I glance up at Winter, her eyes glazed with unshed tears and my ribs squeeze tightly around my heart.

“Then I came to LA to visit, and I saw them together for the first time, I knew he was right. He was so clearly in love with her, and I could see why. It wasn’t just that she was amazing, it was that she fit into his life so naturally and so perfectly, like they had been together all along. And you’re right, Winter…” I look at my girl, who is now swiping tears from her rosy cheeks. “Sondra is Preston’s person, and he is hers. Trust me, I know people, I’m a lawyer.”

The crowd laughs, claps, and whistles while Preston stands to shake my hand. I pass the microphone off to the DJ, who takes over, thankfully, and announces that the dance floor will be open shortly.

Clinks bounce off the walls as the crowd urges Sondra and Preston to kiss again and again. Some make their way to the bar, and Winter stands, whispers something in Sondra’s ear, then grabs her purse from the table and walks toward the hall that leads to the restrooms.

“We’ll figure it out,” I told her. That was my way of not dealing with this because the truth is, I went through with our bullshit plan because I wanted Winter in a way I haven’t wanted anyone. I’ve been testing myself. Can I do this? Can I make her happy? Can I be enough for her? There’s no denying the way I feel about her, the girl with two seasons for a name.

I stand, wanting, needing, to speak with her. To tell her we don’t have to work it out because I’m not letting her go. I can’t. Winter has filled a void I didn’t realize was so vast. She’s become something I didn’t realize I needed in my life. She’s everything I want in a companion, everything I find myself craving in the moments I used to find peaceful. I realize now, I only perceived my life as accomplished, I fed it what I thought it needed. Now I know it needs something else. Something small and sassy, something brave and vulnerable equally with caramel-brown hair, blood-red lips, and the voice of my greatest fears and desires coming to life. It needs Winter.

As I near the hallway to find my girl, Gary steps in front of me.

“Aleck, join me for a drink, won’t you?”

“Yes, sir. Lead the way…” I swallow down resentment and put a pin in asking Winter to be my girl tomorrow, and the day after, and the day after.

Gary and I grab a couple of drinks and settle around a high-top table on the other side of the Hall, so we can hear each other speak over the now playing music.

“Great speech, Aleck. Well done,” he says into his glass, before taking a long, slow sip of his whiskey. “Public speaking has never been my thing. I commend those who can.”