Page 65 of Falling With You

“Pretty much. He said he was thinking about me. Which you know, is kind of sweet, but you know me. I have to be professional at my job.”

“I totally get you. Cameron doesn’t come to my office because I’m a woman in science and as it is, I was already working with my ex-husband’s wife. I already had enough of a soap opera at my office. So, we don’t add the confusion of him coming there to see what I’m doing while I’m in the lab.”

“Though he does go out with you when you go take samples,” I mumbled.

“Yes, he does. When it’s just the two of us. And it’s still a little weird, and I do my best to remain professional.” Her cheeks blushed, and I gave her a look.

“Okay, sometimes we go off for a hike when I’m not on the clock and things happen, but you know, that’s just natural.”

“Getting natural in nature, are we?” I asked, laughing.

“Oh, shut up. But it’s different with you. There’s a bunch of men at your office, and you have to make sure that you’re the perfect professional. One that’s not too sexy but not too dowdy either. Not too happy but not too sad. In other words, you just have to be a woman living in this day and age.”

“Nail on the head there. And Aiden showed up, and I was a little off. Plus, I always feel off when I’m working with that client.” I shook my head. “Nope, not going to talk about that. Not reallyallowedto talk about that.”

Violet held up her hand. “Are you safe?”

“I’m completely safe. I just can’t talk about anything else.”

“Okay. Then I won’t ask. But if you ever feel unsafe, you need to go to Greg or someone. Now, back to what we were talking about. Aiden showed up?”

“He showed up and said he was thinking of me, which is sweet. But it wasn’t the right place or the right time.”

“And then what happened? Because there’s something else. I can tell.”

“It’s silly,” I whispered.

“If you’re feeling bad about this, then it’s not silly. You have legitimate feelings, and that means something. Talk to me.”

“He said he brought me my favorite. Curry. But it isn’t my favorite. It was Allison’s favorite.”

Violet winced and then held out her hands. “Come here.”

“Are you talking to me or the ice cream?”

She just glared at me, took the ice cream from me, and stuck it back in the freezer. Then she took my spoon, tossed it into the sink with hers, and then held me close.

“I love you, Sienna. I love you so much. And I know this isn’t easy. It isn’t easy for any of us. I miss her so much, but with you dating Aiden now, it is a different layer, and I hope you know you can talk to me about it.”

I laid my head against her shoulder. “I am talking to you about it,” I mumbled.

“Are you talking to your therapist about it?”

I nodded, even though she couldn’t see me. I knew she could at least feel me. “Yeah, I guess I’ll talk to her about this, too. But it just annoyed me because he thought he was doing something so sweet, but it was for Allison. And it’s not like they’ve even dated recently. She’s not even here, even though she’s always here, if you know what I mean.”

“I know.”

“Of course, you know. It’s just stupid. I shouldn’t feel jealous, but I do. And then I feel sick that I’m jealous because she’s not here. She’s not here anymore, and there’s nothing we can do about it. And then there’s all this other stuff that I can’t talk to you about, but I know that Aiden’s eventually going to talk to Cameron and then you about it. I may be silly, but I just don’t know. It’s just a lot, and I can’t even breathe sometimes. I just don’t know what to do.”

“Okay, first thing you’re going to do is not blame yourself.”

“How can I not?”

“No. You and Aiden are starting this new relationship. You are allowed to do this. It was never hoes before bros with us.”

“Because we aren’t hoes?”

“That, too. But we’ve always been conscious enough of our feelings to understand that sometimes we’re going to fall. I fell for Cameron again when I didn’t think I should. Harmony fell for Brendon, even though Brendon was friends with Moyer. The fact that you and Aiden are together is wonderful. And I do think that Allison would have been fine with it.”

---