Dinner carries on around us. Voices, laughter, the scrape of silverware against plates.. all of it fades into the background.
Because every few minutes, without fail, our eyes lock again.
Like we’re stuck in the same loop neither of us is trying to break.
20
Victoria
The air outside feels different the second we step out of the restaurant.
The sound of the door shutting behind us fades out as we all linger near the sidewalk, no one immediately heading for their cars, except for my mom, Irene and their mom.
It’s one of those weird pauses where no one really knows what to say first.
I cross my arms loosely over my chest, glancing between all of them.
It’s.. strange, standing here like this.
Like we haven’t just spent months barely seeing each other. Like we didn’t go from occasional holidays and awkward visits to suddenly being tied together through a whole damn company.
“It’s been forever since I’ve seen everyone together like this,” I say, breaking the silence.
Dad chuckles beside me, already reaching for his keys. “You kids don’t make time for anything unless it’s work.”
I roll my eyes slightly. “I make time. It’s just.. people don’t really go out of their way to reach out to me like that. To hang out or whatever.”
I turn toward him then, narrowing my eyes just a bit. “And you really don’t have room to talk, Dad. Up until now, you’ve been all work, no breaks.”
“You got me there, kiddo,” Dad admits, a quiet huff of amusement in his voice. “But even when I’ve been buried in work, you could’ve reached out to Dominic or Elias.”
His tone softens just slightly, but not by much. “They care about you.”
My gaze drifts past him; landing on Dominic and Elias for a brief second.
Elias is leaning back against the brick of the building, hands in his pockets like he doesn’t have a care in the world. Like he didn’t just get handed partial ownership of a company five minutes ago.
He’s always been nonchalant. Chill to a fault.
But something about the way he’s looking at me right now feels off, and I can’t figure out why.
So I ignore it.
Dominic’s already watching me when my gaze lands on him, a sly smirk tugging at his mouth.
He shoots me a quick, playful wink.
“Pretty sure the phone works both ways,” I shoot back, my gaze landing on them instead of him.
Dominic lets out a low chuckle at that, nudging the ground with the toe of his shoe like he’s got no defense to offer.
Dad clasps his hands together. “Well, boys, your mother’s already in the car and ready to go. I should probably follow.”
He turns to me, that familiar smile settling in. “Victoria, call your old man every once in a while. I’ll have more time now.. Just don’t tell your mother that you plan on calling me more than her. She’ll throw a fit.”
I shake my head slightly with a smile as he walks off, tossing a wave behind him.
“You’ve been busy,” Elias mutters, his tone more matter-of-fact than anything else.
