Page 24 of Finding Out

Yeah, I had, and when she discovered that I’d bought a train ticket for our security guard and sent him home to DC, she’d followed me around, yapping and cursing.

When Wren got fired up, she was feisty as hell.

I loved it. Her passion turned me on. Most people were afraid to stand up to me, but Wren never had that issue. Surprisingly, I didn’t hate it at all.

“We’re driving back to Boston, just the two of us.” The entire reason I’d opted to rent the SUV rather than take a train was so I’d get a few more hours alone with Wren. The last thing I wanted was some random guy hitching a ride with us. “It’ll be fine.” I’d keep the car locked.

“So you’ve told me. However, you should take the painting.” She flung her hand toward the box. “And I’ll get the bags.”

I frowned.

“Teamwork makes the dream work, old man,” she teased.

A strange mix of annoyance and desire swirled inside me. “Don’t remember you calling me old when you were begging me to let you come on my cock an hour ago.”

That had hands-down been the best shower of my life.

Her cheeks flushed, but she didn’t shy away. Fuck, she was beautiful.

When I leaned in and brushed my lips against hers, she sighed into my mouth. At the sound, that hard fist that remained locked deep inside me once again unclenched.

“Teamwork, it is,” I mumbled against her lips. “But let’s get going.”

I snaked my hand down her body and gave her ass a light smack.

Smirking, she sauntered past me and yanked on the handle of my suitcase. As much as I hated letting her haul our bags, I didn’t mind seeing her black Louis carry-on resting on top of my luggage. They almost looked as if they were meant to be together.

“Are you coming?” As she stopped at the door, she flashed a mischievous grin over her shoulder.

I shook the thoughts from my head. I was being such a schmuck.

If Wren didn’t have to get back for the auction, I’d be tempted to stay another day and revel in the opportunity to be locked in this snow globe together.

A world where there were no daughters or friends standing between us. A world where we had a real chance.

But that wasn’t our reality. We’d have to go home and deal with the fallout. For now, I pushed the thought from my mind and picked up the large box—the reason I’d come to New York. I had always loved this painting, but after last night, it meant so much more. I was certain that every time I looked at it, I’d be transported back here to Wren.

“Seriously, we should have checked out five minutes ago,” Wren called from the hall.

I almost chuckled. I was the one causing the delay, and that never happened.

I never got behind schedule. I’d created routines in order to survive the times when I felt like I was drowning.

Raising my daughter while playing professional baseball had not been an easy task. The schedules I’d put in place allowed me to hold things together for the two of us when everything could have fallen apart.

Her mom was little help. Often, in fact, she made it worse. My ex-wife was well-meaning and loved Avery, but she thrived on chaos. She was the kind of person who loved to drop everything at a moment’s notice for a new adventure. The kind of person who didn’t appreciate the type of consistency required to raise a child. Needless to say, I did most of the parenting, which felt damn near impossible some days.

But I got through it by cutting out all disorder and sticking to strict routines. Miraculously, I continued to work toward the goals I’d set for myself all while raising a girl who had become an amazing woman.

I lifted the painting, and with a sigh, I left the place that given me the most fun I’d had in years. As I followed Wren to the elevator, I reminded myself that with fun came chaos. And that had no place in my life. Even if, for the first time in forever, I wished I knew how to be a bit less rigid.

I circled through scenarios where I told Avery, or even Heath, that I wanted to give a relationship with Wren a try. No matter how many hypothetical conversations I ran through my mind, I couldn’t for the life of me come up with the words that would make my daughter or Wren’s father okay with us. We were absolutely treading into chaos. The idea of being nothing more than a weekend fling was a rock in my stomach. But the idea of telling the people we cared about most—ruffling feathers, hurting feelings—and ruining relationships caused my chest to tighten with anxiety. But I didn’t want to lose Wren now.

When we got down to the lobby, I headed out to meet the man delivering the rental while Wren checked out. Once the painting was lying flat in the back and I had the keys to the white SUV in my hand, I turned back to the hotel and watched her chat with the concierge through the windows. The sight of her eased the tension in my shoulders. It was nice sharing the burden of responsibility like this. Normally, whether it was with work, friends, or even with my daughter,I’d juggle the checking out, the car, all of it. Because I was the one with the plans. And rarely did I find a person who met my standards when it came to capability.

Yet Wren had her shit together. And there was peace in knowing that.

“Ready?” She dropped her black sunglasses over her eyes as she rolled the bags out the door.

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