as if surprised to see it there. She trudged over to the couch and flopped down. Tostón followed and settled his big head on her thigh. “Leo,” she murmured.

He paused behind the couch. “What, bombón?”

“I don’t feel good.”

Leo leaned down and kissed her forehead. “I know, amor. But I’ll take care of you.”

Her perfect lips curled into a smile.

When he came out a few minutes later with one of her silky sleep sets, her fuzzy socks, her sleep bonnet, and her makeup removal wipes, she was knocked out. He hated to wake her, but he knew she’d be mad if she slept in her clothes and makeup, without her hair protected. He had no choice but to wake her and get her comfortable which is exactly what he did.

After getting her changed and ready, he bundled her up with her knit blanket and a shit ton of pillows. By the time he was done, Tostón was completely covered under the blanket and all that was visible of Sofi was the side of her face. Her eyes were open and looking at him like he was her hero. “I’m kind of surprised that you’re so good at this.”

“Good at what?” Leo asked, as he came back from tossing the wipes in the trash.

“Taking care of people,” she answered, snuggling deeper into the blankets. “I mean, I know you trained as a paramedic, but I just never really saw you as a caretaker.”

“Why wouldn’t I be a caretaker, because I’m a man?”

She scoffed. “No, Saint is probably the biggest caretaker I know and he’s a man.” She turned her head to rub her face in the pillow and suddenly he couldn’t see any of her face. “It’s because you’re like my dad and he for sure isn’t a caretaker.”

What? She thought he was like her father? That was the first he’d ever heard about it. Never in all of their conversations or even fights had she mentioned this before and he was glad. Leo did not like being compared to Sofi’s dad. She didn’t talk about him much, even though they worked together, but Leo knew enough to know that he wasn’t a great father to Sofi or partner to Sofi’s mom. “Why would you say that?” he asked, knowing that he was taking advantage of her vulnerable state but unable to stop himself. This was the type of question she would never answer while in her right mind and Leo had a feeling that this was information heneededto know if they were ever going to work out.

“You two are the same...charming and too handsome for his own good, but at the end of the day not someone I can count on. You have your own things and they’re the most important to you. Which cool. I don’t need someone to take care of me anyway.” She yawned audibly before continuing at a slow-paced whisper. “I take care of myself.”

When it was clear that she’d fallen asleep, Leo slumped back in his chair. Now that he sort of knew what she meant, he liked the comparison to her father even less. It made Leo sound like a shallow and selfish asshole who only cared about his needs and looking good to others. Leo wasn’t like that. At least, he didn’t think he was. He tended to do whatever he wanted to do at any given time, but he didn’t think that made him selfish. Did it? He still showed up to help whenever his friends or family needed it. Yeah sometimes it wasn’t right when they needed it because he got distracted by something else for a bit first or he totally forgot what they’d asked him, but he always came to help eventually. He didn’t maliciously set out to be late or forget to go at all. It was simply how he was and how he’d always been. He’d thought Sofi knew and accepted that about him unlike many members of his family.

He tried to remember any times Sofi had gotten on him for forgetting something or not doing what he’d said he’d do when he was expected to do it and came up blank. Over the years she’d called him out for many things, but never for being unreliable. To know that she’d secretly felt that way for who knew how long, made so much sense now that he thought about it. Sofi didn’t share things she thought made her look weak and admitting that he’d disappointed her would’ve also meant admitting that she cared about their relationship—something she made every effort to not do if she could help it.

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