Page 131 of As They Are
Alicia Parrish: Honestly, she should dump Henry so I can have him.
Kerry Winsor: She’s really happy with Henry, guys. And he’s a super sweet guy! Besides, aren’t we all watching for the library?
Jamie McCullough: Nope.
Alicia Parrish: HA. Not at all.
Kerry Winsor: But Wren’s whole thing is her work? The romance is fun but she’s changing our community for the better! Isn’t that important???
Henry
I’ll be out of town this weekend. I’m sorry, but I need to go visit my mom. She wants updates on the show and how all this happened.
When I gotHenry’s text, I tried my best to remember all of the things he’d told me about his mom. The main one was that she didn’t understand him. So when he said he was visiting her because of the show, alarm bells rang in my mind.
When are you leaving?
Eight on Saturday morning. I’ll be back by five on Sunday evening.
It was great that he was so detailed because it made my job easier.
I got to Henry’s house at seven fifty-five on Saturday and leaned against his Honda.
Four minutes later, he was coming out the door and jumped when he saw me. “Wren? What are you doing here? I said I was leavingthisSaturday, right?”
“You did. I’m going with you.”
“What?”
“Do you need me to repeat it?”
“Why would you ... You’re resting from the show.”
“And I can rest at your mom’s.”
He shook his head. “That’s not how she works. She’ll be incessant with the questions, loud too.”
That only hardened my resolve. “Sounds like your worst nightmare. You’ll need backup.”
“Wren, this isn’t a good idea.”
I straightened. I hated it when he said that. All I could do was rush to prove him wrong. “I figured the fake dating applied to your mom too. If she’s seen the show, then she knows. And I still owe you.”
“You don’t owe me anything.”
“But I do. And I’ll find more ways to help you. This is included.” I gestured to his car. His eyes narrowed and he opened his mouth, but I rushed to stop him. “And if you boss me around right now, I’ll use the safe word.”
“That’s for sex.”
“And this very moment.” I pointed at him. “Don’t try me.”
“Wren,” he said firmly. “I’m staying the night.”
I held up my bag. “That’s why I have this.”
“We would be sharing a bed. You coming with me would feel ... intimate.”
“There’s a floor.” I shrugged as if it were nothing. I’d planned for this too, but having to actually offer was making me struggle with disappointment. I wanted to share a bed with him more than anything, but I knew he didn’t want things to get complicated, and I had to respect that.
