Page 21 of Finally Home

RHODES

“Did you see Wren’s face, Dom?” My mom whisper-screams as we file into the kitchen after our brief tour of the house. “I don’t think I’ll ever get over the way that girl loves her dad. Maybe I should whip up something sweet to match the mood…”

Wes raises his hand like a kid in class, and I smack it down. He gives me a dirty look, then switches up his expression and gives my mom wide, innocent eyes. “Actually, Mama Gray, I was gonna ask my mom to swing by Rhodes’s house later and bring some of her famous peach cobbler cookies since they’re Wren’s favorites.”

Mom points an accusing finger at him, and he flinches slightly. “Wesley Black!” she scolds. “Your mother lives close enough to stop by my son’s house, and you didn’t invite her over for dinner?”

Asher notices the subtle reaction and puts an arm around Wesley’s shoulders.

Hmm, I wonder what that’s about. I’ll have to remember to ask Wren about that later.

Wes’s shoulders slump in relief. He flashes my mom a sheepish grin and holds up his phone. “I’ll go call her right now if you’ll give me your address.”

Mom shakes her head at him and writes it down, handing him the sticky note. “It’s a good thing you boys are so cute because it seems like common sense is lacking in some of you.” She gives me a look of disapproval as Asher follows Wes out to the back patio, and I must look surprised because she scoffs. “Don’t act like you haven’t been following that girl around like a lost puppy since she got here, Rhodes Colter. When are you going to wise up and make a move?”

My face is on fire, and I try not to glare at my mom while my dad guffaws at my expense. “She just got out of a terrible marriage, Mom. How do you honestly think that would go? ‘Hey, Wren, I know Derrick just broke your heart and your trust, but I’ve been in love with you since we were eighteen, and I think we belong together.’”

They glance at each other and roll their eyes. “We’re not saying bombard her with nearly a decade of feelings all at once, son. Wren didn’t really love that dumbass Monroe, and you know it. She was looking for love in the wrong places and assumed she found it. We all know she was too loyal to call off the wedding after she made the commitment.”

Mom sighs and wraps me in a hug that makes me feel like I’m nineteen again, watching my best friend marry the wrong man. “Rho, she was never meant to be with Derrick, and everybody knew it except for her. She might be hurting right now, but I don’t think she ever looked at him the way she looks at you. All you can do is try to show her that the right man was beside her all along. Take it slow, and trust that she’ll see it when she’s ready.”

I hug her back and nod against the top of her head. “You’re right. I have to try.”

“I’m so tired, I swear I could sleep for a month straight.”

Wren and I just made it back to my house after saying our goodbyes to Jamie, Wes, and Asher. The last few days have been a whirlwind as the guys and I got to know each other. Not to mention all the time we spent with Copeland and Aidan. My girl has been an absolute trooper dealing with six ball players over the last week, and I’m excited to spend some time alone together.

“I know, Starling. Tell you what. It’s still early, so why don’t I order dumplings for delivery and load up a tray with all of our favorite snacks, and we can have a movie night. It’ll be just like college, only this time the alcohol will be legal.” I smirk at her, and she giggles, a blush creeps up her neck as she no doubt remembers some of our drunken mishaps—most of which happened before she met her controlling ex.

“That sounds perfect, Roly-Coly. Let me shower really quick, and then we can play movie roulette.” She turns and skips up the stairs.

I make the mistake of watching her go and have to bite my knuckle to stifle a groan. Her ass is always amazing but her ass in leggings? Phenomenal.

Shaking my head, I give myself a stern pep talk about not fucking this up by acting like a horny teenager while I order our favorites from Lotus and load up the snack tray. I’ve just gotten everything on the table when Wren comes into the room in a cloud of apples and honey. My gaze is drawn to her like she’s gravity and I’m the moon, helplessly stuck in her orbit. And damned happy about it.

Holy shit.

She’s in an old pair of my sweats, rolled and tied tightly at the waist, and a cropped tee with no bra. Any hope I had of getting through tonight without having to conceal a painful erection just vanished in a cloud of Wren-scented smoke.

“Okay.” She claps her hands and rubs them together mischievously. “Are you ready to play movie roulette?”

I pull her over to my couch and relish in the contented groan she lets out. I spent a fortune on the damned thing based on a recommendation from one of my teammates, but it’s comfortable and plush as hell, so I knew Wren would love it.

“The only person I’d ever play movie roulette with is you, Starling. I hope you realize that.”

Movie roulette is a game we came up with our freshman year because Wren is indecisive and can never pick a movie. We each write down five movies and toss them into a baseball glove, and then, we mix them up and take turns picking out the scraps of paper. It takes the decision out of our hands and is the only way we actually get to watch the movie.

She gets up to grab a sparkly blue pen out of the purse she tossed on the entry table and sits back down next to me with a smirk. “You know the drill, Roly-Coly, five movies in the Rawlings. Sparkly pen completely mandatory.”

We really could have used anything to put the choices in, but I had baseball gloves all over my dorm in college, so now it’s a tradition. I snag my favorite one off the table, and we both write our picks down on tiny torn slips of paper before dropping them in the glove.

I pick it up, close my eyes, and mix the folded papers. Then, I hold out the glove and peek one eye open only to see Wren with a radiant grin on her face. It takes my breath away that I was able to make her that happy by doing something so simple. “You wanna do the honors, Starling?”

She nods, her grin morphing into a mock-serious expression. She’s not wearing any makeup and her skin is glowing after being outside so much this week. Her freckles stand out like crazy, and I can’t wait for the day I can kiss every single one on her face just to make her laugh. Or find constellations in them when she’s sleeping like I used to.

I’m so caught up in watching her, I don’t notice her pull out a paper until she holds it up triumphantly. “Forgetting Sarah Marshall!”

I groan. I’ve seen this movie no less than eight thousand times since we became friends because it’s one of her favorites. The doorbell rings as I stand, so I give her finger guns as I divert to the foyer. “That’s probably the delivery guy, so you get the movie started and I’ll grab the food and the alcohol.”

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