Chapter 19
Chapter Nineteen
BARRETT
Two Weeks Later
I ’m a scientist not a spiritualist.
I prefer fact over fiction and statistics over predictions.
I do not believe in fairies, ghosts, leprechauns, calorie-free cooking spray—if it’s made of pure olive oil, I don’t care what the label says, it has calories, end of debate—or miracles.
At least, I didn’t until today…
But as I draw the curtain in the kitchen aside to see Wren and Starling pulling up in the U-Haul we packed last night, the morning suddenly feels miraculous. Wren is here, moving in with me, and when we say goodnight, we get to go to bed together.
“I’m one lucky bastard,” I tell Keanu, who insisted on being picked up so he could look out the window, too.
He gargle-purrs happily, wagging his possum tail as he watches Wren and Starling emerge from the truck and start up the walk.
“I know,” I say, heading toward the front door. “And she loves you, too, so I guess that goes for both of us. Don’t piss in her shoes and fuck it up, okay?”
Keanu makes a squeak-yip that sounds like—I can’t make any promises, but I’ll try—and I decide that’s good enough. After all, Wren will forgive him. She adores the hideous beast, a fact she proves when she steps through the door and takes a beat to coo hello to the little monster before grinning up at me and whispering, “Last chance to change your mind before I turn one corner of your office into my craft area.”
I smile and bend to press a soft kiss to her lips. “I’ve already cleared a space and bought you a little welcome home gift to help with the eye strain when you’re beading.”
“You did?” Her eyes light up with love and excitement and I marvel all over again that I know how to do this with her. I know how to make her happy. I don’t even have to try that hard. Loving her, pleasing her, supporting her—it all comes so naturally. “Can I go see?”
I nod down the hall, grinning at Starling over Wren’s head. “Of course. It’s your home now, too. You can go wherever you want. Good morning, Starling.”
“Good morning, Dr. McGuire,” she says, beaming as she follows Wren down the hall, a box labelled “craft room” in her arms. As she passes, she kisses the top of Keanu’s head and whispers, “That’s from Kyle. He says he misses you and wants a playdate soon.”
“Where is Kyle?” I ask, shutting the door behind her. “You could have brought him, and he and Keanu could have played in the backyard while we unpack the truck.”
She sighs as she moves down the hall, Keanu and I close behind her. “I know, but he has a big night ahead of him. We’re doing a photo shoot with some of the animals at the ball venue now that the decorations are set up for tomorrow night. I figured he should stay home so he doesn’t get worn out.” She lets out a soft squeal and steps into the office/craft room. “Oh my God, that’s amazing! She’s needed one of those forever!”
Wren looks up from the desk with the built-in spotlight and magnifying glass attachments with shining eyes. “Thank you. It’s exactly what I’ve always wanted. But now I feel awful, all I got you was this.” She reaches into her jacket pocket, pulling out a scrap of red cloth. When she holds it up, I see it’s a dog t-shirt that reads, “Mommy’s Little Angel Monster.”
I laugh and Keanu gargles and squirms in my arms. “It’s perfect. I love it.” I set Keanu down and he runs to Wren wiggling and twitching until she bends down and slips the tee over his head and helps him work his legs through the armholes. “Looks like he does, too.”
Keanu turns to grin up at me, showing off his new duds and new tooth. I swear the beast grew another incisor overnight, one that lifts his lip on one side, making him look like a mix between a hellhound and an Elvis impersonator.
“You look good,” I tell him. “But don’t get used to new clothes every week.”
“Oh, but he really should,” Wren says, laughing as he runs back to her, blender barking with excitement. “I can’t resist tiny dog clothes, and he’s so cute in everything. I’ll just set aside a section of my closet for Keanu and shop happily ever after.”
Starling makes another excited sound. “I can’t believe you get a walk-in closet of your own. Show it to me. Show it to me now, so I can fantasize about being a full-fledged grown-up with a walk-in closet someday.”
“I’ll start bringing in boxes,” I say as they start down the hall toward the master bedroom. “Christian’s getting here in half an hour to help with the couch and the other furniture.”
“Thank you, we’ll be right out to grab some, too,” Wren says, blowing me a kiss. I swear I can feel it land on my cheek, making my chest even warmer.
I’m fully aware I’m approaching the point where my affection for Wren will become repulsive to innocent bystanders, but I can’t help myself. I thought I knew what love was, back when Lane and I were first a couple, but that was nothing compared to what I feel for Wren.
With her…it’s like I’ve finally found my purpose.
I find great meaning in my work and helping my patients and family, but until now I’ve never felt anything like this. I look into her eyes, and I just know…this is it. This is why I’m here. To adore her and support her and spent the rest of my life letting her know how grateful I am that I get to share it with her.
Everything is better with Wren along for the ride. Even unpacking a moving truck.
The three of us spend the next half hour laughing, unpacking, and shifting things around to make the house feel less sterile. Starling puts up new curtains, and Wren hangs the portraits of Keanu and Kyle that she framed last week. Add a few throw pillows and a quilt their mother made as a housewarming present, and by the time Christian arrives, my bachelor pad is already starting to feel like a couple’s home.
My brother stops in the entry to the living room and kitchen, grinning as he glances around the space. “Nice. Shacking up looks good on you guys.”
“Thanks,” I say, hugging Wren to my side as she wraps her arms around my waist. “We were trying to decide where to put Wren’s couch.”
Christian frowns. “We could do the two couches back-to-back in the middle of the room. Then you could have a TV watching side and a looking-out-the-window side.”
“That’s a good idea,” Starling says, earning a glare from Christian.
“So glad you approve, Agent of Chaos,” he says.
Starling rolls her eyes. “I’m not an Agent of Chaos. The photo shoot is going to be fun. And I’ll be able to make oodles of new promotional materials and keep the donations flowing in.”
“We’ll probably be at the venue cleaning poop off the floor until midnight,” Christian says, “but sure, anything for your meme addiction. But when Theo lands the fundraising position, he’s taking down all the shots of me and that bulldog. He’s my cousin, and he owes me one for bringing his Harley back from the dead.”
Starling sticks her nose into the air with a sniff. “I might get the job, you know. I may be younger and have less experience, but I’m smashing fundraising records for Furry Friends. And it won’t matter if Theo takes it down or not. A meme on the internet is like toothpaste in a tube. Once it’s out, it’s not going back in.”
“Okay, you guys move Barrett’s couch closer to the television,” Wren says. “We’ll go get my couch from the truck.”
Leaving them grumbling in the living room, Wren and I head outside. “Are you sure you can carry it?” I ask. “I can make Christian come help with the heavy lifting. That’s why he’s here.”
Wren arches a brow. “Oh yeah? I think he’s here because he’s up for any excuse to spend more time with Starling.”
Frowning, I say, “They hate each other.”
She laughs. “No, they don’t. They’re fight-flirting.”
“I don’t think so. I’ve known Christian a long time, since birth, in fact, and he doesn’t flirt that way.”
She makes a non-committal sound. “We’ll see. I’m betting they’ll be banging in my old bed before the end of the summer, but I could be wrong. You want to place a wager?”
“No. I don’t,” I say, wrinkling my nose. “I’d really prefer they remain at odds. Or become friends and nothing more. I don’t like the idea of my brother dating your sister.”
“Why?” She turns to look up at me at the back of the open truck. “I think Christian would be really sweet to Starling, once he stops fighting his feelings and remembers having a girlfriend is fun. Don’t you?”
I grunt. “Maybe. But if he was a dick, I’d feel obligated to step in and adjust his attitude. The last time I did that, we both ended up with black eyes and didn’t speak for months. It made family functions very unpleasant.”
Wren frowns. “How old was he?”
“Nineteen,” I say. “I caught him getting high in our uncle’s shed with our seventeen-year-old cousins.”
“Oh, well, that’s not so bad,” she says, her features softening. “And it was a long time ago, when pot was more of a big deal.”
“It’s still a big deal,” I insist. “If you’re smoking with underage kids and planning to drive home afterwards.” I cross my arms at my chest, adding in a softer grumble, “And I wouldn’t want anything that happens with them to get between us.”
Resting her hands on my folded arms, she says, “It won’t. I promise. I don’t intend to let anything get between us, even my little sister.”
I grunt again. “Me, either.” I untangle my arms and wrap them around her waist, smiling as she leans closer. “I’m so glad you’re here.”
“Me, too,” she says, her eyes flashing as she whispers, “It’s not crazy, right? I mean, two weeks is fast, but we’ve known each other forever. And if it doesn’t work out, I can always move back to my place, assuming Starling hasn’t filled the house with rescue turkeys by then. She’s talking to a farmer over by my mom’s place who has a female turkey he’s been keeping as a pet but needs to rehome. Apparently, she doesn’t get along with the new baby.”
I press my lips together and Wren laughs.
“I know,” she says. “You don’t think turkeys make good pets. I won’t bring one home, I promise.”
“If you did, we’d make it work,” I say.
She sighs happily. “And that’s how I know the love is real.”
I bend my head closer to hers. “You’d better believe it, woman.”
She lifts her chin, pressing her lips to mine, and I wish I could go back in time and stop myself from RSVP-ing for Lane’s wedding. I can think of several ways I’d rather spend our first night together than at my ex’s nuptials.
But Wren already has a dress and a hair appointment and I’m due to pick up my rental tuxedo at three. Which means we should get this truck unloaded so I have time to return it first.
“You want to push from the back, and I’ll guide the couch out onto the driveway?” I ask when we come up for air.
She nods. “Sounds good. Then we can get the rug out of the back before we carry it in. I want to put it down and vacuum it before we put the couch on top.”
We start making trips into the house, working as seamlessly together as we always do. Whether it’s managing patient care or making a house a home, Wren and I just fit. It’s like we were made to be a team.
Unlike Christian and Starling who bicker the entire time they’re unloading, calling a truce only when they join forces to make fun of Wren and I for making out in the bathroom.
“What is up with you two and bathrooms?” Starling asks as we emerge into the hall, flushed and breathless.
“Weirdest kink ever,” Christian agrees, appearing beside her with Keanu in his arms.
Starling reaches out, idly petting the dog’s head. “And unsanitary. There are so many cleaner, more comfortable places to make out.”
“Agreed,” Christian says. “The truck is empty, by the way. You want Starling and I to return it on our way back to her place?”
“I thought I could take Keanu with me now,” Starling says. “That way he’ll already be with me when I need to head to the venue for pictures. I can keep him overnight, too, since you guys probably won’t be back from the wedding until late, right?”
“That would be great,” Wren says, glancing up at me. “I should go with them and get my car. I need to run a few errands before I head to my hair appointment.”
“Are you getting a blow up?” Christian teases as they start toward the door.
“I know they’re called blow outs now,” I counter as Starling laughs. “I’ve done my research.”
Wren pauses at the door and presses a kiss to my cheek. “You did. You’re totally up on the lingo and I’ll see you around five. Excited to see you in a tux.”
“Excited to see you in nothing at all when we get home from the wedding,” I say, making her grin against my lips and squeeze my ass. “I’m never going to get tired of that.”
She squeezes my backside again. “Of me copping feels in our house?”
“Yes,” I say, happier than I can remember feeling in ages. Maybe in my entire life.
She kisses me one last time and heads out to join the others, but she’ll be back.
Because this is her home now. It’s our home.
Ours, and it’s been so easy. The past two weeks have been so fun, so filled with love and laughter and an almost effortless transition from friends to something more. The other nurses and office staff couldn’t be happier for us, our parents are fans, and Drew and Tatum are overjoyed. They’ve had us over for dinner twice and we’re planning a date night for the end of the month.
Everything is going so well.
Too well.
The course of my love life has never run smoothly, not once, from my high school girlfriend to Lane and every short-term relationship in between. I should have known some kind of shit was going to hit the fan, I really should have.
But I walk into my ex’s wedding that evening with Wren on my arm without a care in world.
Just like a lamb to the slaughter.