Winter's Love

Reliable Friends

Emma sat up straight in her chair at the familiar coffee shop. It was a quiet morning, yet the tension was so loud it was almost unbearable to sit back and relax.

It didn’t matter that the coffee was amazing, she barely tasted it.

She heard a chuckle across from her, but she ignored it. It was no surprise to hear that the amazing William Winter was laughing at her.

He made fun of her and quite enjoyed it, after a few days she already knew what kind of man he was.

She clutched her cup tightly with both hands, the warmth of the big cup giving her a little comfort. Yet it didn’t keep her from biting her lower lip.

“It looks fine to me.”

Emma threw the amazing William a look which should have made him shiver in his snow boots, yet it made him chuckle again. The man was having so much fun at her expense.

Just wonderful.

“You don’t know that.” She muttered, taking yet another sip of tasteless coffee.

“You look like you’re drinking dirty tap water, Joey might think you hate his coffee.”

Emma knew William was only joking, but she did feel guilty. The ginger-haired man made a mean cappuccino and she quite enjoyed it last time. Releasing a deep breath she let her shoulders slump and leaned back in her wooden green chair. Grabbing the big cup of coffee, she closed her eyes and took another sip. This time she tasted it and it helped her relax.

She could let go.

Faith was smiling and enjoying her time together with little Zach.

Her niece would have a new friend at school and they seemed to get along. Sara would be happy to hear her daughter was doing well. It would cheer her sister up and maybe she’d be able to move on a little. Right now Sara still sounded broken, Thomas being at fault here. The jerk was still out of reach, his phone no longer in use. He didn’t contact Sara either.

He didn’t deserve to be in their lives.

But she could understand why it was difficult for Sara to accept those words. To Emma those were just words, to Sara, it was a drastic change of life. Thomas was always there until he wasn't.

“Snow had a great time last night.”

Emma almost choked in her coffee, glad she didn’t snort it. She was close though.

“Did he now?” She asked, wiping her mouth with the paper towel William offered her with a gleam of amusement in his eyes.

William’s smile widened, “Oh, yes he did. He kept whining when he couldn’t find Faith. I had to let him sleep in my bed to soften the pain of missing his new friends.”

She doubted it was the first time Snow slept in William’s bed. William was very close to his dog, it was so cute she couldn’t even hide her smile whenever the two of them were together. Snow was a happy dog who was well taken care of. The best friend of William and a very good neighbor. Dare she say he was a better neighbor than William?

She narrowed her eyes on the amused looking William and decided that she did think Snow was the best neighbor she ever had.

Reliable and very cute.

“I can almost hear you think.”

Emma couldn’t keep her giggle in, she noticed how William’s eyes sparkled when he heard her laugh. It confused her to see how genuine he looked when she laughed. They weren’t close enough for him to look at her like that. She was mistaken. She didn’t see that.

Shaking it off she smiled at him, “Well, I am not exactly trying to keep it a secret.”

William glanced aside, the smile on his face changing. Getting a lot warmer and friendlier. It was the smile of a proud parent, which was even weirder. He was a stranger yet he seemed to care about them.

She couldn’t get attached to this man so quickly.

It was recipe for disaster, it’s how Sara got involved with Thomas and was now left broken by the man.

She had to protect herself, which meant putting up a wall and keeping this platonic. She had a book to focus on and a niece to help through a difficult time. There was no time for weird fussy feelings.

"Hello, William!"

The cheerful greeting of the excited looking Faith made her smile as well, all thoughts about putting up a wall forgotten.

"Hello, Faith!" William said, trying to mimic the childish tone Faith used yet he failed miserably considering his deep, rich voice.

He tried though.

It made Faith laugh, that was all that mattered.

“Can Zach and I play with Snow this weekend?”

She shared a look with William, trying to hide her relief and keep it cool. Faith made a friend and they wanted to play together with the most reliable dog this weekend. They couldn’t refuse.

William winked at her and focused back on the impatient looking Faith, “Sure, if Zach’s dad is okay with and of course the lovely aunt Emma, the both of you can come over this Sunday. Snow would love the company.”

Faith was at her side within a split second, grabbing her arm and looking at her with big, wide eyes. She was begging her, giving her the puppy eyes. No one could refuse those eyes. Unlike her sister, she didn't have the experience to deny eyes like that.

“Sure.” Emma agreed.

A simple word like that made Faith squeal out in excitement. The high pitched tone was cute and made William laugh. The sound of his laughter was enthralling. For a second she was taken in by it, forgetting her surroundings. The sides of William’s lips curled up, his warm smile turning into something much darker. When they locked eyes she could barely look away.

“Aunt Em!”

Faith demanding her attention made her snap her gaze away. She was grateful her niece gave her a scare, it made her heart jump, sure. But it gave her time to work on that wall again.

She needed to be careful around this man sitting across her.

He was dangerous.

“What’s wrong, sweetie?”

“Joey said he’d come over at William’s place Sunday.”

Emma glanced at William, “I guess that means we’re hanging out at William’s place this Sunday.”

Faith and Zach ran back to their table assigned by Joey. They were excited and couldn’t stop talking about their day with Snow. Faith kept gushing about Snow and how amazing the white, big dog was. Her niece was right though, Snow was one amazing dog.

She couldn’t name one person she had met thus far who disliked Snow.

"Guess I have some baking to do," William muttered.

He tried to sound sarcastic, she knew he tried because his eyes were filled with a warmth which told her he was also excited to have them over this Sunday.

***

William climbed out of his car, his eyes trained on the cottage which always felt safe and warm. Slamming the door shut to his truck he leaned against it, trying to pinpoint this weird feeling he had in his stomach. He was fine when he was together with the girls.

There was no tension, no urge to pretend, and stay alert.

Now, however, in front of his own house, he felt the tension rising. Something wasn't right, he just couldn't put his finger on it.

His eyes widened when the front door opened and an all too familiar tall guy with broad shoulders and a fancy suit stepped out. The smug look on his face wasn’t helping either. Shaking his head he pushed away from his truck which could help him get away from this dreadful situation yet he tightly held onto his key in his pocket and met his cousin halfway.

“Victor.”

The arrogant ass chuckled and opened his arm, trying to welcome him like this was his home. Victor always tended to make unfamiliar places his home. He felt comfortable waltzing through someone's property and take what he wanted. He was dominant, hiding it with a charming smile. His looks brought him places, his personality made him the powerful man that he was. William knew this was what Thomas longed for. Victor and Thomas always had been very close. Running into Sara, starting a family it wasn't planned and unfortunately, it couldn't last. It's what his father warned Thomas about. The man longed for excitement and a family would make him feel trapped.

William accepted his cousin's hug, both of them patting each other harshly against the back. Victor turned, glancing over at the glass castle of Queen Emma and Princess Faith. His lips curled up just imagining the look on Emma's face if she heard him saying that. She’d get angry with him, her small face getting puffy. Emma was more like Faith than she wanted to admit.

“I could feel their energy all over your place.” Victor’s eyes sparkled, “Things could get quite interesting.”

“Don’t you dare.” William warned him, his voice deeper as he narrowed his eyes on his cousin, “They deserve some peace, especially after what Thomas did to them.”

Victor shoved his hands in his pockets, turning to look at him, “You’ve gone soft, Will.”

He frowned, “Unlike Thomas and you and I don’t like to mess with people to even feel a little spark of excitement to make myself feel alive.”

Victor laughed, placing his arm around his shoulders and dragging him along as they moved to the cottage, “Don’t worry cousin, I’m not here to stir the pot. Just curious.” He laughed louder when Snow ran up to them, excited and cheerful wanting attention from Victor, “Snow always has been the better host.”

“True.” William muttered, “He does so much better with uninvited guests.”

William could feel the spark of excitement bounce off Victor. His cousin didn't come over to spend the holidays with him. Victor had his agenda, he couldn't let his guard down no matter how charming the man was and how much Snow enjoyed being around him.

Snow was wrong this time, Victor couldn’t be trusted.