Page 55 of The Curveball
Darren and Carter have changed once more into wolves with building snarls. Okay, we’re going there.
I take hold of Wren’s hand and squeeze. “Uh, I told them everything about the hospital and accident.”
“Wait.” Darren’s voice is sharp. “You’re her boyfriend?”
Wren’s mouth sort of opens and closes as if the words keep dancing around, but never take center stage. “Um . . .”
Her eyes lock with mine.What do I do?
The question is clear as if she said it out loud. A cry for help, and cries for help from Wren are my new specialty. I’ve got this.
Rising from my chair, I curl an arm around her shoulders, and ease her purse out of her death grip. Wren stiffens when I pull her tightly against my side, but after a few gentle strokes from my hand on her shoulder, she eases into me. “Sorry, guys. We’re still pretty new, so I didn’t know how much she wanted me to say.”
Wren swallows and nods. “Yeah. New. We’re new.”
“I mean, I could’ve told your brothers how you begged me to date you all season. Then, you won me over, and I’ve been a goner ever since.”
I grunt as she pinches my ribs. “Me, begging you? Oh,sweetie, I think you’re misremembering how our story began.”
“No, I don’t think so.”
“Oh, I think so. It was sad actually,” Wren tells her brothers. “There was a big group date, and no one could get anyone to agree to spend time with poor Griffy. He talks a lot, you see. I guess he’d chatted too much for too many women, so he was dateless. I kindly agreed to take pity on him for one night.”
“And I won you over with all my superfluous chatter.”
She mouthssuperfluousand fights a grin. Carter and Darren look at us like we’re out of our minds.
“It’s true,” I say. “It’s been going pretty great ever since. Right, lover?”
She’ll probably put salt in my coffee for that one.
Silence packs the kitchen. This could go either way. Darren and Carter could laugh along with us and love the whole idea, or they might come back tonight and get me out of the picture. Darren owns an auto shop. I’m sure there are ways to get rid of me.
I don’t have a sister, but my best friend does. I’ve seen Parker go into full combat mode when it comes to Alexis. He still does even though she’s married to his childhood best friend. So, I’m relieved when these guys seem to be a little more relaxed than Parker Knight.
Darren stands and holds out one hand. “Okay, you two are weird, but if you’re sort of a thing, or whatever, cool.”
I give his hand a firm shake. “Thanks, man.”
“Look, Wren,” Carter says, facing her. “Next time keep us filled in, and we’ll avoid all this.”
“No, we won’t,” she says. “You’ll find other ways to be annoying.”
“Deal with it. We don’t know how else to be. Griffin.” He shakes my hand like Darren did. “We’ll have to get together without Wren sometime.”
I start to smile. Until I see Wren’s face. It’s pale, and she’s gnawing on her lip again. She looks like she might throw up.
She hates the idea of her family thinking we’re more.
“Yeah,” I say without the same light we had a few minutes ago.
Wren tilts her head, studying me.
I blink my stare back to her brothers. “My mom basically demanded your whole family come to her house in a couple weeks for a lot of food, and she means it. The woman doesn’t know how to feed less than twelve even though I’m an only child, but she acted like we had a small army hidden in the back, and—” I let out a grunt when Wren pinches my ribs again.
My cue to shut up.
Carter arches one brow. “Dinner?”