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If…she managed.

She’d just put the car in park and turned it off when Victor opened the front door, stepping out onto the porch. He was clearly curious why she was there. While it wasn’t unusual for her to visit, she almost always called first. Plus, he knew Pip was sick.

She climbed the stairs, fighting back the tears. Victor took one look at her face and his expression changed from curiosity to concern.

“Fuck,” he said, stepping aside so Vivian could walk into the house.

The second the door closed behind them, the tears fell, stealing whatever words she’d planned to say. Victor wrapped his arms around her, tucking her tight against him. Her big brother gave great hugs. Almost as good as…

She choked on a fresh round of sobs as Dean’s name flashed through her head.

Victor didn’t rush her, didn’t ask her what was wrong. He just held her while she cried out all the pain, one hand rubbing slow circles across her back. She didn’t know how much time had passed before the tears finally eased and she was able to catch her breath once more.

“He broke up with you.”

Vivian frowned, confused. “How do you⁠—”

“Belle pieced it together. I confronted him earlier today at work.”

Suddenly, she was seeing that conversation at the pub with Dean in an entirely different light. “What the hell did you do? What did you say to him?”

She was no stranger to her brother’s over-the-top overprotectiveness. He took his position as big brother seriously. Too fucking seriously.

Victor sighed, then motioned toward the living room. “Why don’t we go sit down?”

She remained where she was, her arms folded tightly across her chest.

Victor raked a hand through his long dark hair, a low grumble resonating in his chest. “Goddammit, Viv. I didn’t say anything bad.”

She laughed mirthlessly. “Sure you didn’t. Twenty bucks says you stormed into his office with both guns blazing.”

“I might have slammed the door,” Victor admitted.

Vivian scowled, but before she could continue berating him, Victor held his hands up in a defensive gesture. “All I did was ask him what his intentions were.”

She rolled her eyes. “Jesus Christ, Vic. What is this? The Stone Age?”

He scrubbed a hand over his face. “Dammit, Viv. I’m not going to apologize for that. You’re my sister and he’s my fucking coach. Do you know what kind of position this puts me in?”

“Puts you in?”

Victor grumbled under his breath. “I’m sorry. That came out wrong. Obviously, you’re two consenting adults, it’s just…”

Whenever Victor talked himself into a corner—like he just had—he simply shut up, fully aware that anything else he said would only dig him deeper into a hole he couldn’t get out of.

Silence stretched between them until Victor let out a long, slow breath. “Can we please just go sit in the living room and discuss this?”

Vivian nodded her assent, fighting to calm down as she followed her big brother into the living room. They sank down on opposite sides of the couch, then both turned, so that they were facing each other.

“What did Dean say when you asked him that?”

Victor rested his arm on the back of the couch. “He said you wanted to keep it a secret. Said you were protecting Pip.”

“She’s only five, and I’ve never introduced a man into her life. Hell, I’ve never even gone out on a date. You and Belle had to explain the concept to her this summer, when Belle signed up for online dating.”

Victor, the jealous bastard, growled. “Don’t remind me about Belle and those fucking apps. Those were some dark days.”

Vivian snorted softly, then sobered quickly. Her brother had been as devoted to his bachelorhood as Dean was to his own.