Page 8 of Shaken

So far, I’m not impressed.

“How did I let you con me into this?” I hold up the lanyard Quinn handed me earlier, which gives me access to the owner’s suite in the Philadelphia Revolution’s arena, and glare at the security guard who wasn’t going to let me past him.

Quinn smiles warmly at the guard and links her arm through mine. “Thanks, Henry.” We take a few steps down the hall, and she shakes her head my way. “Don’t act like anyone has ever been able to convince you to do anything you didn’t want to do, Wren Davenport.” Her black heels clack along the floor while she guides us through the crowd. “It wouldn’t kill you to smile either.”

“I’m smiling...” Quinn’s brows lift in question. “What?”

She silently calls me out on my lie with that simple look, and I hold back my huff.

“Okay, so maybe I wasn’t smiling, but come on. This is a ton of people to—”

“To what, Wren?” she challenges. “What are they doing to you that’s so bad?”

“I was going to say it’s a lot of people to deal with.” We turn a corner and enter an entire hallway of suites with increased security, and I wonder again what I’m doing here.

Quinn stops us halfway down the hall. “You’ve been gone a long time, Wren. And I know you’ve worked really hard to get where you are, and you’rebasicallygoing to be on-call twenty-four seven this next year. But I need you to do me a favor.” She tips her head and sighs. “Try to loosen up and have some fun tonight. I feel like I’ve just gotten you back. Do it for me.”

“Wow. You’re the second person to tell me to loosen up today.” I cross my arms over my chest, trying to hide my frustration. “You know, it’s not like I turned around one day and decided,Hey, my life should be less fun. I had to choose between partying and studying because nobody ever said,Gee, I wish my doctor partied more.” My face flames hotter as each word leaves my mouth. “I’m aware my life is a little... boring.”

“Oh Wrenny, Betty White has a more exciting social life than you do.”

I stare at her, not sure if she’s serious or not. “Betty White’s dead.”

“Yup, and so is your social calendar. You know, having fun won’t take away your perfect-daughter badge. I think it’s time for a little work-life balance.”

“This has nothing to do with being the perfect daughter,” I push back, then shut up when the door to the suite opens.

“Wren?” Becket Kingston steps out and looks between Quinn and me just before he pulls me in for a hug.

Damn. I forgot how touchy-feely the Kingston family is.

He lifts me off my feet for a moment before placing me back down and sliding an arm over my shoulder. “I didn’t know you were back in town.” This man’s smile could light up the entire arena. Dark-brown hair and gorgeous blue eyes stare back at me, reminding me of a different Kingston.

I swear, if the men in California were as hot as the men in Kroydon Hills, maybe Iwouldhave had more fun. “Hey, Becks. Long time, no see.”

I’m guided into the suite, where chaos is already underway. Voices emanate from every direction, a tiny toddler screams, and I’m handed a glass of wine, all before Becks leans in and whispers in my ear, “Welcome home, Wrenny.”

SAWYER

Standing in a dark corner of Kingdom and watching a band perform to a packed house is one of my favorite things to do. The room pulses with electric energy I’ve never experienced anywhere else. Kingdom isn’t just my bar. In fact, some might call her my baby, and they wouldn’t be wrong. Sinners and Saints, our house band, wraps up their first set of the night, and it’s a good night. I can taste it in the air.

Most nights here are good nights, but occasionally something special hits and connects. The right crowd, the right band, the right feeling—the right something. And it’s hitting tonight. I’m not sure whatitis. But I love the energy.

The Revolution won their game earlier, so the fans have started piling in, knowing we’re the unofficial bar for the hockey team. It makes sense. My family owns the Revolution and the Kings, so we tend to draw the sports crowds in the city.

But the hockey fans party harder.

And with that thought, I catch sight of my brother Jace and a few of his hockey buddies from college coming through the door. They’re at the front of the crowd, followed by Becket and... Well, I’ll be damned.

Her face is looking down, and she’s laughing with Quinn. But there’s no mistaking that hair. The light hits it, illuminating the burnished-copper color, just like a penny. It’s a homing beacon for me. Always fucking has been.

As if it wasn’t bad enough that Wren walked back into my life, now she just walked into my bar.

One fucking day... She’s been back for one fucking day, and she’s already haunting me. Everywhere I turn, awake or asleep, she’s there. I had such a vivid dream last night, I had to rub one out in the shower this morning like a thirteen-year-old kid who saw her in a bikini for the first time.

True story.

I spent an entire family vacation in Bermuda doing just that when Wren and her family showed up. She tortured me daily with her teeny tiny bikinis. I remember Becks and Hudson both drooling over Haley, but I only ever saw Wren.

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