Holly put the tip of the straw into her mouth and took a long sip.
Trevor waited for her to flinch at the taste, but she didn’t.
“Good?” he asked.
“It takes like sunshine and flowers. How is that even possible? This is literally liver poison.”
“Yet, you’re drinking it.”
“A little poison now and then isn’t the worst thing in the world.”
Trevor furrowed his brow. Even when Holly was so angry at him that she wanted to hurt him, the fire in her belly burned. Right now, he couldn’t see the fire.
“All right.” He placed both hands flat on the table. “Talk.”
“About what?” she asked, the straw still in her mouth.
“You’re not happy here; I know that. If I could fix it, I would. Today, you’ve gone from a little firecracker to a melted candle.”
“Did you just call me a melted candle on my birthday?” Holly asked.
“I did.” He nodded. “And I know why you’ve turned into a melted candle. You’re lonely. You’re sad. You don’t want to be here. I get that.”
“Then why are you bringing it up?”
“Because we’re going to talk about it.”
“I don’t wanna talk about it. I want to drink until I don’t feel like a melted candle, then I wanted to laugh until I feel like…” She trailed off.
“Like what?”
“Give me a second. I’m trying to come up with something shittier than your already shitty candle metaphor.”
“Are you drunk?” Trevor laughed. “You’ve had one sip.” His gaze flicked to her glass, which was, to his surprise, empty.
“One long sip.” She laughed. “Beryl? Can I have another.”
Beryl set a full glass down beside the empty one. Holly moved the straw without taking it from her mouth.
Trevor watched, trying not to laugh.
“You’re a good woman, Beryl,” Holly said.
“Don’t I know it.”
“Introducing you two was a mistake.” Trevor sighed.
“Damn right it was. Now I have a friend to hang out with.”
Trevor made a show of clamping his hand over his heart. He winced dramatically.
“Go for the jugular next time. It’s more humane than going for the heart.”
“I’m only kidding!” Holly smacked him on the shoulder. “You’re my friend. We hang out. We’re friends that hang out.”
“That’s nice.” He sighed. “Stroke my ego a little more, will you? It’s been a while.”
“You’re dirty.” She giggled. “All you shifters are dirty.”
Trevor glanced down the bar to make sure Beryl wasn’t listening.
“You’re ridiculous.” He chuckled.
“No, you’re ridiculous, Mr. Double Life. Or is it Mr. Triple Life? How many of you are there?”
“How many of me do you see?”
“Two and a half.”
“Oh, boy.” Trevor chuckled. “Yeah, I’m cutting you off.”
“Don’t take my magic springtime drink.”
“I can’t take what you’ve already drunk.” Trevor laughed.
Holly looked at her glass, shocked to find it empty.
Trevor drank his shot and placed some cash on the bar.
“Come along, birthday girl.” He took Holly by the shoulders and gently scooted her off the barstool. He watched her carefully as she stood on her surprisingly steady feet and strode toward the door.
“Thank you, Beryl!” she called over her shoulder. “I love you!”
“You’re going to look after her, right?” Beryl said.
“Definitely.”
“Good. The drink I gave her was mostly fruit juice and food coloring. She’s going to be really sad when the placebo effect wears off.”
“That’s a dirty trick, B.”
“Why do you think I didn’t charge her?” Beryl laughed. “I gave her what she needed, not what she wanted. It’s rarely the same thing. You better follow your princess.”
Trevor looked back to the door. Holly had already left the bar.
CHAPTER ELEVEN—HOLLY
The moment Holly felt the early evening air kiss her skin, the buzz she’d pretended to have faded away completely. She couldn’t even bring herself to pretend anymore.
Did those drinks even have alcohol in them? What kind of twenty-one-year-old spent their birthday getting fake drunk off fruit punch?
Trevor exited the bar a moment later. “Ready?” he asked.
“For what?”
“I don’t know.” He shrugged. “You’re the birthday girl. It’s up to you.”
“I want to go back to the inn,” she said.
Trevor furrowed his brow. “Are you sure? The night’s still young. There’s not a lot to do in town, but we can make it fun.”
A soft smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. “I appreciate your trying,” she said. “Really. You don’t have to be this nice to me. Can you walk me back to the inn?”
“Sure.” He nodded and offered his arm. “I’m not being nice to you because I have to.”
“I didn’t mean to imply you were,” she said.
“I’m being nice to you because you’re nice to be nice to.”
“Even sober, that doesn’t make any sense.” She laughed.
“I feel guilty, okay?” he said. “Even if I was still pretending to be Mr. Triple-Double Life, I wouldn’t have brought you here if I had known we were walking into a cage.”
“Like you said, you didn’t know,” Holly replied. “And, you’ve agreed to help solve the problem. There’s no reason to feel guilty. I do have one question, though.”
“Ask me anything.”
“Why tell the truth now? Why give up the charade and put yourself in danger?”
“Two reasons.”
They reached the inn. Trevor held the door for Holly. She stepped inside and looked around the deserted lobby. Did this place have other guests? Did Trevor have a room here?
“I’m listening,” Holly prompted once they were inside.
“I realized the problem had grown too large for me to tackle on my own. I needed help. In order to get help, I had to be honest.”
“And the second?”
“I want to earn your trust.”
Trevor followed Holly up the narrow stairs, giving Holly a moment to organize her thoughts. The most jarring
