“Sure.”
“I want to see it. I should tell you…my close friend in medical school was a drummer on the side, and she always said how much fun the music scene was on Sunset.” Wren rambled as we parked and she got out of the car.
Her excitement was infectious, and I had to reel myself in from comparing her to my ex. There was no ill will toward Wren, but I knew Wren was one of a kind and nothing like Missy, so even thinking about them together was sacrilegious.
“In here?” She hung on to a door, swinging it open to a huge music emporium while looking up at me.
Words couldn’t or wouldn’t come to mind, so I nodded.
A few moments later, I couldn’t help the smile plastered on my face as Wren tinkered with a drum set, playing off-beat and loving every second, before saying, “Let’s go enjoy your backyard oasis.”
Who was I to argue?
Especially when, an hour later as we were seated on chaise lounges next to one another, enjoying a cocktail, she stated, “This is the most perfect place in California.”
“Is it now?” I teased.
But Wren looked at me with a sated smile and said, “Yeah. Although the private chef, the drinks help…”
I’d surprised Wren when we arrived home with a staff waiting, armed and ready to cook us dinner in my kitchen.
Now, she giggled. “I can’t help but laugh over your idea of cooking me dinner.”
That’s how I’d presented it—I’m making you dinner. I knew this would crack Wren up, and it did. The ease with which we had spent the day together was undeniable, and I found myself wondering why I’d waited so long…
“What are you thinking?” Wren spoke over the rim of her wine goblet. We were drinking a California Cabernet—the chef’s choice.
In this moment, I wasn’t sure whether the truth was prudent or not, but after a gulp of my own liquid courage, I revealed, “I was thinking about this. Us. How great it is, and wondering why I didn’t tear my ACL sooner.”
“Oh. My. Daniel. Don’t say that. Don’t wish that on yourself,” she said through gulping for air and laughing.
“Seriously. Maybe I could have staged an accident way back when I was golfing. You could have come to my rescue.”
Wren looked at me, a soft smile on her lips. “I probably wouldn’t have. I was so mad at you. I’ve been upset for decades. Honestly, it’s kind of silly.”
I stood, setting my wine down on the table next to my chair, and made my way to the edge of her chair. Without my asking, she slid her legs to the side and made room for me.
Seated at her feet, I brought them in my lap. “I wasn’t strong enough back then to stand up to my dad. By the time I realizedthe future sat in my hands and mine alone, we were over, and you were long gone. And well, I was tangled up with Missy. I’d made a mess of my personal life, but my professional one stayed rock-solid. That’s what my dad didn’t get. I didn’t let anything get in the way of my success.”
Her hand came to rest on my forearm. “It was another time. We were both headstrong and stubborn, yet unable to stand up to our parents.”
“And here we are, reconnected, living our best lives.”
Wren was saying, “In your backyard,” when the chef popped out and said dinner was ready.
We both stood, Wren slipping her hand in mine, leaning her head on my shoulder.
“Don’t ever say I didn’t have you over for dinner, Birdie,” I whispered, and in an instant we were back to laughing.
Daniel
“Today was a good day,” I breathed out, running my palm down Wren’s side. The fabric of her long-sleeved shirt was too much of a layer between my hand and her skin. I wanted to feel all of her…take anything she would allow or give me. My heart beat inside my chest, reminiscent of when I was a young man.
“It was, even though I need a lot of work on my golf game.”
My lips grazed her cheek, coming to nibble on her earlobe. “You’re a natural. It will come,” I whispered.
She ran the length of my back with her delicate fingers. “I liked seeing where you work. And Adam Sandler! Wait until I tell Genie. And dinner was delicious. You may not be able to cook, but your chef sure can.”
