Page 114 of The Road Less Traveled By

“Yeah.”

“She told me about it like a month ago before everything got crazy, but her decision wasn't finalized. Even though I'm going to miss her like crazy, I’m trusting she knows what’s best for her. And if she says Gregory makes her happy, then I believe her.”

“But I don't think he does, Bree. Not only does she barely talk about the guy, but the look in her eye when she does… It doesn't feel like he’s the one for her.”

I put my hand on Tristan’s back. He’s reminding me so much of Liv right now. The two of them sometimes can’t turn the parenting part of themselves off, but I know he just wants what’s best for Teags. “Sometimes, you have to let someone make a decision that you know will turn out horribly before they’re able to see it. Teags will learn from her own mistakes—if this one turns out to be one. Neither of us knows how this will end.”

He sighs heavily before standing. “I’m just worried she’s running because of Tobias. I’m worried she’s going to make the exact same mistakes I did and regret it for the rest of her life.”

“It’s her life, Tristan. I know you’ll always worry, but is Teags turning out like you really the worst thing in the world?” I chuckle.

“Yes and no, I guess,” Tristan says as Vince steps into the room, my purse dangling off his shoulder.

“I’ve been looking for you. Are you almost ready to go? You have that brand meeting tomorrow, and I want to make sure you get some rest.”

Tristan laughs when he says that, and I turn to him. “Is something funny?”

“You guys are adorable together.”

“It was a nice wedding, man. I’m happy for you,” Vince says as he puts his hand out to Tristan. They shake, and Tristan pulls me into a hug before he goes back outside.

Before I have a chance to say anything, Vince leans down, kneels in front of me, and takes my heels off. When he stands, he scoops me into his arms and carries me out to the car.

“Careful, Vince. A girl could get used to this,” I tell him.

“You should get used to this, Bree. You deserve all of it and more.” And then he opens my door for me, places me into the car, and the two of us drive home, his hand interlocked with mine the entire time.

Chapterthirty-four

— SOMETIMES BY ARIANA GRANDE

It’s been way tooquiet the past few weeks, and I’ve barely slept soundly knowing that any day, the other shoe could drop when we’re not ready.

Bree and I have been enjoying each other's company lately, but the two of us have this nagging feeling that something is hanging over our heads. She still has nightmares, and even though they’ve diminished in frequency, they seem worse every time.

The other night, she shot up screaming so badly that I thought she was physically hurt. It turned out she thought Ralph killed all of us and left her to deal with the fallout.

It fucking guts me that I can’t take her pain away. The one thing I know for sure is that if I see Ralph, only one of us is leaving alive, and it’ll be me.

That fucker won’t be breathing by the time I’m done with him.

But that’s exactly why I’m currently doing what I’m doing. I wanted to show Bree that just because times are tense doesn’t mean we can’t have moments to ourselves.

I’m only making her dinner, but I wanted tonight to be special, so I’m also attempting to make chocolate-coveredstrawberries. She must have some sort of magical touch when it comes to these things because I cannot get the damn strawberries to stay on the skewers.

“Shit!” I say as another one falls into the pot of chocolate.

“Boss? Is everything okay?” Emerson asks me as he floats into the room.

“How the fuck does she make this look so easy?”

He only furrows his brows at me. “Uhh…”

“I’m trying to make Bree’s favorite dessert, but I can’t fucking figure it out.”

Emerson walks over to the kitchen island and leans against it. “Do you need some help?”

“Yes, but wash your hands first.” I point at the sink with a skewer, and he heads over.

---