Page 9 of Finally Home

“I can feel your eyes on me. I promise I’m okay, Mama Gray,” Wren says in a groggy voice, her eyes still firmly closed. Her voice scares the hell out of me, and I realize I have no idea how long I’ve been watching her sleep like a stalker.

I make my way to the side of the bed closest to the doors and set her drink down on the nightstand next to my favorite picture of us from college. It was right after one of the best games of my college career; she had hopped onto my back and kissed my cheek. Whoever took that deserves a raise because it’s a perfect picture, and they caught me smiling at her like the lovesick bastard I was…and still am.

Chuckling, I push some of her messy hair out of her face. “I mean, I’m glad you’re okay, but you’ve got the wrong Gray there, Starling.”

She gasps, shooting up. “Roly-Coly-Oly!” In less than a second, she launches herself at me and then I have two arms full of a soft, sweet-smelling girl. Wren wraps her legs around my waist and my eyes widen as my heart thunders in my chest.

Do not get a fucking boner right now, dude.

“I missed you so much,” she whispers into my neck. Her voice is raspy like it gets every time she cries, and then I feel tears wetting my shirt. I hug her tightly, one arm under her ass to hold her up and one hand running through her hair.

“I missed you too, pretty girl,” I whisper back. She feels so damn good in my arms that I’m having a hard time concentrating, but her quiet sniffles bring my earlier worries to the forefront of my mind. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m so fucking happy you’re home, but why didn’t you call me and let me know you were coming back? Is everything okay?”

She shakes her head against my chest and pulls back so her sleepy, bloodshot eyes meet mine. “You were right.” Her voice is so quiet I almost don’t hear her and confusion swirls in my brain. Panic and disappointment rapidly follow when she untangles her limbs from my body and drops down to stand in front of me.

I cup her cheeks and gently tilt her face up so I can see her stunning blue eyes. “Right about what, Wren?”

I’ve seen just about every look under the sun cross this girl’s face over the years, but shame wasn’t one of them until now. Her cheeks burn bright, and her eyes are downcast, making tears gather on her lashes again. “Derrick cheated on me, and somebody caught it on camera and emailed it to the PR account yesterday morning.”

Fury burns fast and hot in my chest as a red haze clouds my vision. “He fucking what?” I growl. I never understood that word anytime I’d peek at one of Wren’s romance books and see a line about the hero growling, but I sure as hell understand it now. I feel fucking feral and the urge to go beat the shit out of that asshole for hurting this angel of a woman barrels down on me like a freight train.

She flinches, and my stomach drops all the way to the floors under our feet. “I’m sorry I raised my voice, Starling.” Pulling her against me, I kiss her temple. “So, what exactly was emailed to the PR account?”

Her voice is shaky as she details the video she got and all the people who saw it. “Thankfully we were able to contain it so it hasn’t hit the press yet, but Jeremy, my boss, encouraged me to take some time off and then work remotely while I file for divorce. I figured I would just stay with Daddy since I don’t know how long I’ll be in town.”

My heart races with excitement when she mentions divorce, and I instantly feel like a selfish asshole for being happy, but holy shit. Wren is technically single now and living in Charleston for at least the next month while she takes some time off. “Stay with me,” I blurt.

Wren’s jaw drops. “Rhodes, I can’t just move in with you. Won’t that cramp your bachelor baseball player lifestyle?” Her tone is light, but there’s a little crinkle between her eyebrows. She doesn’t like whatever is running through her overactive mind right now.

I run a hand through my messy hair and fight to keep the blush from my cheeks. She doesn’t need to know there’s no playing that happens off the field, despite some of my teammates’ best efforts since I joined the Raptors. It turns out I was right, and I am demisexual. I’ve been out so many times over the last few years, but any time I made it past a few dates and tried to have sex, I couldn’t keep an erection. I was so mortified that I finally just stopped trying.

Scoffing, I level her with a serious look. “If you think for one second I’m going to pass up the opportunity to live with my best friend, even temporarily, you’d be wrong. Come on, Wren, we can hang out all the time and you can meet my teammates and see how we do things at the Raptors HQ. I’ll even stock your favorite snacks, and you know I already have all of our favorite movies.”

She waggles her eyebrows. “You gonna have a Marvel marathon with me, Rho? You know there’s no breaks allowed.”

It makes me happy that she’s able to joke even though she’s obviously upset over everything that happened yesterday. Her smile is still brighter than the sun in spite of living on the other side of the country with that oppressive fuckwad for four years. It seems obvious to the rest of her friends and family, but I don’t think she realizes just how much Derrick managed to isolate her from her support system.

I twirl a long lock of her hair between my fingers. Wren’s a wild sleeper, but her hair always feels like silk no matter how messy it is. “I can’t think of anything I’d love more than hearing about your god-awful obsession with ‘America’s Ass’ for two days straight,” I tease.

She freezes mid-retort and grabs the hand that’s still tangled in her hair. “Rhodes…” she whispers, her voice filled with awe. “Is that real?”

Teary, red-rimmed eyes are locked on my left hand, and I bite back a curse. I didn’t even consider that she doesn’t know about my tattoo. Hopefully, she isn’t creeped out. Clearing my throat, I turn a sheepish grin her way. “Uhh…I plead the Fifth?”

Her eyes widen as the corner of her lip twitches, and I nearly let out a sigh of relief at that hint of joy in her expression.

At least she’s not staring at me like I’ve only got one oar in the water.

“When did you do this? And why?” Her fingers run reverently over the intricate Starling tattoo, and shivers skate down my spine at her soft touch.

I clear my throat. “Um, yeah. Well, you know you’ve always been my good luck charm, and after you stopped coming to visit, my game went to shit.” She eyes me guiltily and opens her mouth to, no doubt, apologize, so I run my fingers through her hair and smile at her. “I don’t blame you, Wren. I never did. And I didn’t tell you because I knew you would blow up your own life to help me with mine.”

“Still, I’m sorry Rho.” She sighs, nuzzling her face in my chest.

Kissing the top of her head, I take a subtle breath. As usual, she smells like apples and honey and mine. “Anyway, my game went to shit, and my friend Aidan figured out why my attitude changed and suggested I keep a piece of you with me to, and I quote, ‘keep up the good bestie juju.’” She laughs, and it’s such a relief to hear.

“Hey, circling back to your dad, where is he? I would have thought he’d be throwing a parade to have you back home.”

My question makes her tense, and she shakes her head, pulling the strand of hair I was playing with loose from my fingers. “I don’t know exactly….” She taps her phone to light up the screen and sighs. “He told me yesterday he was going to some kind of conference but didn’t give me any details or tell me when he would be back. I’m a little worried about it, to be honest. We’ve never kept secrets from each other before, and I can’t help but feel like he’s hiding something.”

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