

Luisa's smile settled over him warmly. "You're doing well so far," she assured him. Logically, he knew she was right about letting Meredith go. It would never stop him from worrying, but she should be allowed to make business connections without him getting underfoot. They spent every single day together; one night spent 20 feet apart wasn't going to whisk her away from him forever.
"I guess she's finding clients," he said. "Wowing people with her designs and such. She's really quite talented, if I say so myself." Even he could hear the pride in his voice. "Afar. That's the hard part," he replied as he watched Luisa sip her martini. Ren took a pull from his own drink just as she asked where he was from.
His mind flashed to dirt roads and small, old-fashioned houses before he pulled himself back to the present. "It's this little city," he began with a wistful smile, "about 100 or so miles from here. Resurrection, it's called. Really tiny, actually. The nearest hospital was 20 miles away. What about you?" he asked, the need to deflect from his excess information rising in his throat. "Where are you from?"