Where Winter Finds You

Trez stood up off the door and grabbed the knob. “I’m going to go. Before this gets even uglier.”

“Just because a lie feels good doesn’t mean it’s true, and just because Xhex has good intentions doesn’t mean lying to you is right. And I will tell you this right now—Therese is the one who’s going to get hurt. The second it dawns on you that she’s not actually Selena? You’re going to lose that connection with her in a heartbeat. You’re in love with someone who is not here, and self-medicating that horrible reality with a sexual stand-in is unconscionable, no matter how much it eases your pain.”

Annnnnnd this is why I needed to keep the reincarnation a secret, Trez thought.

“You have no fucking clue what you’re talking about.” He opened the way out. “I’ll talk to you later.”

Like… maybe in a decade.

Or a thousand years, he thought as he walked off.

 

* * *

 

Back at the water station. Liza and Emile. Therese getting a pitcher to fill up so she could go out to her first table of the night. And what do you know, Liza was pissed off, Emile was apologetic, and Therese was worried about getting enough tips together to move out of that rooming house. It was just as it had been the night before.

Yet everything was completely different.

Ever since she had been with Trez in that hidden passageway, the world had reoriented itself, all the metaphorical furniture shifting three inches one way, two inches another, the new spaces between the sofas and chairs requiring a fresh assessment of a familiar room.

And what do you know, she liked the new arrangement better. Much, much better—

As long as Trez and his brother didn’t get into it too badly, she thought as she walked over to a four top of human women. He and his brother had been really tense as she’d left that office. Hopefully they cleared the air… instead of blew the back half of the restaurant up.

“Hi,” she said to the women, “my name is Therese, I’ll be your server. Can I start you off with a glass of wine or some cocktails?”

As she poured water, made small talk with her diners, and took drink orders from the quartet of old high school friends, she kept looking to the water station, and not because she was curious whether Liza and Emile had elevated their discussions and relationship to a higher level. The waiting was making her antsy, and she had a thought, in the back of her head, that she was way too emotionally invested if she couldn’t make it through five or ten minutes without seeing Trez.

Try arguing with feelings, though.

She was back at the water station, having delivered the drinks and given the ladies a chance to look over the menu, when she caught a scent that went through her entire body.

“Hey,” Trez whispered into her ear. “You got a minute?”

As she turned around and smiled up at him, she realized she’d been worried he’d leave without saying goodbye. Or saying anything. And again, that was a little much. If she kept up the desperate stuff, she was liable to drive him away.

Nobody wanted to be someone else’s addiction.

“Absolutely I have time.” Especially as she could sense the tension underneath his smiling expression. “Are you okay?”

“I am now.”

There was a moment of silence, and she knew that he was kissing her in his mind—and what do you know, in hers, she was kissing him back. And here was the thing. The fact that he seemed as lost to whatever was happening as she was made her feel more secure in the crazy attraction.

Alone in it, she was lost. With him? They were on a heady journey.

“Come over here for a quick second,” he said.

They stepped back into the hallway that led to the customer bathrooms, and he took something out of his pocket.

“Are these your keys?” he asked.

As he held out his palm, she couldn’t believe it. “Yes! Oh, my God—how did you find them?”

Taking the ring, she singled out the copper key to her parents’ house. Or rather her… whatever-they-were-to-her’s house.

“I saw them on the floor. Before my janitorial service came in in the morning.”

Putting the keys to her heart, she told herself they shouldn’t matter. “Thank you so much. You have no idea how much this means to me.”

“And I have something else.” From the back pocket of his slacks, he took out a wad. “This is returned to you as well.”

As she gasped at the sight of ten hundred-dollar bills, she was momentarily excited. But then she narrowed her eyes. “Trez. I believe you found my keys on the floor. This? You most certainly did not.”

He held up his forefinger. “Before you tell me to pound sand, I’ll have you know that the guy who ate here last night is a buddy of mine. When I told him what happened to the tip, he insisted on my bringing this to you. And”—when she went to interrupt, he kept talking—“as I didn’t know how much he left you, you can count the bills yourself and know they’re actually from him. You never told me how big the tip was. Only you and he know that.”

Putting her hands on her hips, she shook her head. “I can’t accept—”

“Count it.” He prompted her with the cash. “Go ahead. You’ll see that—”

“No.” Smoothing her palms over her hair, latent anxiety caused her to fidget. “I believe you that it comes from the male. But losing the money was on me, not him. He does not need to make up for the fact that I lost it.”

“You were in a shoot-out,” Trez countered. “It was not your fault. And you didn’t lose it, the money was stolen.”

“So it’s my bad luck. Not his.” She reached forward and curled his hand closed. “Take this back and thank him. I really appreciate the kindness. But I’m going to keep working here, and as soon as I can, I’ll fix my own problem with the housing situation.”

“Does it change your mind if I tell you money is no object to the guy?”

“No.” She smiled at him. “But I really appreciate you trying to take care of me. And seriously, please thank him for me.”

Trez muttered some things under his breath. But he did put the cash away. And on the one hand, she was probably nuts for turning the Benjamins down. If the male was as rich as Trez was suggesting, they clearly weren’t going to be missed—whereas on her side? It would change things tremendously.

She couldn’t do it, though.

“I really am grateful,” she said. “And to you as well.”

“Can I still see you at the end of tonight?”

That flush she’d felt as he’d come through the back door to the restaurant returned. “Yes.”

Trez stared at her for a long while. “I’ll come pick you up after your shift. I’ll just chill outside in my car until you come out.”

“I can’t wait,” she whispered.

As they stood together in complete stillness, she knew where he was in his mind. She was there, too. Yes, it was crazy. Yes, it was intense. Yes, it had started with the adrenaline rush last night after the drama at the club. But when a craving was this strong?

You stopped asking about where it came from. And gave into it.

“I can’t wait, either,” he echoed before he turned away.