You, With a View(77)
Her appraisal is brief but keen, and she holds up the card. It’s a stone tower, aflame, with people falling out of it. “This card means crisis and transformation. Something’s happening or happened that’s shaken the foundation of everything you know. I also pulled the ten of swords—” She pushes it across the table, the corner catching in a wood grain. The pop it makes sounds like thunder against Theo’s silence. “These swords have found their target. Could be you, could be a relationship. There’s a sense of betrayal, right?”
“Did I get the two worst cards because I don’t believe in this or what?” Theo asks, but his voice is unsteady.
“They’re not the worst cards,” Flor argues. “I mean, listen, does anyone want these cards, especially together? Knee-jerk response would be no. But this is destroying what no longer serves you so you can come back stronger, in a different way. You’re preparing for a transformation.”
Theo releases my hand, pointing between the two of us. “How can we both be transforming?”
Flor lifts a shoulder. “We’re all constantly transforming, sometimes in little ways and sometimes in big ones. It’s possible the universe wanted you together while you went through this. I can’t say for sure.”
My gaze drifts over to the mural, to the painted eye that’s been watching us from the start, and a shiver works down my spine. I turn back to Theo, whose hands are now laced between his spread knees. His brows are drawn tight, but otherwise I can’t read his expression, and I wonder if any of this makes sense to him. Is it about his relationship with his dad? About his job? Are the cards saying he should give in to what Anton and Matias want? Where To Next’s uncertain future clearly hurts him, but maybe the transformation is literal—the company will shift, and his growth will be tied to that.
It sounds like a good thing, but Theo’s frown deepens.
“My point is, this is going to happen no matter what. It’s happening.” Flor leans forward on her elbows, the tower card falling to the ground, and presses a long fuchsia nail on the table in front of him. “The cards are inviting you to let it go and let something new and better grow. You’ve been placed with resources in your life that will help you move on, but you have to allow that resource to help you.”
There’s a long, drawn-out silence. Finally, Theo clears his throat. “Got it.”
I place my hand on his thigh, palm up, but he doesn’t take it, so I curl my hand over his leg instead, wanting to comfort him somehow even if he won’t grab hold of it himself. There’s an invisible wall between us. Whatever this means to him, he’s processing it. Alone.
Flor crosses her arms, her expression kind. “I hope this helped.”
“So much.” Part of me wishes I hadn’t pushed so hard, though. The light, sexy mood Theo and I built over dinner is gone, and I don’t know if I can get it back. “Thank you for taking the time to do this.”
“Totally selfish on my part. That connection, whew.” Flor fans her face. “Nearly blew me over when you walked in.”
I laugh uncomfortably, digging in my purse for cash so I don’t have to look at Theo. It’s one thing to feel the intense connection. It’s another thing for a total stranger to feel it and make it a thing.
When I find what I’m looking for, I stand and extend the money toward Flor. “We won’t keep you; I know you said you had plans.”
Theo pushes my hand away, placing two hundred-dollar bills on the table. “Thanks for your time,” he says woodenly, his eyes lingering on the tarot cards before drifting down to the one on the floor.
He turns and leaves, his shoulders coiled.
I turn to Flor, hesitating. “I’m sorry, he’s just—”
There’s no good way to end that sentence. I don’t know what he is. Skeptical, so he wants to get out of there? Shaken, so he has to leave?
She waves me off. “I get it all the time. It’s hard for people to hear what needs to be done, especially when it hurts.”
My hand is on the doorknob when Flor says, “By the way, when I said he had a resource to help him move on?” Our eyes meet and she smiles. “I meant you.”
Twenty-Six
Theo is waiting on the curb when I step outside, his chin tipped up toward the sky.
“Are you okay?”
He blinks out of whatever trance he was in, blowing out a breath. “Can’t say I’ve ever had a date end that way.”
“Are you okay, though?” I press, inspecting him for signs of distress.
His expression blanks out. “I’m fine. I’m not getting twisted up about a few cards randomly pulled out of a deck.” He steps closer, taking my hand. “You good? It got heavy in there for you.”
I shift from foot to foot, feeling silly suddenly. Inside that room, everything was intensely real. Now, with conversation from nearby restaurants floating in the still air, with Theo looking at me like everything’s fine, I wonder if I overreacted. Maybe I assigned too much meaning, not just to his reading, but my own.
My cheeks flush. I tuck a strand of hair behind my ears, looking past his shoulder. “I’m good. Let’s get back?”
Theo’s eyes narrow, but he nods. When I start to walk, he pulls me back until I’m pressed up against him. “Hey.”