Page 66 of The Road Less Traveled By

“Are you staying for a few days? I’d love to pick your brain about what this one was like as a kid,” Bree asks my sister.

“No. I’ve got to get back. I have an antsy husband waiting for me back in Seattle. This was just a drop in visit to bring Nellie back. I have a car on the way.”

“Oh. Well, I’m sure I’ll see you again at some point,” Bree says before my sister looks over at me.

“Can we talk for a second?”

“Yeah. Porch?”

My sister nods at me before saying goodbye to Bree. “It was nice to meet you. If my brother ever pisses you off, give me a call. I’ll straighten him out for you in no time.”

“Thanks, but your brother could never piss me off. He’s too busy watching everything around me to make sure I’m safe, and he takes his jobveryseriously.”

Aria laughs. “Don't I know it.”

“Can you guys stop talking about me like I’m not standing right here?”

The two of them shake their heads at me. “Okay, let’s go, sis.” I turn to face Bree, who’s still on the floor, Nellie nestled in between her legs,as if she has known Bree her entire life. “I’ll make us some lunch. I’ll be back, okay?”

“I’ll be here.”

I smile softly at her before I head outside to the porch, my sister crossing her arms at me with a weird look on her face. “What?”

“You’re more stupid than I thought you were.”

“Care to explain, or are you just going to keep throwing sentences out and not elaborating?”

Aria punches me in the shoulder. “You’re emotionally involved. You like her.”

“I care about her. It’s different.” I’m lying through my teeth. She knows it, I know it, and she’s definitely about to call me out on it.

“You look at that girl like she’s the only thing that exists, Vince. I’ve never seen you look at anyone else like that before. She walked down the stairs, and I swear I saw your heartbeat freeze for a second.”

“And what if I do, Aria? I can’t break my rules for her, and she’s currently myclient! It’s literally my job to protect her, and I can’t let my own ridiculous feelings get in the way of that, or it could cause her to get hurt.” I’d never let my feelings get in the way of doing the best job I can, and I guess there really is a first time for everything. I don't know how to navigate all the emotions Bree makes me feel, and if I can’t get my head on straight, then she could get hurt.

“You’ve broken all of your rules for her already, Vince! You dropped another case to rush back here and protect her. In all the years you’ve been doing this, I’ve never known you to just hand off a case to someone else. You always see them through, but when it comes to that girl currently in our family’s house, your rules go out the window. If you can't see all of this when it’s right in front of you, then you’re dumber than I thought.”

“Aria—”

“I’m not done.” She rubs her hands together, clearly nervous. “Don’t let your fear of getting close to people because of what happened to our parents ruin something good. Because I noticed her looking at you in the exact same way when she came into the kitchen. You’ll be able to protect her even if you’re emotionally involved, Vince. Those two things can exist at the same time, and you deserve someone who wants to look out for you as much as you do her.”

“I’m not afraid of that happening,” I lie. It scares me to death, the thought of losing someone else close to me. It happened in the blink of an eye with my parents, and what’s to say it’ll never happen again? She can’t be entirely sure. Nobody can. That’s what happens when someone suddenly dies. The rug gets ripped out from under you, and it could happen again if you keep standing on the same fucking rug. “It’s easier to keep people at a distance.”

Aria nods her head, seemingly agreeing with me. “I know. I did it for a while before Max broke that wall down. And when I finally let him in, shit…it was the best feeling in the world. I want you to experience that because you deserve it, Vince. I’m tired of seeing you protect everyone else and go home to an empty apartment. I’m tired of seeing you jump from job to job to fill some sort of void since you felt like you couldn't protect our parents.”

God, I should know that nothing gets past Aria. She hit the fucking nail on the head, and I can’t even be mad at her for it.

She’s right. She has always been right, and she raised me to fight for the things I want, but somewhere along the way, I fell into a hole I didn't want to get out of.

I’m a coward.I spent so long running from client to client so I didn't have time to think about wheremylife was headed.

“I’m tired of running, but how the fuck do I do this? I don't do relationships, Aria. All I’ve had are one-night stands where I knew I wasn't seeing them ever again.”

“I donotwant to hear about my baby brother’s escapades, so I’m going to disregard that comment.”

This time, I roll my eyes at her. “I’m a grown ass man, Aria.”

“And I practically raised you. There is no correct way to do this, Vince. Just go with that gut of yours you love so much and do what feels right.” A car pulls up, and my sister grabs the bag she brought with her. “Don’t overthink it, and you’ll be fine.”

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