“Oh,” Wren says, laughing when he sees me. There’s the asshole I know. “Sorry. This is my mother—Melanie Prize.”
My jaw drops. Painfully so. In fact… there are no words. She’s not old enough to be his mom.
“Don’t look so shocked, dear,” the woman says with a soft smile, but she seems uncertain about how to approach me. I’m sure Wren has told her I’m a bitch. In fact, now I’m a little self-conscious because he’s probably told everyone I am, but I doubt he’s told anyone about how he treated me. “A woman can look young for decades these days.”
I force a smile, feeling uncomfortable in my own home with all his friends. Until I see a face I know.
“Hey,” the familiar woman says, and I sigh in relief. I was really nice to her.
“Brin,” I say, proud of myself for remembering the name Wren once gave me on the way to stitch up her boyfriend’s hand.
Her smile brightens the mood, and she turns just as the tall, tattooed man walks closer, stretching out his hand that has the faintest scar.
“You did good work. We came to repay the favor.”
I smile while shaking his hand, and then I glance back and forth between the two of them. “I guess you two are more than neighbors now?” I muse, needing someone to bond with out of this crowd.
Brin snickers while nodding. “You caught us on a bad night. Things are a lot different. Hope you’re ready to get moved in within a few hours. Wren assembled an army.”
I turn back to see the numerous other faces, and Wren starts introductions. Most wave and smile before asking us for instructions. Bella handles most of the delegating, since I’m still not fully in the moment. I can’t believe he was able to get so much help so quickly.
While Bella is putting everyone to work, Wren and Melanie sneak off to join Angel in her room. Being nosy, I follow, making sure to look as though I’m packing up the rest of a box near the doorway of my daughter’s room.
“I think we can fill in the gaps just fine. You know, we do have six Christmases to make up for, so we’ll have a lot to do. Not to mention, let’s just say… your father’s house is rather… boring, I hear. Maybe we could speed Christmas up and put some things there for you to play with,” Melanie says, and my heart sputters.
I never really thought of parenting as being competitive, but what if Angel realizes Wren can give her so much more than me? It’s so frigging insecure, but I can’t help it.
No. I won’t do that. I can’t. My daughter deserves all the things she’s ever wanted, and if Wren can give them to her, I’m sure as hell not going to be petty and stand in her way.
“I’ll write some things down,” Angel says matter-of-factly, prompting me to hold back my laughter.
“You can write?” Melanie asks in surprise.
“Yep. And I can read, too. Not the big books like Mommy, but I can read the smaller books she buys me.”
They continue to ask her questions, and I peek in to see Wren smiling at her while putting the last of her stuff in boxes, treating everything with care like it can’t be replaced. I decide to give them privacy instead of hovering, so I move to the kitchen. Or try to.
Bella intercepts me half way and pulls me to the side by my elbow, intriguing me.
“What the hell?” she grumbles, releasing me to cross her arms over her chest.
“What the hell what?” I ask, rubbing my poor wounded elbow that did nothing to deserve her violent use for upheaval.
“Every guy in there is taken. The Dane guy owns half of Sterling Shore, and he’s here despite some big party he’s having, because he’s a good friend to Wren. So obviously I’m intrigued, but no. He’s married. To the hot blonde girl in our kitchen who happens to be a frigging bestselling author. And the hot guy with the tattoos all over his arms is with the short girl who is tripping him every time he walks back and mocking him with insincere apologies. And the other guy, Kode, is with the dark haired girl who happens to be sisters with the striking blonde. Kade, the youngest one of them, yeah… he’s engaged to the chick who keeps griping about them leaving her out of their poker night. It’s like mega-hot-but-don’t-touch-city in there. Did he do that on purpose?”
I bite back a grin as she blows a hair out of her face, scowling at the door she closed on our way out.
“I don’t know. But since when are you looking for a guy?”
She turns that vicious scowl on me, and my laughter leaks out just a little.