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And with every meal he served, he slipped one bill from his pocket beneath each bowl. In front of him, a woman with a pair of identical twins in two glanced down at the crinkling paper. Her gaze shot back to his, and when he smiled her face flushed scarlet. She mumbled her thanks and darted away with her children.
Pity was our unbreakable rule in the soup kitchen, but he could offer the gift as unexpected on Christmas Day. By the time we closed up, Zander looked as tired as I felt. I wound my arms around his waist from behind, resting my lips against his back. I’d ended up working in my suit and skirt because I had no other clothes at that point without dropping by home.
Zander squeezed my hands then patted them for release, working his way around the kitchen to speak softly to Jennifer and then motioned me over. His brow dipped a little, his eyes darkening, bringing on his thinking face.
“What are you up to?” I muttered under my breath, but Zander only smiled and caught my hand.
“You mentioned you wanted to build a hostel for the local homeless, and a safe place for women escaping domestic violence. How much do you need?"
I curled my hands into fists that he squeezed tighter as I realized what he was offering. Jennifer exchanged an excited glance with me, her own gaze focussed elsewhere. He knew the numbers as well as I did, but I could see her recalculating and checking everything in her head.
My voice refused to work as I swallowed several times. Zander rocked on the balls of his feet as he waited patiently, his expression neutral and gentle.This man.My heart swelled with a surge of emotion. He said it wasn’t a fling...but I struggled to believe that. Until maybe now?
It wasn’t the money, or the way he held me—though that last did factor pretty heavily in with my heart. But the look in his eyes told me he was invested in whatever was happening between us, and for the second time in a day I experienced a blaze of hope that hadn’t been there before.
"We want to work with women and men who have come from domestic violence situations. DV is a statistic that needs to change, but the people are more important, especially those in immediate danger and need a safe place. Ideally, we would have medical staff on hand to treat wounds, assess victims... My God, I can list things for ever."
Zander brought our entwined fingers to his lips for a quick kiss. "I know you can. That's why I'm asking. You and Jennifer put together what you need. And then we'll talk as much as we can again to make this work for you both." He released my hand and dropped a kiss on my head. “Merry Christmas."
I repeated the hollow sounding words in my head as Zander left the kitchen with slow, quiet steps, murmuring to the people around him. Maybe he was the real thing,myreal thing. My heart squeezed the thought of not waking up beside him after having him only for a single night.
As though reading my thoughts, Jennifer squeezed my arm with grubby hands, but I didn't mind. "You did that," she said softly. Zander disappeared outside the door and waited outside. “In the space of a week. You gave him a reason to want Christmas. To live again."
“It was always there,” I murmured. “He was just a little broken.” I thought of the photo frame on his desk, facedown, and hoped one day he’d be able to stand it up again.
Jennifer shook her head. “Perhaps. I have seen broken hearts and many broken people. I saw you go in to deal with him because he thought that he was unbreakable. I saw an already broken man. And you changed that in a few days.”
Tears dampened my lashes as I squeezed her back, unable to speak and followed Zander to the door. His arms wrapped around me. Streetlamps glowed gold above us as he unlocked the car that was still miraculously there.
"Thank you." I whispered, squeezing his fingers tightly. "You’ve got no idea what this means to me. To us."To me.
I could hug him forever for what he had planned.
“These people have no home, night after night.” He tipped my chin up instead, gazing into my eyes tenderly. “I had a home with no one in it. Will let me change those?"
"You don't have to give me whatever you're going to do for me to stay with you." I rested my head against his chest, listening to the strong regular heartbeat, and I liked it.
"I know. I want to." He held the door and I climbed into his car, both of us filthy and covered in a sea of splatter and city grime.
Zander drove me back to my apartment, his arms wrapped around me as I talked and he listened. He stayed with me that night and the next, planning on working together, until I thought my heartbreak with happiness when he broke through his own melancholy and came alive with me.
I kept waiting for it to change, but giving my heart to Zander Klauss was a sure thing.
