Page 72 of Slow Ride

Wren kissed the shit out of him, only stopping when someone cleared their throat.Loudly.

She peeked over her shoulder, but it hadn’t been Jordan who’d made the noise in the hopes of taking his turn.

Wren followed his hostile stare to the object of his ire.A man in a suit with slicked-back hair was watching them intently from the corner.Immediately, she knew who it was.

“This is my manager, Rick.”Kason rolled his eyes as if he too wished they could have their reunion in private.It didn’t seem like the guy was going to take the hint, though.“Rick, this is Wren and Jordan.”

“So I see.”Rick crossed his arms.“Kason has had a rough day.He could probably use time alone to recover.He’s got shows to perform this week, and reconfiguring everything to accommodate his broken leg is going to be a pain in the ass.”

Kason winced at that.“We’ll make it work.Maybe I can get one of those fancy scooter things and the Hot Rides and Hot Rods guys can spiff it up for me.”

“Absolutely not,” Rick barked at the same time Wren said, “That’s a great idea.And of course they would.”

Rick glowered.His disposition didn’t improve any when a ruckus echoed along the hallway.It sounded like half of Middletown was out there, overwhelming Van, who’d waited outside so Wren and Jordan could have an almost-private moment to themselves.

“Did I hear someone say Hot Rides?”Quinn poked his head around the edge of the doorway.“Was it because you made a hell of a lot more work for me and the rest of the team fixing up your poor bike?”

Kason winced.“It’s going to need some love and attention.”

“We’ve got you covered,” Trevon said from beside Quinn.Devra was there too, her lip wobbling as she took in not only Kason, but Wren and Jordan fussing over him.

Ollie showed up next, creating a gap so Kyra could slip past him into the room.Had she been spending her time off with the Hot Rides to give Kason some alone time with Wren and Jordan at the cabin?As soon as she thought about it, Wren knew Kyra had.Kason had told them the rest of the band usually stayed up at the mountain retreat with him unless they took trips to decompress or visited family.Kyra and Van seemed to be Kason’s family.They would have been there if it wasn’t for whatever had been going on earlier.The network of friends and support Wren had now was so different from how things had been when it was only her, Jordan, and Johnny against the world.It kept growing bigger, too.

This time, if something terrible did happen, there would be people to help her through it.

Something inside her settled.Life was unpredictable, but she was stronger now and prepared to deal with whatever might come their way.As long as Jordan and Kason felt the same, she knew nothing could break the bonds forming between them.

“For once your hard head came in handy,” Kyra said with a rueful smile as she took in Kason’s bum leg.

Kason snorted, “Yup.Don’t worry, we’re already planning how the show can go on this week.We’re not going to miss any dates.”

Kyra jerked back so hard she crashed into Van, who was suddenly there to steady her.“You think I give a shit about that?You know what?You guys are so dense, I’m over it.”She scowled first at Kason, then Van, and even Ollie.Then she looked up at Wren.“I hope you have better luck getting through to him than me.”

Kyra shook her head and wove through Ollie and Van, heading straight for Devra, who was standing with Sally.“How the hell do you put up withtwoof them?Ugh!”

Van shook his head.“She cares aboutyou, Kason.We all do.”

Wren watched as his gaze traveled from her and Jordan, to Rick, to Van, Ollie, Quinn, Trevon, Devra, and the rest of the Hot Rods and Hot Rides packing the hallway beyond them.

Ms.Brown was standing beside Tom.She blew him a kiss.

Kason put his hands over his face then and rubbed them up and down.When he pulled them away, his eyes were brighter and he had to clear his throat before responding.“Thank you, everyone, for coming to check on me.I’m fine, or at least I will be in no time.It could have been so much worse.”

He scanned across them, then swallowed.“I’m so lucky.”

Wren knew it was difficult for him to see that people he worked with cared about more than what he could do for him, but it was impossible to deny that others—not part of his band—had come simply because they were concerned.Not about his money, or even his music, but for the man behind those things.Quinn’s brother, Roman, and Gavyn especially.The guys had been asking her about Kason enough that she’d figured out he must have reached out to them to talk about…something…related to addiction.

Whether or not things became permanent between her, Kason, and Jordan—and god, she hoped it did—Kason had already been claimed as one of theirs.He was becoming part of their family-by-choice, same as she and Jordan had.

Nothing could have made her more satisfied, or prouder.

“Yes, you are.”Rick spoke up then, shattering the moment as he scrolled through his phone.“I just got a text from the CEO of the outerwear company.They understand there’s been a delay and are fine with waiting a few more hours for us to send them the proofs.You ready to get back to work?”

“What?”Wren put her hand on Kason’s and tugged it toward her as if she could shelter him from Rick and the demands of his career, which she was starting to realize weighed awfully heavily on him.

“No.He’s not,” Jordan added, edging closer.

Even Van shot Kason an incredulous look.“You’re not really going to go through with that, are you?”

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