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I stood by the table, my hands braced on the flat surface. “We’ve been over this a million times. I love running my own business. If I think something’s a good idea, I don’t have to run it by three brothers and my parents before I implement a new idea. Matteo’s idea is genius. With the increase in curbside pickup and online ordering, it’s the logical next step. It will add another income stream for the pizzeria. It’s forward-thinking, and I’m confident it will work. Not that you’ll listen to me.”
Then I walked out, despite my mother’s protests. I would never be welcomed in this family for who I was. I was almost to my car, my heart thundering in my chest, my frustration with my actions at an all-time high when someone grabbed my wrist.
I pulled it away from Silas. “What do you want?”
“I wanted to make sure you were okay.”
“You wanted me to come tonight. Was it everything you hoped it would be?” I couldn’t stop myself from asking.
He let out a breath and looked away from me. “I’m sorry.”
“You don’t understand how it is with me and my family. Papà respects my brothers’ opinions but not mine. If I ever came back to work at the pizzerias, I could only do it if I was okay with no one listening to me.”
“I’m sorry, Gia.”
“Now you know.” I pulled open my door.
“What are you doing out here, Silas?” Leo asked, with Harper at his side. Evie must have been inside with my parents.
I looked from him to Silas. What could he say? He certainly couldn’t admit the truth.
“I was—”
Leo’s eyes widened as he looked from Silas to me. “Is something going on between you two?”
Harper’s expression filled with guilt.
“Silas was just leaving,” I said, trying to salvage the situation.
“In the middle of dinner?” Leo asked and then looked at Silas. “Did you come out here to see ifmy sisterwas okay?”
The way he emphasizedmy sistermeant he was not okay with what he suspected was going on between us.
“Someone had to,” Silas said stubbornly, and I wished he’d lied. I wasn’t prepared to deal with my brother’s wrath.
“First, you can’t seem to get along with our parents, and now this?” Leo asked.
I sucked in a breath. “What are you talking about?”
“You just can’t stop causing trouble, can you?” Leo’s voice raised.
“Leo,” Harper said with rebuke in her voice.
I blinked back tears as I sat in my car and turned on the engine. I had to get away from here. I couldn’t deal with my father’s disdain, and now my brother felt the same way.
There was a roaring in my ears, and my fingers trembled as I closed the door, blocking out Leo, Harper, and Silas. They all thought I was the problem, and maybe I was. I didn’t act how they wanted me to or talk how they wanted me to. I wasn’t enough for them.
I pulled away. My vision blurred with tears. I tried to calm down enough to drive home. I couldn’t believe I’d come tonight. I knew better than to place myself in the line of fire. And now Leo knew about me and Silas and thought I’d done it on purpose to cause trouble between him and his friend and my family.
Is that what everyone thought about me? That I caused trouble wherever I went? I said things no one wanted to hear. When I was separate from them, I could rationalize it and block it out. I could protect myself. But right now, it felt too raw, too close to the truth for me to keep it at bay.
I would never fit in with my family. I wouldn’t say the right thing or be quiet when they wanted me to, and apparently, I wouldn’t date the right guy either. Everything I did was calculated to cause other people in my life pain.
Was that why I had so few friends, and I kept my employees at a professional distance? Was I afraid of them rejecting me too?
I didn’t go home because I didn’t want Silas showing up, even though I had a feeling he wanted nothing to do with me. We had that argument earlier, and why would he want to date someone who couldn’t have a simple dinner with their family without causing an argument?
I’d always been too much for people. Why was this any different? Silas was probably happy he’d dodged a relationship with me. It would never work. Not when he was closer to my family than I was.
