Page 68 of Wren's Winter

I forgot he didn’t have clothes up there, so shocked by the cleaning lady moonlighting as an emergency taxi service for my ex. Snagging the clothes off the floor, I moved to go up the stairs, but Trudy blocked it.

“That better not be who I think it is. Adrian Winter, what the devil are you doing up there?” She put her hands on her hips and stood at the foot of the stairs, staring up at him. “And can you explain why you’re up there but your drawers are down here?” She pronounced drawers like draws.

“Do you really need to ask that, Trudy?” He held the pillow tighter on his front and grimaced. “Can someone throw me my clothes? Birdie, please.”

Trying in vain to hide the smirk on my face, I sidestepped Trudy on the stairs to hand a hassled Adrian his belongings. He stepped to the side, dropping the pillow and hastily pulling on his pants. Once the shirt was over his head, he frowned at me. “It’s not funny.”

Covering my laugh with a cough, I put on a serious expression. “Of course not. Not at all.”

“That woman is friends with my family.”

“Who isn’t in this town?”

On the ground floor, Trudy had her arms crossed against her ample chest. “So, the rumors were true.” She narrowed her eyes at his face. “Nice shiner.”

Rumors? What was he up to that there would be rumors?

Adrian colored slightly at the comment, giving me a sideways glance. “Uh, yeah. Nothing I couldn’t handle.”

“That’s not what I heard. And I heard all about it, from Jordan, from Marta. And then the guy spent the whole drive up here complaining about you two.”

The guy? Wait...

“Buck was the one you fought with last night?”

“We got into a minor disagreement.”

“About what?”

“A multitude of things.”

“Adrian!”

“What, Birdie? I couldn’t have the guy saying shit about my girlfriend.”

“Girlfriend?” I startled at the word. Is that what I was? The word felt wrong, but at that moment, it was the least of my concerns. “Whatever, you can’t fight with Buck. I already told him I don’t want to see him again.” I motioned to Trudy. “Thus the reason he was left behind and had to pay fifty dollars to get back here.”

Adrian glanced at Trudy, a smirk on his face. “Fifty? I would have charged him a hundred.”

“Wish I woulda,” Trudy said with a grimace, shaking her head. “Now, I don’t care what hanky-panky you two are getting into, but you gotta do it somewhere else. I’ll give you ten minutes to gather up your things, and you’re outta here.”

Adrian nodded at her. “Of course.” He turned to me. “Birdie, go pack your stuff up there. I’ll grab everything down here, and we’ll move it over.”

My arms crossed against my chest, I studied him. “To your place? I mean, I guess that will work until I can get my car out of the snow…”

“I don’t give a damn about the snow. You’ll stay with me and Maizie. Until you want to leave.”

“You’re asking me to stay?” The words came out breathy, the last string that was holding me back snapping away.

“I am, as long as you’ll have me.”

Threw my arms around his neck, pulling him close, my lips finding his in a passionate kiss. His hands found my hips, gripping tight as we found each other.

“For the love of Pete! Will you two get your shit together and get out of here so I can clean?” Trudy’s voice broke us apart.

Our cheeks reddened, but our smiles didn’t waver as we pulled away from each other to gather my things.

Adrian carried all the bags, while I had Maizie tucked into my coat the way I did the night before. Walking into the cabin, it felt like coming to a home I never knew I wanted.

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